The Dodge Boys wouldn’t field a “pony car” until 1970, which made them the last major manufacturer to do so. The new Challenger shared its new E-body platform with the Plymouth Barracuda, which had finally shed its lineage with the compact Valiant. But their wheelbases were different as was the sheet metal. This 1972 edition has the basic 318 cubic inch V8 that has been tweaked a bit, but numbers matching and could be a daily driver if you wanted. Located in Santa Cruz, California, this two-owner car is available here on craigslist for $25,900.
As they say, timing is everything, and Dodge’s timing for introducing the Challenger was off. The market had loads of competition by 1970 and first-year sales would be good at just shy of 78,000, but nothing like the Mustang of five years earlier. And since so many of them were sold as muscle cars, they took a hit after 1971 because that genre had faded due to rising insurance costs. So, in 1972, Dodge only built 23,000 Challengers and two-thirds of those had the 318 V8 like in the seller’s car.
The seller bought this somewhat original Challenger from its original owner five years ago, Its TorqueFlite automatic has been rebuilt and it’s received several new parts, including the alternator, timing chain, water pump, and a tune-up. Dual exhaust, 4-barrel carburetor with manifold, and an electronic ignition system are additions. It wears US mag wheels with new tires and the seller has kept all the parts that were replaced, including the hub caps.
This is a well-used machine at more than 150,000 miles but looks to have plenty of life left. It retains its factory air conditioning, although it could use a bit of work. The car is said to be rust-free and retains some of its original paint. The interior is a mixed bag as the headliner is new but it’s going to need the seats reupholstered, a carpet set installed, and some work done on the upper dashboard (aka dash pad).
In Good Condition, Hagerty says a ’72 Challenger is a $20,000 car. That suggests the seller’s asking price is optimistic considering it’s not a Rallye 340, the performance version of the car that year. But it could fetch north of $30,000 when upgraded from daily driver to weekend cruiser after repairs are done.
It appears to have suffered moisture intrusion at some time, as indicated by the rust on the turn signal lever, and crustiness of the shift selector/steering wheel. Otherwise, it looks solid, but (IMO) a bit overpriced for a basic 318 car. If it sells, I’ll have to re-evaluate the current insurance valuation of my 69K actual mile ’74 Challenger! GLWTS!! :-)
Your 74 is MUCH nicer than this, by far.
This too hilarious!
I actually know the current and former owners
I actually turned my friend on to this car,it was another friend’s Dad’s car he bought new that had been sitting
The current owner is a Mopar freak,he’s got an original Roadrunner he bought used in High School in 1987
Hard to believe what these 318s are going for. These until recently were considered pretty undesirable and there was a huge price disparity between them and their bigger engine brothers. They were cheap and disposable. 318 can be modified for some pretty good power though.
As much as I love everything about the 1970-71 Challengers, I always liked how Dodge angled all 4 lenses on the back of the later models. When I was a kid I noticed this back when these cars were new and remember telling my father how neat I thought it was, but he didn’t like that at all. He was mostly a GM man and I don’t think he ever owned a Dodge that I know of.
Agree a little on the high ask but it does have nice floors and trunk which are rare to find. Complete and ready to roll – that’s nice.
It drive good.
This car is in mint condition metal wise. Easy to fix up.
the Dodge Dart is a pony car,,, and way to much money for a 318 car even a E body
Nice, clean car but I never cared for the grille or taillights on the 72-74 cars
There’s the comment. Wondered how long it was gonna take. Every 72-74 Challenger gets it