Here we go again...

[73DAD]

Early 2016, cold weather, project in the garage. The old b5 '73 Rallye had been a great car to me, but I happened upon an ad for a '42 harley army bike I couldn't pass up. Was already in the deep stages of a Road Runner project, needed to keep the old pickup for reliable all season transportation. Couldn't justify extra storage cost, so that just left the good ole' challenger to get rid of.

So it was listed and sold in less than a week, gave some young kid a deal on it. Regretted selling as soon as it left the driveway. Friends and family even told me they missed that car, pretty unusual for my crusty projects/daily drivers. Pretty serious seller's remorse ensued.

Before it was dumped, I had been gathering parts to convert it into a '71 (thankfully didn't). When the car sold I kept those parts in the deal. Fast forward to last week, perused ebay to see what road runners were listing for, wondering about insurance, and decided to take a glance at the challenger section.

You know where this is going. Saw a '71 r/t 3.5hours away, affordably rough, but complete. I didn't stand a chance. Cannonballed down south to take a look in person and made a cash offer rather than bidding on ebay. I went to bed that night a couple thousand bucks poorer. Here we go again...

 

[DetMatt1]

Congrats! More details on that '71 please.

 

[moparleo]

Good deal! All is well back in Mopar land.

 

[challenger6pak]

I had that one on my watch list. I'm glad you got it. Looked like it was going to end up a parts car. You have your work cut out for you. Please do a restoration thread on it.

 

[73DAD]

I had that one on my watch list. I'm glad you got it. Looked like it was going to end up a parts car. You have your work cut out for you. Please do a restoration thread on it.

You aren't kidding! it's as rough as one can get before its a parts car! I sure didn't pay his 'buy it now' price. Don't worry I would never have the heart to part one out.

As far as details on the car, I haven't found a build sheet. The fender tag was almost disintegrated from rust, but remarkably we were able to determine most of the option codes.

383 (now a 400) slap stik, B7 blue, black vinyl top, stripe delete code, standard black interior, dual outside mirrors w/ remote driver's side, power steer, manual drums, december built. Can't remember the rest.

Not much out of the ordinary on this one, they just didn't build many '71 r/t's in the first place and its my favorite year!

The car is currently in storage. I don't anticipate even looking at it again until winter. Gotta finish up the Road Runner and motorcycle first, but they're very close!

 

[73DAD]

I have a couple questions

I have the original hood(junk) and a good hood(pictured). After removing everything of use from the original hood, are there any important numbers to chop out before scrapping it?

Is a suregrip standard on a 71r/t? Looks like the original ratio tag is still there, 3.23 assuming.

What exterior badging and where? Built Dec.'70 if that matters. Not sure if the fenders are original. The 'challenger' and r/t badges are just adhered to the fenders' surfaces, not studded.

Lastly, the good hood. I'm unsure of the year it came from and it has hood pin holes. Are pin on hoods hard to find? Would it be bad to weld those holes up or should I eventually look for a 'correct' one?

 

[challenger6pak]

Post some pics of the backside of the good hood. Do the fenders have a notch at the front by the headlight bezels?

 

[Chryco Psycho]

nothing to save on the hood , after 70 they are all basically the same
Sure grip was optional
Badging depends on the stripe pkg , it could have emblems above & below the body line or it could have the R/T stripe with the R/T at the rear end of the stripe , look for V code on fender tag
The fenders will have holes for the front hood pins if the holes were drilled properly in the hood they will line up or you could weld the holes shut .

 

[73DAD]

Thanks for the response Chryco. A little update: Looks like someone added the hood pin holes as they aren't even in a functional location and the hood still has the front latch stuff on it. After doing some research, I was finally able to determine all the codes on the fender tag. Here they are:
E65 383 4bbl
D32 hd automatic
EB7 (dark blue poly) exterior paint
H6X9 black vinyl interior
C15 scheduled build date December 15, 1970
V1X black vinyl top
U usa spec
C16 bucket seats
C55 center console w/ woodgrain insert
G36 dual outside mirrors, remote driver's side, both painted
J25 3spd wipers
J46 locking gas cap
J54 sport hood
M21 roof drip rail moldings
N41 dual exhaust
N42 chrome tips
N85 tachometer
R11 AM radio
R31 rear seat speakers
V68 delete stripes

 

[Chryco Psycho]

Looks like it is a nice typically equipped car , B7 is a great color !
I looked closer & the brown hood on the car is nowhere close to the right hood pin placement , you will see holes right near the plastic hood stops in the coroner & a matching hole in the inner frame where the hood pins were located from the factory