This all-California car (built at the L.A. assembly plant) once belonged to a drug dealer in Southern California. In the mid-1990s he was busted and all his property seized, including the car. The police department threw on some black paint, logos, and a lightbar and made it their D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) car, taking it to local schools as part of the program. That's where I first noticed the car.

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Some years later, when I became a department volunteer, one of my duties was cleaning the police cars. I asked the on-duty sergeant if I could take the Challenger for a wash, and when he tossed me the keys I lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. I was 17, just got my license, and was driving the baddest car in the city. Time went on and I left the department, but I always kept tabs on the car.

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One day I got an email saying the car was considered surplus and was to be listed on eBay. I checked out the car before it hit the website, and it was like seeing an old friend. Looking at the VIN I discovered it was an R/T with a 440 four-barrel backed by the A-833 four-speed transmission with a Hurst shifter. The paint was still decent and had only slight rust in the trunk and floor pan.

I spoke with my dad, and we planned to go halves on the car. But the day it listed on eBay it sold within two hours. I called dad to break the news. We were both pretty bummed.

That weekend Dad and I went to my uncle's house to help him with something. My dad said he did some research on the car and found out who bought it. I asked who, and he pulled out the pink slip and said, "You." My uncle's garage opened, and there she was, looking even better than the last time I drove her. My dad laughed and said, "I'll be expecting the first payment at the end of the month."

I am thankful that my father and I split the cost and that we are able to share the hobby together. The car is getting more TLC than she's seen in a long time.