This may be the strangest “For Sale” post ever, so bear with me. I am a 72-year old retired CPA w/ a very nice 1972 ‘numbers matching’ Challenger Rallye I am considering selling. The short and sweet version of how I got to this point: I purchased the car in November 2013 at a Mecum auction in Orange County, CA (Lot F175). Why? It was a beautiful car, I had always wanted a Challenger, and my girlfriend was giddy with excitement (the real reason). The vehicle had been restored over a 4+ year period by a guy living in Missouri, beginning in the early 2000s. From 2007-10 they showed the car at multiple Mopar Nationals shows, winning many 1st-2nd place trophies.
After owning the car for only a short period of time I found the previous owners had done a fabulous rotisserie restoration on the car, but had farmed out the not-so-stellar engine rebuild. I am a marginal mechanic at best, and so hooked up with the Mopar Club of San Diego’s tech advisor to address the mechanical issues. Over the next year or so we did (or had done) the following: 1) pulled & re-built engine, adding stroker kit, mild cam, TTI headers, custom exhaust system, Edelbrock heads, and Firm Feel power steering box.
The week after I purchased the Challenger, my girlfriend died of kidney cancer, and after that I lost and never regained my passion for the car. Since we completed the mechanical rebuild in 2016, I have only put 1K on the engine and that was simply to break in the engine.
The final chapter: In 2017 I retired to CO from Cali and the car has been sitting in the garage since except for a few short drives to keep it operational. Then, in 2021 a trickle charger I had on the battery failed and the top of the battery blew off causing some minor damage to the engine compartment. I replaced the air filter cover, which had some acid damage, and am in the process of cleaning up the compartment and replacing the battery/tray. Frankly, I am tired, disinterested in doing any more work on the car, reluctant to go through the prep/shipping/commissions, etc. of selling it at auction, and contemplating just selling it outright.
Issues: These are the known issues on the Challenger: final cleanup on the engine bay; cannot find proper fit PCV grommet for Mopar cast alum valve cover (almost like drilled to wrong size); RF door lock does not function; needs R door panel replacement to match new L door panel (I have panel); dash panel lights do not function; paint crack at R rear panel to trunk seam; a few rust spots on wheel chrome; carbs may need some love (didn’t do any work when moved from Cali to CO); original radio removed and replaced w/ “modern” radio/speakers/woofer (I always wanted to change back to factory spec radio).
Restoration (from prior owner write-up) – “It was put on a rotisserie and plastic media blasted on all the exterior and glass beaded in the trunk area and engine compartment and bottom…. INTAKE is a 340 6pk intake with brand new carbs, linkage, etc. Air cleaner came off a 1970 TA and has been blasted and professionally painted. brand new seal that seals to the Factory 70 TA Hood with the proper hood hinges that match the hood. That’s were most people make the first mistake. you have to use the low tension springs not to bow the hood. Found rust free fenders, doors and bought brand new FULL quarters, trunk lid, lower valance, rear valance. anything that showed signs of rust was removed/replaced with rust free parts. I bought stainless exhaust tips, not chrome ones like most people use. The transmission was totally broken down, cleaned and a complete rebuilt kit with all syncs replaced with brand new bearings. Driveshaft all new ujoints, rear-end was total rebuild with new bearings, etc. All the chrome on the car as been triple show quality chromed. All brand new interior includes new dash pad, carpet, seat covers,and the trim that goes around the dash. Etc…there is to much to tell what was replaced.
The front window was replaced new, and side drivers and pass. glass replaced also. All seals and weather strips have been replaced.” (I have approx. 400 photos of rebuild & results)
I would appreciate any show of interest, or even just thoughts from fellow members on where I might go from here. I will sell the car if I can get a fair price, whatever that is. Not looking to commit grand theft, but also don’t want to be the victim of same.
After owning the car for only a short period of time I found the previous owners had done a fabulous rotisserie restoration on the car, but had farmed out the not-so-stellar engine rebuild. I am a marginal mechanic at best, and so hooked up with the Mopar Club of San Diego’s tech advisor to address the mechanical issues. Over the next year or so we did (or had done) the following: 1) pulled & re-built engine, adding stroker kit, mild cam, TTI headers, custom exhaust system, Edelbrock heads, and Firm Feel power steering box.
The week after I purchased the Challenger, my girlfriend died of kidney cancer, and after that I lost and never regained my passion for the car. Since we completed the mechanical rebuild in 2016, I have only put 1K on the engine and that was simply to break in the engine.
The final chapter: In 2017 I retired to CO from Cali and the car has been sitting in the garage since except for a few short drives to keep it operational. Then, in 2021 a trickle charger I had on the battery failed and the top of the battery blew off causing some minor damage to the engine compartment. I replaced the air filter cover, which had some acid damage, and am in the process of cleaning up the compartment and replacing the battery/tray. Frankly, I am tired, disinterested in doing any more work on the car, reluctant to go through the prep/shipping/commissions, etc. of selling it at auction, and contemplating just selling it outright.
Issues: These are the known issues on the Challenger: final cleanup on the engine bay; cannot find proper fit PCV grommet for Mopar cast alum valve cover (almost like drilled to wrong size); RF door lock does not function; needs R door panel replacement to match new L door panel (I have panel); dash panel lights do not function; paint crack at R rear panel to trunk seam; a few rust spots on wheel chrome; carbs may need some love (didn’t do any work when moved from Cali to CO); original radio removed and replaced w/ “modern” radio/speakers/woofer (I always wanted to change back to factory spec radio).
Restoration (from prior owner write-up) – “It was put on a rotisserie and plastic media blasted on all the exterior and glass beaded in the trunk area and engine compartment and bottom…. INTAKE is a 340 6pk intake with brand new carbs, linkage, etc. Air cleaner came off a 1970 TA and has been blasted and professionally painted. brand new seal that seals to the Factory 70 TA Hood with the proper hood hinges that match the hood. That’s were most people make the first mistake. you have to use the low tension springs not to bow the hood. Found rust free fenders, doors and bought brand new FULL quarters, trunk lid, lower valance, rear valance. anything that showed signs of rust was removed/replaced with rust free parts. I bought stainless exhaust tips, not chrome ones like most people use. The transmission was totally broken down, cleaned and a complete rebuilt kit with all syncs replaced with brand new bearings. Driveshaft all new ujoints, rear-end was total rebuild with new bearings, etc. All the chrome on the car as been triple show quality chromed. All brand new interior includes new dash pad, carpet, seat covers,and the trim that goes around the dash. Etc…there is to much to tell what was replaced.
The front window was replaced new, and side drivers and pass. glass replaced also. All seals and weather strips have been replaced.” (I have approx. 400 photos of rebuild & results)
I would appreciate any show of interest, or even just thoughts from fellow members on where I might go from here. I will sell the car if I can get a fair price, whatever that is. Not looking to commit grand theft, but also don’t want to be the victim of same.
Have a nice day.
