1970 Dodge Challenger R/T

(2020 to today)

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A 1970, all numbers matching, Challenger R/T. Finished in Burnt Orange (FK5) exterior and interior (K4) with cloth inserts. Originally built 6/13/70. One of 2,802 “U code” 440 4bbl cars and part of the 14,889 R/T’s made out of the total 1970 Challenger run of 83,032 (of which 7,055 were finished in FK5).

Restored 2004 to 2008 featuring the complete powertrain and k-frame rebuilt and finished by Frank Balderson, the noted Mopar expert. Lots of incredible detail…two original factory build sheets, the engine is restored to factory specs down to even having the original carburetor cold idle circuit functioning just as it should. Short of the added electronic ignition (my choice), the car is just as it would have been if you would have taken delivery from your neighborhood Dodge dealer in 1970.

I bought it at Mecum Kissimmee early in 2020. I was looking for something new and this caught my eye. It is hard to buy Mopar’s at auction, for a well done car the price goes to the moon very quickly. Funny thing about this one though, it was in the docket immediately before the auction of the original Steve McQueen “Bullet” Mustang. The Mustang grabbed all the attention in the room as it came on stage while I tossed in the first bid on the now overlooked Challenger. There was only one other bid, I countered, reserve came off and I owned it! As you can see below from a picture in Mopar Action magazine, the whole crowd is looking towards the “Bullet” Mustang and ignoring the Challenger.

Part of a large collection of cars and based on title data it appears to have been driven only 37 miles in 7+ years. As I waded in, literally every rubber seal on the car ended up needing to be replaced before it was road worthy and kept all necessary fluids where they belonged and doing what they should! Sort of an auction lesson here, these are old cars, often not driven much, and there is inevitably some sort of back story leading to work to be done once you get the car home. However, this is that rare classic car where you can just reach in and turn the key and it will start, don’t even need to pump the gas, most never do that though they all did when new and original.

In the pictures below you can see the Sun Distributor Machine that I rewarded myself with when I retired. Makes a big difference in getting these cars to run right as you can easily experiment with advance weight springs, when the advance curve kicks in and to test operation. I look for original distributors from back in the day and replace key components like the magnetic pick-up on an electronic ignition distributor…all of these parts are still sold by NAPA and others!