How many JA5 '73 Challengers had white interior?

[J-Tiki]

Hello All:

I have had my 1973 Dodge Challenger Rallye 340 since 2003. The color is JA5 Metallic, which I understand was made only in '73. Of all the '73 Challengers with JA5 color have black interiors and mine is white. Is that a rare option? The fender tag is long gone and I have not looked for the broadcast sheet under the car. I love the white interior w/ black carpet. Mine is a full Rallye edition Challenger due to the factory stripes and options that are on the car. Also, another difference is the wing on the back of the car. I have noticed some wing's on the back are pointed towards the edges. Mine is smooth and no line's or kinks. I have attached a link to a video of what mine looks like.

I know there are lots of E-body gear heads on this site that can help me with a little bit of knowledge. Are there any numbers of how many 1973 Challengers were made with the JA5 color code? I know the color was only offered in '73.

Below is a link of my Challenger:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyZsXydKuAU&feature=channel_video_title

[Super Blue 72]

  Hi, J-Tiki!

Welcome to the site!

Nice car you have there.  As far as your question, I do not think there are any records showing what color combos came with which interiors.  There may be potential numbers showing how many JA5 color cars there were, but those numbers are hard to find.  Some guys on this site may have those exterior color numbers, I have NO idea how they have all this info!

As far as white interiors, they are not common in general.  If JA5 is the original color, as you have mentioned, the black interior is the more common color.  I don't know if 1973 was the only year or if it was also offered in 1974.  1972 had Light Gunmetal Metallic.

For 1972, the Rallye Challengers had a VIN that started with JS (same as the 1970 and 1971 R/T Challengers) and in 1973 and 1974 all the Challengers had a VIN that started with JH (Including Rallye cars) but the cars with the Rallye option had A57 coded on their fender tag, which I realize you stated it is missing.  for 1973 and 1974, Rallye was an option on all Challengers instead of a separate model in 1972 and R/T in prior years.

From what it looks like, you have the Rallye options.  If 1973 is like 1972 (I'm more familiar with that year.), Rallye cars could come with a 318 or 340.  You do have the Rallye gauge panel, front fender louvers and strobe stripes, blacked out grille/tailpanel.  You'll probably have the Rallye suspension also.

Starting 1972, there were no factory wings installed, perhaps you could order one from the parts counter, I don't know.  The one on your car is a 1971 Go-Wing, or "gull wing" style.  Only 1971 offered this style wing.

You have what appears to be 15" rims.  I do not think they were offered in 1973 but I could be wrong.  The centercaps are 1971 style with the dark argent grey paint.  1972-1974 cars have a different center cap and I believe the Rallye rims were only in 14", in fact I think all the rims offered for those years were 14".

Curious thing is your hood has no D O D G E letters on the front.  This was a 1971 thing as all the other years that I am aware of have the lettering, 1971 being the only exception. 

The car sound great on the video!  Has a mean nasty tone.  I'm surprised they are Flowmasters, they sound a bit different.  They have a more raspier sound than turbo mufflers, almost like glasspacks.  I like it! 

Feel free to hang out and ask lots of questions.  Lots of nice people here with lots of knowledge of these cars! 

[J-Tiki]

Super Blue 72 - Thanks so much for the helpful tips.

To give you a little history of the car, I purchased it in December 2003 off of a gentleman that had numerous of muscle cars in his garage. The Challenger was never listed for sale. He didn't drive it anymore and he didn't want to sell it to just anybody. He knew how much I loved the car and let me purchase it from him at a killer price. It would make your jaw drop if I made it public - therefore I wish to keep that private.

Marvin, the owner before me, drove it as a DD and rebuilt the engine in the early 90's (according to the mechanic). He bored out the pistons, threw in a cam, single plane manifold, 750 Holley and the whole she-bang. The problem was, he left the original heads on the car and wasn't a good combo with all the goodies added. Not good head flow. So I downsized the intake manifold (Edlebrock Performer) and carb. She ran a lot better after that. From the mechanic that rebuilt the engine, told me .030 bore and .484 lift cam. I wish I knew more specifics, but that's all I know.

The rims are 15" and those are the ones that were on the car when I purchased it. It did come with 14" from the factory, but I have no clue where those wheels are. Plus, I like the 15's better and the center cap. Thanks for clarifying the wing. I've always wondered why it was shaped differently. The DODGE letters on the hood were gone when I got the car. I plan to replace those once I get the car restored.

Thanks for the compliment on the exhaust. I'm happy with it. I did put those mufflers on there and they are the Super 44 Flowmaster's. The car came with headers when I got it back with some cheap Midas mufflers. So those had to go and hello Flow's. I have been offered $30k for the car AS-IS and even two offers at a gas station in one trip. I will decline every one of them.

I'm happy with the white interior with the JA5 color. It looks sharp and not very common. Any other helpful information about my Challenger is greatly appreciated.

Glad to join a site with a great group of folks.

[brads70]

Welcome! Nice car!     Sorry I don't have a clue about production numbers.

[burdar]

Cool car.  A few of us around here like that color. 

 

JA5 was a 73 only color.  72 was GA4 and almost looks blue in certain light.  I've heard that JA5 was a rare color...I've also heard it was the most popular color in 73.  I don't know who to believe.  All I do know is that in all the years I've been going to shows, I've only seen four other cars that color.  I've seen pictures of about a half dozen more online.  At any rate, it's a rare color to see now.

Your hood was probably replaced at some point.  Hood pins weren't available in 72-74.  If you post a picture of the underside of the hood around the safety hook area, I can tell you if it is a 72-74 hood or not.  Also, the flip top gas cap wasn't available in 72-74 either.

As far as the white interior goes, your's is the only one I've seen.  According to the trim and color selector, black/white and blue were available interior colors.  I think blue would look amazing with JA5.

I see your tail panel is blacked out.  That seems to be a common thing to see on the 72-74 cars.  The 72 Rallye cars had a black tail panel but all others had argent painted tail panels.  When the argent started to flake off, a lot of people painted them black.

[ChallengerHK]

JA5 was a 73 only color.  ...   All I do know is that in all the years I've been going to shows, I've only seen four other cars that color.  I've seen pictures of about a half dozen more online.  At any rate, it's a rare color to see now.

My car is JA5 stock, but that color only has a few months left 

[J-Tiki]

-burdar - Thanks for the helpful tips. Your car looks great!

I will snap a picture of the hood when I get back under it. I am assuming the car was wrecked and was replaced by a different drivers side fender and hood. That will explain for the letters missing on the hood and fender tag missing. It really bums me out, but hey, what can you do? The rest of the car is original as far as I can see.

My questions is, did any '73 Challengers come with a wing or tail-lip (like the T/A Challengers) from the factory? I really love the style of the lip and I think it blends with the tail panel better. Also, '73 was the last year of the 340 correct?

I have not seen many JA5 Challengers in existence and would love to land some #. I know that is really hard to do, but I will try and do some research. I am in a Mopar car club (Piedmont Mopar Club in Greensboro, NC) and will check my resources there. The only other white interior 72-74 Challenger was an orange one.

Thanks for all the helpful tips and compliments.

[Jamiez]

The duck tail spoiler you mean?  I do not believe any spoilers were available after 71...but they might have been an option in 72.

73 was the last year for the 340 in challengers.  The engine upgrade in 74 was the 360

[Super Blue 72]

Hi J-Tiki,

1972-1974 Challengers did not have any wings or tail-lip spoilers as an option.  Might have been able to buy them from the parts counter I would imagine.  Despite this fact, many of those years cars came with trunk lids with the provisions/cutouts for the installation of the wings/spoilAers.

As Jamiez mentioned, 1973 was the last model year for the 340.  1974 model year cars used the 360.  Bit bigger, 5hp more but the 340 has the "cool factor" IMO... 

Maybe start a thread for people to post JA5, 1973, grey?    Never know what pics people have and also note you want to see white interiors if possible.

Since no fender tag, try looking for a build sheet: under front seats, behind the hard plastic seatbacks of the front seats, under rugs, under the bottom or upper rear seat cushions, taped onto the glove box cardboard insert...