OK, here is the deal. This winter I am moving from the greater Cleveland area to California. I am only selling my beloved 1971 Dodge Challenger to pay off some bills and have a down payment for a place to live out west and some money. I will not even consider lowball offers or trades. I MAY consider a partial trade for a 1967 - 1969 Firebird, Camaro or a 1970 - 1974 Barracuda for a family member. Otherwise, I lowered my asking price to $18,000. This price may be negotiable but please, no lowball offers. I am not desperate to sell and will not sell to someone who insults me. Sorry, I am not being rude but I have dealt with enough people asking about my car to know how ridiculous some comments can be! I'm sure you can relate.
In 1970, this Challenger came down the assembly line as a B5 blue hardtop with a blue interior, 318, automatic with white vinyl top and interior lighting group.
In 2008, this Challenger was purchased painted (poorly) HEMI orange and some other colors with a spray painted black interior.
What I have done to it: The car is now FM3 Mopar original color 'Moulin Rouge' aka 'Panther Pink' with a complete whiter interior and white vinyl top. My uncle and I completed all the necessary restoration work ourselves.
The paint is a 20 foot job. This was my first car that I painted myself and it is orange peeled. For a daily driver, I love the color and it works great. If you just want to drive the car, keep it like this. If you want a show winner, put on a $1,000 paint job. The vinyl top is also slightly coming up. This is NOT rust. This is due to the glue I used. Between paint and a new vinyl top, you may need to either spend $700 if you do it yourself or $1,400 to have someone do it.
The body: There is a new rear quarter, new driver's side front floor, new trunk floor, new passenger side front fender, new front and rear valences. The trunk lid is also new and does not completely line up. I have no idea why. Small patches were also put into the passenger side front floor and passenger side rear quarter. There is no rust underneath to speak of. Frame rails are great. Truck is great. Engine compartment is great. When I got it, excluding the fixed spots, there was no surface rust. Anyone who is interested in these cars knows how hard it is to find a car with a body this nice. Many of them have rotted frame rails. This car came from Texas / Oklahoma. If you are interested I have the original dented passenger side front fender and original front valence. You could fix them and put them back on the car if you so desire. The hood is an original hood off of a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T, complete with original DODGE emblem and scoops.
The interior: Dash is a recently recovered dash. All of the gauges other than the odometer work and appear to be completely accurate. The gauges are rally/R/T gauges with a clock. The dash is a standard dash with A/C controllers (car was originally an A/C car but I do not have the components for that). Dash looks great. It is just missing the CHALLENGER emblem. The seats were just recovered. The front and rear panels are new. The headline is new. The cover for the SE window was done in headliner material to match. The rear shelf panel is new. The speakers are new. The radio is a very nice CD player/MP3 jack radio. It sounds great. All four windows roll down easily. Front window is new. Most of the interior is brand new. The only two bad parts about the interior: My slapstick shift handle is broken and the front kick panels could be replaced as they are chipping. Carpet is new. I also added black carpet to the trunk, which I feel is better than the original vinyl thing.
Exterior trim: The chrome bumpers are brand new from the BumperBoys. The front grille is painted the correct for an R/T textured flat black and looks great. A few breaks but none on the outside. The one break was fixed and is not noticeable. All of the exterior lights work. The rear panels is good but is missing two reflectors. It is also painted textured flat black. The panels line up as well as any other car driving around from 1971. However, the trunk is off and I don't know why. Chrome is good, some is new, some isn't. The one front headlight bucket is slightly bent.
Drive Train: The tires are brand new. The wheels are original 15" Buick Grand National / T-Type rims. They look great on the car and are similar to the Dukes of Hazard-style American Racing rims. Up front I put on a brand new upgrade: Front disc breaks. Back and great drums. The front end suspension is pretty much all new. The rear has new air shocks. The engine is a BRAND NEW RE-MANUFACTURED AND WARRANTIED 360 small block. That's right, WARRANTIED! It has a 3 year, unlimited mile warranty. Most of the components are from Summit Racing. I have a high rise intake, 4-barrel carb, upgraded spark and wires, etc. The car STARTS RIGHT UP and WILL DRIVE TO LAKEWOOD AND BACK (as far as I've driven in it) with no problems. I have never broken down or had to stop due to overheating. I am not leaking fluids. The transmission was replaced before I got it but shifts strong and runs good. The rear end runs good. This car rides like GREAT. You can buy this car and drive it around for the next 10 years, even at night because all the lights work. Try to say that about most old MOPARs you see for sale. The exhaust has Hooker headers and a Summit dual all the way back to beautiful stainless tips (R/T style). Most of the drive train components are new or nearly so.
What else?: This car is obviously not all original and is a beautiful and fantastic driver, daily driver, or a pretty-much done show car. I am asking around the 'Average' sale price that I figured out using several sites and averaging their averages. Fully-restored to a R/T clone (you are most of the way there) this car might net you $30 - $40k. But wait! There's more! If you buy the car for this price or a negotiated price I will also include a rebuildable 383 1968 383 block, the original dash and gauges, another set of original black interior panels, any any other parts I have laying around for this car.
I love this car. This is a great car. You will NOT be disappointed. Go and price any other MOPAR you can drive home with a brand new engine, brand new interior, and brand new components. You will be looking at well over my asking price. I have seen rusted out bodies with rusted out frame rails go for $10,000. It's insane. Please PM me for my information. Serious inquiries only. No joy rides.
