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In 1972 the big block engines were eliminated, again because of emission controls but also because of the high insurance costs for young drivers and their high performance cars. In 1972 there were 27,770 units built. In 1973 the total was 30,221 units manufactured and in 1974 the total was dramatically reduced to 6,063 units. The total production for the five years of the Challenger was just over 135,000 vehicles. The production figures for the 1971 Challenger R/T was 4,630. Of these there were 465 R/Ts made with the 383 4 barrel and a 4 speed transmission.
This numbers matching 1971 Challenger R/T was built on October 10, 1970 at the Hamtramck plant. The car was built for export and was shipped to Canada. It was ordered and built as a dealer demonstrator. During the restoration process I located 3 build sheets for the car. One was under the driver seat another was behind the back seat and a third was under the carpet behind the driver’s seat.
I had been searching for an E-body car specifically a Challenger for some time. I was looking for a car with certain criteria; preferably an R/T, high impact color, white interior, big block engine, 4-speed transmission. I had seen a lot of cars at shows most of which were not for sale or were not worth the money being asked. There was an awful lot of phone calls to parts far and wide in Canada and the US. I found this R/T at the Northern Mopars car show in August of 1998. The owner was considering selling the car but his price was non-negotiable. A deal was made and in September of 1998 I drove the car home to Port Coquitlam BC. Mechanically the drive was wonderfully uneventful; it was a pure joy to be able to drive the highway in such a responsive and fun car. I think I stopped at every gas station on the way.
I have been researching the history of my car. I have been able to confirm ownership back to 1984. There were 4 owners prior to myself, all of which lived in Alberta where each owner registered the car. Although the car was in great condition and I was really pleased with my big boy toy it was not on a par with other non-concourse show cars. It was a 10-foot car; any closer and some of time’s ravages became apparent. In October 1999 I decided it was time to take on the formidable task of restoring my R/T. The paint was looking somewhat faded and was orange peeling in some places. There was evidence of some rust appearing in typical places such as fenders and wheel wells.
I decided that if I was going to do the restoration that I would have the motor restored and the transmission checked as well although at 85,000 miles there were no problems. The motor was removed and sent in to be rebuilt and balanced. Hardened valve seats were installed; a stock cam replaced the slightly modified cam. I was able to locate the carburetor through a previous owner who had done some mild modifications to the engine. The transmission had the bearings replaced. The shifter fork for 1st and 2nd was worn and a used replacement was located and installed.
By the end of November 1999 the car was stripped and ready to have the paint blasted off. During the removal process I discovered a huge mouse nest between the hood and the hood insulation. There was lot of the interior roof insulation in the nest. This would explain the rather large holes in the headliner and would seem to indicate a long storage. The interior floors and the trunk pan were in excellent shape no holier than thou surprises. The factory undercoating had done its job. After the paint had been stripped off, the areas that had had some rust showing were really evident now. Fortunately it was all repairable.
Previously the front and rear panels on both sides had had the rust areas pounded in and a new piece of metal brazed on to the solid areas. The rear window filler had five-dime to quarter size holes in it. This would explain the water leak into the trunk area. The driver's window post was rusted on the exterior and had a several small holes that would allow the wind to blow in and create an annoying wind noise in the car at higher speeds. All of the bad metal was removed and replaced. New front fenders were located and installed.
While the body and mechanical were being restored there were literally dozens of smaller projects that I was working on. These ranged from cleaning parts, polishing the trims and painting others. Replacement parts were needed for other non-salvageable parts such as a new interior headliner. The list seemed endless.
In late January my restoration shop informed me that their painter had quit and that he would not be able to work on the car for at least four months and then it would be another four or five months after that when he would have it finished. The panic was setting in I did not want the car to be unfinished over the summer it might not get finished at all if this were to happen. The searching began in earnest for a new restoration shop. I was able to locate another shop through a friend and the car was transferred to his shop. It was agreed that the car would be finished painting by mid April. We were close. It was the end of April. By April 15, 2000 all the main body parts had been fitted to the car. All body parts were in primer or in key areas a coat of Hemi Orange paint had been applied. With a lot of help the car was reassembled and on May 7, 2000 we attended our first car show of the season with our newly refurbished R/T.
During the restoration process my wife was very patient and supportive. She was extremely happy when all the new and restored Challenger parts vacated our recreation room and one of the bedrooms.
I have gone from spending a lot of my time worrying or working on the car to now spending some of my spare time in a more relaxed state detailing the small things that bug the day lights out of me.
Lately I have been getting some of the parts refurbished that I didn't have the time to do earlier. Some of these items included the replacement of the interior skins for the seats. Repainting or dyeing of the interior trims. The instrumentation has been recalibrated and refurbished and the steering wheel has been renewed.
Would I do this again? Weeellll there is a certain 1970 Charger R/T SE that has been able to coax me back into doing another restoration. This one will be a very long-term project.
Notice the wheels (space saver tires and rims) really set the car off.
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