Vehicle Description
1973 Dodge Challenger Rallye Tribute
Introduced in fall 1969 for the 1970 model year, the Challenger was
one of two Chrysler E-body cars, the other being the slightly
smaller Plymouth Barracuda. Positioned to compete against the
Mercury Cougar and the Pontiac Firebird in the upper end of the
pony car market segment. Chrysler intended the new Challenger as
the most potent pony car ever, and like the less expensive
Barracuda, it was available in a staggering number of trim and
option levels, and with virtually every engine in Chrysler's
inventory. The Challenger was canceled partway through the 1974
season as Chrysler was convinced there was no longer any market for
noisy ground-pounding performance cars. Dodge tried to up the ante
with a 245hp performance version of the 360ci V-8. The 1974
Challengers were essentially identical to the 1973 models but with
beefier rear bumpers and big rubber bumperettes, as both ends were
required to absorb 5mph impacts without damage.
For consignment, the second to last year for the E-Body Dodge
Challenger but hopped up to true muscle car status. Finished in B5
blue with Rallye Challenger add ons, a powerful rebuilt 440ci V8, a
rebuilt 3-speed automatic transmission for cruising efficiency and
the rally gauge cluster and we have ourselves a day 2 muscle car
ready for whooping ass and maintaining driveability. And for the
numbers aficionados out there, the fender tag is missing and this
was not born as a Rallye car as denoted by the JH callouts in the
VIN. Read on and get that sporty feeling of Dodge performance!
Exterior
Showing off in a very eye pleasing rendition of B5 Bright Blue
Metallic draping the solid surfaces with well minded gaps, good
chrome and the menacing looking dual headlight black egg crate
grille and Challenger badge up front, it's just sporty all around.
The dual scooped hood has satin black inserts for the air inlets
and is flanked by clean and straight fenders on either side. On the
sides, starting at the rear of the front quarters and sweeping
rearward are faux fender vents with diminishing black strobe
stripes and a thin beltline body crease that follows the coke
bottle contour of the car from stem to stern. Chrome sport mirrors
grace the tops of the doors and more B5 blue is covering the sexy
curved roofline. On the back is the traditional muscle car short
deck lid along with a blacked out rear panel that holds the canted
tail light lenses and shiny D O D G E badging just below. 14-inch
Mopar Rally wheels sans trim rings are all around and these are
wrapped with 205/70R14 Hankook blackwall rubber from the 48th week
of 2022. Noted is the side mounted angled exhaust that ends in
front of the rear tires, a nod to the T/A Challengers and AAR
'Cudas of 1970.
Interior
Large wide molded door panels in black are shown sporting some wood
applique in the center and house the handles and cranks. This is
the Fratzog, (gosh I love that word), logo era, and these are on
the door panels. These panels show in very nice condition with only
the slightest bit of fade being seen. The dash shows the original
design with a crack free black padded black top and now sports
rallye gauges in the round being held in a wood applique field. The
original black rimmed 2 spoke steering wheel is fronting this dash
atop a Michelin Man style steering column. The black vinyl seats
are dripping with 1970's styling high thin backs, tuck and roll
inserts, and smooth bolsters front and back, although the back is a
bench style with lower backs. A shout out to the seats as they
present very nicely. New black carpet covers the floors and a black
T-handle slap stick shifter emanates from the black and applique
dressed plastic console on the center hump. Atight new black
headliner hangs proudly above. A shout out to the custom radio
delete plate to the driver's lower right.
Drivetrain
Now playing for your viewing enjoyment...under the hood in a
restored and surgically clean engine bay holding a 440ci V8 circa
1972. Our consignor states that this mill was rebuilt by the
previous owner and has logged approximately 150 miles since, but no
paperwork or details on the internals are known. Up top is a chrome
Edelbrock air filter topper, orange painted factory valve covers
and supple like new hoses and bolt ons. A 4-barrel carburetor feeds
the air and fossils, meanwhile electronic ignition lights the fire.
On the back is a rebuilt in 2022 A727 Torqueflite 3-speed
automatic, also not original to this car. Out back is an 8.75 rear
axle. Muscle car performance in a 1973 package!
Undercarriage
A nice overall patina with only minor surface rust to be seen on
some of the suspension components. Otherwise the rockers, and
flooring and unibody are covered in an application of rustproofing.
We do note a very small area of invasive rust in the left rear
unibody rail, but it is very minor. Independent torsion bar
suspension is upfront with new bushings and a fresh alignment, and
leaf springs are on the back. New disc brakes are on the front and
new drums bring up the rear along with power steering beingnoted. A
new fuel tank, lines and sending unit were installed recently along
with a new trunk pan and header rain down from the engine with
Super Turbo mufflers on for the side exiting duallys.
DriveAbility
With the twist of the key the 440ci powerhouse came to life. A
little bit of warmup time was required and off to the test track we
went. Here it handled nicely, and the interior was very roomy, even
for this slightly portly writer and his even portilier decoder
cohort. Bias free panic stopping is noted and the steering is
solid, however the clock and tachometer both were not ticking away
time nor RPM's and the speedometer read extremely high. Also we
noted theengine exhibited a slight miss and some hesitation while
accelerating. The thump of the big block was music to our ears, and
it was hard to bring our drive to an end.
A fabulous car from the Malaise era of American performance.
Beautiful B5 Bright Blue Metallic paint, snappy wheels and all the
charm that was the 2nd to last year for the E-body Mopars. A long
way away from the way this car was born, but it's right baby bear.
This Challenger will rock your world and leave you wondering why
you didn't jump on this ride sooner!
JH23G3B233871
J-Dodge Challenger
H-High Price Class
23-2 Door Hardtop
G-318ci 2bbl V8
3-1973
B-Hamtramck, MI Assy Plant
233871-Sequential Unit Number
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display. This vehicle is located in our
showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just
1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The
website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888)
227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come
see the vehicle in person.
