On the YouTube channel, the self-proclaimed Auto Archaeologist Ryan Brutt is always on the lookout for barn finds and hidden gems. He looks high and low for all sorts of rare and forgotten cars on his channel. Every week he shows some cool classic cars that are more often than not neglected. He's one of many who are on a mission to find beautiful muscle cars hidden all over the United States.
Recently, it seems he’s found a few more since he unearthed some rare Dodge Daytonas in a recent video. They seem like some truly beat-up cars but by the end, one of them is supposedly up and running again. Even though these cars are lacking the iconic Hemi, they're still a rare sight indeed.
Two And A Half Rare Dodge Daytonas Found In Missouri
The YouTuber found three Dodges in total; a red 1969 Daytona with a 440 V8 (7.2-liter) motor, a blue Charger with some genuine Daytona parts, and a burnt-out Daytona used as a fire pit after it burned in an accident. It’s unclear why they locked away the other two Dodges for so long but at least one of them is back out on the road.
The red Daytona had strange modifications such as added air conditioning, 1968 Charger side markers, and reversed hood scoops to supposedly allow more airflow. After changing owners multiple times in the 2000s, someone bought the red Daytona as a gift to their father and is now reverted to nearly stock, with the rusty paint still intact. Brutt even mentions people in New York might see it at local auto shows.
As for the other cars, they stripped the blue Charger of its Daytona parts and it now sits somewhere in a garage. The rusted one is sitting in a garage with the Daytona parts from the blue car. Hopefully, someone will have the motivation to restore these cars to their former glory.
The Iconic Dodge Daytona
While there are whisperings of the Daytona reappearing as an EV, the original Dodge Daytona is one of the most iconic cars of the 1960s. It was a modified Charger muscle car and only about 500 were ever built. After its initial year in NASCAR, they banned the Daytona for being too fast to safely race. This makes it one of the most important cars in motorsport history for the changes it forced in the racing series.
This iconic status grants a hefty price. In 2022, a 1969 Daytona with the more desirable Hemi engine even went for $ 1,300,000 USD.