[jbfschallenger]

I have joined the MOPAR club with the acquisition of a 70 Dodge Challenger. It is in very good shape for sitting in a field for years. It is missing the engine (a 340 six pak by the codes) and the rearend. The body has very little rust and much of the dash is still intact including the AM radio and rally dash cluster. I have been a fan all of my life and this is a dream car for me. What am I in for with this much work to do on the car? Are there good areas to look for used parts? I know that almost everything MOPAR is expensive, but this car will definately be a showstopper when finished.

Please forward any good information on the do's and don'ts and any info on where to start first. Should I go original or clone? Things like this.

Thanks for your help for the newby.

Jeff :gr_patrio

 

[RAM MAN]

first off, welcome to the site

have any pics ?

how is the rust on the quarter panels, around the bottom of the rear window or in the trunk ?

I would recommend going to your favorite magazine store and buy a copy of Hemmings Motor News to start with = If you are not familiar with it, its a monthly magazine and has a ton of cars and parts, so basically, if its not in there, you'll have a hard time finding it (IMO)

and these days, a good clone car can bring super resale value, if you ever want to do that down the road

Any chance there is a build sheet ? Look under the seats for a possibility

 

[jbfschallenger]

The car did not have any information in it. The body has very little rust with the exception of the trunk compartment and a little across the trunk lid. The body panels are in great shape. I have researched all of the codes and what the car originally came with. It has no engine or tranny, there are also no front seats. The dash, door panels and rear interior panels are in good shape. I am going to send the instrument cluster and AM radio off for restoration. The car has no title at this time either, so it will be like starting it from scratch, hence my thoughts in making it a clone.

The bumpers, grill, trim, lights are in great shape. It is also missing the hood though. I actually get Hemmings Motor News already and I am also looking on Ebay. Finding the parts is half the fun.

I have some pictures, I will post soon :rck:

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[moparracer]

Welcome to another Muscle car fan. If this car truly is a 340 six pack car which would make it a T/A there is only one thing that should be done with it. Restore it as original. Yes it will be expensive but these are very valuable cars and are going up in value every day. IMO cloning this car into something else would just hurt the value of the car. There are a ton of resto e body parts available to do this with. You can get all the six pack parts new and just about every thing else for that matter except the T/A block which is just a 340 block with more beef in the main bearing area and the heads which have offset intake pushrods and take special rockers. Did I mention that I have a set of these heads? Restore this car, its a good investment. :gr_patrio

 

[FreeLantz]

Welcome to DodgeTalk! Good luck with your resto project. If that car is a T/A you have definitely stumbled onto a rare piece of Mopar history!

 

[six pak]

If the vin starts off Jh23J it is a t/a there should also be some evidence of the special T/A striping still visible on the body....It would be a CRIME to clone if its a T/A

 

[six pak]

Look for a second plate riveted to the inner fender near the battery it will identify it as T/A

 

[SUN RA KAT]

Welcome to DodgeTalk, Jeff!

 

[edglock21]

Welcome to the site Jeff !!! :rck:

As Challenger T/A and AAR Cuda were the street versions of the Trans Am series race cars - ya gotta go original (have ya seen what a real Boss 302 is going for these days???)

Good Luck - love to see some pics of the restoration