1972 would be the mid-way point in the brief life of the original Dodge Challenger. It debuted late in the “pony car” war that the Ford Mustang started. Sales were brisk at first but tapered off as a waning interest in the muscle car field spilled over into this genre. The seller bought this ’72 Challenger off its original owner who had begun to disassemble the engine, but the work stopped. Everything seems to be there to pick up where he left off. Located in Rancho Cordova, California, the car is available here on eBay where the bidding is sitting at $5,600 and the reserve unmet.

Dodge would build about 23,000 Challengers in 1972, with about two-thirds being the standard coupe with a 318 cubic inch V8, like the seller’s car. As the story goes, the seller recently obtained the car from its original owner. The engine is in parts and pieces (although the block is intact) because the first owner wanted to drop in a 340 or 360 V8, but you wouldn’t have to pull some of that stuff off the 318 motors to get there. At any rate, the work ceased and there are boxes of parts to accompany the car to its new home.

For its age and mileage (67,000), this Challenger is in overall decent condition. The original paint is still in play, which we believe to be Fiesta Green. There are dents in both doors and one small rust area to repair, but otherwise, this looks to be a straight car. Should you need it, the car comes with a spare door (different color). We’re told the Dodge was garaged most of its life and that would attest to why it’s not deteriorated to the point of some of these cars that we see.

Some of the chrome is dinged and a few pieces of side trim are missing. But the most interesting part of the body involves the roof. At first, I thought maybe it’s a fold-back vinyl moon roof, but instead it looks more like a huge patch. That requires further investigation with the seller who makes no mention of this. The interior is also as it came from the factory in 1972, with the only notable issues being split seams in a few places. Perhaps they can be repaired, but given the age of the material, replacing the upholstery vinyl would be the best solution.

The car wears its original blue California license plates, so are those transferrable at this stage?  If the goal is to keep the car true to its roots, rebuilding the 318 engine and TorqueFlite (if it needs it) might be the easiest way to get this machine back on the road, and then worry about the cosmetics of the vehicle over time. Even Plain Jane Challengers such as this can go for $20,000 and up, so if the reserve on this car isn’t crazy, then it might be a reasonable way to get your hands on an early Challenger without paying the big money the 340-360-383-440 versions go for.