Albert Ferreras
History takes us to December 20, 1973, 50 years ago, in front of number 104 Claudio Coello Street in Madrid. There, the then president of the Government, Luis Carrero Blanco, he lost his life after suffering an attack inside his car officer with his driver, José Luis Pérez Mogena and the police inspector José Antonio Bueno Fernández, who was traveling in the passenger seat.
As is known, Carrero Blanco was traveling in a Dodge -without the Dart, something that is repeated erroneously in countless texts- 3700 GT model in black color and vinyl roof, with registration 16416 of the Ministerial Mobile Park. As a curiosity, the vehicles whose license plates followed 16400 were the Dodges intended for ministers and senior government officials of the time. Despite the fact that it was originally intended as the vice president's second vehicle, the 416 was finally assigned exclusively to the presidency.
UNSHIELDED
the dodge was discharged in the Mobile Park on December 30, 1971. Like most similar PMM units, Admiral's Dodge White Carrero, with chassis number 2B9P001830, belonged to the first series. All of them were manufactured at the Chrysler factory in Villaverde that year. With a gasoline engine and 6 cylinders in line, they included, except for the automatic transmission -which would not arrive until 73-, power steering, brake servo and air conditioning. The model was then chosen as Car of the Year in Spain.
As a curiosity, these first Dodge series were characterized by having the GT lettering on the tail wings and not located at the base of the roof, specifically on the rear sides; pilots integrated into the front bumper, absence of side moldings below the door handles and mirrors inherited from the previous model, that is, from the Dart manufactured by Eduardo Barreiros.
Contrary to what has been believed and has been repeated in the film and television recreations that were made of this particular vehicle -perhaps the most successful is the one that could be seen in the miniseries directed by Miguel Bardem for RTVE-, the cars of the Ministerial Mobile Park they did not have two pennants on the upper sides of the front, next to the hood, but only one on the right front wing.
Also against what was disclosed in the media, Carrero Blanco's Dodge was not armored, something that was precisely in charge of spreading the manufacturer itself, Chrysler, with the aim of spreading the idea of the great safety of its sedan. There is talk of an internal report that praises this and other values of the 3700 GT such as the fact that, after the explosion, the left indicator continued to work, possibly activated by the driver when turning. This report was as unnecessary as it was controversial.
The robustness of the car's chassis was demonstrated without the need for publicity gimmicks. The vehicle endured an explosion in its lower part that hit it squarely, caused, according to known data, by some 100 kg of dynamite placed in an excavated tunnel under the aforementioned street in the Salamanca neighborhood.
However, there is an unofficial theory in which it is said that, in addition, the load of several North American anti-tank grenades was added that had been stolen months before from the Torrejón air base. Those grenades could have been placed next to the dynamite, allegedly by the secret services of another country, to ensure that the attack was not going to fail.
If this last theory were true, here could be the explanation that, after bursting the asphalt of the street where the Dodge was driving, the effect of the huge deflagration make the almost 1.800 kg of the vehicle ascend vertically; parallel to the rear façade of the church of San Francisco de Borja -Convento de los Jesuitas-, approximately 30 meters high, to break the cornice located at the top and after rolling down the roof, to fall 10 meters below in the first gallery of the inner courtyard of the property.
Despite the trepair car damageTwo of the three occupants, at first, survived the explosion, especially in the trunk area - which deformed upwards in a V shape but without breaking the rear window! Bueno Fernández, the police inspector who was sitting in the passenger seat, died instantly since that side was the most damaged. Carrero Blanco died inside the vehicle, while he was given extreme rites by a religious from the Convent. The driver, Pérez Mogena, was able to be transferred alive but died before reaching the hospital due to the seriousness of his injuries.
A LONG MARCH
After the attack, the 3700 GT was taken to the garage of the Mobile Park of the Civil Ministries, where it went to court on January 5, 1974. It remained there until August 8, 1979, when it was ceded by the General Directorate of State Heritage to the Army Museum, where it arrived two days later. It was on display at the artillery plant, along with the vehicles in which Juan Prim and Eduardo Dato also lost their lives in the attack.
In that place it could be seen, first uncovered and then inside a transparent methacrylate box, until during the first half of 1987 it was removed from the museum's permanent exhibition. From this date, the vehicle begins a journey unknown until now.
On July 12 of that year he is transported to the Toledo Infantry Academy and on December 11 he is transferred to the then Delegate Section of the Army Museum, being deposited in the warehouses, waiting to enable a suitable area for its exhibition in the facilities of the future museum, which will be located in the Alcázar.
December 26, 2002 Carrero Blanco's Dodge returns to Madrid again, although now inside a metallic frame created exclusively for its transport. The vehicle is transferred together with all the funds of the Delegated Section since, after several years of delay in the beginning of the works, the rehabilitation of the Álcázar is finally going to proceed. Upon arrival in the capital, the vehicle is deposited at the Madrid Central Warehouse, whose headquarters are located in the Higher Polytechnic School of the Army, on Joaquín Costa street.
Over the years, most of the funds return to Toledo again, except for Eduardo Dato's Dodge and Marmon 34A. However, the future location of the latter seems to be the Alcázar again, after a restoration process to which it will shortly undergo in Madrid.
Nine years ago, a vehicle from Transport Group No. 1 loaded the Dodge and, covered with a tarp, and moved it from the Army Higher Polytechnic School to the Park and Wheeled Vehicle Maintenance Center (PCMVR) No. 1 of Torrejón de Ardoz, a town where the Army Automobile Museum is located. Now with military registration number 7994, and surrounded by authentic jewels of military motorsport, it will remain there on loan from the Army Museum (to whom it currently belongs) for the next few years, although everything indicates that Torrejón will be his final destination. It should not undergo any manipulation, unless authorized by the ME experts.
RECONDITIONING THE WHITE CARRERO DODGE
Precisely in September of this year, they were the ones who they gave the green light to the withdrawal (finally) of the metal frame in which it had remained since 2002. The lower part has been conveniently painted and used to serve as a robust support for the vehicle, as well as a mobile platform. The wooden beams that were under the car have been removed, and replaced with new metal beams that prevent the Dodge from touching the ground with the tires.
Conservatives too evaluated his general condition and authorized his conditioning outside, removing the accumulated dust, which had created a thick layer of dirt. As an anecdotal fact, when the rear window was cleaned, the original manufacturer's adhesive could be seen, placed in the lower central area of the glass. The interior of the vehicle has not yet been cleaned, given the delicate state of the upholstery and the remains of the carpet and other elements (dashboard, center console, doors, etc.).
Likewise, it was authorized to place the passenger seat in its place of origin, since it was disassembled and very badly placed on the rear seat. Once located in the corresponding place, a large blue package that was in the left area of the rear seat was also removed. Its interior contained several very deteriorated foam rubber sheets. But underneath it was hiding something that had possibly remained hidden since the first storage of the vehicle: the phone used by Carrero Blanco, and that incorporated this type of vehicle in the 70s.
These modifications and conditioning have allowed the vehicle to be seen in its entirety, since the primitive frame kept the left side of the Dodge hidden behind a wood for two decades. Now in its new location, the battered 3700 GT it has been exposed to the public again 30 years later.
THE PRESERVATION OF THE DODGE, ON THE RIGHT ROAD
It's never too late. And in the specific case of this vehicle, all three words apply perfectly. He White Dodge Carrero It is a vehicle that suffered a brutal explosion in its lower part, and the consequences are evident in its bodywork. Much more can not be done about it, but since the decision to keep it was made from the beginning (although with the doubts already told about how and where it had to be done), now is the best time to continue with that purpose.
However, analyzing the vehicle in detail, and comparing images taken after the attack in the Mobile Park car park with the current ones, there are details that indicate that it has suffered some neglect in these years. They are not serious, but they are striking. It can be seen that the GT emblem is missing from the left rear wing as well as, for example, the broken driver's lens in the same place. Neither are some of the small hubcaps located in the center of the wheels, the radio control buttons, the right arm of the windshield wiper, the air filter housing...
The Dodge was "cleaned up" after the attack. The doors were adjusted so that they did not open, the hood was welded to the front wings, covering (thankfully) the engine, which remains almost intact. It is understandable that taking the protection of such a deteriorated vehicle to the limit entails great difficulty, and all this added to the various transfers it suffered and the apparent lack of interest that seemed to demonstrate for him, years ago, the organisms responsible for its preservation. They are small details that little by little have been added to a list of actions pending to be carried out.
Taking it from the beginning and attending to priorities, it is certain that in the future the vehicle will be perfectly preserved as it is. In addition, it now has the support of the head of the PCMVR, Colonel Juan Carlos Núñez, without whose efforts it could not have been possible to bring the Dodge to its current location. And of course, we must also mention the more than important work of two specialists in charge of watching over (in free time) the funds of the Army Automobile Museum: Second Lieutenants Tomás Gil Corrochano (now retired) and his successor, Antonio Amarante Romero .
But it seems that everything is going well. Decisions have already been made about its exterior cleanliness, something that has just been done. The next one will be whether or not an antioxidant treatment is applied to the bodywork. And subsequently its interior will be evaluated, since after the placement of the driver's seat, the state of the upholstery, carpet and what remains of the dashboard appears too fragile and, for the moment, it has not been touched.
These measures and others to be carried out will be decided by the curators of the Army Museum, that is, those who have made the right decision to remove the outer metallic skeleton that protected the Dodge during its multiple transfers. If these types of measures continue to be carried out, it is certain that the vehicle can be preserved and shown in the future as what it is: a museum piece.
NOTE: We thank the Ministries of Defense, Finance and Public Administrations, the State Mobile Park, and the PCMVR, for their invaluable and quick help to finally be able to reconstruct the history of the vehicle from 1987 to the present.
NOTE 2: This article was originally published in LA ESCUDERÍA a few years ago. We rescue it now, on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Carrero Blanco, given the interest that the topic continues to arouse.
