Dodge was the last U.S. auto manufacturer to enter the “pony car” market, more than five years after Ford and the Mustang. They had been busy building and selling hot cars in the mid-size range, such as Charger, Super Bee, and Coronet R/T.  Demand began to fall off after 1970, so Dodge was only in the space for five years. This 1973 Challenger began life with a 318 V8, but ended up spending most of its life on the drag car circuit and now sports a 340 engine. Located in Northville, Michigan, this could be a driver-quality auto with just a bit of tweaking. Available here on eBay, the current bid is $15,900.

The Challenger shared the Barracuda’s new E-body platform in 1970 although there was no common sheet metal and even the wheelbases weren’t the same. After selling a respectable 77,000 units the first year, sales fell off the cliff to just 27,000 copies in 1971. After a mild restyle in 1973 (grille and taillights), production crept to 28,000 before Dodge pulled the plug on the Challenger in 1974 (as did Plymouth with the Barracuda). By 1974, the Ford Mustang had become largely an economy car (my, how things had changed).

Though this Dodge is said to have lived on the 1/8-mile drag strip in Montana, it doesn’t look any worse for the wear. The blue interior is in surprisingly good condition (for the most part) and is sans any racing gear like a roll bar. Though it wears dark blue paint now, the trunk reveals that the car was likely light blue or white in color when it was built. We’re told there is no rust, and we don’t see any dents except maybe a few 50-year-old dings. So, this isn’t the rust bucket that we often see when a 1970s Challenger shows up for sale.

The 340 V8 has a steel crank and is teamed with a built 727 automatic transmission and 4.89 gearing in the rear. It has open headers so it would be too loud to drive on the road without any adjustments. The seller is willing to sell the car with or without the drivetrain in case you want to build your own restomod. The auto’s build sheet and fender tag are said to have survived. The mileage is under 45,000, which could be accurate if this car only traveled 1/8 of a mile at a time.