With a heavy heart

[Railroadrider]

My son and I worked periodically after her death on my late wife's original owner 318 Challenger. We basically stripped it down to the body and performed a fairly comprehensive restomod on it. All the surface rust was dealt with, inside and out. We installed a Gear Vendor over/under drive, converted to 4 wheel disc, changed the rear end from 276(?) single wheel drive to 3:70 limited slip. The Hotchkiss TVS with the recommended Fox shocks was installed. New body rubber was installed throughout the whole car. We became experts on Chrysler doors. By the time we were done the doors closed SO easily and solidly it was a wonder. FWIW, we discovered that only half of the anti-vibration were installed at the factory.
After 6 1/2 years we finally got it completed to our satisfaction in 2022. I put 6300 miles on it that summer with a road trip from California to Montana, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, back to Montana and then back to California. Just as food for thought, I averaged 13 mpg for that entire trip and never paid less than $4.50 per gallon.
I had plans to go get the car and bring it to Montana, which was to happen in August. On the 24th(?) of July some fool in Chico, California decided to set his mother's car on fire and then shove it down a ravine, which started the "Park" fire. It ended up being the second largest fire in California history at that time. My son lost everything, including the Challenger. He and it were reasonably insured, so, there's that.

 

[Jobu]

Sorry to hear this.

 

[340challconvert]

Sorry that happened to you and your Challenger!
At least you had insurance which should help with a replacement!
Hard to replace all the heart and soul that went into restoring your Challenger.

 

[Juan Veldez]

That really sucks! And the fire insurance costs continue to skyrocket in CA. I feel for ya.

 

[Challenger RTA]

Giving you a thumbs up out of respect. Thanks for posting you story, Not for your demise. All others can do the same or other out of respect. Thanks Again !

 

[tonysrt]

I hope the Bastard was caught and charged with Arson. Of course that doesn't solve your problem. Although in California they may be looking the other way and just slap him on the wrist and let him go. I still can't believe the people out there had a chance to dump Neusom and reelected him.

 

[mrmopar340]

Sorry about the car. I looked very nice. Sad things like this happen to people and their belongings.

 

[Xcudame]

Very sad indeed! Can never replace your hard work sweat and tears going into your restromod. Seems too many nut jobs start the biggest and deadliest fires in Prickafornia (Sally Fields

 

[Xcudame]

...character in Where the Heart Is called California it's proper name these days) and nothing happens to them. They cause more damage and suffering than politicians and insurance companies know.

 

[DetMatt1]

My condolences for that loss, that just sucks!

 

[RagTag]

To some, a Mopar is a vehicle and others see it as a family member. As an original owner, I understand the feelings that you are left with after the work to honor your wife. I'm glad you had the chance to enjoy the result of your restoration.

 

[hdwrench]

so sad . to lose such an item is heart breaking. sorry for the loss , i hope the perp is in prison a long time …

 

[Railroadrider]

so sad . to lose such an item is heart breaking. sorry for the loss , i hope the perp is in prison a long time …

From what I heard, this will be his third strike and Cali is a three strike state.

 

[cudahook]

Some people will say "Oh, these are just material things." True, but when you lose something so near and dear to the heart, it has to be painful. I am so very sorry for you and your son's losses. Just heartbreaking...

 

[fasjac]

Wow! Very sorry to hear this story. So sorry for your loss…lost to post the appropriate words here.

 

[Railroadrider]

Some people will say "Oh, these are just material things." True, but when you lose something so near and dear to the heart, it has to be painful. I am so very sorry for you and your son's losses. Just heartbreaking...

Yeah, we’ve been telling ourselves “it was just a car,” and MOSTLY believing it. We’ve also been consoling ourselves with the fact that at least we had those six and a half years of working together. We’ve talked about doing something else but we think it’s too early yet.

 

[demon3406pk]

My son and I worked periodically after her death on my late wife's original owner 318 Challenger. We basically stripped it down to the body and performed a fairly comprehensive restomod on it. All the surface rust was dealt with, inside and out. We installed a Gear Vendor over/under drive, converted to 4 wheel disc, changed the rear end from 276(?) single wheel drive to 3:70 limited slip. The Hotchkiss TVS with the recommended Fox shocks was installed. New body rubber was installed throughout the whole car. We became experts on Chrysler doors. By the time we were done the doors closed SO easily and solidly it was a wonder. FWIW, we discovered that only half of the anti-vibration were installed at the factory.
After 6 1/2 years we finally got it completed to our satisfaction in 2022. I put 6300 miles on it that summer with a road trip from California to Montana, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, back to Montana and then back to California. Just as food for thought, I averaged 13 mpg for that entire trip and never paid less than $4.50 per gallon.
I had plans to go get the car and bring it to Montana, which was to happen in August. On the 24th(?) of July some fool in Chico, California decided to set his mother's car on fire and then shove it down a ravine, which started the "Park" fire. It ended up being the second largest fire in California history at that time. My son lost everything, including the Challenger. He and it were reasonably insured, so, there's that.

View attachment 129118

View attachment 129119

So very sorry to hear that. So many idiots in this world it's just so sad that you had to be an innocent bystander.
Do you and your son have any plans to do it tribute to this car by buying another one and doing it up again? I hope you do cuz there's nothing like spending time with your son.

 

[Railroadrider]

So very sorry to hear that. So many idiots in this world it's just so sad that you had to be an innocent bystander.
Do you and your son have any plans to do it tribute to this car by buying another one and doing it up again? I hope you do cuz there's nothing like spending time with your son.

It'll be a while I think. We also lost the shop with the lift. He's still pretty shell shocked.

 

[Ariovistus]

My son and I worked periodically after her death on my late wife's original owner 318 Challenger. We basically stripped it down to the body and performed a fairly comprehensive restomod on it. All the surface rust was dealt with, inside and out. We installed a Gear Vendor over/under drive, converted to 4 wheel disc, changed the rear end from 276(?) single wheel drive to 3:70 limited slip. The Hotchkiss TVS with the recommended Fox shocks was installed. New body rubber was installed throughout the whole car. We became experts on Chrysler doors. By the time we were done the doors closed SO easily and solidly it was a wonder. FWIW, we discovered that only half of the anti-vibration were installed at the factory.
After 6 1/2 years we finally got it completed to our satisfaction in 2022. I put 6300 miles on it that summer with a road trip from California to Montana, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, back to Montana and then back to California. Just as food for thought, I averaged 13 mpg for that entire trip and never paid less than $4.50 per gallon.
I had plans to go get the car and bring it to Montana, which was to happen in August. On the 24th(?) of July some fool in Chico, California decided to set his mother's car on fire and then shove it down a ravine, which started the "Park" fire. It ended up being the second largest fire in California history at that time. My son lost everything, including the Challenger. He and it were reasonably insured, so, there's that.

View attachment 129118

View attachment 129119

So very Sorry about this. I hope the fool gets caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law!

 

[WhiteGP]

Uggh, what a loss, so sorry