Original Dodge Challenger

[newsatten]

Mines a small block, H code 340, block is late 1970, X Cylinder heads, fully rebuilt 4000 miles ago by a specialist in Sussex, 30 over, Eagle Forged Crank, Eagle rods, Keith Black Hyper slugs, race bearing and oil pump, 3 angle valve job, fully blue printed and balanced rotating surfaces, and a full RP race fixing bolt kit, spins very well and has loads of grunt, i had a 70' RM 23 with a 69'HP 440, the small blocks got more power,

Wish list for the future is maybe a stroker, and up the block to 408? and im already sorting a 5/6 speed Tremec type trans, got a tunnel hump
and a genuine E body manual pedal box, just need the 5K for the rest

[neutral 3]

mikial said:

Circa 1973 .

My 1970 440 RT Challenger. Location then was Crossoak Lane , Salfords , Surrey.
Nearby was the A23 pre M25. Drove that bad boy every morning up to Billingsgate Mkt at 4 am.

American auto parts in Wallington , Steve Thompson in Thornton Heath. Suppliers and mechanics.
Preceded by a 1966 260 Tiger. Followed with a 454 manual Corvette. Part exchanged the 'Vette for an orange LHD 2.2 911 E .

Any luck re it's registration number or any more photos ?

[neutral 3]

neutral 3 said:

Any luck re it's registration number or any more photos ?

And was it a 4 speed car ?

Coincidence, but a good pal got chatting to someone @ the weekend, who mentioned that he had a Challenger 440 4 speed back in the day!!
He showed him a faded photo of it on his phone. It looked a pinky type colour, the guy said he re painted it purple and sold it to someone in France. The reg no was visible in the photo, I've asked him to try get some more info on it !!

[aeropilot]

neutral 3 said:

Coincidence, but a good pal got chatting to someone @ the weekend, who mentioned that he had a Challenger 440 4 speed back in the day!!
He showed him a faded photo of it on his phone. It looked a pinky type colour

Panther Pink.

[neutral 3]

Not sure yet if it looks pink in the photo, due to the photo fading.

[SRT Hellcat]

aeropilot said:

Panther Pink.

great colour

[neutral 3]

The Challenger was 50 years old on Wednesday !

[neutral 3]

Plum Crazy 4 speed 340cu A66 car, seen here in 1976. Two brothers owned this Challenger and have great memories having tear ups with other late 60s muscle cars, inc a 396 Chevelle.
They eventually sold it and this one burnt, due to an electrical fault a few years later.

Edited by neutral 3 on Saturday 28th September 08:39

Edited by neutral 3 on Saturday 28th September 08:42

[neutral 3]

Note the 340 badge on the front fender.

[newsatten]

Roof and rear glass panel sorted, came out better than i expected !
The shell's now ready for colour,

[newsatten]

Almost ready the lite the old girl up..................

[neutral 3]

Looking good!

Where did you source the panels from ?
Have you any spares for sale ?

[Mark_Blanchard]

Here’s my matching numbers 340 A66.

[newsatten]

Fab looking motor, my car was originally the same colour, now going Hemi Orange, lol

Is your car a S code?
A manual was always top of my list, but my RT came along, ticked most of the boxes, paper work from new, Build sheet, Broadcast sheet,
4 owners from new and if one believes the mileages on MOt's going back to 88' 40K on the clock, but given the second owner was a US Air Force Top Sargent and spent years away, and the cars control surfaces , steering wheel, Brake and Throttle rubbers are date coded and are like new, it may be true, lol

Ive actually brought no body repair panels, the car is all Mopar, i have however reproduced some repair sections ,as the car did have some small pitting the the floor, and both rear wheel arch were tatty, as were the lower rear drop off's, in the states they just seem to cut off quarter panels, whether just the lower section, or the full quarter, this is very intrusive , im happy to have some gob in my rear quarters and know they are the original panels, and the shell's not been savaged by a disc cutter!

[Mark_Blanchard]

Thank. No not an S code, Just an H code. I do like the 340, with a lighter engine than an R/T, and we still get the R/T suspension. Makes for a nice handling car.

[newsatten]

Cool, mines a S Code, well optioned, and RT Side Decal Delete, and yeah the 340's is a nice power unit, and the car dos'nt feel like a land barge, a 383 is a bit of a boat anchor, but seriously would'nt say no to a 440 Six, Having had a blast in a Six Pac RR, some time back the thing pulled like a train!
I would have brought the car, looked great and had a good reg, LIL440...................



However drove like a 3 legged pig, lol, no power steering or brakes, column shift with reverse pattern auto box, totally tiresome to be in,
I know people say proper muscle cars dont have the above, and maybe back in 69' on the dead straight road in Kentucky this was true
Southern England 2019 they are a must!

Any one on here got LIL ?? i did make some enquirers to Duncan Watts about getting the box back to the right way, and brakes upgrades etc but it just worked to problematic in money and logistics etc, Great looking car

Still hanker after a Manual, hoping to do mine at some point , saving up for a 6 speed,

[Athlon]

newsatten said:

Cool, mines a S Code, well optioned, and RT Side Decal Delete, and yeah the 340's is a nice power unit, and the car dos'nt feel like a land barge, a 383 is a bit of a boat anchor, but seriously would'nt say no to a 440 Six, Having had a blast in a Six Pac RR, some time back the thing pulled like a train!
I would have brought the car, looked great and had a good reg, LIL440...................



However drove like a 3 legged pig, lol, no power steering or brakes, column shift with reverse pattern auto box, totally tiresome to be in,
I know people say proper muscle cars dont have the above, and maybe back in 69' on the dead straight road in Kentucky this was true
Southern England 2019 they are a must!

Any one on here got LIL ?? i did make some esquires to Duncan Watts about getting the box back to the right way, and brakes upgrades etc but it just worked to problematic in money and logistics etc, Great looking car

Still hanker after a Manual, hoping to do mine at some point , saving up for a 6 speed,

LIL 4406 was it not? A butterscotch 69? I put that together originally for a dealer oop North. It looked fantastic when we first finished it on black steels and red stripe tyres, the plate finished it off perfectly.

Later on I brought a white 69 over with the best sounding 440 I have heard, I should not have sold that one, it would run 13.0 all day long in full street trim, easy 12's if I had stuck some slicks on it.

I have worked on so many Mopars over the years, I have to disagree about 383's, a decent one with a fair cam with will pull 6k rpm happily and responds much quicker than a 440

[newsatten]

Yeah sounds like the same car, its was a shade of Orange?? , lift off glass hood with a big scoop!. subframe connectors which im guessing were home made, lol

it belonged to a old guy in West Sussex,
And you may well be right as far as a 383 goes, but a stock one , at almost 700 lbs, in a E Body, nah, lol

As with most things its just a personal preference, which is the good with old cars, theres always going to be one for everybody,

I absolutely love my Chally, great looking car, quick enough, and handles better than you'd think,

All ive got to do is get it finished

[Mark_Blanchard]

Yea I love mine too. Once you get the hang of the driving they’re great (drums and no power steering!), but it goes like stink and they look the business. My 69 Mach 1 hasn’t seen many miles this year as I’ve spent most of the Summer in the Challenger

[newsatten]

Roof blocked and flatted quite nicely , virtually ready for colour now,
hoping to get the car transported to work in the next couple of weeks, but if the workshops busy i may have to postpone , if thats the case i'l abort till next spring!