Unbelievable luck!

Dr.Jass

Dr.Jass

Pastor of Muppets
Almost since I got the Challenger, I've been trying to find an original dealership decklid emblem or decal from Peters Dodge in Milwaukee, WI. That's where my first Challenger was sold new, and they were supposedly "the Mr. Norm's of the North" so to speak. If you lived in southern Wisconsin and wanted a hot Dodge during the musclecar era, Peters was (apparently) the place to go. Not many dealers sold a Daytona; Peters Dodge sold at least a couple.

Thus far, I'd never even found a picture of said emblem/decal, and I didn't know for sure which it was. I sold that car 33 years ago; the dealership insignia was not something I remembered other than it being there.

This morning, eBay went one better and linked me to these:

PetersDodge1.jpg


How cool are those?! They're waterslide decals that go inside the glass. I had no idea such a thing existed. The seller only had one pair left of the original four sets listed, surprising because the listing was only hours old. Of course I bought them, along with an inquiry about the decklid insignia. No response, so I sent him another message about my search. This was the response:

Awesome eBay seller crguy1 said:
Sorry, I didn't see your first message. I found a couple of deck stickers and I included them in your envelope at no charge. Adhesive might be dried out, but maybe you can use them.
Click to expand...

No.
F__king.
Way.

This was the one piece of the puzzle I was almost sure I'd never find. Not only did he have them, but he gave 'em to me?! I'll make 'em work, bad adhesive or not. Between those and the window decals, I'm so excited I don't even know what to do with myself right now.

Once I calm down I'll need a nap. Possibly a change of pants beforehand.
 
As close as I am to Milwaukee, I don't recall ever hearing of Peters Dodge during the muscle era. :unsure:
 
68R/T said:
As close as I am to Milwaukee, I don't recall ever hearing of Peters Dodge during the muscle era. :unsure:
Click to expand...
You weren't shopping new cars then, either. You were putting Pontiac transmissions into Buicks and Chevy engines into Triumphs and other silly shit. 😄

I've talked to a several people online who had (Peters is 40 years gone). Most of them said Peters was trying to emulate what Norm Krause was doing to their south, but didn't advertise like Norm did. They kept a large stock of performance models around, both new and used. Apparently they sold at least two 1969 Daytonas new at a time most dealers didn't get one, and those that did couldn't get rid of one forced on 'em. They may have sold a third that was originally delivered to a different dealer in WI. A couple of guys talked about their impressive performance inventory and always having the most-recent and hottest cars from Fratzog country. Anyhow, finding those decals sort of verified what I've heard about the place--most Dodge dealers didn't have custom "Rat Fink wannabe" hot-rod window decals issued.

I found out a lot whilst looking for the decklid decal, which lent more credence to what I was told about supposed dealer mods to my old car when it was new. It most definitely had 4.10:1 axle gears--not available at any price in '73--and when I changed the "original" clutch it was a gold-colored Hays unit. The original owner said he never changed either, nor did he make any other mods to the car including any exhaust work. What was left of the exhaust definitely did not leave Hamtramck that way. I bought it with 69,000 miles, still wearing its original F70-14 Polyglas GT tires. Yeah, I drove 50+ miles home on 'em with belts showing on a couple. Ah, to be 17 again--invincible and surrounded by cheap musclecars...
 
you best be doing some ULTRA grade scans of both the window units and the deck unit, getting them re-printed is EASY, and theres a ton of shops that can still do the water slides, its just not often spoken of..last time i saw a water slide was on a 69 fastback fish

im not even sure id use the originals...but probably copy em
 
They look much better in person than they did in the auction photo.

The decklid decals are chrome and very hard to photograph; they weren't quite what I expected but as I said it's been 30 years and the more I look, the more familiar they seem. I do remember them being very simple. I'm 98% sure that's what was on my car. The adhesive is bone dry, almost like it was never sticky except there's still backing paper on 'em. It's not surprising since they're well over 40 years old, and getting them to stick won't be an issue.

The photo's a little out of focus because my cheap camera automatically goes into "you'd better be perfectly still" mode when the flash is off, but here's what I received:

100_4337.JPG
 
I've done a little research into having them reproduced but nothing serious yet. I don't know that I want to get crazy and do a production run or anything, but it would be nice to keep the originals and use a repro in case of damage.
 
I'd keep the originals in a frame on the wall with perhaps a pic of your original challenger, if you have one, then use the reproduced ones on your car. ;)
 
thrashingcows said:
I'd keep the originals in a frame on the wall with perhaps a pic of your original challenger, if you have one, then use the reproduced ones on your car. ;)
Click to expand...
EXACTLY

id be very VERY hard pressed to use the originals unless it i was working withthe original car OR i had a dozen of em "just encase"

those chrome ones since youve got 4 of em i wouldnt be against using due to the simple fact youve got 4 of em
 
These things are cool! The pictures don't show how awesome the colors are on the slides. They are obviously original. And the deck lid decals are so perfect. They look too perfect but at the same time they look old.
 
When it rains, it pours. Another one popped up on eBay and I won that one too. 😁
68R/T said:
If you ever decide to get repro's, here's a friends business locally. (Yes, I have friends):cautious:

Slewfoot Signs, L.L.C. - Jefferson WI
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I don't think sign shops generally do waterslide decals. I could possibly have your guy print something on clear stock, but it wouldn't really be the same.
69.5CUDA said:
those chrome ones since youve got 4 of em i wouldnt be against using due to the simple fact youve got 4 of em
Click to expand...
And I might just get three more. The same guy that sent me those has another listing. This time it's one waterslide and three decklid decals. If I were to get those, that would give me 4 waterslides and 7 decklid decals.

thrashingcows said:
I'd keep the originals in a frame on the wall with perhaps a pic of your original challenger, if you have one, then use the reproduced ones on your car. ;)
Click to expand...
I have exactly one picture left of that car. I'm not sure where it is, and it's not a great one in the first place. The scan of it is even worse. But, if I do find the original (or the negative--I have a lot of negatives lying around) I may just have a frame shop whip something up for me. Thanks for the idea!
 
I won another listing from a different seller, as well as the second one posted by the fella that sold me the first pair. That gives me a total of four, plus seven decklid decals.

Seller #2 also had a lot of cool decals, so I bought a couple others. The one on the left is also waterslide, the one on the right is normal adhesive. Both are originals, not reproductions.

100_4342.JPG
 
as much as a lothe holleys.......i NEED that...and that plymouth one in a seriously bad way, we need to find a place to get these copied!

i need a couple of the plymouth for my fish's
 
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