In the world of fantasy that sometimes surrounds the first year Challenger, it’s easy to get caught up in the myth that Dodge intended for every one produced in 1970 to be a pavement-pounding, high-performance muscle car that could outrun just about everything in sight. However, in reality, many of these were originally equipped with a 318, with a few even leaving the factory with an inline 6. Several that began life with one of these smaller engines have now been transformed into something more gratifying, and this 1970 Dodge Challenger here on eBay in Brick, New Jersey, would fall into that category. This purple E-Body is priced at $39,950, but you can also make an offer.
Curvette, thanks a lot for bringing this one to our attention! Looking at the exterior now, it’s hard to imagine that the original color was Bright Blue Metallic. Although that’s also a fine hue for a Dodge muscle car, the owner decided to go with something a bit more attention-getting, and now the outside sports FC7 Plum Crazy paint. The seller says this Challenger recently underwent a restoration that took approximately two years, with the body reportedly sanded down to bare metal before the new purple finish was applied. Thankfully, 90% of the sheet metal is claimed original, so this one sounds like it was still in pretty good shape before the work began.
A 318 was originally in the bay, which certainly wasn’t a bad choice for Challenger buyers, as it proved reliable and offered adequate performance for most seeking a daily driver. However, that small block has been swapped for a 440, and the big block is attached to a 727 TorqueFlite automatic, known for its ability to withstand all the abuse these powerful engines can dish out. There’s no word on the engine’s source or date code, and the seller only tells us it’s built, so asking some questions here may be in order before deciding how much you’re willing to spend.
The interior has also been gone through and now presents nicely overall, and it’s good to see that this one once had air conditioning, although I’d rather find a Rallye dash than those now non-functional A/C vents. There are both positives and negatives to consider here, with improved performance and a flashy color certainly a plus for many potential buyers. However, for Mopar purists, this one’s now yet another example that’ll never be a numbers-matching original again. What are your thoughts on this 1970 Dodge Challenger, and its transformation from mild to wild?
Good looking Mopar. Those tail pipes got to go.
Yup!
It still has the 7.25″ rear axle, which I’m shocked is still in this car. It won’t be long till it blows up behind that 440. Just another 318 car that transformed into R/T wanna be.
Makes you wonder if the torsion bars and other suspension components were addressed or ignored, same goes with the brakes.
Steve R
Oh ,, why do you wanna stop?
thats a 8 1/4 axle still way to small,do forget the nice a/c, complete with drum brakes, hang on!
Never was a fan of purple cars but always liked it in a 70 challenger R/T !
Hats off to the author for getting the nomenclature right. I have heard so many people over the years call the paint “plum crazy purple”, even the guy on Grave Yard Cars has done it. It’s like fingernails on a chalkboard.
Is that not rust under the vinyl top on the driver side? That looks expensive!
Well, where do I start?
To my mechanic’s ear that 800+RPM idle seems high. There is an occasional ‘tic’ on one side, may only be carb adjustment but bears looking into.
The seat covers are described as “LEGIONDARY BUCKET SEAT COVERS”, not familiar with that brand.
The redundancy in paint description, “PLUM CRAZY PURPLE” makes me wince.
Any provenance or receipts to back-up the 440 engine claim of being “built”?
The seller “DISCRIBED” the car as best he could, apparently though his computer spell-checker was not working as evidenced by the multiple misspellings throughout.
For the 40-Large asking price, I would have expected a more professional description and better punctuation.
And hey, what’s with all that SHOUTING??
sigh…..
After reading all the comments I agree with them. To the seller you had the Challenger for 2 years getting the work done. Sorry but those exhaust tips are sad!! And you could not get the correct ones!! Please..there are plenty of companies that make them. You sanded the body down to bare metal. So why is there rust popping up under the vinyl top? You should of left the factory B5 blue on it. It’s would looked better than the purple. Was the torsion bars replaced with the 440 ones? That rear end won’t hold up with the 440. There are plenty of 8 3/4 out there. Nice 3.55 posi would move it a long. If you want it to look like a R/T do it right. The black stripes have a cut out of R/T showing those are the one that should be on it. Nameplate Challenger R/T for the trunk and R/T for the grille. The Challenger would look nice this way. We know its a JH23 not a JS23. That’s ok but please do it right. We have many Mopar fans on this site. So good luck to you. 🇺🇸🐻