Needs More Green: 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T Update
Update – It’s been a year since we originally featured this Challenger and it just popped back up here on eBay. The seller has lowered their asking price to $29,900. It looks like an interesting find, but that price still seems a bit high to us. Take a closer look at let us know what you think!
From 2/01/2018 – 1970 really was the year of the muscle car for Mopar. The hot cars from Dodge were the Charger and the Demon and from Plymouth, we had the Roadrunner, GTX, and Barracuda. So management green-lighted another project that gave ma-Mopar another short but wide platform to plant the company’s largest engines in, the E-body based Plymouth Barracuda and Dodge Challenger. This solid looking Challenger is available here on eBay in Port Orange, Florida for a scorching $31,500.
Green was all the rage in the ’60s and ’70s and the original owner must have thought it was all that! The current seller says that green makes this car a 1 of 1 because it was ordered with green paint, green stripe, green to, and green interior! Whether that 1 of 1 claim is important is up to you, but I like this green which is unique in a sea of plum crazy purple, Hemi-orange and panther pink 1970 Mopars.
Speaking of the interior, there is some work that needs to be done here but the seller has found the original fabric for recovering the front seats and two green consoles so carpet may be all that you need. Check out that pistol grip shifter which should be in control of a 4-speed manual transmission that the 383 (non-numbers matching) V8 is sending power through.
Dodge banked on selling 200,000 Challengers per year when these were introduced but only managed to sell about 100,000 the first year. They were slow selling since their fiercest competition was sitting on the showroom floor right next to them. They only survived through 1974 but have become some of the most sought-after Mopar muscle cars ever.
Auctions Ending Soon
2002 Subaru Impreza WRXBid Now1 hours$333
1975 Chevrolet Corvette ConvertibleBid Now2 hours$4,000
1964 Ford F-100 Camper CustomBid Now3 hours$2,250
2006 Jeep Wrangler SportBid Now2 days$11,000
1974 Datsun 260ZBid Now4 days$750
Comments
Cool car. I’ve always wanted a factory pistol grip Chrysler product.
It’s hard to see a NOM-383 car that needs restoration bringing $31,500, who knows, maybe it will.
I could have done without the 1 of 1 gibberish to start out the ad, I would have been more interested in learning more about the cars condition such as undercarriage and rear frame rails.
Steve R
Nice car, and looks like a nice starting point for a restoration. It looks like it was originally a vinyl top car. To justify this price, in this condition it would need to be a 440 or Hemi to justify the asking price.
In 1970, Plymouth introduced the Valiant based Duster. It sold very well and must have mad the Dodge Swinger sales hard to close because the Dodge dealers whined to Chrysler about wanting it. So, for the 1971 model year, the Dodge Demon was introduced. While sales were brisk, Plymouth had a head start with their Duster. Trying to find out why there was this disparity, the Dodge Product managers decided the Demon name was religiously insensitive and changed the name to Dodge Sport.
Appears a lot of people are trying to catch the “Crazy Train” before it derails.
Choo-choo.
JS23:
Dodge Challenger
Special, R/T
2 Door Hardtop
N0E: 383 330HP OR 335HP 1-4BBL 8 CYL
1970
Los Angeles, CA, USA
116221: Sequence number
E63: 383 cid 4 barrel V8 H.P. 335hp
D21: 4 Speed Manual Transmission
FF4: Light Green Metallic Exterior Color
H5F8: Trim – High, Cloth/Vinyl Bucket Seats, Green
000: Full Door Panels
A30: Build Date: October 30
046777: Order number
V1F: Full Vinyl Top, Green
A31: High Performance Axle Package w/3.91 Ratio
A62: Rallye Instrument Cluster Package
B51: Power Brakes
C16: Console w/Woodgrain Panel
C55: Bucket Seats
G33: LH Remote Racing Mirror
J25: 3 Speed Wipers
J45: Hood Tie Down Pins
M21: Roof drip rail moldings
M25: Wide sill moldings
N41: Dual Exhaust
N42: Chrome Exhaust Tips
N85: Tachometer
R11: Radio Solid State AM (2 Watts)
V1F: Unknown
V64: Longitudinal Stripes, Unknown color
26: 26in Radiator
END: End of Sales Codes
So, I guess quad green means green interior, green paint, green vinyl, green stripe. Meh It looks OK, right boxes checked. Should include under carriage pics and power train stampings. At least engine and tranny stamps, so you know it isn’t mid 70’s smogged out 383 or a later possibly weaker built tranny.
I guess he missed the entry date for Barret Jackson or did run it there and it tanked
Good Lord, why would you order 3.91:1 gears with a 383? I am sure that it will roast the tires in all gears, right up to its 90 MPH top speed.
323 was the way to go.
You just know this would have been a contender as built
At 5,500 rpm in 4th gear in this thing these days means being impatiently tailgated by a Millennial in a Nissan Rogue. This price is ludicrous. And they’ll get every cent I’m sure.
3.91 gears actually work pretty well. 3.23 is just a performance dog and 4.10 is a little tall for 65mph. But 3.91 gives nice acceleration and is tolerable in the freeway. It needs 440 heads to really be a tire roaster.
The add might have stated this but it looks familiar…could it be????
https://barnfinds.com/is-it-an-rt-1970-dodge-challenger/
Sure looks like it. Good catch.
Steve R
Except it was in Arizona before… 2,148 ish miles away from this place
Yep, changed hands, probably more than once. Now it has been flipped too many times to make restoration costs sane to a purest, as it is not special enough or even a weekend warrior that could put it back on the road as a decent driver. This is the sh1t wrong with the hobby.
Looks like the same car to me too. When it was listed as being in Cave Creek, AZ the pictures were not correct for the location. Cave Creek is solid desert, very little grass.
John d, Thanks for putting the duster in place. 71 340 wedge, black out. And not ashamed to say mine is fc7. orig.Thats mine and very proud of it!!!
Yep Nrg8 you nailed it.Outpriced for the avg working guy who might want to relive his younger years. IMHO- BJ and Mecum have ruined the collector car market, as American Azzpickers have ruined the Memoabilia and Collectible markets.
Yep
Super Yep !
The problem that I grew up with was that the local South African market suddenly discovered the UK Collector Car magazines and the prices obtained for their same model cars in UK.Then they just converted the UK Pound to the SA Rand (At anywhere between 12 and 20-1 I bought an Austin Healey 3000 in 1990 for R7000, restored it and sold it in 1992 for R38,000 and the owner sold it on in 2002 for R155,000. In 2013 the current owner died and I sold it for the estate for R325,000. ending on the stability of the government!) and then expected the local public to pay the same price as their UK counterparts. I bought an Austin Healey 3000 in 1990 for R7000, restored it and sold it in 1992 for R38,000 and the owner sold it on in 2002 for R155,000. In 2013 the current owner died and I sold it for the estate for R325,000. Unfortunately the guys with all the money were not dettered but eventually the market stabilized at a far higher level than previously. Try and buy a South African car now and see what you have to pay for it!
I would submit that the internet has escalated the collector/old car market. It lets virtually everyone in the world have a look at what’s being sold and compete to buy it. I know when I searched for my last 2 Corvettes I spent many enjoyable hours on the laptop inputting colors & options. I heard there were something like 784 Le Mans blue 2007 convertibles made. I think I looked at 783 before I bought mine.
Prices, as has so often been said here, are determined by what someone is willing to pay. I love these Challengers.
But I don’t love them $31K.
Hunted for 3 years for the same color coupe from 2004 and didn’t look at nearly that many. Probably only looked at about 483. Beautiful color.
Ad states “very complete”…. as opposed to “somewhat complete”?
Either it’s complete or it isn’t. Kind of like being pregnant.
yep….looked familiar…..
It also showed up here in New River AZ, this car is changing hands a bit too much.
https://barnfinds.com/hope-like-green-1970-dodge-challenger-rt/
Sorry about the garbled comment above. Don’t know what happened there.
I sure miss mine.Bruce.
Semi-related: Appraised a ’71 convertible yesterday that’s been sitting for 12 years, with a smoking engine (matching #’s) out of the car and disassembled, bent frame, shot interior, fair repaint and on which not one body panel lined up with the next. Well under 10K. Prices are going down on these, market’s failing.
Shhh the black helicopters will erase you…….
The 383 was a middle weight contender in cars like the road runner or super bee, big cars they were that really needed the full grunt of the 440 or even the 426 to reach full potential. In a lighter pony car like this Challenger, the smaller 340 was quicker than the 383 even still and made for a much more balanced ride, for straight line street or drag racing there was the nasty 440 or if you were a good mechanic the hemi. If you could afford the insurance for a high powered car in the first place why bother with the 383? Curious.
Recall that small block was rated at 275hp gross but was really pushing 325 in 4b trim.
A 340 with a 323 gear was just about the perfect car, power, handling, mileage. Best with a 4 speed but the auto was nice too. Had a friend with a 340 4 speed 71 Duster, mighty fine. That car rusted away around 1980, if we only knew. Actually we did, we both wanted to keep our first cars, but they were eyesores at the time and neither of us had a place to quietly store them for a future restoration when we had finished college. I bet that is familiar story with other baby Boomers.
Here’s my triple green 74 Challenger. I bought it from the original owner in 2002 and the mileage was about 32000 miles. The car needed new tires, a major tuneup and all hoses and and belts of course needed to be replaced. A good cleanup and wax job was also required. Other than those issues, it needed nothing else. The previous owner had parked it around 1980 but started it up on a regular basis. It is #3 of the last 6 Challenger Rallyes sent to Canada out of the Hamtrack plant, and is documented by Galen Govier. A typical Rallye package, 360, TF727, and 3:55 sure grip diff. It was a fun car but not a comfortable car to drive any distance. The Cutlass I now own is far more comfortable on a long drive, but I do miss the Challenger. I sure wish that I’d had the room to keep it, but the garage is only a 2 car garage, and the wifes’ care keeps company with the Cutlass. When I sold it in 2015 the mileage was around 39000 miles.
But, I betcha made a handsome profit, kinda takes away some of the pain.
In high school in the early 80’s, I traded for a 70 Challenger, Orange with a white vinyl top & white interior. Like this one, it was a 383, 4 speed & 3.90 gear. In a straight line, it ran like a raped ape. But with the 4 wheel drum brakes, you better start trying to stop about 2 blocks before you needed too. And forget about going through any curves. I kept it about 6 months & traded it to a buddy for a 70 big block 4 speed SS Chevelle. Didn’t keep that long either before I traded it for a 68 SS Camaro.
I have driven a 72 model Challenger with a 340, & it was a superior car all the way around. If I was gonna spend $31k on a Challenger, it wouldn’t be this one, but a late model.
Need a new acronym for curbers/flippers, how about FOAD?
A year for sale and they drop the price. I have never taken more than 2 weeks to sell a car.
Says all you need to know about the asking price.
I do like this though. Huge potential
For what petrol costs in Britain, I would think that this car is almost useless there.
I agree but I just think petrol too cheap over there rather than too expensive here. That’s what I keep telling myself anyway.
Imagine if you but a decent tax on petrol over there? It could pay for free healthcare … problem solved! It is nuts though .. about 4 times more expensive here last I checked.
@UKPaul, Yes, a few dollars a gallon would pay for much needed national health care here, but that battle is pretty tough with all the special interests, but I really have spoke too much as the rules here deny political talk, so I will add that Americans are fools when it comes to cars. (at least most of them) They all insist on ridiculously huge SUVs and full sized trucks they will never use. I have a small zippy little car that averages better then 40 MPG on the road, yet has the performance of a 1960s muscle car. Americans are like a herd of cattle, easily led by profit loving car companies and the oil men. I would happily pay double for gasoline if I knew it would have provide for my fellow country men now and for generations to come.
This combo must be rare.
But if indeed that was it in Arizona then its on a Flipper expedtion.
Next guy that flips it will want 40 grand.
How many Flippers can you fit in VW ?
I was in high school when these cars were new. By 1973, we were buying used, and I mean USED Mopar muscle for $1,200. In my class, four of us had Road Runners. I think my friend Doug paid $850 for a gold 68 with 99,000 miles in 1973. I paid $1,200 for my FE5 70 with N96, auto and custom black interior in 1973, from the original owner. The car was already rusting. Truth be told, this car needs a boat load of work and $$$$$$ BJ and Mecum have destroyed the market with over inflated prices for junk cars. The hobbyist who actually gets his hands dirty is doomed. I guess I will keep my 73 Corvette, which I paid only $10,000 for in very good shape.
Well I say with confidence the 1 of 1 claim isn’t true. I say that because I’ve owned a green exterior, green interior, green vinyl top, green stripe 1970 Challenger RT since 1984. Though I decided not put the vinyl top on when restored.