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Muscle Project: 1970 Dodge Charger R/T 440 4-Speed

I always find it interesting how we will see only a trickle of certain classic cars here at Barn Finds, but suddenly the floodgates will open with a few real beauties popping out of the woodwork. That is the case with B-Body Dodge Chargers because we have seen some promising project cars appear on our desks in the last few days. Of those, this 1970 Charger R/T 440 project has to be one of the best. This beauty runs and drives well, and returning it to its former glory will not be a complex undertaking. The icing on the cake is that the owner includes a lot of the parts required to have the car shining like a new penny. The Charger is located in Millen, Georgia, and has been listed for sale here on eBay. The owner has set the BIN at $62,000, but the option is available to make an offer. That doesn’t make this a cheap project, so let’s take a look and see if the BIN is justified.

While it might not seem like it, this photo tells a lot of this Top Banana Charger’s story. The front floors carry a dusting of surface corrosion but are structurally sound. They aren’t deceptive because the rest of the car is in a similar state. There are no rust issues with the floors, trunk pan, or frame rails. The only rust in this classic was confined to the rear quarter panels, but that has been addressed. The area around the back window is sound, and all of the lower body extremities are clean. It now needs a new owner to complete the preparation and then lay on a fresh coat of the distinctive yellow paint. To help in this process, the seller is including the paint in the deal. He also includes a new black vinyl top, which means getting this classic back to its awesome best shouldn’t cost a fortune. The chrome and glass are in good order, while the R/T grille with the distinctive headlight covers appears to be flawless.

While some people focus on the monster 426 Hemi Chargers, the 440ci cars wanted for nothing under normal circumstances. After all, your average enthusiast would usually be more than satisfied with having 375hp at their disposal. That is what is on offer here, and a 4-speed manual transmission backs that brilliant V8. If you point this Charger at a ¼ mile, the only way that you could possibly be disappointed would be if you wanted to prolong the experience. The journey would take a mere 14.1 seconds but means that you would still have a great memory to savor. It isn’t clear whether the Charger is numbers-matching, but the owner says it runs and drives well. That means that the buyer might choose to hit the road for some instant gratification if the temptation is too great to wait until the fresh paint is applied. If that person did, I can’t say that I would blame them.

As if this Charger didn’t already offer its next owner enough, there is further great news when we start to look at the interior. It appears that the seats wear new covers, and this collection of new parts should help to add most of the finishing touches. It seems that most of these parts are new, and the only thing that I can’t spot is a headliner. That might not be visible in the supplied photos, but even if there isn’t one, a replacement will only cost $260. The woodgrain around the gauges looks like it should be replaced, and the original radio appears to be missing. The interior is otherwise complete, and apart from the Rally gauges, the original owner ordered the Charger with a Tic-Toc-Tach.

Restoration projects don’t come much more straightforward than this 1970 Dodge Charger R/T 440. If someone bought this car today, I can’t see any reason why it couldn’t be gracing our roads looking at its best before the Summer hits us. That would offer plenty of opportunities to get out on our streets in a head-turning classic that should be entertaining to own and drive. That inevitably brings us back to the question of the BIN price. At $62,000, there is no way that this could be classified as a cheap project car. However, it is a complete, rust-free car that comes with a good selection of parts to help the buyer to return the vehicle to its former glory. With good examples regularly selling for well beyond $70,000, and with values continuing to climb steadily, I believe that the price is probably about right. There are currently 70 people watching the listing, and I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them hit the BIN button reasonably soon. Of course, you might be the person who beats them to the punch.

Comments

  1. Avatar Tony Primo

    For 62 large this car should be turn key and ready to cruise. Seller has obviously been huffing too much hi test.

    Like 43
  2. Avatar Hoss

    Is it me or is 99.9 % of any classic car for sale way over priced ?
    It is rare to see one that is reasonably priced for what it is anymore.

    Like 32
  3. Avatar Sabrina Nickels

    I sold a fully restored one for less than 62k.

    Like 12
    • Avatar Don Eladio

      Yeah, but five or ten years ago doesn’t count, lol!!! Also, if yours wasnt a matching-numbers, 4-speed R/T, then you are comparing apples to oranges.

      Like 2
  4. Avatar Moparman Member

    I may be wrong, but I think this one’s a NO SALE this time around. I’ll be watching for the results. :-)

    Like 10
  5. Avatar Ed Casala

    A lot of us look at these cars and think there over priced. They are, but I wonder if its due to the various car shows where there asking 25K for a car and the host looks it over and offers 12.5K. Then a little back and forth and they settle at 18K. Obviously the details are worked out before the cameras roll, but people believe you can do this and its not an insult to make a low ball offer. I recently sold my 68 Vette and one guy watched too much Fast and Loud and tried this with me. Told him “don’t buy it as you can’t afford it”. I pointed out I had that much in the engine and he told me it was all he could afford.
    This is a nice car, but its going to need paint, decent paint is 5K, good paint is 8K, great paint is 11K+.

    Like 6
    • Avatar Steve R

      People have been blaming Barrett-Jackson and TV shows for close to 20 years. I think it has more to do with the buyers. When I was looking for my first car right out of high school, in 1981, I was already priced out of all the cars at the top of my list. That forced me to reevaluate what I wanted versus what I could afford, I still do that to this day. Most of my friends did the same, many of those that didn’t are still “searching”. We also learned how to find desirable cars, soon figuring out that the best deals were never advertised. I think those two points are lost on many buyers. Far too many aren’t willing to compromise nor are they willing to put out the effort to find something they like at a reasonable price. Take the sellers of cars highlighted on this site, many have had multiple cars featured. There is a reason they are finding desirable cars at affordable prices while others never do.

      Steve R

      Like 11
      • Avatar Curt Lemay

        I agree with that too.

        Like 3
  6. Avatar Curt Lemay

    Hemi or 440? No contest there, 440 all the way. In standard tune, they ran pretty well. Keeping a hemi in tune was an almost full time job. Hemi really only meant for the race track. That was listed on the reduced warranty slips they came with.

    Like 5
  7. Avatar Bobrt1

    all. i. wanna. say. is. for 62. grand. and. not. show. room. ready. it. damm. well. better. b numbers. matching. from. the. factory….i.m.o…for. sure..

    Like 0
  8. Avatar john hugh

    barret jackson flu..62k..lol .that rear spoiler looks awful..

    Like 2
  9. Avatar Alaa Alfraih

    It doesn’t mention wether it’s numbers matching or not

    Like 0
  10. Avatar Jay pellegrino

    Least of the desirable years, no matching numbers and still in need of paint and finish work. About 20k overpriced

    Like 0
    • Avatar Jay pellegrino

      70’ was the least desirable of the 68’-70’ years with 69’ being the most popular with sales reflecting that. I’ll say it again, 70 was the least desired of those years

      Like 0
  11. Avatar Don Eladio

    Yeah, baby! Great car…the ULTIMATE Charger. I love to see those prices continuing to climb. Makes my numbers-matching 440 Mopar more valuable every day!

    Like 2
    • Avatar Bill

      Yea right you don’t even have a car ! Lol

      Like 1
  12. Avatar George Mattar

    Way overpriced. Mopar mania will never end. Made like crap means junk today my first house in 1985 cost $62,000. Sold it for $100,000 in six years after doing nothing to it. Stupid cannot be fixed.

    Like 1
  13. Avatar WaltL

    “There are no rust issues with the floors, trunk pan, or frame rails.” Floor look great BF, where do you see an undercarriage pic.? There isn’t one.

    This is a pretty cool Mopar with a desirable config./color combo, but the ask is approaching what you could get a done hemi car for, and this car still needs $10-20K of work, depending on how nice you want to make it.
    Dash panel pics suck and why is the steering column shroud green? I wonder what the frame and rocker area look like under that replaced pass. door. No mention of drive train #’s. In fact, there is almost no information in the ad… eBay doesn’t charge extra for words.
    I agree completely with Tony Primo, this dude has huffed a bit too much Hi-test. I think he’s at least $20K off the mark.

    Like 1
  14. Avatar Gary Rhodes

    Georgie Porgie, pull your head out of your rump. Whose engine design rules Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Super Stock 70 years after they were designed? What ruled Nascar before it scared France so bad he banned them? THE CHRYSLER 426 HEMI. On April 12, 1970 Buddy Baker was the first man over 200 mph…in a 1969 Dodge Daytona, not a Chevy. Chevy and Ford whined so bad about the Fabulous Winged Things France screwed Chrysler by restricting the carburetor and they went faster. France countered by restricting the Mighty Mopars to 305 cid, putting them out of competition. France got scared they were to fast for the speedways, Chevy and Ford didn’t have that little problem, they were to slow. Whose car sold for over $4,000,000.00 at auction? A Hemi Cuda convertable, which I believe was a record. Who built the first muscle cars, Chrysler in the 1950s with the 300 series, not GM in the sixties. Face it, the Chrysler Corp cars were the best, hands down.

    Like 2
  15. Avatar Hemidavey

    This BS about not being able to “keep a Hemi in tune” has got to stop. Its horse Sh—t! I have owned and still own them, they run fine. My cars are quite fast and Never majically go out of tune. If you know of a guy who had one that ran poorly then he should have had a professional fix it. Please stop this nonsense!

    Like 1

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