In the Parade of Rusty Mopars, this 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T stands out for its host of tasty options including the E65 300 HP four-barrel 383 cid V8, EV2 Hemi Orange paint, and N96 Fresh Air (shaker) hood. Freshly power-washed and awaiting a new owner here on eBay, this Oxford, Mississippi Mopar can be yours with the high bid.
The Body Tag decoder at mymopar.com discloses a number of desirable parts including the now-missing J81 “Rear Spoiler – Wing Type.” The original trunk shows the mounting holes for the wing. Kudos to the seller who includes a focused picture of the body tag and a number of under car shots. What appears to be a recent pressure-washing exposes original orange paint beneath the factory undercoating, showing a sound structure where many similar cars have nothing left but rust and memories. The black vinyl top trapped water next to the metal which has completely rotted out in places. At least the M21 roof drip railings survived.
The C16 “Console with Woodgrain Panel” may be salvageable, and the seat covers are readily available. Interior options include (at least) three-speed wipers, remote-control driver’s mirror, and Tachometer. The dashboard and instruments have certainly seen better days. Check out the excellent articles at horton.com and hotrod.com for more background on these ground-pounding Challengers.
The missing drive train at least gives us a better view of the engine compartment, and again things could be much worse. Even the battery tray, usually the first thing under the hood to disintegrate, has some structure left. This particular Shaker Hood did not come with the car, but it’s reportedly correct. The market may have softened some in recent years, but Mopar’s Pony Car, the E-Body, appeals to a broad cross-section of buyers including some who weren’t yet born when this black-and-orange beauty hit the streets. What’s your top bid for this restoration challenge?
That is not a shaker hood on this car…
i just finished restoring this proud beauty!
Nice ride, Ric. You should be proud. Thanks for the update!
Almost every item that made this car unique are gone, but that won’t stop someone from buying it and returning it to it’s Trim Tag glory.
A slant six ( 2bbl of course, this is a performance car after all), yank the 727 and pop in a nice 3 speed…done! Okay, maybe some body work and paint, then show off to those who don’t have one. Pure bliss!
Stick a Ford engine in it to wind up the obsessives…
Hmmm. Old smoking tired vega auto with lots of popcorn welds and angle iron sticking it to the frame outta do it
If this car doesn’t go much higher I think it’s a steal for a Mopar. Do some bodywork / Paint / Interior / then drop in a 340 crate motor with a 5 speed.
Strong Potential
Not sure where the data is to substantiate declining values. Hagerty shows slightly rising vales over last 3 years. Proof of demand is that this one is almost $20K already. No way to be above water on a true restoration, vs a modernization.
What auction are you looking at, I see it at $9380?
Is anyone else not receiving comment emails?
I haven’t gotten one in awhile.
I haven’t had any problems getting comment emails. You are checking the box to be notified right ?
‘Notify me of new comments via email.’ Hi PRA4SNW, I have not gotten new comments for over a year. I put the BF email address on my safe inbox thing with no luck. I just got a membership hoping that would help. No dice. Best of luck, Mike.
Try adding comments@barnfinds.com to your safe list. You probably just added our main address. Let me know if that fixes it.
Hi Jesse, I added comments@barnfinds.com to my safe list yesterday and subcribed to three articles. No new comments this morning, I did check the articles and did see new comments added. Thanks, Mike.
Me too. tried to become a member during the Memorial day member deal, kept getting bipped off into cyberspace.
Hey Greg, Great to see you back! Miss your comments. Please tell me Sweety Pie is doing well. Take care, thirsty? Mike.
PRA4SNW…..no comment….
LOL! Thanks for helping out. Still didn’t receive the email.
Not sure what is going on. I’ve always received them, and now, nothing at all.
I will try adding it to my Comcast antispam list.
Jess: Could it be the number of posts that I am subscribed too? I’m sure that it has to be hundreds and hundreds by now.
I know that I’ve seen a list somewhere but forget how to get to it now. Maybe if I unsubscribe from some of the older ones, it will help.
Okay, I checked my Spam folder via Comcast on-line (instead of my PC email client). In that folder, was one comment email dated 5/31, and that sounds like the date when I stopped receiving comment emails.
I marked it as safe, so we’ll see what happens now.
On the 5/31 email, click on the Manage Notifications to see what you are subscribed to. I just got 2 notifications from your last 2 replies.
Still not receiving comments – bummer.
Rspcharger: I did do that, and I’m subscribed to hundreds on hundreds of posts going back for many years. I’ve never had this problem.
I’ll keep working on it, I really like this feature.
An original barn find without the original barn find dirt!!
Cudos to this guy for actually washing it!
i just finished restoring this proud beauty!
Oh H*LL NAW! Don’t waste your money on one of these crappy Mopars, Junk I Say!!!!!
lol keith!
Is that a Mustang GT Turbo convertible in the background? Those are among the rarest of the fox-bodied Mustangs.
Looked like one of the better e-bodies to come through here in a while, but then no engine under the hood, figured as much the way the car sits all high up front. How about a 360 that’ll run just fine on today’s unleaded gas, nothing overkill, just a good solid street engine. I’m not even looking at the price, but it’s probably up there.
im glad i found this since i lost the before pics…heres what it looks like now…