In 1970 how much was a base 6 cylinder Challenger vs a Hemi?

[Super Blue 72]

A friend emailed about the new Challenger with a Hellcat engine and then he mentioned about pricing and we got to talking about how much these cars cost back in 1970.

Does anyone know how much a base 6 cylinder Challenger was versus a Hemi with the bells and whistles? 

Thanks! 

[67vertman]

This is from Barry's site

Base /6 $2764
V8  $3164


Here is the link to the option and pricing. http://www.hamtramck-historical.com/dealerships/1970SalesmansPocketGuidesPlymouth-01.shtml

Here is someones order sheet for a 383.

[Super Blue 72]

Thanks for the great reply! 

The Hemi was a $871 option.  So I would guess that the Hemi was up around $4k?  So the difference is like about $1,200 or so.

I wonder how that would translate to today's money?

Thanks vertman! 

[Chryco Psycho]

You could get close to 5k with a lot of options,  SE pkg , Shaker hood was optional even with Hemi , 4 spd , Ralley wheels , disc brakes , console , wing , impact paint , stripes , dual mirrors , Am Fm Cassette , tinted glass , Light pkg , hood pins , louvers But not with SE,   etc

[moparman82]

So basically a new full loaded chally cost 10x what it did back then, seeing as how now a fully loaded srt8 is close to 50k, so lets say inflation is x10......then gas should be between 3 and 3.50 right?  I'm to young to know what gas was back then lol so I'm guessing .30to .35/gallon  back in 70(pre-embargo obviously) feel free to correct me guys, but If I'm in the right ballpark, then we really aren't that far off, I paid 3.60 yesterday, and the national average is 3.58.  Average house price back then was 26k, and now its 270k.....I see a trend here......by comparison, average house income in 1970 was about 9800 a year, today its 55k, only 5x as much! 

[mildphil]

Look up inflation calculator if you really want to get exact results.

[HP2]

So using CPI online calculator

1970 Hemi Challenger at $4950 should be a loaded 2013 R/T Challenger @ $29,665.   1970 wins.
1970 3 bdrm 1 bath rancher at $26,000 is $156,000 today.    You can still find this, but the neighborhood isn't as nice. Call it a draw.
1970 $11,000 income is comparable to $65,000 today.       That is a fair working salary, obviously higher for some places, lower for others. Draw.
1970 4.36 gallon of gas should be $2.16 today.   Pump price now days is $3.50+, 1970 wins.

[moparman82]

Ally number were based on national averages HP2, sure, there are places u can get a house for 150, but that's not the national average home price, the whole reason I moved from where I grew up on the central coast of California is because my wife and I were shopping for houses that were between 4-500,000 and they mediocre at best, and that was after the real estate bubble burst an prices came down. where I live now you would be living in the nicest house in the country club for that.  And I gotta disagree that the 1970 hemi chally should be compared to the new rt, the 70 hemi was the top of the performance ladder as is the new SRT, I think the new RT would be compared to a 383 or even a 340 rt back then.  And like I said, I was just noting some different things that have inflated roughly 10x.

[MJS73]

Where did the $10,000 number come from?  You could have bought two fully loaded Challengers new in 1970 for less than $10,000.  My dad's loaded Challenger T/A was around $3,800 new.

[moparman82]

Never said 10,000, except the average household income, did say that new chally, houses, and fuel had all inflated 10x (ten times what they were)

[Super Blue 72]

So using CPI online calculator

Chryco Psycho International online calculator? 

[RzeroB]

A friend emailed about the new Challenger with a Hellcat engine and then he mentioned about pricing and we got to talking about how much these cars cost back in 1970.

Does anyone know how much a base 6 cylinder Challenger was versus a Hemi with the bells and whistles? 

Thanks! 

It seems like most of the Hemi Challenger (and Cuda) window stickers I have seen had the original MSRP right around $5,000 +/- for ones with "the bells and whistles". The top dog that I can think of at the moment was a loaded Hemi Challenger RT/SE that had an MSRP of $5,603



So lets look at the cost comparison in a slightly different way. Assuming that you could get a base model Challenger with the "leaning tower of power" Slant-6 and a couple of options for $3,000 +/-, and a "loaded" Hemi Challenger for $5,000, the loaded Hemi Challenger would cost you roughly 65% more than the base model with the 6. That 65% increase in price to jump from the base model to the Hemi was huge and undoubtedly influenced all but the most die-hard wannabe Hemi Challenger shoppers to opt for a lower cost engine option. And if you wanted that loaded Hemi Challenger RT/SE who's window sticker is shown above you would have had to fork over a whopping 87% more than the base model.

[Super Blue 72]

  

[HP2]

And I gotta disagree that the 1970 hemi chally should be compared to the new rt, the 70 hemi was the top of the performance ladder as is the new SRT, I think the new RT would be compared to a 383 or even a 340 rt back then.  And like I said, I was just noting some different things that have inflated roughly 10x.

Okay, so a $5k 1970 Hemi Challenger is comparable to an $50k 2013 SRT Challenger, so it has also increased 10x. Point taken.

That's the problem with averages. They are...average.

Chryco Psycho International online calculator? 

I guess he is an international celebrity and we didn't even know it.

[Chryco Psycho]

 
CPI calculator