It’s hard to say when or why this 1970 Dodge Challenger was taken off the road, or whether it ended up in a salvage yard or somebody’s backyard once the previous owner was officially through with it. As popular as E-Bodies are now in Moparland, it’s also difficult to fathom that these cars were once considered disposable, and interesting that one very specific set of components is among the few parts missing here. Is it possible that this one was scrapped years ago just so these particular pieces could be removed? We’ll delve more into that below, but if you’ve been looking for a first-year Challenger to take on as a project, this one here on eBay might be worth checking out. It’s an offering from Mark Worman, located at his shop in Springfield, Oregon, with the current bid of $5,780 not enough to lift the reserve not met status.
This one’s a base Challenger, equipped with a 318 V8, which is how it left the factory decades ago. However, it no longer has the original small-block under the hood, but a correct date-code 318 engine. It also isn’t running, making it a prime candidate for a swap to something larger and more rewarding under the hood. Looking around the bay, some of the pieces that functioned as part of the A/C system are missing and have probably been gone for years. This makes me wonder whether this one was retired long ago so a better-condition E-Body could benefit from these specific components. That’s just one possibility, and rust could be another.
Unfortunately, this Challenger once had a vinyl top, which is great as long as the car never gets out in the rain. It’ll need a new roof skin, and also quite a bit of work around the inside of the trunk. Some repairs have already been attempted around the rear wheel wells and lower areas of the quarters, but it looks like additional rust may be bleeding through, so this was probably done a while ago. The doors may be OK, and fortunately, this car is reported to have been factory undercoated, with the bottom said to still remain solid.
The air conditioning controls and vents are also MIA from the interior, and this one doesn’t feature the cool rally instrument cluster, but it does have buckets and a console. The seats and dash appear to be in excellent condition, and the door panels look pretty good too, but the steering wheel rim is cracked and will need replacing. Since there’s no need to worry about keeping this Mopar numbers-matching, I’m envisioning a restoration that includes at least a bigger engine and maybe a few other fun upgrades. How would you proceed with this 1970 Dodge Challenger?
Back when America was a fair and reasonable country, this car could be owned for little or nothing. Then some father and son would tinker with it in the garage after supper and on weekends. Wasn’t it better back then? Instead today, people like MW make a fortune pedaling these to the 1%. What would you prefer, scenario A or scenario B?