The automotive world of late has become used to thinking of a charger as something you plug you car into. But some decades ago, a Charger was something you plugged your soul into.

The SEMA 2024 Battle of the Builders title vindicates that feeling, with Noah Alexander and the ’68 Dodge Charger, selected as the overall winner from the Hot Rod/Hot Rod Truck category among 172 total entries.

The announcement took place on Friday, November 8, on the SEMA Show stage.

“[To] be crowned the 2024 SEMA Battle of the Builders overall winner is] an amazing accolade. The competition every year is incredibly fierce, and we’ve been following it for years. Some of the people we look up to the most in the industry have won this award, so to appear alongside those people is really incredible,” said Alexander on the SEMA Show stage.

“The best for us was the incredible people we met. It was just amazing to talk to all of these other builders and hear what they do; they pull all their best talent and to share that is what this hobby is all about.”

The Dodge Chargerl build came to fruition after Alexander and the team at Classic Car Studio in St. Louis, Missouri, had a chance meeting with the car’s owner several years ago.

“I want to thank… the best customer we’ve ever had, Mr. Ed Houston. Ed bought this car about 20 years ago in Bakersfield, California, and we met him in the checkout line in Barrett-Jackson around six years ago,” Alexander said.  

 

A couple of years later, Houston reached out to the Classic Car Studio about the Charger.

“It started out as [a project where] we were going to fix some paint issues, do an interior refresh and rebuild the engine. We said, ‘Ed, before we start, come to our shop, see what we’re capable of, and become somewhat of a regular as we work on this build.'”

Once he saw the operation, the customer told the builders, “Guys, I want you to build me the baddest Charger out there.” And the rest is now history, as Alexander and his team meticulously created this over-the-top refined build.

“The best part about the build is it has incredible drop-down gorgeous lines from the factory, so we wanted to keep that intact. We set out to modify as much as possible while being subtle and keeping it timeless. We sharpened all the lines; we tucked in the bumpers, we shaved the drip rails, and we just kept going and going. It’s one of those cars where you have to step back to appreciate everything. There’s lots of crazy metalwork on there, but we wanted to keep it looking like a Charger. It’s a fully functional, nice driving car.”

Special shout out to the TOP 4 finalists

2024 SEMA BATTLE OF THE BUILDERS TOP 4

HOT ROD/HOT ROD TRUCK

Noah Alexander: ’68 Dodge Charger

SPORT COMPACT/IMPORT PERFORMANCE

Bruce Yarnell: ’65 Aston Martin DB5

YOUNG GUNS

Connor McElvain: ’69 Datsun 2000 Roadster

OFF-ROAD

Rob Lindsay: ’49 Willys Pickup