For 12 years this 1966 Dodge Charger hit the streets for a daily commute, that was until the sad day when she was parked in 1978 by the original owners for good. For the last 36 years this fastback has done nothing but collect dust, rust, and rat nests.

A buyer purchased the car recently, began cleaning her paint up only to discover more rust hiding underneath the dust. While the Charger’s light blue paint job doesn’t look bad for its age after buffing, the rust may be more than the owner can handle. The rear quarters are infected, as are the hood and a few other spots. The interior is there, though the seats are gutted. We are assuming the buyer found the car to be too much trouble as he listed for sale on eBay.

Overshadowed by its sexier and faster younger sister, the 1966 Charger was the model that began a Mopar legacy. Though famous for being Dodge’s flagship musclecar, in ’66 muscle was not Chrysler’s vision for the Charger. It was conceived as a two door luxury fast back of the Coronet.

Many even thought the early Charger was a cross between the Coronet and the Rambler Marlin (due to the fastback design). With its Coronet front end, electric shaver grill, and fast back rear end, the press dubbed the Charger as a “good looking Marlin.”

Despite not being designed with a performance or musclecar image, right from the beginning a Hemi was an option. Other mills included the base 318A, the 383 RB, a 361 V8, and the 440 RB engine. Dodge fielded the car in NASCAR, but the car struggled due to it’s body design generating lift, making it difficult to handle on high speed. Dodge eventually redesigned the Charger too its famous body style in 1968.

The mill tucked inside of this engine bay is only the base model 318A, not the Hemi or the 440. While this isn’t a bad mill, it is easily dwarfed by the Mopar big blocks. It would be awesome to see this early muscle under dog tearing up the tar once again. Would you tackle a project like this with all that rust?