1970 Dodge Challenger

Coupe

340

Manual

JH23G0B

Clear

Gasoline

Up for auction is a 1970 Challenger R/T clone - originally a 318/3-speed car but now has a mildly built 340, 4-speed, and is cloned into an R/T... hood, exhaust, 4-speed, front sway, & rallye guages(71+ style). The 340 has a mild cam that was added 8-10 years ago and everything looked great when it was apart. All the following parts were added to the engine with the cam: 484 purpleshaft kit (cam, lifters, springs), pushrods, timing chain, torker intake, 670 holley carb, MP distributor, HP oil pump. The engine breathes through a set of hooker ceramic headers going into a 2" stainless steel magnaflow x-pipe system (has a nice growl, but not too loud). The trans is a rebuilt 23 spline 833 and has a ram clutch, replaced when the cam was done. Overall, the car runs great! As for the the body, the last owner was the one who did the work on it - new floor & trunk pans, passenger 1/4 panel, patched everything else up included parts of the frame (with thick plate), and added a set of frame connectors. Paint is 8-10 years ago and was applied when the R/T hood & valance were added. There are no issues with the body except 2 paint chips; 1 on the top corner (toward the headlight bucket) on the drivers fender and the other on body line on the passenger door, both of the chips have been touched up and not very noticeable. As for the interior, the seats were redone back when the car was painted and are in perfect condition. The dash is a 71+ rallye dash and is in good condition, the tach wasn't very accurate so the car currently has a summit racing tach tied to the steering column. The carpet, headline, and door panels are in good condition. The console could use a makeover... the shifter boot and bezel are absent as there is a Mr. Gasket shifter on the car and it doesnt work with the boot. Could ditch it in favor of a pistol grip or fashion something to make the Mr Gasket shifter look a little better. Other things to quickly note: Wheels & tires have a couple thousand miles on them Car has discs brakes in front and drums(& air shocks) out back (8.75" rear) Trans has a slow oil leak, think out of the countershaft Heater was bypassed and there isn't a shroud on the car (never gets anywhere near overheating) Originally an A/C car so dash and firewall have provisions for it but all ducts and presence of air conditioning is currently absent. The car has clear Ohio title. Fender tag is missing - it's not numbers matching and a clone, so didn't care much. See pictures below for details and if there are any questions, feel free to ask. I'm listing this for my father, but will answer the best I can or relay the questions and respond accordingly. Car is located in Lorain, OH (20 minute west of Cleveland, OH) and can arrange inspections. Payment due in cash or certified cashier's check before shipping. Will be glad to help with shipping but it is ultimately the buyer's responsibility. This is a NO RESERVE auction. Thank you for looking and good luck bidding! *****Update****** Have had a lot of questions similar in nature so updating with answers. 1) Restoration details, what was replaced? First and foremost, keep in mind the car was done by the previous owner in the late 90s/early 00s when reproduction parts did not exist, nowadays a lot more stuff exists. Also keep in mind that we did not do the work, so I can only speculate or note what is known. The floor pans were replaced as evident from the bottom side, ¼ panel was partially replaced from the character line down as evident from the trunk, and trunk pans replaced. I will speculate that the other typical ebody spots were likely replaced or patched in - usual spots include but not limited to the front fenders, rocker panels, cowl, inner fenders, lower doors, firewall, etc. – again, speculating based on previous experience w/ e-bodies. The car itself looks great and there is not evidence of the patches (if they even exist) and there are no rust issues now. 2) Condition of the trunk, pictures? The trunk pans were replaced and the trunk is painted - it looks good, you can open it at a car show. I am not trying to hide it, just at the picture limit on eBay. 2) Frame patches - where, why, and pictures? Where: The front driver frame rail and both rear frames rails, between directly above the axle and the shackle mounts. Why: Previous owner did the work, can only speculate pinholes or scaling and they're there for reinforcement. Assuming he used plate in areas he deemed suspect for peace of mind. Pictures: I uploaded a picture of the front frame which has the most extensive patchwork, the rears have similar plate that is perimeter welded in areas. I have more pictures but am at the picture limit on eBay. 3) Why is it being sold? My father simply doesn’t use it, he bought it while I was restoring a 70 Challenger myself – when mine was finally completed, use of his dropped tremendously. It’s not that the car has issues, doesn’t turn heads, or he’s needs the money… it’s lack of use simply because another is available. If he does gets rid of his challenger and ever has the itch to drive one, well mine is readily available. 4) What do you think needs changed on the car? This one is personal preference, the car is a head turner as-is. Personal preference stuff: Interior: could use an interior master screw kit, some are mismatched and/or not correct. Could also use whiskers, seals, etc. – the originals are mostly there, but new ones go a long way to quiet the squeaks and rattles which these cars had from the factory. Exterior: Hood could use adjustment, one side sits a little high. I had a similar issue on my car, most of it was taken out with hinge adjustment and the rest was resolved with addition of hood pins. Drivetrain: Engine runs great, trans has the seep I noted earlier and elaborate on below, the only thing I would probably change is the gears. Being a small block car, I think a set of 4.10s would help… the car currently has a 3.23 open 8.75 rear. 5) Wheels – condition and bolt pattern: The Cragars don’t have any major pitting, they look good. Bolt pattern for the car is 5x4.5, the cragars are the multiple pattern type. 6) Transmission leak, where at and does it need rebuilt? I believe the leak to be the countershaft, where it comes through the main case on the frontside. The transmission needs resealed, it does NOT need rebuilt. The transmission is a late 60s B-body with a 70+ tailshaft, at time of swap the bearings and synchros were replaced. The trans shifts fine, it just has that seep. 7) Can the shifter be converted to a pistol grip? It would not be a bolt in unless you buy all the pieces of the pistol grip assembly (shifter, boot, shift assembly, mounting plate, linkages). The Mr Gasket assembly uses a different style handle & assembly, so if you would like to purchase just a handle then some fabrication would have to be done to adapt it to the Mr Gasket assembly. For what its worth, IMO the mr gasket assembly works better than the hurst assembly… it’s crisper, more controlled. I have a pistol in my car, its been rebuilt and adjusted – it looks great, but just doesn’t shift as crisp. If it were me, I would keep the assembly and figure a way to adapt a pistol grip handle to it.