1973 Dodge Rallye Challenger

(2000 to 2006)

Scroll down for detailed pictures

When I looked to get back in to working on cars after 25 years, I decided on a 72-74 E-body. I always liked them and they normally sold for less than other more powerful and flashy Mopars, so a good entry point. Plus, the 340ci/727 auto powertrain was the same that I had in High School giving me confidence that if I had to work on it I might remember a few things. Besides, B5 Blue was the same as my High School Duster, and I loved the side stripes on these cars!

I had the car for about six years and over that time most of my work was simply maintenance though I did end up pulling the numbers matching motor to take care of a few things. Also, in those days NOS parts were still very common for these cars and not as silly expensive as they are today, so over time I replaced tarnished trim and interior pieces with NOS. I eventually sold the car back to the guy that I bought it from as I moved on to other cars. A really great car!!

Always a Wisconsin car, the restorer was a motorcycle racer based in Madison. It was sold new by Doering Dodge in West Allis, Wisconsin, which was owned by the late Bud Selig, MLB commissioner. On the rear trunk lid was the chrome Doering Dodge nameplate which you can see in the pictures below.

In 2005 the car was featured in Robert Genat’s Challenger & Cuda book, there are two pictures at the bottom of the pictorial here showing one of the relevant pages.