The Dodge Challenger Message Board

i'm thinking of buying a '73 challenger as my son's first car to restore. he is thirteen and has always wanted a challenger. the one we're looking at is a 318 auto with 86000 miles. supposed to run. pretty fair condition but passenger side has some putty in it though. the owner wants $2100 for it. should i go for it? thanks

It sounds like a bargain to me. Go for it! $2100 is a very good price for a decent, running car. The main concern is rust. A lot of it and you have bought yourself a lot of trouble.

at that price its worth it in parts alone surely
cheers ian

Buy it! Thats a steal around here!

Found this one on another site. $2,100 sounds pretty good.

http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index ... ;topicseen

Jon wrote:Found this one on another site. $2,100 sounds pretty good.

http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index ... ;topicseen

And the one for 4500.00 doesnt even have a title to it!!!Yep you are correct Jon, that is a good buy!

Yes eddie, title issues can be a real problem especially here in Kallyfornia. My buddy just bought an out of state 2003 Honda VFR800. He can't even register it because it is a 49 state model. EPA issues you know. His sister lives in Nevada so he will ride it over there and register it.

I hear we will be smog checking our diesals next year too. Fortunantly a recent law allows any car older than 1975 to be exempt from smog checks. For years I would non-op the Challenger each year a smog check was due as there is no way that baby would pass. Then I would reregister it the following year.

Sorry to get off subject. Just venting. That's still legal here I think.

Jon wrote:Yes eddie, title issues can be a real problem especially here in Kallyfornia. My buddy just bought an out of state 2003 Honda VFR800. He can't even register it because it is a 49 state model. EPA issues you know. His sister lives in Nevada so he will ride it over there and register it.

I hear we will be smog checking our diesals next year too. Fortunantly a recent law allows any car older than 1975 to be exempt from smog checks. For years I would non-op the Challenger each year a smog check was due as there is no way that baby would pass. Then I would reregister it the following year.

Sorry to get off subject. Just venting. That's still legal here I think.

Don't be sorry Jon, thats scary man! Diesels are gonna be smogged My eldest son is stationed at Travis AFB and he loves his CTD Dodge and has a few electronic enhancements He uses an EDGE box with 8 settings I think, you know the "deal". Jon, does this mean he cant get it passed? He has an old Duster that wont pass, and he just drives it on base. Bummer, I bet just like out here there are some 11 second Diesels that are gonna get nervous, but then again I dont know anything about them actually, mine is all stock, cant they turn them down before the check? or is it gonna be like Canada,(I heard), that you wont be able to have it on your vehicle period! This global warming stuff may impact us hot rodders afterall.

got pics of the challenger today. could i email them to someone to post up? thanks.

Forgive my ignorance but is Travis in Ca? If so the Duster should be exempt if it is older than 1975.

As for the diesals, mine is stock also. I would think your son could just reprogram to stock setting when an inspection is required. They do check other items though. My GMC has a cat on it and if that were removed it would fail. Even your fuel cap has to be air tight.

I have a newer John Deere skip loader and they are sending me notification on that now. The off road equipment industry is now subject to tighter emission standards also. The big scrapers and such are required to retrofit the engines now to the tune of $25,000 a piece. My boss is buying two new 631 Cat scraper with teir 3 engines so he can compete on government jobs. They calcualte the combined pollution from all of your equipment to see if you pass their standards.

As for dirt bikes the 2 stroke is history here. At our riding areas if you are caught on the wrong (smoggy) days without a newer "clean bike" you will be fined. Also the sound level has been reduced to 96 DB. (That's ok with me though as less sound= more ground). Offroad bikes also have air pumps on them now and run lean as can be to pass the current standard.

In 2008 more restrictive laws will take affect.

junker wrote:got pics of the challenger today. could i email them to someone to post up? thanks.

No problem. You can send them to me. Email button at the bottom of my post will get me.
There are some instructions and a test area for you to have a try if you want though.

Man, Jon, that sounds very expensive for your heavy equipment and tier classifications! My son's Duster is a 76. He doesnt drive it that much and gets out next year. Interesting about the 2-strokes, didn't know that? Oh yes I almost forgot Travis AFB is near Sacramento Cali. I was stationed near there,(Mather AFB), there myself in the early eighties. It's getting to the point that "hotrodding" may get very expensive, anywhere. it's also good to know he can unplug? the box mods on his Cummins Diesel.

here are some pics of car. what do you think?

front seats are perfect. no rips. comes with extras. new radiator, new cam, new manifold. and more.

mileage

ianandjess wrote:at that price its worth it in parts alone surely
cheers ian

I agree with that. The rallye hood for instance is worth maybe $400 if it is in good condition.

It doesn´t look very rotten at all. The places to look for rust are the trunk floor (nearly all of them are rusted there), the firewall (specially where the inner fenders meets the firewall) and the front floor.

What do you want to do with it? If you spend $750 (a very rough estimate) on missing chrome trim, sidemarkers and so on, you will have a great looking ride. I still think it is a bargain. You will need some extra money though since these old cars need spare parts every now and then.

Bear in mind that this is an old car. You can run into a number of traps if you don´t are cautious. It is a good idea to bring a knowledgeable friend with you and take it for a test drive. Things like that can save a lot of $$$. You could write a book about buying used cars if you want..... How skilled are you when it comes to mechanics? If you have to let other people do everything that needs to be fixed, then this can be an expensive car in the long run. To be able to fix things yourself is gold worth nowadays. Good luck.

I don't think you will find one that good any cheaper. You can't pass it up.

my son is going to restore it to original as his first car. some of the trim comes with it.it will take some work but he is will to do it because of what it is. thanks , doug

I agree. 2100$ is real cheap. This car is a better investment than the 2100.- in the bank. I am wondering why it isn't sold yet, others must have seen it too. Maybe nobody stopped to check it out because everyone thinks it is a Challenger and must be expensive.

Should you decide not to buy it, please post the phone number of the owner, I am sure someone from this board will buy it.

IF you dont buy it, please call me now. I have the cash money,(2100.00). I have a Dodge diesel Truck and trailer. I can depart in a couple hours. Eddie 812-299-2830!

thanks everyone for all your advice and you'll probably see alot more of me or rather my son around this site. we are going to most likely get the car. it has a title. i just have to check the frame but i'm pretty sure its fine. and yes my first thought when i saw it a while back is since its a challenger, the owner probably wanted mint for it. but my son finally nagged me enough that i stopped. i'm not really into muscle cars but my son is a Mopar person so he just had to look at this car. thanks, doug

talked to the owner today. he says the unibody's frame is cracked. is this an easy fix? the owner said they do make unibody frame repair kits. is this true. is it a serious problem. thanks

Easy fix? It depends on where and how much. Impossible to tell with so littleinformation. Nearly all of the Challengers around have cracks, old repairs, rust and so on. Nothing unusual in other words.

Nowadays you can buy a lot of parts to a good price. See http://www.autobodyspecialt.com/ for instance.

junker wrote:talked to the owner today. he says the unibody's frame is cracked. is this an easy fix? the owner said they do make unibody frame repair kits. is this true. is it a serious problem. thanks

Yes it can be repaired. For as "little rust as seen on the body" it's still a steal man. Christer is right.

Christer, when you said that almost all challengers around have cracks, old repairs, rust and so on, you were referring to the frames, right. just want to point a few things out. notice how in the pics the truck lid is slightly bent upward on the passenger side and how even though it is sunk in th ground, the front of the car is a lot higher than the back. is this normal?could it mean that the leaf spring shackles have broken loose and went up through the trunk? thanks, doug

The rear springs have most likely sagged over time. This is common. The front is actually too high is if the engine had been removed which makes the whole thing look worse.
The front suspension height is adjustable because MoPars have torsion bar front suspension.

Challengers do not have a chassis. Only a sub-chassis front and rear. There are repair sections easily available to sort this out.

Just make sure you have the thing straight before welding it up.

If you cannot weld you should learn. It is not hard and will come in handy for all sorts of things over the years.

Check out this company;
http://www.autorust.com/

They make the repair sections which just slip over the existing frame. They also sell bits I would highly reccommend shuch as the "torque boxes" that the 440, 426 and convertible Challengers had welded in each corner of the chassis.

Also, if you want a really strong chassis, they sell subframe connectors which tie the front and rear subframes together. making the whole car strong and stiff. This makes the car handle much better.

If the car is drivable possibly take it to a good shop to check the alignment as it relates to the front and rear axles. If not, check the area below the back end of the doors for distortion. Also the quarter to roof joint.

If the car has been airborne the gaps at the doors may be tighter on the top. Imagine the car being pressed down in the middle like a banana shape. How well do the doors open and close? Where is the crack in the unibody (or frame)?

I am sure the guys here have other ideas. Hope this helps.

doors seem to open like they should. don't know exactly where the crank in the subframe is. going over this weekend to check this car over real good. thanks, doug

dave-r wrote:The rear springs have most likely sagged over time. This is common.

I fully agree.

dave-r wrote:They also sell bits I would highly reccommend shuch as the "torque boxes" that the 440, 426 and convertible Challengers had welded in each corner of the chassis.

Also, if you want a really strong chassis, they sell subframe connectors which tie the front and rear subframes together. making the whole car strong and stiff. This makes the car handle much better.

Isn´t that a bit of overkill considering that it is only a 318" car?
To repair rotten parts (if there are any) would make the body solid enough to handle the power from a 318".
Want more engine than that? Then a pair of sub-frame connectors would be a good idea!

junker wrote:notice how in the pics the truck lid is slightly bent upward on the passenger side

It looks like an easy fix to me. Just a little adjusting needed.

junker wrote:don't know exactly where the crack in the subframe is. going over this weekend to check this car over real good. thanks, doug

To take a closer look at the sub-frames feels like a good idea.

Hopefullly no-one else will buy it before you. My gut feeling tells me that you could get at least $3000-$4000 for it at ebay, just as it is.
Don´t shoot me if I am wrong though.

Or part it and make....