The Dodge Challenger was the last player to enter the “pony car” market – and was one of the first to go. The demand for muscle cars waned in the early 1970s and took much of the steam out of the demand for cars like the Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro. This 1974 edition of the Challenger is said to be a “rust-free” auto, but you can judge for yourself from the photos. With a rebuilt (but stuck) small-block V8, this Challenger is ready for an extreme makeover from Tempe, Arizona. It’s available here on eBay where the bidding holds at $4,750 (no reserve).
In 1970, Chrysler decided to give the Plymouth Barracuda its own all-new body and created a counterpart (Challenger) for Dodge in the process. The cars looked similar, but had different wheelbases, and shared no sheet metal. Things got off to a good start with the Barracuda hitting nearly 50,000 copies in ’70 and the Challenger was 50% higher than that. But the insurance companies had put the whammy on the muscle car market in terms of premiums, and the engines began to get detuned to help improve the ecology. By 1974, the Challenger, Barracuda, and AMC Javelin were all gone. And the Mustang had been reworked as a sub-compact.
Only V8 engines were available in the 1974 Challenger and this one came with one displacing 318 cubic inches. The seller says this motor was rebuilt at some point, but then the car sat and now it will not turn over freely. You could tear it apart and start over (a plus if it’s numbers-matching) or swap it for something modern as the seller suggests. We assume an automatic transmission is present and this Dodge had factory air conditioning and power front disc brakes when it left the factory.
By decoding the fender tag, it appears this Challenger was once painted Frosty Green Metallic. And we assume the interior was black. The exterior is now primer grey and all of the chrome trim has been removed, but may still exist given the photos of the assorted parts that will come with the floor. My concern would be the undercarriage – the trunk has rusted out and has gaping holes, so what about the floorboards? We’re told this is a rust-free car, so was the trunk photo taken before a new pan was installed? Given the bidding, do you see this as being a good find?
I agree Russ with you on the trunk picture. WTF! I also wonder about the rest under the car. I would imagine the front suspension has to be rebuilt and that’s not an easy task with the bushings and all. But if I was rebuilding this it would not be stock. And I would repaint it Richard Petty blue from the factory. I might put a 1970 nose on it which I like that a lot more than this one. Black interior. Drivetrain would be my go to small block. 408-6 pak 500 HP either 727 or 904 done up . The torque converter will be a 3300 stall speed and the 8 3/4 rear 3.91 gears. Leaf springs seven on the right side 5 on the left side. I want to make sure this car sticks to the ground. . And yes it would be a lot of money to get this car back together again but I would never sell it once it’s all done. So what are your thoughts Russ?.. 🐻🇺🇸
Seriously? There is only surface rust in that trunk. Oy vey.
So with that spring set up you want to road race. Do all that and still not handles as good as a Camaro. You must be wanting to make a lot of left hand turns.
A P.O.S. for total restoration…send it to Graveyard Cars.
RUST FREE – buy the Car and the rust is free !
You guys are all so goofy, those aren’t holes, it’s water. The trunk actually looks pretty solid.
Good eye man! I thought I was looking at the ground through the trunk floor too.
Maybe the seller could invest in a roll of Bounty, and sop that water up? Or take better pics.
Why don’t you nit-pick and complain about a rust-free Arizona car some more that you aren’t even thinking about buying? Do you even own an old car?
I, sincerely, cannot understand for the life of me, how someone can write an article, then have multiple know-it-alls chime in, in agreeance, about what a “rusty p.o.s.” a car is when the car appears to have little to zero rust perforation ANYWHERE on it, whatsoever. If I was the seller of this car, I would sue the author and name Barn Finds and their “contributors” for libel.
Michael ** Thanks for the comment, that is surface rust in the trunk from a piece of carpet the old owner had in there, other than that the car has no rust anywhere else including the underside of the car.
You’re more than welcome. These people that post this nonsense likely don’t even own cars. Carless, keyboard know-it-alls. I have friends that have sold cars that have had their car’s ads end up on here Barn Finds and it is, according to them, the “kiss of death”. All of these people that don’t have anything better to do than spew their uneducated opinions and make ridiculous comments. Half of the information written by the “journalists” here is incorrect. Half of the time, they don’t even read the ads and, obviously, they don’t look too closely at the pictures.
Why would you assume the interior was black when every interior part shown is green? Or did I miss something?
So what DOES ” Rust Free ” mean ?
Wow, Michael, just wow. Between the numerous assumptions about other sellers and readers, the erroneous conflation of reposting sale ads with journalism, and numerous logical fallacies you committed here, I do not know where to begin.
Next time, please stop at pointing out it was water in the trunk, which was an inherently useful comment, and then take a look. Is anyone else insulting people and just generally being a twat, or are they reminiscing about old cars, weighing in with what knowledge they may have, and just generally enjoying the BF community? Read the room, bud.
I am sorry if I ruffled your feathers, Ed, but it had to be said. Everything that I stated was clear, concise, and based on facts and/or my first-hand experiences here, on Barn Finds, over a long period of time.
It is SAD how people act here, it is PITIFUL how they allow misinformation to flow freely, and it is an even bigger disappointment when the writers here put forth minimal effort in some cases, or make gross errors. In my humble opinion, journalists should be expected to research and report at a higher level than you or I (or anyone else reading these forums). Case in point…if I was the guy that owned this Challenger, I would be livid. How would you feel if it was your car and you just got a few grand less for it than you might have gotten were it not for a bunch of erroneous information being yapped about on Barn Finds?
Erroneous conflation? No, facts, actual facts. I have actual friends who have been victims of this same exact scenario playing out here. I am sorry but I will call a spade a spade. I will not candycoat anything. I am not alone in my thoughts here, as is obvious from the replies, etc. This site has the ability to be awesome and, in most cases, works well. However, there are a few “professors of b.s.” that roam freely here and people are getting fed up.
Lastly, by using disgusting language and calling me names, you have completely negated any semblance of a point you were trying to make…incorrect as it may have been.
Az is normally a warm weather 74 is not most wanted if it was a ralle 360 4barrel some are selling up to 40k have b blasted to see what needed you could go restoration mod drag or race car I see then at the strips or tracks me I would not keep itstock
SOLD for $11,211.
Lol,, !