It seems there is a property in Arkansas with barns bursting at the seams with 1970s Mopar muscle cars and parts. This time, Ryan Brutt is there when the team discovers a well-hidden 1970 Hemi Dodge Challenger, that's been in this barn since the 1980s. Tag along for a sneak peek at the car before it appears as a feature display in the “Barn Finds and Hidden Gems” section of the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals (MCACN) show scheduled for November 2022.
1970 Hemi Challenger Barn Find
The Arkansas barn owner found this particular vitamin C orange Hemi Challenger listed in Auto Exchange Magazine for sale in Augusta, GA, for $17,000. With 66,000 miles on the odometer, the car sported a rare tan interior package, was missing the engine and the back seat but had a restored value nearing $80,000 to the right buyer. Using funds from a 2011 winning lottery ticket, the man acquired all the necessary parts to rebuild the car, including a freshly rebuilt Hemi engine still hanging on an engine stand. Still, he was never able to put the car together.
This 1970 Hemi Challenger is one example of many of the classic muscle cars found in a number of barns scattered across the man's property. At least a few of the cars in his collection are complete, although disassembled, and there also appears to be a wide array of spare parts. It's a mystery why, or how, one man would collect so many projects and let them sit untouched for so long.
What's Next for the 1970 Hemi Challenger?
The new owners of the 1970 Hemi Challenger plan to display the car in the MCACN Show's Barn Finds and Hidden Gems section scheduled for November of this year, precisely as it came out of the barn where they found it. Hopefully, at some point, they will restore the car with a fresh coat of vitamin C orange paint, redo the tan interior, and finally install that fresh Hemi rebuild found hanging on the engine stand.
A frame-off restoration would be a fitting next chapter for the car that spent so many decades hidden under boxes and pieces of other cars suffering the same fate. But, until then, the noble Hemi Challenger's destiny is on hold as it sits in yet another barn awaiting its salvation in the form of a long-overdue restoration.