Back in the day, Plymouth and Dodge vied with each other in a tit-for-tat model line-up, i.e. Plymouth Road Runner/Dodge Super Bee; Plymouth Duster/Dodge Demon; AAR ‘Cuda/Challenger T/A, etc. Well, the beat goes on, even in the afterlife. Roadkill Garage has run an episode on the “BBquda“, a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda that was caught in a garage fire and I’d like to present a similar catastrophe in the form of the “Charredenger”, a 1970 Dodge Challenger that has suffered the same fate. This destroyed Dodge is located in Los Angeles, California and is available, here on craigslist for $8,500.
There’s not a whole lot here, a rolling shell really, that was at one time, finished off in code FC7, Plum Crazy, not that it matters much at this point. The seller suggests, “Great for someone with a shop or the skills to fix it up .. has a lot of potential body lines are nice. frame and most of floor are good. It’s a project..” Some serious skills, I would add! Even though the body panels are still in place, one has to wonder about warping and panel integrity due to the extreme heat – never mind the fact that essentially, the entire car has to be rebuilt from the ground up. Think about that for a minute, the entire interior, instruments, switches, glass, seats, upholstery panels, controls, window regulators, wiring, brake lines, anything made of rubber or plastic, and on and on.
There is a 230 gross HP, 318 CI V8 engine under the burned bonnet but it’s pretty well gutted and now, it’s really nothing more than a long-block assembly. And that’s on top of not knowing anything about the engine before the conflagration. It will probably require a complete rebuild, along with a decision whether to stay with the original engine or go for something more adventuresome. There is a Torque-Flite three-speed automatic transmission in place but it’s best to assume that it will need a total redo.
The seller locked up on the same concept that occurred to me and that’s his suggestion that “This would make a great rat rod or roadkill type project or full restoration“. I cannot imagine trying to fully restore this car. First of all, it would take the same effort as required to restore a valuable R/T version but being a generic model, it will never have the value. But beyond that, it’s just too far gone. Now, a Roadkill project? Maybe, but what one sees on TV, with big producer budgets, doesn’t necessarily translate into reality – it’s entertainment, not realism. I’d say over and out for this crispy critter of a Challenger, what’s your thought?
Yes….it’s one thing to have a budget like Roadkill – that would only be the way to fix this one. Do a series of episodes on this to make the car appear special. Fatigued metal should make one nervous…
Seems it would be bad luck to try and make any torched car roadworthy again.
It’s not fatigued, it’s tempered…..ha ha ha
I’m thinking annealed.
Another for the “Burn Finds” series.
Where will one find big enough graham crackers and chocolate bars to sandwich this toasted mess between??
Price is way out of line $100.00 tops, that’s scrap wait value. If this was a one of body different story but it’s not. End of story.
Would make a good Graveyard Cars episode, “The Cremated Challenger.”
Lifetime supply of marsh mellows and chocolate for s’mores.
The body metal is not structurally sound in my opinion.
The vin is even damaged…
Every classic car owners worse nightmare…feel sorry for the owner.
Makes me wonder what ever happened to the burned up Hemi Cuda & Challenger convertibles from the Reggie Jackson fire back in the 90’s? I remember them being stacked on top of each other. Along with several other burned up muscle cars. If this is brought back…… Are or were those Hemi Convertibles too? Anyone?
Between the cremated remains of this Dodge and the partial numbers matching Mustang a few weeks ago, it seems like you’re really stretching what a barn find is.
I want him to pay me $8,500 to haul this heap off his property. Thanks to Craig Jackson and Dana Mecum, this is the result. Mad Mad Mad World.
I suppose some unsavory sort could transfer the VIN plate and title to his big-block R/T for reduced property taxes and insurance rates.
I hope you are joking since that makes no sense. Someone is willing to commit fraud while simultaneously lowering the value of their car just to save a few dollars on registration? Collector car insurance is often less expensive than regular insurance since it includes mileage restrictions.
Steve R
Hey, there’s still some “Plum Crazy” on the bumper! This is even worse than the rusted out Chevies that they want a fortune for.
In case you’re not sure, the owner does state in the ad that this is, in fact, a project.
I’ll say.
This hard-to-find Challenger is medium-rare.
Are you serious? Any car that damaged in a fire is beyond hope. All the panels have warped. Any stress point on the frame is now bent or tweaked. Its just too far gone. Everything will need to be replaced. Its like trying to recycle a beer can that was tossed in a campfire overnight. I love the body style, but its just too far gone to save. Put it down with dignity!
It might be a typo, should be $85.
Sssssssssmokinnnnn!!!!!!!
It’s toast no pun intended send it to the crusher
A Mopar ghost for sale… any takers?
Don’t think so !!
As someone who has experienced not one, but TWO lightning-induced building fires that destroyed 2 car collections [1975 and 1995], I believe I have the experience needed to remind people of the following:
Not a single piece of metal that has gone thru a hot fire can be re-used, and here’s why:
If it’s sheet metal, it’s warped and lost the ability to maintain any shape. Try to work it with a set of hammers & dollies and it’ll probably fall apart. If the sheet metal had any rust on the surface, it’ll now look like this car’s fender tag.
If it’s aluminum, it can now be found on the garage floor, solidified into a big lump. My Alfa Romeo 6C2500 gearbox was a bunch of metal shafts & gears sticking out of the melted aluminum pile.
If it’s pot metal, it’s vaporized [as in GONE] or liquified, and the carb material probably ran down into the intake manifold ports.
If it’s copper/brass/bronze, it’s lost it’s ability to hold pressure, or handle torque, or the typical stress factors prior to the fire. If it’s a radiator or heater core, the seams are no longer soldered.
If it’s stainless steel, it’s now stained with various colors that won’t buff out, due to the nickle having been burned away.
If it’s forged steel, it no longer has any temper, and tend to fracture when put under normal stress factors. That includes frame rails, suspension and steering parts.
If it’s cast iron, it’ll probably crack into multiple pieces when hit with a hammer, and it’s likely warped. I had a 1956 Packard V8 with a 2 four manifold. Once the fire was cold enough, I took the manifold off with my fingers, as the nuts & bolts were finger-tight. And when I put the manifold on a flat steel bench top, it rocked from corner to corner!
And if it’s ferrous metal, as soon as it’s cooled down to room temperature, every square milimeter has a coating of rust on it, just from the oxygen in the air.
A vehicle that’s been thru a hot fire has NO VALUE. Selling such a car, or even selling parts off a fire car can leave the seller open to costly legal claims when parts fail.
The only use for these types of vehicles is to remove the body panels and use them on vintage circle track race cars. There are several series that actually race such vehicles. Lack of panel integrity and panel warp are not a concern due to the cage underneath and the fact they are likely to be involved in contact anyway. Obviously the price has to be far closer to scrap.
Jim, you described this mess perfectly, as the “Plum Crazy Project”, because that’s what you would have to be to buy it. It was pretty much a rust bucket before the fire anyway. It should continue on it’s way to be melted down to something useful. It never fails to amaze me the depths a seller will go to monetize something that has no value whatsoever, but I guess they live by the old saying “There is a sucker born every minute!”
Looks like the seller dropped the price to $7000 about seven hours ago. He is still about $6950 too high. Hell, even the data tag is rusted out!
Somebody killed it with fire. Let it stay dead.