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Not many can say that they own a 1973 Dodge Challenger. Built on Chrysler's E-body the car's retro design has stood the test of time and returned in 2008. Fewer owners can say they bought one for cheap. A hot-rodder now living in Ohio found one for less than a tenth its market value, although it needed plenty of work. Classic, an aggregator of classic car prices, finds that the average first-generation Challenger is worth $73,820.
The owner took apart quite literally everything on this car. More importantly, everything works. The owner does admit to one small mistake, though: the wiper runs off the buttons for the heater. They call this project the 'blue-collar big block', instead of just throwing endless money at a project like they would on Gas Monkey Garage. Using some elbow grease they found the parts they wanted for cheap and made them work for the Challenger. The motor comes from a swamp for only $600. Every part of the car has a story, they combine to form a perfectly restored Challenger.
With a 383 V8, this Challenger packs all the punch you'd need.
How Did This Challenger End Up In New York?
For only $6,000 in 2016, Mike Edwards a friend of Stay Tuned bought the body to a 1973 Dodge Challenger. A rolling chassis in bare metal primer the classic muscle car made the ideal project car. At the time it had a 360 V8 engine in it, mounted but not fully connected. Edwards is a hot rodder at heart with a Dodge Dart and Duster. All of them could go to the wayside for this Challenger, which the owner claims to be the coolest car ever. In that $6000 asking price also came a bunch of spare parts including General Motors' legendary 427 engine.
After the purchase went through, Edwards brought it back to Brooklyn New York. Fortunately, the apartment he shared with four others had a two-car garage, although it was full to the brim with motorbikes. The process of taking it apart began. With the engine completely out it was clear that plenty of work remained. A trip to the body shop found the Challenger painted, as a mechanic Edwards just wanted it to not rust. Now in a shade of matte gray, the car looked imposing. Finished in a satin black it still looks this way. This paint job also gives the added benefit that all imperfections blend in well.
In a shrewd negotiation, Edwards traded his Challenger's 1973 front-end for a 1970 model year front. Edwards got the better end of the bargain here as the 1970 Challenger is the most revered of all Challenger models. With a simpler design, it sets the motifs that carry through to the current Challenger.
The iconic characteristics continue under the hood with a 1964 383 engine. One of Chrysler's wedge combustion chamber engines isn't as iconic as a Hemi. However, with over 300 horsepower from a 6.3-liter displacement, this Challenger should keep with almost any classic muscle car.
Why Is The 1973 Dodge Challenger The Coolest Car Ever?
Edwards fully rebuilt the engine, taking it apart and cleaning everything before putting it back together and giving this motor a second life. Working from a Brooklyn garage the group had extremely limited access to tools, the grinder, and welding. Edwards claims almost all the work hand tools and that every nut and bolt has come off the car. On a modern Challenger, this would be near impossible. With advanced computers and electrical solutions instead of mechanical this type of project can only be undertaken on a classic car.
In the Ohio garage where the car now resides with a classic 930 911 and a rather ostentatious-looking Cadillac. Despite this, the Dodge looks as cool as ever as its V8 motor rumbles. While living in New York, Edwards daily drove this Challenger. According to Stellantis, the owners of Dodge, the Challenger Hellcat returns 22 mpg on the highway. The much older 383 motors will be lucky to achieve half of this. So it isn't the most economical of cars to run and will be looking at single-digit figures in the city. Making it an even less practical option is its giant turning circle. Furthermore, parallel parking a Challenger with its long nose won't be the easiest experience either.
However, all these concerns appear to go out of the window as the Challenger rolls out of the garage and the quad tailpipe system pops and cracks. Only 300 horsepower in comparison to modern muscle cars seems a little disappointing. After all, that's the same as a base V6 Charger or Challenger. But with a little clutch control, the car has plenty of power to send it a little sideways and burn through some rubber. In keeping with tradition, the car has Radial G/T tires complete with white wall writing. This completes the 1970s aesthetic of the Challenger.
Rolling around Brooklyn in a Challenger, Edwards would have had the time of his life. But without power steering, maybe it got a little too hard to handle. Now living in Ohio, this Challenger has the open roads it deserves.