First-generation Dodge Challengers are sought-after cars today. Especially when they have Chrysler’s biggest engines and crazy paint jobs. This 1970 R/T checks all the boxes: first year, 440 motor, 6-Pack carburetor set-up, 4-speed transmission, and Plum Crazy paint. The mechanical aspects of this car alone make it one of just 135 built. Add to that the purple paint job and it may be in the dozens. This car is said to be numbers-matching with low mileage and has largely been in storage the past 30 years. Located in Covina, California, bidding here on eBay is up to $50,002 with the reserve not yet met.
By 1970, almost every U.S. car manufacturer had a pony car. Except for Dodge. Their efforts likely had been focused on developing the mid-size youth and performance cars they were building, like the Charger and Super Bee. But when the Plymouth Barracuda was slated for a new body for ’70, Dodge finally got in on the action. Their new Challenger was offered in configurations from mild to wild and yet shared no sheet metal with its brother-from-another-mother from Plymouth. Nearly 77,000 Challengers were built in the first year: certainly acceptable, but still behind the likes of the Mustang and Camaro.
The cowl tag (which has been detached from the seller’s car) says it’s the JS23 body style, i.e., a 2-door hardtop couple in R/T trim. Some 13,600 of those editions were built for 1970. But just 135 were assembled with the 440 cubic inch V8 with 3×2-barrel carburetors, known as the “6-Pack,” and a 4-speed manual transmission. We don’t know how many of that low number carries the Plum Crazy paint job, but just over 3,000 of all Challengers that year were painted that color. If you extrapolate the four percent of purple cars, this one could be part of as few as a dozen built.
At just 38,000 miles, this car is said to have its original gear under the hood. The seller says the 6-Pack motor has an output of 396 horsepower, which may be a typo as the published number is 390. The seller doesn’t tell us much about the car other than provide its stats, but the Dodge has seen little action in the past 30 years. The paint and interior look to be original, which means this car was babied rather than raced in the past five decades. There may be a split in the bottom of the passenger bucket seat.
Other than the Challenger Hemi, a car like this may be the most desirable of any of the early Challengers. If you look online, these 440 6-Packs seem to be going for between $60-100,000 depending on originality and condition. The color choice on this car would be a premium on top of all the other factors that go into evaluating an automobile like this. Is this a car that could drive you “Plum Crazy?”
IMO I would imagine that this car will sell close to, or over the
$100,000 mark. These cars seem to only go up in value.
Nope!
Atypical mopar ad – could they have been more bogged down in details?
If I had to explain to a visitor from another planet what exactly the term “muscle car” meant, I would show him this one.
So the reason to remove the plate is?
A. Came off another car?
B. Owner wants to chance loosing it
C. Wants readers to scratch their heads and say why?
I just don’t get the removal on a car in good shape..
Car is a clone I bet. Tag is black and not the color of the car! Thats why it’s only at 60 G’s
I might be incorrect here, but shouldn’t the VIN plate be the same color as the body color?
Check out the sellers other eBay auction, 1970 Cuda, $60K already
Andy why u selling that car
Didn’t find this one in a barn.
Again, all you see today, are Challengers with hemis or 440/6 packs, and back in the day, I never saw’r any. Oh, once a guy had a 440/6 pack Cuda, but the way these cars are advertised, you’d think everybody drove 440 or hemi Challengers, and it just wasn’t so. The only reason you see these today, is someone didn’t trash it, like all these muscle cars fate. The 440/6 pack was almost the fastest car, even though the hemi still could top it, but for many, the extra $778 bucks for a hemi,( $5,700 bucks today) if they could even get one, wasn’t worth it, and the 440 was plenty powerful. I wonder if Kowalski had a hemi, he might have got away? ( Not bloody likely if you saw the movie)
If Kowalski had a slant six in that car, he would still be alive. Muscle cars were meant for mischief, nothing more. I also agree that we rarely saw these cars when new. Few bought them, few could afford the insurance and upkeep on them. I saw a handful ten years later after the rich kids who had them new got tired of them. That is when some of the high schoolers in the late 70s got their hands on them, but even that was rare. I think many of the stories here are from fading rose colored memories.
Words I never expected to see in the same sentence;
Kowalski and slant six.
I don’t see Kowalski as a slant six kind of guy.
He’s back lol yet another incarnation of Ken Jennings, Billy 007! Look out Steve R. Your stalker has shown up once again! Lol too funny
Kowalski, OK you got me although I just got up half hr go. Bullit or Vanishing Point as both haven’t seen in decade plus.
It appears that the body color does not seem right with the dark green interior. I just don’t see a Plum Crazy Purple exterior color car leaving the factory with a dark green interior This plus the VIN tag color issue does not sit well w/o a more detailed description of how things got to this point.
The interior is black, not green.
Steve R
This car immediately popped into my head – i wonder if IT still exists –>
http://i.ebayimg.com/t/1970-DODGE-CHALLENGER-R-T-CONVERTIBLE-PRINT-AD-poster-picture-art-1971-1972-1973-/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/z/WBYAAOxyAs9SOOUN/$T2eC16V,%21zMFIdH2URTuBSOOUNMF5g%7E%7E60_57.JPG
If it does, i doubt those wheel covers are still on it. lol
Always thought Chally’s were too big to be called Pony cars – even the slightly smaller Cudas – after 1969.
The options plate in the last pic above under the hood raises my eyebrow, considering the similar plate under the hood of an all orig ’74 firebird i know of with 225k miles on it looks lot cleaner. & prior to ’78, the car was not always garaged or driven in good weather only. Looks like someone started to clean the plate & didn’t finish.
Most BFG(or any brand) RWL tires today have just 4 tread grooves going around, not 5. Unless the ones on this Chally are a very large size? Or just very old tires.
Can i assume almost all of the hemi & 440 clones today were once
non-thrashed slant 6s or 318s?
I don’t know about those wheel covers, but if that nice blonde still exists, she’s some 22 year olds grandmother now lol
Those fake wire wheel covers were very popular in the 70s, the dealers got a lot of extra money for them. They were cheaper then real wheels, but not by much. The standard covers were more then acceptable.
Have you seen what 61 yr old Marie Osmond & 75 yr old Jaclyn Smith & 83 yr old Marlo Thomas look like?
Or any of the Charlie’s Angels from the ’70s tv show?
BTW, was anyone aware of this? —>
Her dad is younger than her husband!
http://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/how-did-patrick-stewart-meet-his-wife-sunny-ozell.html/
The condition of the tag doesn’t seem to match the rest of the under-hood area. Other than that, I love it.
That’s exactly what I was thinking too. Something isn’t Kosher here.
I saw a plum crazy Hemi challenger or Cuda ( I think it was a challenger) for sale for 30 grand or best offer at a car show, 25 or 35 years ago , it was beat, but it had a pistol grip and was a 70. Maybe 15 20 years ago a guy ran a plum crazy 440, was a 70 k mile car. But maybe 2-3 years ago a pink 440( decal on the tail) he was going up a hill and you could hear the motor. Was sweet, I liked the pink better than the purple, with the black it really stood out, plus it was probably the only pink car I’ve seen up close. I like this purple car, if this car is one of 135 that’s perfect, I only need one, for my barn find, I’m getting older so i must be getting close. I’ve only been in one challenger in my life a green 318 car, auto,
Well, I won’t be buying this, but I’m astounded at an option that it DOESN’T HAVE.
Option missing : A VINYL ROOF.
I absolutely hate vinyl roofs.
You’d have to be plum crazy to not like this car.
I really like the vehicle, especially the ‘go faster’ stuff. And a four-gear to boot and no stupid vinyl roof.
I just cannot afford it at the moment.
OK, I wasn’t going to say anything as ‘I’ wanted to win this, but in case you haven’t heard, you can donate to a great cause & give yourself a chance at winning this piece of giant ‘Candy’ too! Good luck!
https://alzbbq.com/1970-museum-quality-plymouth-cuda/
In the pics, being it’s an automatic, whats the last choice on the console labeling the gears PRND21 & looks like something else? I tried enlarging it but can’t see if anything below the ‘1’, as looks like something. My past ones long ago were sticks, so I can’t recall.
The pic of the interior shows a pistol grip shifter
It’s a 4 speed
Slap Stik. Not sure of the spelling but that’s what’s on mine
Hi,
The tag shows “D21” which indicates a 4 gear manual transmission. Maybe, this is a ‘cooked-up’ clone after all.
S.
back in the early and middle seventies me and all my friends drove mopars my first car was a 340 wedge duster I had two friends with six packs 440 Magnums 383 Magnum Mopar was big where I was from and yes everybody did drive mopars
There appears to be some discrepancies in the fender tag decoding.
Fender tag says: power brakes
Car says manual brakes! OOPS
Fender tag says: vinyl top
Car says: no vinyl top here
Expand the fender size and look carefully at the first letter of the paint code, the c and finally the 7. Compare the 7 in the paint code to the 7 in the engine code.looks like it was struck at least twice to widen the top of the 7 and possibly cover up a different digit. Same for the F in the paint code, which along with the E in the engine code appears to be re-stamped over the original fender tag. You can still see the outline of the flattened numbers beneath these apparent re-stamps.
This car should also have a 4:10 Dana courtesy of the A64 Super Track Pak as well as a 4 speed A833 Tranny.
BTW, the add on eBay states the car has black interior and does not mention the Super Track Pac and Dana 60 rear axle.
I hope the buyer is asking these questions as its at $59k. Nothing like getting taken for a ride.
Good detail work on this, I take it, you are or were on the job.
The fender tag matches the dash vin plate. The fender tag sits right next to the battery and a good reason most have half rotted away.
They are held on by two Philips screws – if ever I “show” a Hemi, 6 pak or low # Mopar – I will remove the fender tag – a lot of them have come up missing at many a show.
Would rather a bunch of yahoo’s question the car authenticey – then loose that fender tag !
I had a 440 six pack stick 410 Dana back in high school , I bought it off a chatum mass cop that must have been in 1981 . It had heater defrost delete . I cracked it up and sold it for 1000 . I think I paid 2800 for it