Wherever you look on this 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T SE, you find a car that seems to do nothing but tick the right boxes. Whether you are looking at the panels and paint, the condition of the interior, or what you find lurking under the hood, this is a car that appears to be loaded with nothing but good news. Now there is a chance for you to become the car’s next proud owner, and if that’s a prospect that you find very appealing, then you will find the Challenger located in Sterling Heights, Michigan, and listed for sale here on eBay. Bidding on the Dodge has climbed to $45,011, but the reserve hasn’t been met. If you really can’t be bothered with the whole auction game, then there is the option to hit the BIN button at $48,500.
The Challenger cuts a striking figure finished in Bright Yellow with a Black vinyl top. The owner makes no mention of any rust issues with the vehicle, and at first glance, it all looks to be very promising. I suspect that there might be a small amount of rust developing in a couple of spots, but I can’t be 100% sure of this. It looks like there might be some slight bubbling developing in the passenger side rocker just below the rear edge of the door, so take a look at the photo and see what you think. There might also be a few spots appearing around the lip of the rear wheel arch on the driver’s side, but once again, it is hard to be completely sure. The owner makes no mention of any rust issues in the floors, so hopefully, all is well there. Otherwise, the exterior trim, the chrome, and the glass, all appears to be in very nice condition.
When I said that this Dodge ticked a lot of boxes, I wasn’t really kidding. It also seems that the original owner was fond of ticking boxes…on the options list. What he chose was the 440ci Magnum V8, 4-speed manual transmission, power steering, power disc brakes, and the Super Track Pak, which brought with it the 4.10 Dana rear end. Now, that has to rate as a pretty tasty combination, and the good news is that all of that original componentry remains exactly where Dodge put it in the first place. The engine and transmission have both been treated to a recent rebuild, so the mighty 440 should still be churning out somewhere in the vicinity of its original 375hp. It’s worth considering the fact that this is a 50-year-old car, and when new, it was capable of launching from 0-60mph in 5.3 seconds and demolishing the ¼ mile in 13.8 seconds. Even today, those are figures that stack up well. Sure, a current Challenger SRT 392 can trump the 0-60 time by 1.1 seconds and the ¼ ET by 1.2 seconds, but there we are talking about a car that has had five decades to evolve from our feature car, and runs considerably wider and stickier tires. It would be interesting to equip our Challenger with the same tires to see how it fared. Regardless, the news from the owner is that the Challenger runs and drives really nicely, which is just more great news to add to the collection.
As with the rest of the car, the interior also presents extremely well. The Black leather and vinyl upholstery combination on the seats looks extremely good, and this really sets the trend for the rest of the interior. If I really want to find fault, I would suggest that the leather on the seats might benefit from a quality leather conditioner, while the carpet is starting to show some fading. In all honesty, though, that’s really all there is to criticize. The Challenger still features its original Rally gauges with the 150mph speedometer and 8,000rpm tach, the original AM/FM radio still occupies its spot in the dash, the remaining upholstered surfaces look to be in good condition, the console looks flawless, and I can’t think of a nicer experience than rowing this beast through the gears using the awesome pistol grip shifter.
If you were to try to look for a completely original American performance car that defined the “wow” factor, then this Dodge Challenger has to go close to fulfilling that role. Apart from that minor question mark over some possible minor rust, it is pretty hard to find any significant faults with the car. Bidding on the car has been incredibly strong, and you have to wonder whether someone is just going to bite the bullet shortly and choose to hit the BIN button. If they do, I really couldn’t blame them. Could you?
I can’t even imagine the Mopar naysayers finding fault with this car. It’s bad-ass.
Someone will. The pro-slant six/318 contingent must be sleeping in this morning.
Steve R
No SS/318 comments, but a 4.10 rear end makes for very poor freeway driving. How about replacing it with a nice 3.23?
Luckily the big block snobs were wide awake.
I vote with Rex.
Actually I’m surprised someone has not gone ahead and clicked on the “BIN” button.
Especially if those bids are real and not shill, you would think that a real bidder would click the BIN button when an extra 2K is only 5% more.
She’s a beauty, and personally, I don’t care anything about new vs. old comparisons. I’d just love to take this for what it IS and enjoy it!! :-) GLWTA!
I’m not even a Mopar guy, but this car is awesome.
Great car but these came with leather? I would rather have old vs new.
A person could buy a old rusted shell out of a field for 10,000 dollars and spend 2 years restoring. Upon that time they will have dumped another 50,000 in it as well as caused mountains of stress and problems.Or,they could just buy this car and enjoy it.I think it is a great buy at 48.5 if it is as it appears.
Agreed. Rare instance of a fairly priced (rare) car that’s ready to enjoy.
It’s rare to find one not totally beat up near original and this one is the bomb! It brings back high school memories in hugger orange or was it orange crate?
I’m surprised how poor the numbers are for the SRT.
wow
I had an exact yellow RT/Se 440 4spd specimen in the 80s, as a daily driver. Bought it for $3500. and sold it a year later for $4500. A previous owner had painted it black to avoid the LAPD. Oh yeah and it was rust and bondo free but for a dimple-dent at the left-rear corner and a crack and missing piece of plastic on the pistol-grip. Even the Dash was un-cracked.
Also had three ragtops at the same time. A 440-6, 340 and a sslant-six with a unused boxed scat-pack still in its trunk.
Ahhh, The 80s! What a great time to be young and affluent! LOL
No AC will hurt the price a little, but the way it is set up, it should be a screamer. Not sure why the “PIE PAN” is on backwards. Nice car for $48,500.00.
I dont think it will hurt it at all , most true muscle cars didn’t have ac anyway
I agree the BIN is a great deal for this awesome ride, bidding is at $46,000, you’d think at this point being $1,900 away from the BIN, that the reserve would be lifted.
Original owner knew it would be faster than wind so he didn’t check that A/C box…..and not real sure if A/C was an option with the drag pak equipment.
If a person wants to experience pure classic Mopar muscle and has the cash then buy it, soon. Won’t be disappointed.
New versus old,,, who cares. I’m glad the new one screams like it does, along with the new Mustang and Camaros. Stickin’ it to the epa as it will pass any smog test or safety standard get fair enough gas mileage all the while making more advertised horsepower than any car built in the good old days with performance once unobtainable in a show room stock street car. Take that, big brother!
Take that, planet Earth!
Just love the pistol grip shifter!! This car is just about perfect just the way it is!! The only thing bad I can even think of saying is it’s to bad he doesn’t have two of them!!
2 hrs Togo and still at $46k. Of the 203 ‘watchers’ I’ll bet 180 are barnfind scribers lol
Finished right there. At this level, a standoff over $1900 (probably less, unless the reserve was equal to the BIN) seems a little odd. That’s like 4% of the total ask. I must be a weak negotiator. That amount would not have kept me from making a deal, no matter which side of the transaction I was on!
It’s been re-listed already: https://www.ebay.com/itm/283736848440?ViewItem=&vxp=mtr&item=283736848440
Here we go again.
And now the BIN is $47K, essentially splitting the difference between the old BIN and the highest bid.
Makes my comment about being close enough to make a deal seem reasonable?
Engine has been “rebuilt” – so many different meanings – always worries me..!