Let me start with an introduction. I am 41 and male. And I am obsessed with Challengers. I live in Pasadena Maryland USA. That’s just south of Baltimore. I have lived in this area all my life. My love of cars had to start with my brother. He was older and had a 73 chevell. I had to help whenever he needed it. Or at least I would try to help. Now I didn’t really like his brand cars at all, because they were “his”. I would help him and get yelled at for not getting something right. I was very young, but the mechanical stuff in cars seemed so easy. As I got older, I learned more and more. And got yelled at a little less. We always had some kind of junk in the yard to be fixed or scrapped. Old trucks and cars, always something out there.
Then came the day of my first car. An old man that my brother did work for was selling his car. A 69 ford falcon 302 boss. It was a 3 speed and it was cheep. I thought OK this could work. But before I ever drove it my brother sold it. It was ok with me; I was still too young and I really didn’t like it that much anyway.
Now, on to the good stuff. It was 1982 time to really get my first car. I didn’t care what brand it was. I looked at many cars. Then I found it, a 1974 Charger. Red with white top/int, it had a 318/727/ac/pb/ps/rallye dash, console, and bubble hood w/pins. This started a Charger obsession. I put mags on it and started driving. This thing ran bad but looked good. The original owner had done nothing to it. So now it’s my turn, I get a 73 Coronet for parts. The 318 from the 73 ran great. So it went in the Charger. Along came a set of gears and a posi. As parts flew so did what little money I had. Over time that Charger turned into an incredible car.
Then after about 2 ½ years I totaled it. Them oak trees just don’t move out of the way. So the search was on for another. It was a black s/e 74 Charger. So parts moved from the totaled car to this one. Never got it legal, the guy I got it from could not get the title. So the hunt was on again.
A green 1971 Charger 500 was found. So parts got moved again. Also many parts cars were found. This is where the E-bodies start to get to me. I got a 70 cuda from a friend. He just hit a phone pole and wiped the front clip. This car was in bad shape, so it gave up its 8 ¾ posi and then it was gone. Next the first of the 71 Challengers was found. This car was in the junkyard when I went looking for drums for the Charger 500. It just came in and as only missing the engine. I bought it on the spot. I started to fix it, but money and then time ran out for me. This one had to go too. It was sad this car was blue with black interior and was very nice. And it was this car that started the Challenger obsession.
By this time I was in my early 20’s. Got married had our first child and was always broke. My wife had a 1975 Charger when we got married. It gave up its engine so the 500 could live some more. Somehow I managed to get enough cash to get another 71 Challenger. This one is green. This is my parts car now. But back then I had plans for this one. I had parts from 2 other E-bodies and parts from the chargers and thought, “I can fix this”. The plan was add roll cage, tubs, narrowed rear in a street car. And have fun. But life happens. We bought a house that needed a lot of work. I lost some jobs and the years past. Then we had another child. The Charger 500 with over 260,000 miles was driven into the ground. Still broke we got a K car from my mother, then a few years latter a 2.2 Charger and a small pickup truck from my wife’s parents. Life was not so easy.
When I finally got back to the green Challenger the years of neglect showed. I was working on it one day and this guy pulls in with an orange 71 Challenger. He wanted to buy parts. I sold some stuff and we became new friends. Looking at a local newspaper one day, I think I found another 71 Challenger. I called the number in the paper and my new friend with the orange car answers. I buy his car New Years day. I think it was 1996. Its was not as rusted but it still needed lots of work. He had blown the transmission. Over the next few years I removed the engine and transmission installed the roll cage, homemade floors, trunk pans, polygraphite suspension kit and started converting to front disks. I also removed the dash. I still had a long way to go. And I still wanted to fix the green car.
By this time I got a decent job. Life seemed to be getting better. I buy a new small truck. Sorry it’s not a mopar. I don’t know what I was thinking. My wife gets a new Neon. This was 1998 and I start to buy stuff for the cars again. Then life happens. We have our 3rd child near the end of 1999. We need a bigger house! So work on the car stopped. Had to fix the old house so we could sell it. Had to fix up the next house after moving in. Then I got sick. I wasn’t sure if I could finish any car now. I had 2 cars but they both needed of lots of work. After minor surgery and lots of time, I got better. But I was tired of waiting. It had been years since the 500 died.
I told my wife we could afford to just buy another car. It took lot more talking but she agreed we could. But now I will have to get rid of one soon. And I agreed the green car is junk. So one again the search was on. This time it was a little harder. I wanted a car to drive. I wanted a car my wife could drive. I wanted a car we could put the kids in and go. But many years have passed. These cars got expensive. The search took months.
Looking on the inter-net one day and I find it, 1971 Challenger Plum Crazy Purple 383/auto. This was Oct. 2002. I called and it was still for sale. So the next day me and another very good friend go to New Jersey to see it and settle on a price. This is my friend that helped with the floors roll cage and much more and deserves special thanks. Price settled we tell the seller “be back tomorrow with the car trailer”. The next day we got the car and finally got back home around midnight.
So now we have 3 1971 Dodge Challengers:
Green JH23G 318/904 parts car (not much left to this thing and its very rusty)
Orange JH23G 318/904 will be made into 413 big block (no engine/trans in car yet)
Purple JH23L 383/727 (get in and go)
I have to thank the many people that have helped along the way. But especially I thank my wife for putting up with me, and my obsession with the Challengers.
This is an ongoing story that has spanned many years. And I hope many more chapters can be added.
