he second decade of the SEMA Battle of the Builders Presented by Mothers, the aftermarket industry’s ultimate vehicle competition, got underway with Noah Alexander winning the contest with his ’68 Dodge Charger. Alexander won the Hot Rod/ Hot Rod Truck category and edged out the other class champions – Bruce Yarnell’s ’65 Aston Martin DB5 (Sport Compact/Import Performance), Rob Lindsay’s ’49 Willys Pickup (4-Wheel Drive & Off-Road), and Connor McElvain’s ’69 Datsun 2000 Roadster (Young Guns) – to secure the overall title.
The victory was a testament to the craftsmanship and fabrication skills of Alexander and the team at Classic Car Studio in St. Louis, Mo., whose ’68 Dodge Charger faced off against 171 other entries at the 2024 SEMA Show.
“The competition from this year’s Battle of the Builders was intense, and to come away with a win is something our shop will never forget,” said Alexander. “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.”
The winning build came to fruition following a chance meeting with the car’s owner, Ed Ganzinotti, in the checkout line at a Barrett-Jackson auction six years ago. After owning the car for 20 years, Ganzinotti, a Houston native, reached out to Alexander to spruce up the Charger.
“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,’ ” said Alexander. After visiting the shop, Ganzinotti commissioned the team to build him “the baddest Charger out there.”
The ’68 Dodge Charger features original sheetmetal that was refined with sharpened body lines, a relocated wheelbase, shaved drip rails, flush-mounted glass, custom hood and trunk skins, and a bespoke belly pan. Built on an altered wheelbase Roadster Shop chassis, all suspension components were body-worked and painted.
The car is powered by the original 440-cid Dick Landy engine with eight-stack fuel injection and a deburred, smoothed block. Inside the vehicle, a custom dash features one-off milled bezels, unique seats and door panels, and a package tray with Missouri black walnut accents.
“The best part about the build is that it has incredible drop-down 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,” said Alexander. “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.”
To learn more about SEMA Battle of the Builders and this year’s finalists, visit www.semabotb.com.
This story was originally published on November 14, 2024. 
