1973 Dodge Challenger 340, 4 speed

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Make: Dodge
Model: Challenger
Year: 1973
Mileage: 40,300
Color: Gold
Engine size: 340
Power options: Air Conditioning
Drive type: RWD
Vehicle Title: Clear
Location: Lancaster, Kentucky, United States

Description

I purchased this 1973 Dodge Challenger about five years ago and did a complete restoration on it. There isn't much that wasn't touched on it. The restoration was finished last summer. It was a straight, solid car when I found it. The car had been sitting in a metal building for quite some time. At this point the car is like new and in many ways better than new. The pictures really don't do it justice. It is beautiful inside and out. It runs great and rides great. It's not 100% original. I built the car the way I would have ordered it if I bought it in 73. It was a 318 auto and I had a 69, 340 motor built for it and did a Brewers Performance 4 speed conversion. The paint is the original color but I had a black vinyl top installed instead of the original white. I like the black better. Below is a list or everything that was done to the car.
Body
This car never looked as good as it does now. The paint job is way better than the factory did. Car was media blasted and epoxy primed. It was repainted the original Y9 Dark Gold Poly Metallic. This color is beautiful in the sun. The gold really pops. Only top of the line products were used, PPG DBC Base with PPG Clear. The pictures don't do justice to the paint and body work. The paint is beautiful and the body is later straight. The engine compartment and trunk was painted as well. There is absolutely no rust anywhere.
A new vinyl top, new bumpers, new rally hood and new front and rear valence were installed when the car was repainted.
There were some small holes in the driver side floor pan. I replaced the entire driver front pan.
New marker lights, new side mirrors, new emblems, trim polished.
All new weather stripping.
Interior
New carpet, new scuff plates.
Seats redone with Legendary Auto Interior covers to exactly match original.
New headliner
New rear interior side panel
Interior looks like new.
Gauges look and work like new
Engine and drivetrain
Car was originally a 318 auto but now has a 340 with 4 speed. I have the original block but it is in rough shape.
1969 340 completely rebuilt: Forged pistons .040 over with moly rings, Eagle forged crank with Eagle rods. Lunati cam, Edelbrock aluminum heads, Edelbrock intake and Holley 4bbl carb. Mopar Performance Billett distributor.Doug's ceramic headers. The motor was built right and runs beautifully.
Converted to 4 speed manual with Brewers Performance conversion kit. Rebuilt transmission, Mcleoud dual friction clutch, new flywheel, new pistol grip shifter. I spent almost $5k in parts just to do the conversion.
New driveshaft, 3:55 Sure Grip, new green bearings
Heater box was completely rebuilt with new heater core and all gaskets and seals.
This is a factory air conditioned car. I replaced the original heavy cast iron compressor with a Sanden conversion kit from Buchillon Performance. The brackets, compressor, hoses and condenser are brand new. The AC works perfectly. I also installed a Champion aluminum radiator to make sure everything stays nice and cool under the hood.
Suspension and brakes
Front end completely rebuilt with Moog parts.
QA1 tubular upper control arms
New torsion bars and boots
New shocks
New master cylinder and booster, new front disc brakes.
Rear brakes converted to disc brakes with all new parts. Allrotors, front and back, are slotted and drilled. Pads are ceramic front and back.
Cooper Cobra tires (less than 2K miles)
American Racing wheels.
New rear leaf springs
The Bad:About two weeks after the paint work was done I was trying to adjust the hood alignment and could not get it right by adjusting at the hinge. I was in a rush to get the car ready for the Mopar Nationals. I thought the passenger fender needed to be adjusted and loosened the bolts to move it out a bit. I could not get it to move so I "tapped" it with a rubber mallet and dented the leading edge in about a 1" spot. It cracked the paint slightly. I later figured out it was a simple adjustment in the hinge. The damage is very minor and no one has ever pointed it out.
The rear quarter windows have some scratches on the bottom. Again, nothing major but I notice them. The passenger side window also has about a 2" scratch toward the front bottom edge.While installing the vinyl top I placed my elbows on the trunk lid. There are several very light indentions where I did so. I am going to see if I can get apaintless dent repair guy to fix them if possible. Thesearen't noticeableexcept in certain lighting conditions ( sun low and at an angle). The trunk lid was a new aftermarket unit and the metal isn't as heavy gauge as the original. Unfortunately thatmeans Ishouldn't have put my elbows on it.This car is not a trailer queen. It has been driven and was built to be enjoyed. This was not a rotisserie restoration where every single part was replaced and brought back to OEM show quality standard. The original paint inspection markshaven't been recreated and all the fastenershaven't been plated and checked to make sure they are exactly the way they were from the factory. This is not a brand new car with zero miles on it. This is a 43 year old car at it's core. It is straight, rust free and the paint and body is beautiful. I think it's one of the nicest 73 Challengers I have ever seen. I replaced parts that were unsalvageable and repaired, polished, painted anything that could be salvaged. Ultimately this is a very solid, very nice, reliable, great driving car. It is still a 1973 Dodge Challenger and not a new 2016 Hellcat. The exhaust is a bit loud, there is road noise, the seats don't recline, there's no power locks and windows, no cruise control and the 4 speeddoesn't have short, tight shifts like a Ferrari. If you were to back to 1973 this would have be a great driving and handling car with all the creature comforts. In those days airconditioning and an FM radio were luxuries. 43 years have passed and technology has made even the cheapest cars drive better and more comfortable than the highest performance cars of 1973. This is a classic car for someone who enjoys old Mopars. It is fast, a little loud and a lot of fun. It also get's a lot of attention.

I know I am forgetting something. I spent almost four years redoing this car. It looks and drives better than new. It is not 100% original but does have the build sheet and fender tag. I built the car the way I wanted it. Most of the changes I made were options you could have ordered the car with. It was a 318 auto with a flat hood. I made it a 340, 4 speed with a rally package. I still have the original hood and it will go with he car. I did not cut corners on this car. It is well done and must be seen to be truly appreciated. It is a beautiful car.
I am willing to consider trades or partial trades for Mopar projects or an SRT Challenger or Charger.
On Jul-19-16 at 18:23:25 PDT, seller added the following information:

This car has been garage kept since I bought and restored it. It has not been driven in the rain.

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