Last updated on July 30, 2026
Today’s car is a 1969 Dodge Charger R/T, owned by Raymond Gray, which I photographed at the Million Dollar Breakfast Club Cars & Coffee in Marina del Rey, CA. Built as Raymond’s modern interpretation of the General Lee from The Dukes of Hazzard, it is finished in Volkswagen TNT Orange with a custom black interior with orange stitching, a roll bar, and a CB radio. Under the hood is a modified 2015 Hellcat Hemi producing 950 horsepower at the rear wheels, backed by a ZF TorqueFlite 8HP90 eight-speed automatic from a 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. A Hemi Denny front suspension, Moser Dana 60 rear end with 3.73:1 gearing, and Calvert Racing CalTracs traction bars help put that power to the pavement, while six-piston Wilwood brakes provide the stopping power. Completing the look are custom 18-inch wheels patterned after the General Lee’s original American Racing Vector wheels, along with the Dixie horn that makes sure there is no mistaking what inspired this Charger.
The 1969 Dodge Charger was part of the second generation, produced from 1968 through 1970. Introduced for 1968, the Charger was completely redesigned under the direction of stylist Richard Sias. Gone was the first generation’s long fastback roofline, replaced by a muscular new shape with a recessed rear window, Coke-bottle body contours, and a full-width grille with concealed headlights. For 1969, Dodge added a vertical divider to the center of the grille along with new horizontal taillights, giving the Charger an identity all its own. It was a design that looked fast standing still and, more than half a century later, remains a recognizable shape of the American muscle-car era.
By 1969, the Charger could be ordered as anything from a stylish personal coupe to a serious muscle car. Engine choices ranged from Chrysler’s 225 cu in Slant Six up to the legendary 426 Hemi. Depending on the engine, a three- or four-speed manual or three-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission was available. More than 89,000 Chargers were produced for 1969, with a starting price of around $3,000.
A decade after the 1969 Charger was introduced, the Dodge Charger found an entirely new audience when The Dukes of Hazzard premiered on CBS in January 1979. Created by Gy Waldron and inspired by his 1975 film Moonrunners, the series followed cousins Bo and Luke Duke and their adventures in fictional Hazzard County, Georgia. Their car was an orange 1969 Dodge Charger known as the General Lee, distinguished by its now-famous “01” door numbers, Confederate battle flag on the roof, “GENERAL LEE” lettering above the side windows, and American Racing Vector wheels. The doors were welded shut, requiring Bo and Luke to climb through the windows, while a roll bar completed its competition-car appearance.
More than 300 Chargers were reportedly used during the show’s seven-season run, many damaged or destroyed while filming jumps and stunts. As 1969 Chargers became harder to find, 1968 models were also used, with grilles and taillights changed to make them appear as 1969s on screen.
Raymond’s General Lee began when his son, who shared his enthusiasm for The Dukes of Hazzard, asked him to build one. Raymond began searching online for the right car and eventually found a 1969 Charger in Flintstone, Georgia. He negotiated the purchase from California, then loaded his wife and son into the truck and drove from Los Angeles to Georgia with a trailer to bring it home. What they brought back was a Charger that had already been painted Hemi Orange and partially restored, but it arrived back in California, as Raymond described it, “in about 500 pieces.”
Once the Charger was back in California, Raymond initially turned the project over to a shop in Harbor City, but the work did not go as planned and the car was damaged in the process. Raymond pulled it from the shop and eventually entrusted the build to Gil Worel, owner of Toyland Speed and Custom in Longview, WA 98632. Seeing the finished Charger in person, the quality of Gil’s craftsmanship is evident throughout the car, where every detail reflects the care and precision that went into the build.
Raymond remained closely involved throughout the build, flying back and forth to WA several times to follow the progress, make changes, and work through details such as the final color selection. Gil kept him involved with frequent photographs and updates as the Charger came together, something Raymond especially appreciated. The process took roughly a year and nine months, and the result reflects both Raymond’s vision for the car and Gil’s ability to turn those ideas into reality.
One of Raymond’s ideas involved the trunk, where he wanted a fully finished custom interior with a stereo system and gun rack. The original fuel filler interfered with that plan, so a Dodge Coronet gas tank and fuel filler were installed, allowing the Charger to be fueled from behind the rear license plate. That solved the problem, but it left Raymond with another question, what do you do with the Charger’s original fuel door?
Raymond’s answer was to have a little fun with it. Rather than eliminate the Charger’s original fuel door and gas cap, the gas cap was modified internally with an electric vehicle charging plug. Open the fuel door expecting to find the Charger’s fuel filler and instead you are greeted by what appears to be an EV plug on a 950-horsepower, Hellcat-powered General Lee. I watched Raymond demonstrate it at the Million Dollar Breakfast Club, and the reaction was exactly what he had hoped for.
For all the work that went into the Charger, Raymond never wanted it to become a trailer queen. From the beginning, he made it clear to Gil that this was a car intended to be driven. When I met Raymond, the Charger had been finished for less than two weeks, yet he had already accumulated a couple of thousand miles and was out sharing it with fellow enthusiasts. For Raymond, that was exactly what the General Lee was built for.
In the end, this General Lee really comes back to where Raymond’s story began, with a father and son who shared a love for The Dukes of Hazzard. His son asked him to build one, and Raymond took that idea much further than simply recreating the television car. The result is a General Lee that keeps the unmistakable look and personality of the original while adding the performance, craftsmanship, and personal touches that make this one uniquely theirs.
Whether you remember the General Lee flying across your television screen every Friday night or simply appreciate a beautifully built 1969 Dodge Charger, Raymond’s General Lee is a car that is hard to walk past without stopping for a closer look, especially when you hear those unmistakable horns playing the familiar Dixie melody. I hope to see Raymond and his son out enjoying it at a Dodge or Mopar car show, Cars & Coffee, or simply cruising the roads of Southern California for many years to come.
Thank you for riding along with me and for being part of the Frank’s Cars in the Hood community.
Frank
