Posted on 05/25/2023 7:44:27 AM PDT by Red Badger
When it comes to barn finds, nothing's more satisfying than seeing a classic that's been sitting for decades come back to life with proper cleaning. But it gets even better when the vehicle in question is a rare muscle car. Say a 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A.
Video at link......................
1970 Dodge Challenger T/A barn find1970 Dodge Challenger T/A barn find1970 Dodge Challenger T/A barn find1970 Dodge Challenger T/A barn find1970 Dodge Challenger T/A barn find1970 Dodge Challenger T/A barn find1970 Dodge Challenger T/A barn find1970 Dodge Challenger T/A barn find
If it looks familiar, it's because I've already introduced you to this Mopar. It happened earlier in May 2023 when Tom Cotter, Hagerty's barn find prospector, found it sitting in a warehouse. It had been parked in the same spot for about 26 years but hadn't been driven since 1984. That's right; this rare and valuable Challenger sat almost untouched for 39 years.
But despite not getting a sip of gasoline in almost four decades, the 340-cubic-inch (5.6-liter) V8 engine under the hood agreed to fire up and run for a short while. A couple of weeks have passed since then, and Tom returned to show us how he managed to fix the drivetrain and put the Challenger T/A back on the road.
Fortunately enough, the muscle car was in surprisingly good condition after so much time in storage. While almost 40 years of sitting can damage a vehicle, this Challenger got very lucky and soldiered on without major rust issues or a locked-up powerplant. Granted, it also got a lot more attention than the average barn find, which can make a massive difference, but it's still amazing that it emerged out of the warehouse still in one piece.
As for the 340 V8 "Six Pack," it needed a lot of work to bounce back. Tom had to fix a vacuum leak and pull out the carburetors and the intake manifold for much-needed repairs. He also replaced a gasket and fitted the car with a new fuel pump and fuel tank. But I think it was a far easier mission than a complete engine rebuild. And seeing such a cool muscle car being returned to public roads is priceless.
Speaking of which, this Challenger T/A is not only rare by production numbers. It's also a rare gem in terms of originality. Because while Dodge built more than 2,000 T/As in 1970, very few of them made it to 2023 with all the sheet metal and internals still intact. Not to mention still wearing the factory finish. Yup, this Mopar is one of those unrestored and unmolested survivors. The kind that crosses the auction block for six-figure sums.
A one-year-only version, the T/A was launched in 1970 as a homologation special, enabling Dodge to race the Challenger in the SCCA Trans Am series. While the race-spec car had a 303-cubic-inch (5.0-liter) V8, the production model arrived with a "Six Pack" version of the regular 340 V8. It was rated at 290 horsepower. The Challenger T/A also came with extras like a low-restriction exhaust with side-exiting pipes, a larger air scoop, a fiberglass hood, and a heavy-duty suspension system.
Dodge built 2,399 units of the T/A in 1970. Although the company planned a similar model for 1971, the revised T/A was canceled following Dodge's withdrawal from the series.
WON'T POST FOR SOME REASON....................
PING!.................
The only thing I ever find in old barns is angry critters.
The only thing I ever find in old barns is old Shiite...............
Oh man, those were the days! Before The Erf got a fever and all. ;-)
From a better vanished time.
Yep, gas << $0.50/gal, McD’s burger 15c...
dishwasher wages $1.25/hour...
WOW!
As long as the damn thing doesn’t have a Slant 6, I’m good with it.
Fantastic find. It’s like something out of a Mad Max movie. I marvel that such vehicles manage to make it down the decades with no one bothering them.
Nice.
If I was finding old Muslims in my barn I would be really worried.
Only if you had sheep or goats.........................
I can’t speak for your location, but where I lived, in 1970 gas was 30-32 cents a gallon. It rose to 50 cents in 1973-74 after the oil embargo.
And a full size Snicker bar was a nickel!
That’s the kind of numbers I recall. Lived in Denver then. In the mid sixties, every Saturday we’d pile into the station wagon and drive to the fuel wholesaler downtown and fill the 5 gallon mower cans... 23c a gallon... hit 40c to 50c early 70s around the time I started buying it for myself, out of my $1.25/hour wages.
Yep, 28-33 cent gas was pretty common before the oil embargo in 73. The exception was Amoco premium ‘white gas’, the unleaded high octane gas sold for around 40 cents/gal where I lived.
Nobody I knew used the Amoco on a regular basis, but a lot of folks would run a tankful through their car once or twice a year believing it would clean out lead and carbon deposits.
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