The original Dodge Challenger came late to the “pony car” wars of the late 1960s. In fact, the Challenger didn’t arrive until the 1970 model year and only lasted five years. This rusty 1973 Challenger looks like it was dragged from a lake but instead sat out in the Florida elements for more than 30 years. It was once a show car, but bringing it back from the brink will require herculean efforts. From a garage in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, this major project is available here on eBay for $4,400 OBO.
Dodge rolled out the Challenger for 1970 to high expectations. The platform was new and was shared with a reworked Plymouth Barracuda, though there was no common sheet metal. Sales were brisk at first, though first-year deliveries of 77,000 units didn’t come close to those of the market leader, the Ford Mustang. By 1973 when this Challenger was produced, demand was down to 28,000 copies. Chrysler pulled the plug on its pony pair the following year.
The car’s VIN indicates it was built as a Challenger Rallye with a 340 cubic inch V8. As the story goes, it became a show car for Mopar Madness, a publication of the Florida Mopar Association. It stayed in Miami for years and ended up under a tarp in North Florida where it had been from the 1990s. As such, the roof rotted away and what’s left of the once-important Dodge may be held together by rust. The seller says the wayward machine is more solid than it (optimistic?).
Reviving this Challenger will not be for the faint of heart. If the seller is unable to find a buyer to take it whole, he/she will start parting it out. We’re told it has a 426 Wedge V8 and an A833 manual, but parts are gone. Copies of the magazines it appeared in will be thrown in along with presentation boards from its show days. The seats are not factory (Recaro) and if someone buys the whole car, the seller will add some bits and pieces from his/her Mopar collection.
No words for this one
All I can do is shake my head.
Yeah; whole lot of hell no on this one.
This car shows you how undesirable these were, way back when. A show car, stashed under a tarp, outside, for decades. Now? $4400 for a clump of rust.
So not a factory sanctioned show car–just a Challenger that appeared in some local car show. No notoriety at all really. Just another black hole of problems to throw $$ into.
You might want to read the ebay ad… it was more than a local car show vehicle. It certainly is a mess, but for all the crazy Mopar guys, $4400 or best offer may be reasonable for that crowd. I know nothing about Mopar parts value.
Well, whatever it was back then it isn’t now, which is all that matters. If it were a factory show car, something special, it would show in the data tag. In fact, it’s 340 V8 is now gone which limits it’s value. As I was always told: buy the very best example you can with whatever budget you have.
The door panels are hiding there’s no roof left!
I see a “custom” convertible here!
Agreed Vin-NJ WHAT ROOF!!!!
To say this car is forlorn would be charitable. But use it as a unique yard planter? I would, but not for $4400.
“Throw in bits and pieces…”
LOL, the whole car is bits and pieces.
$4k sounds about right to pay someone to take it.
The bits and pieces may have been from being swept up into a dustpan.
This just needs practically everything. It isn’t a special car in its base form and would be crazy expensive to restore it back to its old show car appearance. The underside is probably worse than the topside and these are unibodies so picking it up will be a scary event.
Possibly a viable parts car for someone with a Challenger they are modifying. If the engine ia a 426 wedge and the A833 transmission are both salvageable, it has an 8 3/4 posi it might make sense for someone local. Someone should look up the price of the shifter, those have been discontinued for years and often sell for $600-$1,000 depending on completeness and condition.
Steve R
agreed Steve. Was thinking similar. at $4,400, all the money is in the 426/trans IF useable. Your getting the car/title (if it really has one) for free as a way to transport the engine/trans in-stu
Judging by the missing intake (which is barely visible in one of the pics) and valve covers (seller has several sets of 426 wedge valve covers for sale also ) the seller has already started to cherry pick this thing. Just take the valuable stuff off and toss the rest in a dumpster. It should conveniently fold up rather easily.
The missing intake was a cross ram, which sell for a pretty penny. If the car was sitting outside for decades I wouldn’t be surprised if it was stolen at that time. If he was cherry picking parts there are other items currently on the car that would have been removed and sold separately.
Steve R
Solid rust.
Oxymoron.
Don’t laugh too hard.
There’s actually some money here. The head part # shown is an extremely rare 413 max wedge head with the 1.88 exhaust valves. Those heads can only work with a specially clearanced max wedge block. That and the adjustable rockers indicate that the motor might all be rare max wedge pieces. That might also explain why there’s no intake.
The 4 speed trans and 489 third member also have some value, maybe a lot depending on ratios and condition. and I wouldn’t even mind having that scattershield and the old verti-gate shifter with two…count ’em…two hurst t-handles.
From car show to sh** show.
The Santa Rosa Beach, Florida location should give you a hint about where the rust came from. Not too many coastal cities here that haven’t been under salt water in the past 8 years.
Chrysler was never big on “rust preventive” dipping at the factory……and it shows.
What show was this car featured in? Drain The Oceans?………..lol
eBay prior sales shows:
Great deal exactly what it was described appreciate a good seller awesome packaging!!
MOPAR 426 MAX WEDGE CROSSRAM INTAKE MANIFOLD 2402726-1 POLISHED RB 413 426W 440 (#286092970846)
Packed very well, quick shipping, great seller!
Original 426 Wedge Stock Steel Valve Covers 4 Bolt Mopar OEM (#276811196422)
Apparently he has been parting this turd out for a while.
Seems possible… one of the ebay photo’s does show a little bit of a polished (at one time) aluminum intake. The exact same upper radiator hose and fuel line also show in 2 different photo’s. Who knows the real story. At the end of the day, it’s his car and he can sell it anyway he wants to.
This thing looks like it was well cared for… as in they took the tarp off once a week, rinsed it off with water, and then wrapped it up tight to keep the paint “hydrated”. I haven’t seen rust that bad in a while, and I live in the rust belt. Definitely baked inside a damp cover for a long time.
Given the body rust, I can’t imagine the floors and possibly even frame are good. Just a parts car for trim, power and drivetrain at most.
To the dump as fast as possible!
“Needs work”. It looks like it sat in a swamp up to the windows for 10 years.
Who in there right mind puts a show car outside under a tarp, especially in Florida, they have those things called storage units or garages, this is pathetic.
I had a 20′ long rear engine dragster that wouldn’t fit in my 18′ wide garage because I had 2 other cars stuffed in there so I found a friend that rented me a spot in his garage for $50.00 a month, problem solved.
One of the benefits of getting old is learning about biting off too much…long ago when we were young and ambitious. Clint Eastwood made this quotation from his Iconic Harry Callaghan character: “A man has got to know his limitations”…and this surpasses my patience, budgetary and skill sets.
what are you gonna put out with the two fire extinguishers if it started on fire?
Pretty gutsy asking price for a (maybe) usable A833. The rest is all but worthless. GLWTS, but don’t count on it financing a trip to Disneyland…
I’m a proponent of saving all of these 60’s and 70’s muscle cars, but this one is beyond what I can advocate to save.
Is it April Fool’s Day already?
Hey I collect lic plates!!! Only thing worth saving!
Wow, it sold. I had it on my wish list on eBay just to keep an eye on it and I got a message saying that there was a competing offer. Not that I offered anything but it could’ve been lower than the asking price of $4400. But pretty good that they sold it!
I have a shifter like that but mine doesn’t have the “rings” on it. Just a t-handle but it’s in much better shape and works. Someday I will find a car that it will go with. Really sad to see this. Looks like it was a nice car in it’s heyday. Can’t believe someone would let this happen although there are a lot of show cars from my younger years that I can’t find anything at all about them. The Red Baron and The Mummy Machine to name two. You can still find the models but no trace of the cars. Shame.