If you are a fan of the NFL, then you’ve probably heard of DeAngelo Hall of the Washington Redskins. There’s one thing you may not know about DeAngelo; he’s a huge Mopar fan. During his time playing for the Atlanta Falcons, DeAngelo became friends with the crew over at YearOne so when he decided to build his 1969 Dodge Charger, he turned the keys over to YearOne’s Ghostworks Garage division to transform his B-body into the beautiful masterpiece you see before you. As you can see, the result of their hard work is absolutely stellar. If you haven’t heard of Ghostworks Garage, they are a dedicated division of YearOne that specializes in custom muscle car builds. They are the ones that built Bill Goldberg’s killer 1970 Plymouth Super Bird NASCAR replica a few years back. If you want your Mopar built right, they are the ones to see.

Before starting the build, Ghostworks sat down with DeAngelo and spent some serious time discussing the direction they wanted to take with the Charger and what the ideal end goal would be. It was decided that the Charger would have a pro-touring theme with a modern, fuel injected engine, aftermarket suspension and minor body modifications. YearOne would supply all of the OEM parts that were needed. Being as the second generation Charger is such an iconic car, they didn’t want to mess with the styling too much. Once the plan was finalized, work began. Starting with a clean XP code 1969 Charger with very little rust, the crew at Ghostworks wasted no time tearing all of the stock pieces apart.

The first step was the body. To get the wheel/tire fitment and stance exactly how they envisioned it, some of the body and chassis would have to be modified. The front and rear valances are both custom pieces for this Charger designed from stock parts. The bumpers were cut and tucked nicely into the front fenders and rear quarters for a streamline appearance as well as the rocker panels were modified and extended. The wheel well trim and marker lights were shaved for a cleaner look.

Once the modifications to the exterior were complete, the body was sprayed in “Go-Mango” metallic paint from a 2006 Dodge Charger R/T Daytona. To complete the exterior, a matte black tail stripe was applied with matching V21 style hood stripes featuring the words “HEMI Supercharged.” The factory vacuum-operated hidden headlamp system was converted to an electronic system for reliability and the tail lights and driving lamps were converted to LED versions by Classic LEDs.

In order to achieve the previously mentioned stance that was envisioned, the team had to hit the suspension out of the park. An AlterKation front suspension setup consisting of tubular control arms and coil-overs was employed to replace the original K-member and torsion bar setup. From there, the AlterKation system was modified to pull it up closer towards the front frame rails. This would allow for increased travel at the desired ride height. Steering would be handled by a power rack-and-pinion system from a 2005 Ford Mustang.

On the rear of the Charger, the suspension was custom fabricated for this build, using a four-link system with coil-overs mounted on a bullet proof Moser Dana 60. The coils front and rear were supplied by Eibach. The wheel housings were mini-tubbed to allow for the stance and bigger rubber and the rear frame rails were sectioned and modified to allow the tucking of parts into the body. The driveshaft is an aluminum piece built by Precision Shaft Technologies.

“Getting that drivetrain and suspension up into the car was one of the key custom aspects of this build. We raised the front suspension up into the car, and raised the transmission tunnel and driveline into the car, then custom-built the rear suspension so the body just kind of sat over everything,” says Ghostworks.

To stop the heavy B-body, Ghostworks turned to Baer Brakes and installed one of their set-ups consisting of massive 13-inch disc brakes on all four corners. The six-piston calipers were etched with “YearOne” and a Wilwood brake booster would power the system to a stop. DeAngelo’s Charger rides on Forgeline SOP3 wheels; 19×12 on the rear and 18×9 on the front. Michelin tires were chosen for this build with sizes being 345/30ZR19 on the rear and 275/35RZ18 on the front.

For the go-fast goodies under the hood, Ghostworks turned to the experts at Arrington Engines in Martinsville, Virginia. The crew there started with a modern 6.1L Gen III HEMI EFI engine and then both bored and stroked it 4.080 inches to give them 426 cubic inches. The 426 has a compression ratio of 9.5:1 and features MAHLE pistons, K1 forged crank, K1 forged H-beam rods, Mopar Performance rockers, COMP springs and pushrods and a custom COMP hydraulic roller cam.

Arrington decided the OEM 6.1L heads would do the job so those were ported with a CNC machine. To give a lot more power to the rear wheels, a sinister looking Techno supercharger was bolted on top, giving the Charger 640 horsepower and 570 ft. lbs of torque! Fuel is supplied to the HEMI thanks to a custom fuel tank with an in-tank OEM-style fuel pump. Backing the HEMI is a five-speed 545RFE automatic from Bouchillon Performance that has been upgraded with a custom Edge Racing Converters torque converter and a Canton Racing transmission cooler. Controlling everything is done by a Diablosport hand-held tuner that has been custom calibrated for the car.

On the inside of the Charger, modifications were done tastefully while keeping the original design features in mind. The team installed custom leather Cerullo seats that feature better bolstering than stock seats to keep DeAngelo in place while cruising in his Charger. For creature comforts, a Vintage Air system was installed for those hot days and the sound system was totally upgraded with Alpine and Boston Acoustics products. The Charger also has power windows, a custom pistol grip shifter and a leather-wrapped Tuff wheel. The rest of the interior features brand new stock pieces supplied by YearOne including the one-year-newer 1970 Charger door panels.

Admittedly, the Big Time Charger was completed several years ago, and consequently made the rounds of the usual hot rodding and Mopar magazines. We were lucky enough to get a personal one-on-one with it while we toured the YearOne headquarters a few months back and simply couldn’t let the opportunity pass us by. The work completed by the team in the Ghostworks Garage is simply that good. If you have an old Mopar sitting in your garage or backyard and a design or vision in mind, give YearOne and Ghostworks Garage a call, they’ll make that vision become reality!

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