Dodge’s Challenger, like the Mustang, is a much-loved muscle car – and pony car – which, just like its rival from Ford, has seen some hits and misses over the years.
The archetypal Challenger and Mustang everybody thinks about when they hear the name is probably either the first generation or the last ones.
Emissions and economy strangled cars like this throughout the 80s and 90s, but luckily people took care of enough of them that a good deal still survive - and run – today, with many cleaned up and looking like new.
So, what if the 1970s Challenger now looked better than ever, if it was the last time to get one before they become outlawed by climate and safety laws or have climbed into the price stratosphere out of the reach from the rest of us?
The 1970 Challenger Is A Great Used Buy, But Not Cheap
The good news is that you can find an MK1 Dodge Challenger for less than $100,000 and in a lot of cases for less than $50,000.
As with all used cars, prices vary greatly depending on mileage, year, and condition, plus there are some restored examples or rare versions which just end up costing a lot more.
Engine range was good for the Challenger, starting with a small 225ci, 3.7-liter to the 426 HEMI 7.0-liter, which was almost twice the size of the former.
Based on the same architecture as the Plymouth Barracuda it was two inches longer and could come with an automatic or 3-4 speed manual, which according to Dodge could be specced with a ‘pistol grip’ shifter – an essential if you were going for the 7-liter in our opinion.
Power for the straight-six 3.7-liter was at an unimpressive 145 hp, but the big HEMI would give out 425 hp – 35 hp more than the even bigger 440 ci 7.2-liter.
Over its 5-year life, the Challenger sold close to 189,000 units and featured in films like Death Proof, Natural Born Killers and Vanishing Point.
The Dodge Challenger Is Rare, Expensive, And One Of The Best Muscle Cars
The most sought-after cars are the T/A (Trans Am), R/T (road and track), and generally highly restored ones, also bigger engines like the 440 ci will be much more valuable than the 225 ci too.
As with all 50-year-old cars, parts and bodywork may be harder to find and maintenance is key, although it might be easier to work on one of these cars than a 2022 Camry.
Over on AutoTrader, there’s a 1973 Challenger with a 5.2-liter engine and automatic trans for $30,000, based out of a garage in New York, with no mileage specified, but the ad says it ‘runs well’.
Prices mostly fall between $30k-70k, but there are a great many cars which are advertised for way north of $100,000 too, with $130,000 being a common figure.
There's a beautiful Challenger T/A from 1970, based out of North Carolina that has a 5.7-liter lump under the hood with a 4-speed manual and just 72,000 miles; although it’s up for $82,000 this would be a great pick if money was not an issue.
For most of us, money is an issue, so for $50,000, we might pick a 1970 Challenger R/T over on Hemmings.com, with a manual gearbox, 6.3-liter engine capacity, and a 130,000-mile odometer reading.
Because, if you ignore the stripe going over the hood, it looks like a Vanishing Point Challenger, and we would all love to play at being the star of our own retro movie.