Bad Gatto Beginnings

This story began in 1968 when my father (Tracy) and grandfather (Frank) bought a Dodge Charger 440.  They rebuilt the engine and had it track ready.  Then this little thing called the Vietnam War got in the way.  My father up’d his draft and that was that.  The Dodge went on to set National records driven by my uncle and was eventually sold before his return from service.

My father has been on the hunt for an original Dodge Charger 440, and still is.  However, a few years ago whispers of a 600+ HP Dodge Challenger began creeping across the automotive web.  We started innocently following all the rumors, then we heard Hellcat and 700+ Horses and it went from weekend warrior to full blown steal-your-mother’s wallet-need-it-just-to-keep-from-itching-this-is-my-new-normal addiction.

Circumstances kept us from realizing the dream in 2015.  Fortunately, circumstances are just that and 2016 was the year.  We approached a local dealership that had a couple on order at MSRP and even better were able to get the options that we wanted.  The Hellcat above was originally supposed to be white with a sunroof and brass monkey wheels.  Plum Crazy, Black Aluminum Hood, and no sunroof to ruin the lines.

I had the dealer send me the build sheet.  It was originally ordered on the exact same day (September 10th) that my father joined the U.S. Army.