Factory 340/4-Speed! 1970 Dodge Challenger Convertible
Just in time for many of us to be putting away our swimwear and moving our picnic baskets to the attic comes this 1970 Dodge Challenger Convertible, and while it may not exactly be the most ideal time of year to be in the market for a droptop, this one may be worth buying now and keeping in your garage until spring arrives. This beautiful E-Body is located in Pompano Beach, Florida, and can be found here on eBay with bidding having reached $55,100 so far, yet still not enough dough for the car to exchange hands as the reserve has not been reached.
This one sort of has lots of good news combined with a bit of bad, with the latter being only that the seller really doesn’t provide us with much information about the car’s history, previous ownership, or what all has been done in the past to get the Challenger into the desirable condition it appears to be in as we see it now. Fortunately, we do get some good quality photos, all of which seem to show a nice straight-looking body with good gaps from every angle we can see. Some additional good news is that we also get to view the fender tag, which depicts among other things that the FY1 Banana Yellow is the car’s correct factory color.
More good stuff from the fender tag is the H0B stamp, indicating this Challenger left Hamtramck with a 340 under the hood, although in ’70 it was of the single 4-Barrel variety. It’s now equipped with the three 2-Barrel configuration, lovingly known as the Six Pack, and things in the engine compartment are looking more than acceptable for a driver. The car is also a factory 4-Speed, so it’s a very desirable combo, but no word on whether or not either is the original component. There are 71,796 miles showing on the odometer, but no mention if that’s accurate or if it’s rolled over.
Things inside are appearing overall well-preserved, especially for a convertible, with what looks like some small cracking developing in the driver’s seat but it’s really not too bad. The Rallye Instrument Cluster Package is one of my all-time favorite dash layouts on any car, and everything about the dashboard is looking pretty good, with what appears to be the factory AM/FM radio still intact instead of some aftermarket unit stuck in there. A console would have been a nice touch, but a lot of these cars came without them, and at least its absence puts more of the spotlight on the shifter instead. For sure a very nice E-Body all the way around, and I’m wondering just how far away the reserve price may be set. What are your thoughts on this 1970 Dodge Challenger Convertible?
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Comments
I like this car a lot. I could be very wrong but I thought all 70 and 71’s with the 340 motor were TA’s for the Trans Am series! If that is the case, it’s missing the TA stripe!! Being it’s a dealer he probably doesn’t know much about the cars history but could have and should have provided a lot more information like is the motor and tranny numbers matching. Especially since you are asking someone to pay north of $55,000 of their hard earned money for the car. The car is very clean and if it was me just my preference, I would buy a console for the car!! It sure is going to make someone happy though. It’s my experience back in the day like many others, that 270 hp advertised on the 340 cars was well over 300 In reality!!!
Did T/As have side exit exhaust?
This would be a blast…
yes they did, the megaphones or trumpet exhaust, exited just in front of the rear tires
Ok . This is JH27HOB. Convertible with a 340-4bbl with a 4speed. I had been in another 70 Challenger RT Convertible 340-4 auto and it was yellow also. They came with 4 bbl carbs only on the 340 setup. Only TA’s which is a J code came with the 6 pak. This was added on to this vehicle. And yes TA’s had special side exhaust system. That was a bad a** ride. I was lucky to be in those also. I hope this clears up. Happy Holidays 🧑🎄
JH27 is a non-R/T convertible, but the fender tag is coded like an A66 only without the A66, which gets you the snazzy exhaust tips and rally hood…certainly not the six pack though. Still, it looks good as is, and would be a pretty nice ride.
The A33 code is a head scratcher though.
Nice car, nice price. In the early 90’s I stopped at a gas station on my way home from work. Holtman oil in Ravenwood. The owners brother in law was cleaning up a car he had just sold, a 71 RT convertible. Yellow 340 car I don’t remember what tranny was in it but it was beautiful. I asked what it sold for and he said $9000, I thought whoever bought it was nuts paying that much for that car. I may have been wrong but maybe people are still nuts
I love manuals , but the 340 w torqueflite and 3.90 gears surprised many in the 1/4
Dodge never offered the R/T option on a Challenger convertible in 1971.
Does a 340 really need the six pack? I would think a 340 by itself in stock form is too much for a convertible. Too much body flex. Converts should be for leisurely cruising, who needs all that power? A 225 six might be not enough in a heavy convert, but a 318 would be just fine, even keep that nifty 4 speed. All the power anyone would ever need. If I were ever in the market for a convert, I would gladly pay less for a standard engine.
I had a 70 challenger vert with a 440-6 and 4-speed years ago. The convertible e-bodies have extra frame bracing same as the hemi cars, so the torque from the motor never seemed to be a big deal, but bumps, potholes, and railroad tracks would get you plenty of flexing, rattles, and cowl shake.
I like it better without the console. Definitely puts that iconic pistol grip at center stage.
I went to KD auto site and saw they wanted $89,000 . This ride had AC code H51 and it’s missing. Why? They put a Six pack on it. The factory AC compressor won’t work. To me this is a very high price . If this was factory stock with all the to codes with it. Yes maybe $70,000. Buyer beware.. 🐻
Agreed. It was obviously a fact AC car, and I can’t imagine why someone would think the 6-pak would be better than having AC in the car. Poor choice IMHO.
It ended, but has now been relisted, the seller has 186 vehicles listed. This is a sweet ride!!
For that kind of money you’d think they would have bought new dome light switches – when I see things like that painted over and the inner door latches with paint over the greased parts, I begin to wonder about the quality of the build. Picky, but that’s just me
I got a feelin there is some fake bidding going on here…. Its just not that nice of a car….and has a lot of parts that didnt come with the car…be careful
The air cleaner on these cars were actually painted the same exterior color on the car?!
The smaller fatter tuff steering wheel should have been available earlier, or even in ’68.
Will that factory radio antenna actually pull in stations, mounted under the dash? – not that there’s much music to listern these days on mostly TALK! FM radio, where in some locations rock & roll stations have been removed & replaced & duplicated with talk radio stations also on the AM band! WTH.
Need to remove all the R/T markings. 340s were never available with the R/T in 1970 and this is an A66 340 car.
Correction, E55 340 car.