General Description
In 1969, I completed my tour in Viet Nam with the US Army and returned home to San Jose, California. I went back to work at IBM and soon decided that I deserved a new car.
I was driving a canary yellow 1966 Chevy Malibu with a 283 and 3-speed on the column, and nice mag wheels. It was actually a pretty nice looking car, and it was great for dates, as it had a bench front seat.
A Corvette was the car to have, so I went shopping for one.
Sorry to say, but I got sticker shock when I saw the price for a new 1970 Corvette Stingray.
It was selling for $6300, including air conditioning (I wish I could get one for that price now).
I'll talk more about air conditioning later.
I already knew insurance would be expensive too, and decided then that I could not afford the Corvette.
Fortunately, I noticed a new car model at the Dodge dealership across the street.
I made a beeline there and immediately liked what I saw - the new 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T. The closest car to what I wanted was an orange RT with a 4-speed and the 383 motor. The test drive clinched it. I really liked the car.
I called my girlfriend and told her about the car. She tried to talk me out of it and buy a Mustang Mach 1 instead. I told her Mustangs were too common, and I wanted something different.
I ordered one from the factory rather than settling for what was available on the lot. My order included the 375 HP 440 CID engine and the 4-speed Hurst pistol grip shifter. That was probably the biggest engine option with a full 5-year/50,000 mile warranty. It also came with the Track Pack performance package that included a Dana 60 rear end, dual points, 15-inch wide track rallye wheels, and heavy duty everything. The color was the High Impact Top Banana yellow with a black bumble bee stripe and a black vinyl top and interior.
I paid $4200 for the car. It was paid off in 3 years at $120/month. Wish I could get a new Challenger Demon for that price.
My car arrived in January 1970, in plenty of time for my birthday in February. I was in heaven and the envy of other drivers when I went cruising. Needless to say, my girlfriend loved the car.
I left beautiful San Jose in 1972 and moved to Chicago, driving my car via Route 66 - what a great experience. The car endured 9 years of Chicago winters and salted roads.
In 1981, IBM moved me to Boca Raton, Florida. I had the car shipped this time, as I was now married with a family. In Florida, the car endured the humidity and salt air.
In 1986, IBM moved me to Atlanta, and my car also made the move. I quickly had some body work done to remove rust caused by Chicago and Florida salt.
I'm still driving the Challenger, though not as much due to the price of gas and wear and tear on the car. It gets about 8 miles per gallon since I had the motor rebuilt and bored out. Also, Atlanta gets very warm and humid in the summer.
Talk about gettnig warm! Air conditioning was not available on that car - the choice was between a 4-speed and air conditioning. Plus the engine puts out a lot of heat that gets past the firewall. I don't know how I survived 5 years in Florida driving it everyday - I was much younger then. Much of Florida gets a 20-minute downpour in the afternoon, often on my way home from work. All the windows had to be rolled up, and it really got steamy in the car.
By the way... the heater core went out years ago, and I plugged up the hoses and didn't replace the heater core. That means I also don't have heat in the winter. But, as I said, the engine puts out lots of heat, so it's not bad.
When my wife Nancy suggested that I get rid of the Challenger, and I told her that I've known my car longer than I've known her. She hasn't brought it up again until recently, and my sons hope I keep it so that they can inherit it when I die. Now, my daughters are asking why either son thinks he should get the car. Now, Nancy says the car is hers if I go before she does.
I continued to drive the car everyday until about 10 years ago, so I also put up with Hotlanta weather for a long time.
About five years ago, my younger son Ryan was working a drifting event. He drove his project car - a black Nissan 240SX. He's actually very good. I wanted to park at the event to watch him drive. The only way I could do that was to pay $20 to enter my car in the car show. The alternative was to park a long way from there. I got a 1st place trophy for my class - whatever it was. I suspect I was the only car in that class, since most of the other cars were very modified. The attached pictures of my car and trophy were taken the next day.
Problems get fixed quickly, so the car is in really nice condition and runs well.
The car gets a lot of attention, and I get a lot of compliments about the car - probably more than if I had bought the Corvette!
By the way, my wife is also still with me, and I'm sure the car will outlast both of us.
... And I've been driving with a grin from ear to ear for 48 years now!
I was driving a canary yellow 1966 Chevy Malibu with a 283 and 3-speed on the column, and nice mag wheels. It was actually a pretty nice looking car, and it was great for dates, as it had a bench front seat.
A Corvette was the car to have, so I went shopping for one.
Sorry to say, but I got sticker shock when I saw the price for a new 1970 Corvette Stingray.
It was selling for $6300, including air conditioning (I wish I could get one for that price now).
I'll talk more about air conditioning later.
I already knew insurance would be expensive too, and decided then that I could not afford the Corvette.
Fortunately, I noticed a new car model at the Dodge dealership across the street.
I made a beeline there and immediately liked what I saw - the new 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T. The closest car to what I wanted was an orange RT with a 4-speed and the 383 motor. The test drive clinched it. I really liked the car.
I called my girlfriend and told her about the car. She tried to talk me out of it and buy a Mustang Mach 1 instead. I told her Mustangs were too common, and I wanted something different.
I ordered one from the factory rather than settling for what was available on the lot. My order included the 375 HP 440 CID engine and the 4-speed Hurst pistol grip shifter. That was probably the biggest engine option with a full 5-year/50,000 mile warranty. It also came with the Track Pack performance package that included a Dana 60 rear end, dual points, 15-inch wide track rallye wheels, and heavy duty everything. The color was the High Impact Top Banana yellow with a black bumble bee stripe and a black vinyl top and interior.
I paid $4200 for the car. It was paid off in 3 years at $120/month. Wish I could get a new Challenger Demon for that price.
My car arrived in January 1970, in plenty of time for my birthday in February. I was in heaven and the envy of other drivers when I went cruising. Needless to say, my girlfriend loved the car.
I left beautiful San Jose in 1972 and moved to Chicago, driving my car via Route 66 - what a great experience. The car endured 9 years of Chicago winters and salted roads.
In 1981, IBM moved me to Boca Raton, Florida. I had the car shipped this time, as I was now married with a family. In Florida, the car endured the humidity and salt air.
In 1986, IBM moved me to Atlanta, and my car also made the move. I quickly had some body work done to remove rust caused by Chicago and Florida salt.
I'm still driving the Challenger, though not as much due to the price of gas and wear and tear on the car. It gets about 8 miles per gallon since I had the motor rebuilt and bored out. Also, Atlanta gets very warm and humid in the summer.
Talk about gettnig warm! Air conditioning was not available on that car - the choice was between a 4-speed and air conditioning. Plus the engine puts out a lot of heat that gets past the firewall. I don't know how I survived 5 years in Florida driving it everyday - I was much younger then. Much of Florida gets a 20-minute downpour in the afternoon, often on my way home from work. All the windows had to be rolled up, and it really got steamy in the car.
By the way... the heater core went out years ago, and I plugged up the hoses and didn't replace the heater core. That means I also don't have heat in the winter. But, as I said, the engine puts out lots of heat, so it's not bad.
When my wife Nancy suggested that I get rid of the Challenger, and I told her that I've known my car longer than I've known her. She hasn't brought it up again until recently, and my sons hope I keep it so that they can inherit it when I die. Now, my daughters are asking why either son thinks he should get the car. Now, Nancy says the car is hers if I go before she does.
I continued to drive the car everyday until about 10 years ago, so I also put up with Hotlanta weather for a long time.
About five years ago, my younger son Ryan was working a drifting event. He drove his project car - a black Nissan 240SX. He's actually very good. I wanted to park at the event to watch him drive. The only way I could do that was to pay $20 to enter my car in the car show. The alternative was to park a long way from there. I got a 1st place trophy for my class - whatever it was. I suspect I was the only car in that class, since most of the other cars were very modified. The attached pictures of my car and trophy were taken the next day.
Problems get fixed quickly, so the car is in really nice condition and runs well.
The car gets a lot of attention, and I get a lot of compliments about the car - probably more than if I had bought the Corvette!
By the way, my wife is also still with me, and I'm sure the car will outlast both of us.
... And I've been driving with a grin from ear to ear for 48 years now!
