The 1970 Dodge Challenger was a stylish new entrant in the hard fought Pony Car Wars of the late 60’s & early 70’s. But like the sorority party girl who spent all night getting her makeup perfect and getting ready for the big party, she arrived just as the party was ending, looking confused as the lights turned off and wondering where everyone went.
My Dodge Challenger experience was like briefly dating that cute sorority girl, only to find out that her stylish and shapely exterior concealed a fairly vapid space between her ears.
In all fairness though, this was never going to be a long term relationship…
So what was I doing with a Dodge Challenger when I already had my perfectly good Camaro?
In the mid 70’s I was working as a 2nd mechanic at a pipeline company, enjoying life and making more money than my young imagination thought possible. Every day was different, as my focus for the day often depended on which vehicle the employees had abused the day before. Replacing brakes and clutches, rebuilding carburetors and engines were all fair game, and sometimes I felt like a short order cook working to quickly get the trucks back in the field and earning money.
There was no need for a gym or weight lifting in those days, as I still remember removing and installing GM SM465 transmissions – all 175 pounds of them, without a transmission jack. Just young stupid American muscle doing what he’s told. I’m all for hard work, but I can still feel the weariness I experienced at the end of the day doing a clutch job on our dump trucks. Ah, the joys of youth. But I digress…
Speaking of digressions, did you ever wonder why gas pumps tell you to stay with the vehicle while fueling?
Our company had its own fuel island in the yard, as all vehicles were filled when they came in for the night. Each superintendent drove a 1975 El Camino as a company car so they could carry parts as necessary between jobsites. One hot afternoon, a superintendent came in, parked at the fuel island, started fueling then went inside to the office. Twenty minutes later, something didn’t smell quite right, so I went over to the fuel island and saw the numbers “118.6” (!) appear on the rapidly progressing gallons meter. I quickly shutoff the pump and ran to the office to sound the alert.
Coming back out to assess the situation, we watched as the fuel flowed down into the loading dock area – where an automatic sump pump lived to pump out the rain water that would collect there. We cut the power to the pump before it could start and called the fire department, as this seemed like a disaster waiting to be featured on the 5:00 o’clock news. Let’s see – 100 gallons of gas, hot Southern California sun, construction workers and Marlboro cigarettes – what could go wrong? Fortunately, the fire department came and took care of the growing pool of fuel and we escaped our 15 minutes of fame.
Wait, where was I going with all this? Oh, right. One of the secretaries at the company had a sharp looking 1970 Dodge Challenger. It wasn’t racy, but it looked good and sounded good – until it didn’t. A quick perusal of the engine compartment confirmed that the engine had a valve problem and that was playing havoc with the other seven cylinders. Her mechanic had given her a price that made her toes curl, so she just wanted to dump the car and get something else.
Between the time the car was built (1970) and my purchase (1976) you might remember that leaded fuel was being phased out and automobile manufacturers had gone to hardened valve seats to cope with the change. As I recall, the Challenger did not have hardened valve seats until late 1972 or 1973, so having valve problems in that time frame was not unusual.
So – a valve job, some detailing in and out, a quick sale and presto – Project Challenger was born. A quick exchange of $500 and car keys meant that the seven cylinder Challenger was mine. So what exactly was this car?
The Dodge Challenger has been covered extensively here a CC, but this wasn’t one of those fire breathing Hemi’s that people drool about over at Barrett-Jackson. This was a secretary’s special draped in Bright Blue Poly paint with a black vinyl top. Motivation was by a special seven cylinder version of Chrysler’s normally excellent 318 V8, backed by a column shifted torqueflite transmission. It also had the power steering, power brakes and AC required to complete this typically optioned automobile.
Looking back to almost 50 years ago, it would be easy to think that most Challengers had Hemi, 440 Six Pack or at least a high performance 340 under the hood. The truth is, most pony cars were sold as personal transportation with a little bit of style, and this car, as equipped, is a perfect embodiment of that.
This being Southern California, rust wasn’t an issue like it was on the east coast. My friend John and I decided to take this on as a joint project, so the right cylinder head was removed and sent to the machine shop. A couple of days later, the head was retrieved, some gaskets procured and everything put back together. A quick repair of some interior and exterior bits, a deep cleaning and detailing and the car was ready for a new owner.
My impressions of the Challenger?
The Challenger was one of the most stylish of the pony cars, but it was also huge when viewed against its competition. Compared to my 1967 Camaro (not exactly a tiny car), it was 500 pounds heavier, seven inches longer and four inches wider (on the outside of course). On the inside, it didn’t seem any larger and the doors and door panels were some of the largest and thickest that I’d ever seen.
I don’t have the exact measurement, but the door & molded door panel appeared to be about 11 inches thick. Our company’s owner drove a 1975 Cadillac Eldorado, and while the Challenger’s door wasn’t as long as the Cadillac’s, it was far thicker. The door panel was also not well secured by design and carried no insulation, so closing the door didn’t result in a solid Mercedes like “thunk” but rather a cacophony of loose plastic on metal, loose door glass rattling even after the door was closed, and door hinges and striker plates that didn’t want to stay in alignment. The interior door panel was a one piece injection molded affair that felt like it was attached with two fasteners, six weak magnets and a wad of chewing gum.
Dodge provided a full set of gauges (sans tachometer) even on its base model Challenger. The interior with its round gauge cluster was beautiful to look at, but the steering wheel was flat with a longer steering column (instead of a concave wheel). It looked great, but in use it was unusual. The dash wasn’t yet cracked (a common malady) so that was a plus.
Most photos show Challengers with a center console and floor shift. With a column shift however, that center tunnel looked pretty sparse, reminding me of my friend’s Camaro that had a 327 V8 and three on the tree transmission.
Driving the car didn’t enhance my opinion of what Dodge had done either. The engine and transmission were faultless, and certainly better than the powerglide that Chevy had earlier included with its small V8’s. The suspension however, felt loose and the E78-14 tires howled at the mere hint of any change of direction. The steering was typical “Highland Park numb”, devoid of any steering feel – and strangely similar to my Mom’s 1966 Mercury Park Lane.
Challengers (and Barracudas) looked great with their ultra-wide (for the time) 60 series tires, but the standard rubber and wheels made the car look like a Canadian Pontiac built on a Chevrolet chassis. Nice body but built on a too small chassis, like one of those parade floats built over a small car. When searching for pictures for this COAL it was almost impossible to find a vehicle that still had its base 14 inch wheels – apparently everyone has purchased larger wheels by this time.
The car went down the road well enough, but it always seemed like “4,000 parts traveling in the same general direction” due to the numerous squeaks and rattles. With the windows up however, the Challenger had some of the best car ventilation that I’ve ever experienced.
All that tumblehome and frameless curved door glass were great to look at, but get above 60 mph and the door glass slowly, relentlessly began pulling away from the body weatherstripping. Ventilation and air flow certainly increased, as did the noise and entry of any rain that may have originally been on the outside of the vehicle. Depending on the wind direction, you could actually see the glass flap against the weatherstripping.
Chrysler wasn’t exactly known for their first year quality control during this time, and the half-baked nature of much of the car overshadowed the sharp looks and excellent engine and transmission.
I had originally thought that I might keep the Challenger for a few months as a kind of automotive diversion, but I found few redeeming qualities in this example. Like that shapely sorority girl that drinks too much and can’t hold a conversation to save her life, I quickly grew bored and decided to allow another to enjoy her charms. There’s a saying that goes “behind every beautiful girl there’s an ex tired of putting up with her $hit”. I’m not being sexist, as that saying certainly goes both ways for all sexes and orientations. But that’s where I was with the Challenger.
An ad in the local Auto Trader brought a buyer pretty quickly, and for $1,500 they were the proud owner of a beautiful if slightly tipsy Dodge Challenger.
Dodge had wanted in on the Pony Car action since the Barracuda hit the market, but the late timing and decision to build the car around the larger “B” body cowl doomed what could have been a contender. The lackluster quality control, increasing smog controls and insurance premiums sealed its fate, and by mid-1974 production ended with a whimper.
I still consider the Challenger to be a beautiful car with flawed timing and execution. I happily tip my hat to those that love this Curbside Classic and its shapely body. But, like that sorority party girl, I’ll just enjoy her from a bit of distance, just out of earshot so her vapid personality doesn’t spoil the curvaceous fantasy.
and its a tragedy that the current Challenger isn’t sold internationally because I cant see a reason they wouldn’t sell tons of them
As Ed mentioned about this Challenger being huge when compared to its competition, the same applies to the current Challenger. That could be some of the reason why it’s not sold internationally.
Sell to who? Europe with $5 gallon fuel and horsepower tax? China, India and Japan with cubic inch displacement taxes? All three with tiny city streets? I can’t think of anyplace in the world where these two ton toys would sell in any numbers.
My point exactly. The current Challenger does provide more rear seat legroom than its direct American competitors, but it still ends up being a four seater on a large car’s platform. It works in the US…for Europe and Asia, maybe not so much.
Australia? With the car culture mentioned in a recent article here?
Speaking of Australia, I often wondered what if Chrysler had brought the Australian Hemi 6 to use under the hood of the A/B/C bodies?
Hemi 6 vs. Pontiac Sprint 6!
Coronet vs.LeMans!!
That would be an entertaining review
Best case scenario there might be a couple of thousand sales a year in AU if competitively priced with the Mustang, and sales of the Mustang have declined. https://www.caradvice.com.au/817276/ford-mustang-posts-lowest-sales-since-it-arrived-in-australia/
Well they tried with the 300/C. I just wish it could have been the Challenger.
“…Like a Canadian Pontiac built on a Chevrolet chassis.” Golden. I’m going to have to look up pictures of examples with the smaller tires, but I understood the wide-track reference immediately.
I had read about quality control, assembly and materials on these early E-Bodies being iffy, but I had no idea to this extent.
A great read and set of metaphors this Wednesday morning.
A most entertaining read, Mr H., especially the “4000 parts” line. Hehehe!
I’ve got to agree with The Secretary’s choice, though. This body shape is best unadorned with stripes or pins or hots or rods or any (aptly-named) spoilers, or super-spelling bees, or whatevers. To this day, it’s just a bloody marvellous-looking thing when left quite unadorned and under-girded by the 14-inchers the stylists had in mind.
Having been of car-buying age when these were 10 year old cheap used cars, I have spent the last 20 years being amazed at the reverence that has been showered on these cars. I loved my Mopars, but one look at those interiors that could have been injection molded in a single piece and one experience slamming one of those huge doors and feeling the shockwave reverberate through every single part of the car, and it was no thanks. Which was made worse by the fact that these things were truly beautiful.
Frankly, I never felt much better about the contemporary B body cars either, which suffered from many of the same shortcomings, and cost about the same by then as the much more solid cars from the prior generation.
I was hoping you would get to this story after you hinted at it. I have long wondered if I somehow missed the boat by never giving one of these a chance back when they were cheap and available. Reading this makes me feel all better. I guess the only thing I missed out on is the feeling that I sold a really valuable car way too early. 🙂
I’m with you on the previous generation B bodies. My neighbor across the street had a 1969 Roadrunner that was a fast, reasonably well put together car. It was basic, but the basics were good.
We all know cars that have been abused by their previous owner, but this Challenger had been babied since new. It was obvious that the basic engineering needed more time in the oven before this tasty looking thing was released on the public.
And I thought it was just my friend’s ’75 Monte Carlo that had the desk toy doors. Desk toy doors? What’s that? Hey, I just made it up but look at the pic and remember how the GM doors of that era sounded when you slammed them. And you had to slam them to get them to catch on the door post or you spent all day trying to get them to close securely
Exactly! I remember buying my mother a used 1973 Olds Cutlass Colonade. That had an even longer door than the Challenger, and required more slams to make it stay shut. I eventually had to sell the car as Mom just couldn’t keep handling the weight of those doors.
A Chrysler engineer said, “I knew we were in trouble the first time I closed the door hard on one of these cars.”
Another one said, “The trunk of the E-body leaked because the trunk of the C-body leaked.”
By 1968 Chrysler Corporation had regained much of the market share it had lost in the late 1950s and early 1960s. But Lynn Townsend didn’t reinvest enough of the money back into the core automotive business. Chrysler didn’t beef up its engineering department to handle the increased workload demanded by the federal safety and emissions standards.
Chrysler’s peak during the Townsend era was 1968. The Dodge Charger and Plymouth Road Runner were that year’s hits, and the corporation’s market share was over 18 percent – almost double the 1962 figure! But the slide began with the introduction of the 1969 C-body cars, and the 1970 Challenger and Barracuda accelerated that fall.
A prefect capsule summation of Chrysler’s issues. They never really had the engineering staff to properly support what Chrysler was trying to do: compete with GM and Ford across the board.
Their basic existing drive train/chassis components were just recycled over and over, thus quite durable for the most part. But their body engineering and other aspects really was just not adequate anymore.
Thank you for this review. I have a vintage Car & Driver 1970 road test of this car. They were not kind. Your review touches on their similar themes and complaints. Outdated styling and marketing; the Dodge was intended to compete with the 1967 Firebird and Camaro, but was overdone. F-body themes were taken to the extreme , to the extent they impeded function. But it was all for nought because by the time the Dodge was released, GM took the F body in a new and more refined direction, leaving the Dodge behind.
As for poor quality and construction, I avoid criticism of other people’s automotive preferences, but the enthusiasm for vintage 70s Mopars is mystifying for me. After owning early 70s Darts, Dusters and Furys I concluded they feel cheap, poorly finished, oddly proportioned and a bit home made, like kit cars on a budget. But that’s me, a lot of people love them so who am I to judge.
I haven’t seen that C&D review, but that might be a great one to post at CC. I too try to go easy on criticism of other’s choices but the Challenger was a headscratcher. On second thought, Challenger sales may have told the whole story. Just like the Marlin, you can get a certain number of people to bite no matter what it is…
The Challenger actually sold reasonably well in 1970. It beat the Mercury Cougar – its original target – if I recall correctly. The Barracuda didn’t sell as well, but that was most likely because many buyers found the the Duster to be a more attractive proposition.
Sales of both the Barracuda and Challenger collapsed for 1971, and never recovered.
Agreed. I tend to look at second year sales to determine if a car hit its mark and was reasonably received out of the gate. Cars like the Challenger and Citation show what happens when the word gets out…
Having put 130,000 miles each on a ’70 and a ’73, I must respond. Yes, there were quality control issues on the ’70, but at 3250 pounds it did not weigh 700 pounds more than a Camaro, and most importantly to me, both were very stout cars. There was none of the willowy feel that the Camaro had. At the time, I drove nearly 50,000 miles a year and I knew that these cars, which had disc brakes and heavy duty suspension were among my safest choices. At a steady 55 mph, the ’73 consistently obtained 20 mpg.
Mechanically, both were almost faultless, which again, confirmed my choices.
When I had the brakes done on one of them, at 118,000 miles, the mechanic told me that 18,000 miles was not good performance for a brake system. One improvement which greatly improved both cars was replacing the Good Year Polyglass tires with B.F. Goodrich “Life Saver” radials. The difference in ride, noise reduction and performance was considerable.
I’m glad that you had great experiences; perhaps the heavy duty suspension helped change their personality. The weight figure that I found was for a big block apparently – I’ve changed the text accordingly.
There’s a guy for every sorority girl, and I’m glad that yours was a better match.
Of note, if you wanted your car door to not sound like an empty space, you had to order option coed A91, deluxe sound insulation package. If this were a dealer stock unit, shame on the dealer! Another cheap trick was to not order A01 – light package. Those lights made a difference and were a pleasure: trunk lamp, under hood lamp, fender-mounter turn signal indicators and more.
My first car was a 70 Dodge Challenger. It came with a 3 speed manual 318 engine. However what made it special was the stock sun roof! I had 50’s on the back 78’s on the front with ET slotted mags. Highjscker airshocks. It was quick of the line but no top end. It was a brown suttle metal flake with a white landau top. It looked good going down the road and the girls liked it too.
Beautiful with flawed timing and execution…that’s how I remember the 1970-74 Challenger/Barracuda.
In contrast, the 1970 1/2 GM F-bodies were in a class by themselves, probably the all-around best sport compacts ever built (although there’s much good to say about recent Mustangs as an all-around package).
The window glass on my ’74 Dart Sport did the same thing. 60 MPH and it would pull away from the weatherstripping, by a quarter to a half of an inch it seemed. Sometimes closing the vent doors beneath the dash helped to reduce incoming air flow and allowed the windows to seal a bit better. However the wind noise the side windows created was quite loud.
To me, this 1970 Challenger still looks good today.
My parent’s had a ’78 Cutlass Supreme 2 door. They used “blow out clips” on the upper leading edge of the doors to keep the windows sealed at higher speeds.
This reminds me of my cousin’s 73 Firebird. This was bright orange with rally wheels, and a stereo more powerful than the straight 6 and automatic under the hood.This was actually period correct since in the late 70s I recalling seeing far more Firebird Esprits than Trans Ams.
I’m glad my parents spent the 70s driving imports so I was spared this stuff with the windows blowing out and parts falling off. .
I drove a co-worker’s 1970 Roadrunner and could not believe what a shaking rattle trap it was. My ’66 A-100 van felt more solid.
I don’t doubt that the car needed a valve job, but I don’t think that cause/effect line you’ve drawn is correct. Availability of unleaded gasoline was mandated throughout the USA for July 1974, but in that timeframe there was no phaseout of leaded gasoline, nor any significant reduction in the amount of lead in the leaded gasoline on offer. In fact, 1976 was the year of peak leaded-gasoline consumption in the USA.
More cars needed more valve jobs more often back then—even with leaded gasoline.
You’re right Daniel, cars did need valve jobs more often.
Unleaded fuel was introduced in California in late 1970, but leaded fuel wasn’t completely phased out until later. Although unleaded fuel was advertised to be used on 1971 and newer vehicles, some didn’t read the fine print and used it on older vehicles with sometimes expensive results. Some cars didn’t seem to have problems, while others did.
Leaded regular gasoline remained on the market until the late 1980s, the fuel recommeded for many 1971 models and virtually all 1972-74 models. It was leaded premium gasoline – required for 1970 and earlier cars with high compression engines – that was phased out in the mid to late 1970s as sales of such fuel was in a terminal decline and many station operators could not afford the cost of adding a third underground storage tank or additional pumps, so the premium pump and tank was changed to unleaded, which would be required for 1975 and later models with catalytic converters. The leaded premium fuels were ulimately replaced by super unleaded gasolines (92 octane vs 95-96 octane for leaded premium under the octane rating system of the mid-1970s and later).
Oh those doors… I can still hear them clunk. I always loved the look of those cars but driving them was always a tinny experience. And then I bought a 74 Monte Carlo…. they didn’t sound as bad as the Dodge variant but you had to do a full on body slam to get them to close all the way. And if those windows weren’t set tilted inwards by 2” or more you had anything smaller than a medium sized chicken fly in between the window and weather stripping. So the choice was, simply this…. either put on 50 pounds so you could do a proper body slam or stay slim and buy earplugs ….. ahh the good old days…
I have to ask even though it’s a little off topic. What did the Firemen do to resolve the extra 100 gallons of gas that spilled. Did they just dilute it with a bunch of water? Can’t imagine the sucked it up or had an extra 500 pounds of kitty litter available.
Great question. They first applied foam, then somehow removed it. I couldn’t stay around and watch (that whole work thing) but the big fear were the fumes evaporating, as that’s what’s explosive. We couldn’t start any vehicles near there, so I hooked up a long chain to a forklift and towed vehicles as necessary to a place where they could be started.
There may be others that can say what would be done now, but back then we were well aware of what an errant spark could do to drifting fumes.
As a life long lover of Chrysler products who lives on the other side of the world. I feel time is running out for me to experience first hand one of these beautiful cars, though there is a chance I may be able to obtain something in the near future.
So I have a question.
If a car like this was carefully reassembled from the Unibody outwards, with some extra attention paid to sound deadening and proper sealing to ensure water tightness, would these cars feel as good as they look ?
I always liked the challengers,they were and still are a sharp looking car, but my favorite car is the 1966 dodge charger,and iam a proud owner of one,and I wiil not ever own or want any other car,only the 66 charger, the 66 and 67 chargers are very different then any car on the the road,and are very beautiful when they are restored,
I desperately wanted a Challenger or a ‘Cuda for the first car I would buy with my own money, but it didn’t happen. A couple of years later, I moved and it seemed like it was Mopar muscle heaven, people I worked with, friends, neighbors, had tons of them, from the B-bodies to A’s, and of course, E-Body Challengers and ‘Cudas. A friend of mine was looking for an E-Body in 1977, and I was coming back from someplace one morning and saw his next car, a 1973 340 Challenger Rallye, yellow with a white vinyl top and black interior. it had (I think, it was a long time ago)17,000 miles on it. It looked new, inside and out. The doors didn’t rattle! A deal was quickly made and the only things we did to it was to swap out the factory junk shocks for KYB’s, plugs and wires, a new fan belt, and we changed out the original radiator hoses, just in case. I had already owned a 1974 360 powered Roadrunner, so I knew the tricks to wake up the 340, which wasn’t bad at all anyway. As usual, the Thermoquad’s linkage wasn’t adjusted correctly, I bumped the timing up a couple of degrees, disabled the bizarre OSAC (Orifice Spark Advance Control) with a drill. The car ran great but couldn’t survive his terrible driving leading to dents in every panel, and habit of tearing up headliners and dashes. By he time he got to wanting a “new car”, in 1981, the Challenger was a mess. I was going to buy it from him, but money was tight, so off it went. It was replaced with a Camaro that seemed to make him drive even worse than he did in the Challenger. He somehow put the soon to be gone Challenger in the middle of his two car garage and tried to park the plastic nosed Camaro next to it the second day he had it! $800 damage and he blamed everyone and everything but himself.
Another friend’s ’70 440 ‘Cuda was another well put together E Body. He kept that car until his kid needed college money and off it went about 2001 or so. It was still in great shape and all original, except the junk console had been replaced. Another car I wanted very badly.
The only really rattlely E-Bodies I came across were base of base models.