1970 Dodge CHALLENGER R/T CONVERTIBLE, 383 AUTOMATIC

1970 DODGE CHALLENGER R/T CONVERTIBLE, 383, AUTOMATIC, NUMBERS MATCHING, SURVIVOR CAR 

NOTE: I have taken 461 photos of the car (and four videos).  The photos are in eight categories: 1. Photos of the car with the top up, 2. Photos of the car with top down, 3. Photos of the car from 1983 (the year I bought it), 4. Vehicle Identification Numbers, 5. Fender Tag decoded, 6. Receipts, 7. Four videos, 8. Additional parts and materials that are included with purchase.

I have included a preview of important photos and links to the four Youtube videos in the Ebay Description below, to view ALL 461 of the photos full screen (and be able to zoom-in to the photos) please visit the following Dropbox link (copy the address into your browser)

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/f8jpmyxxkfd8zki/AABY8HUUiqOpTwFwZCAF6TS9a?dl=0

Please let me know if you would like photos of anything that I missed.

About this vehicle

This numbers-matching extraordinarily original 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T convertible, 383, Automatic, is a rare survivor. It retains approximately 70%of its original Bright Red (FE5) paint.  I am the third owner; it has always been a Florida car.  I bought the car in 1983 when I was 19 years old. 

In 1970, there were six hundred and ninety-two (692) 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T convertibles built with the 383 Magnum engine. Of those, there were one hundred and twenty-two (122) that came from the factory with the Bright Red (FE5) paint color. This is the car's original paint, see the photos.

Vehicle Details

This is a numbers-matching car (V.I.N. Dash Plate, cowling, fender tag, radiator support, engine block, differential). The original automatic A727 transmission was exchanged for a reconditioned A727 automatic transmission at A.A.M.C.O. less than a year before I purchased the car, unfortunately.

Regarding mileage, it has 02381 on the odometer, I have put about 1000 miles on the car since I bought it in 1983.  The odometer was around 01381 when I bought it in 1983, I remember this because my dad chided me for paying $2,300.00 for a 1970 car that had 101,000 miles on it in1983. (ha) Of course, the mileage is kind of irrelevant since everything mechanical on the car has been rebuilt anyway. Plus, in Florida this car is regarded as “mileage exempt” due to its age, see Terms and Conditions below.

This car has quite a few options - A727 automatic transmission, factory air conditioning, power steering and power brakes, A01 light package, rim blow steering wheel, front disk brakes, 14” Rallye wheels, flip-top gas cap, 5.5 watt Am/Fm radio, retractable radio antennae, front bucket seats, center console, and more.  I am the third owner of this R/T, the first and second owners lived in Sarasota, Florida, not far from Tampa where I live.  The name of the second owner is on some of the receipts that came with the car.  This car has never been out of the sunny state of Florida.  As mentioned, I bought the car in 1983 for $2,300.00 when I was 19 years old. 

In 1983, I had the engine professionally rebuilt by well-known “Tim's Auto Service” in St. Petersburg, Florida to absolute stock specifications (it was stock before the rebuild). Tim formerly built racing engines for Don Prudhomme.  Needlesstosay, the engine runs very strong.  Review the walk-around and driving videos.   I delivered the entire engine and transmission to Tim and he went through everything.  The receipt for this work is in the receipts photo file.  Around the same time I also went through the suspension system and replaced all of the ball joints, tie rod ends, sway bar bushings, shocks, etc. 

FE5 Bright Red is the cars original exterior paint color.  The car has always had a white convertible top, white longitudinal R/T sport stripes, and originally, white vinyl front and back seats with white door and rear interior panels.  The previous owner either spray painted or replaced these white interior panels and seat covers with black ones and the car remains this way today.  The original cracked black dash was replaced with an NOS one in 1984 (when you could still buy such things).  The car retains its original and rare space saver spare tire and air canister (the space saver spare is worth upward of $1000.00 just by itself). The car has never had a radio installed in it as long as I've owned it, but the fender tag indicates it originally had a 5.5 watt Am/Fm radio.   The car also had a retractable radio antennae (stock, I think) when I bought it in 1983, this will need to be re-placed.  The car only had the driver's side chrome mirror when I bought it, which is the original configuration.  The car still has both scat pack bees decals on the quarter windows, real rarities that get attention.The car has a good exterior side, the passenger side, and a less appealing exterior side, the drivers side.  In the1980s I wanted to see what the car would like without the longitudinal stripe, what you see in the photos is the unhappy result. 

Other than going through the mechanical and suspension and electrical systems of the car to stock specifications, the car is still largely the way I bought it back in 1983. Compare the current photos to the ones from 1983 in the Dropbox link. From 1982 to 1989 I spent about $7,000.00 doing this work.After 1989, I headed off to school in Texas and the car was placed in dry storage for thirty-two years until I brought it back out of storage in2019.  From 2019 to present I've spent about $15,000.00 on the car.  This Work includes having the carburetor rebuilt; having all of the fluids changed; new brake shoes and hoses and calipers; new master cylinder; new front wheel bearings; new black carpet; new fuel pump; new white convertible top and top accessories (all from Year One); and a rebuilt stock steering box.  I also had a new gas tank installed and had all of the wiring harnesses replaced with new ones from Year One.  One of the four videos shows the lights and blinkers working, and the dash gauges working.  The original 14x7 Rallye wheels were stripped and repainted the correct Argent color, and new B.F. Goodrich tires were mounted on them, and the front wheels were aligned.  The air conditioning system does not currently work but all the original parts are there, and its wiring harness is new. 

I have all of the receipts for the Work described above, I even have a couple receipts from the previous owner from1981-1982 that came with the car.  I've taken photos of some of them and they can be seen in the Dropbox link. 

In 51 years, this R/T has never been hot rodded or mistreated or messed with, it has great bones.  The car was only on the road for 13 years when I bought it and stashed it away in storage long ago.  If you compare the car today to the photos from 1983 you will see that it is largely the same car.  I replaced the original ripped convertible top seen in the photos just last year. Regarding the body, some attention will need to be given to the rear quarter panels and the deck filler area.  There appears to be some bondo (thanks to a previous owner) and/or rust in these areas that should probably be addressed.  See the photos, I've tried to show these areas the best I can.  The trunk floor is in reasonable condition, the floor pans are solid.  

Obviously, the car will need interior work, and body and paint finish work, to take it to the next level.  I'll leave it to the next owner to decide whether they want to leave the black interior or go back to the factory original white (the dash and carpet were always black).  The new owner can also stay with the originalFE5 Bright Red exterior color or opt for something else. 

I am including boxes of spare parts with the car.  See the photos in the Dropbox link.  Included are the space saver spare tire and jack parts; the original convertible top boot (probably not useable);rubber door molding; standard antennae; lots of 1970 retractable seat belt parts; a pair of black bucket seat backs; two chrome wheel opening surrounds; two original muffler heat shields; the scarce plastic under dash A/C duct(needs to be re-installed); the old wiring harness and fuse box; a set of 1970metal bucket seat hinge covers; rubber grommets for the rear trunk area; extra space saver spare tire air canister support; the two original 1970 white sun visors (need to be recovered and re-installed); various NOS decals for trunk and engine compartment that I bought in the 1980s; original transmission pan(the car currently has the deep transmission pan I installed in 1984); NOS chrome quarter panel molding still in packaging; used 1970 window crank mechanism; a box of jars with original body and trim fasteners; and an NOS 1970 Dodge Challenger Owner's Manual in great shape, and more.  Photos of these items are in the Dropbox link. 

Please review the many photos, they are part of the Description.  Every Restoration Shop I have taken this car to has described this car as “solid”, and it truly is an amazingly original survivor.Please contact me should you have any questions that I don't address in the Description, or the many Photos.  If the high bidder wants to transport this car, they will need to make all of the arrangements, but I can help load it. The car is currently stored at a residential location in TAMPA,FLORIDA.  The car has a clean Florida Title.

Ponder this,how many unrestored numbers-matching real 1970 R/T convertibles do you thinkstill exist in the world today? 

Below are the links to the four YouTube videos.  Copy their addresses into your browser to view them.  As mentioned earlier, all the videos and 461 photos of the car can also be seen on the Dropbox link (copy the addresses into your browser)

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/f8jpmyxxkfd8zki/AABY8HUUiqOpTwFwZCAF6TS9a?dl=0

 VIDEO: 1970Dodge Challenger RT convertible, driving

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNLv-7-ozFs&list=PLAwh-MR0lfxW4B-BXOt0-vkw24IksU5tl&index=1

 

VIDEO: 1970Dodge Challenger RT convertible, walkaround and headlights and blinkers

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHqq1sImZIY&list=PLAwh-MR0lfxW4B-BXOt0-vkw24IksU5tl&index=2

 

VIDEO: 1970Dodge Challenger RT convertible walkaround with engine running

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnSyNJVpTn8&list=PLAwh-MR0lfxW4B-BXOt0-vkw24IksU5tl&index=3

 

VIDEO: 1970Dodge Challenger RT convertible driving with camera inside car

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sz7yAdWqjfw&list=PLAwh-MR0lfxW4B-BXOt0-vkw24IksU5tl&index=4

 

Below is a photo grid matrix of just some of the photos you will see in the Dropbox link. 

R/T With Top Up R/T With Top Down R/T Photos From 1983 (when I bought it)

Terms and Conditions

If you have an Ebay feedback lower than 10 please contact me before bidding or your bid will be deleted.

Winning Bidder/Buyer must contact me within24 hours or winning the auction through Ebay message.  Please don't bid if you're not serious about buying the car in this auction.  The Winning Bidder must pay a 10% Deposit within 5 days of the auction close.  All Deposits are non-refundable.  Transactions must be complete within 10 days of the close of the auction or the seller can relist or sell it to someone else.  If more time is needed to make the arrangements, please contact me.

Please don't bid unless your funds are ready to meet the Terms of this Auction.  I will not finance the car.  I only accept cash (no personal checks) for in-person transactions, or bank to bank transfer a couple days before the final sale.  I will also accept Paypal for this transaction, or deposit, but the Paypal transaction must clear for10 banking days before I will release the car and the title! 

Transportation is the responsibility of the Buyer.  If the high bidder wants to transport this car, they will need to make all of the arrangements, but I can help load it.  I reserve the right to cancel the auction for a local sale or for any reason.  I have tried to give an honest description of this vehicle with text and photos and videos.  However, because of the age of this classic vehicle, it's almost impossible to list and photo every minute detail, blemish, or some other kind of minor option not working. This is why I have included 461photos and four videos! 

Buyer(s) must recognize that he/she is buying a classic / antique automobile that is 51 years old.  This is not a new auto!  In classic autos that are 51 years old there are parts or components that will have or show wear and tear, either visible or non-visible inside places disassembly would be required to see.  This is reflective and expected of any classic / antique auto that is 51 years old.  There will be no adjustments / refunds or partial payments for this auto.  This classic / antique auto is sold as-is, where is, with no warranty expressed or implied.  All sales are final.  Seller makes no representation, warranty, and or guarantee with respect to the originality of this vehicle or therefore any part of this vehicle.  Serious buyers have been given the right and opportunity to inspect this vehicle, or have this vehicle inspected by a third party.  I welcome interested bidders to personally come and see and drive the car in person.  If you have any question about something specific that is unclear, or I didn't mention it in enough detail, then please contact me via Ebay message.  If you need a specific photo of something, I'll do my best to accommodate your request. 

If a legal issue arises, then any legal proceedings will be held in Hillsborough County, Florida.  All State sales taxes and fees are the responsibility of the buyer and must be paid in his or her State at time of Registration.  Mileage on vehicles sold that are over 10 years old in the State of Florida are sold as “mileage exempt” unless stated in the auction that the car is sold as “true mileage with supported documentation”. This vehicle is sold as “mileage exempt”, which is due primarily to the age of the vehicle. 

If Buyer bids, wins, and / or buys this vehicle, then the buyer fully acknowledges, fully understands, fully agrees, and fully accepts the Terms and Conditions of this Transaction. 

This car is located at a residential address in Temple Terrace, Florida 33617.  Which is eight miles NE of downtown Tampa, Florida. 

 

 

 

 

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