The Dodge Challenger had all the right stuff going for it when the first generation cars were introduced in 1970, well, that is except for one thing- timing. The car got its start about the time the writing was appearing on the wall of muscle car doom, at least for a while anyway. But going back to ’70, it’s almost hard to believe the array of models and engines a Challenger buyer had to choose from, with the T/A being one of the rarer offerings. Only 2.399 of these cars left the factory, making this 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A for sale here on eBay quite a desirable commodity. It’s located in the beautiful New England area of Jefferson, Massachusetts, with bidding currently sitting at $65,100, still shy of the reserve.
The Trans Am model was the street version of the pony car Dodge raced in SCCA for ’70, and it featured such goodies as a fiberglass hood, side-exit exhaust, plus standard front and rear sway bars. And although the race versions used a single 4-Barrel, the street T/As got you three 2-Barrel Holleys on top. This car still has the original numbers-matching engine, along with the factory 4-Speed manual transmission and that way-cool pistol grip shifter.
This one has less than 50,000 actual miles, and the seller mentions that the T/A has gone through a nicely-done restoration over its life and includes a considerable amount of documentation, including receipts for parts and work performed. The fender tag, dash VIN, and a broadcast sheet are all present, plus a complete decode of the car has been done by Galien Govier, the Mopar mogul extraordinaire himself. The body and FE5 code Bright Red paint look top-notch all the way around, as does the flat black hood.
Red is also the interior color, with things inside looking just good as they do outside. Everything seems to be mostly stock, with what looks like the factory radio still intact, and both the dash and instrument panel are presenting beautifully. We also get to view a few photos from the underside, including this one, showing what appears to be a solid structure down below. I’ve only had the pleasure of owning one E-Body in the past, and at 50+ years old this car looks better than mine at the 10-year mark, and it looked pretty decent. It will be interesting to see if this 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A reaches the seller’s reserve. Any ballpark ideas on where the bidding may end up here?
Refer to “AAARRR” Cuda. See? Pistol grip. I suppose, with so few made, 5 figures is kind of refreshing. At least it’s not 6 figures of a short time ago. Obviously someones baby here, must be tough to let it go. Seems like a lot of that lately. Very cool car, hey, here’s a suggestion for you “bottomless pocket” types, you buy the red T/A, and wifey gets the automatic AAR Cuda. What a wonderful life, eh dear? Thanks grandpa,,,
Stunning
“There are less than 50k miles”. Music to my ears. That means it is a drivable classic. Can you imagine if it had only 50 miles? That would make it a museum car. Not drivable/enjoyable. If I had the money I would buy this one for sure, but maybe someone else can. THIS is the type of collector car you would want to buy because you don’t have to worry about miles too much. Hope it works out for the next owner! Great article, and best of luck.
I always wondered if there was any substantial difference between the AAR and the TA?
I had a pearl yellow AAR back in the day and wanted the TA in the worse way because I liked the hood scoop better, never found one. The old days we just looked in the “Bargain News” to find and sell stuff.
The drive train was identical, as well as suspension. But the Challenger is a bit longer than the ‘cuda (1.5 inch from memory, but I may be off).
On the mileage, one has to take the claim with a grain of salt, unless the car comes with hand written, oily, gnarly maintenance records all the way back to day one. It is too easy to adjust the odometer on these.
Not worth over $50k to me.
The 340 & 318 was the cheap Mopar engines. When you move up to the 383, 426, or the 440, then you can consider paying over $50K.
Don’t get me wrong, Juan, I’m a fan of any muscle-car era Mopar, and I love the B and RB powered cars as much as you do. But believe me, an AAR or Challenger T/A will run right with a lot of those big block E-bodies in a straight line for a good while. And don’t ever make the mistake of following one of these onto the twisties with one of your big block E-bodies, or all you’ll ever see of it is the taillights.
I owned a 1971 Dodge Challenger with a 383/4bll holley, auto, purple plum/Black vynil R/T
My brother in-law had a 1970 dodge Charger w/340; I would dusted him 1/4 miles. He then ended buying the 1971 Plymouth Road Runner w/383..
Oh, yeh, you can sup-up a 318 & 340; change the manifold to 3 2bll carbs., change exhaust headers, or add some thrust mufflers..
You are Right!! 100% Correct!!!!
Don’t ever under estimate the 318 & 340 T/A
Have to agree! My 70 hemicuda was a BEAST, but a nearby buddy had a red T/A like this one, and it was a screamer!
Most of these 340’s would dominate those 383’s and 440’s. A man in NC has T/A and an RT with the 440. My nephew asked him which car was faster. He said that 340 would blow the doors off the big block.
Obviously for reading at your replies you two did not know how to tune a 340 correctly. Plus you had to get enough gear to wind that thing up. And the 340 is nothing like the 318 so obviously you do not know what you’re talking about with the LA engine.
At the 2022 Pure Stock Drags a 340 finished ahead of eight 440s, five 426 hemis, and all the 383s.
Big jump, $80,211 now and reserve still not met.
Secretly, the owner doesn’t want to sell this car. That’s why he put a ridiculous reserve on it, so he can tell his wife that he “tried” to sell it….guess we will have to keep it.
Well for me it’s unobtainuim for sure but if I had the money …
I guess you could call me one of the “lucky ones’. I not only owned one of these beautiful cars, I owned two. Bought the first in ’72 for $2500 from Seattle cop who bought new. Put headers & “Purple Hornies” on it & got in lotsa trouble at the age of 20. It was Mango Orange/4-Speed. Got rid of it & the first wife at the same time & realized the errors of my ways.(not the wife). Late mid ’74 bought my second one, Panther Pink/Auto. Only paid $1500 for Pink as trans was bad but $150 later good as new. Oh how times have changed!
My Brother Steve,
I truly miss those days. Taking the girls to a drive-in movies on Saturday nights Good ‘Ole Days..
Mr Juan, as a side note, my good buddy had a a ’70 Challenger 440 R/T/four-barrel & my little 340 six-pak stayed right beside him in some late nite qtr. mile trips!
Somebody said a Torino GT was the best looking muscle car ever.
Hardly. And this is only one Mopar muscle car !!
The color combo is great. I love red over red and black.
Someone refresh my memory….didn’t the T/A models have 15″ rear wheels and 14″ fronts?
No, they had 15″ rally wheels all around. The “stagger” was in the tires — E60-15s in the front, G60-15s in the rear.