Vehicle Description
This incredible Hemi Challenger is fully sorted and ready to rock.
You'll probably need a new Viper to keep up with it, and if you put
a set of stock Rallyes on it, it might even pass for a restored
stocker at shows. The combination of build quality, performance,
and the subtlety of the package make for an insanely appealing Hemi
Challenger.
Jason Bair and the experts at Bair Customs, home of the Big Hemi
garage get the nod for the workmanship. To start, they sourced a
clean but tired Challenger, complete and running, and tore it down
to a bare shell and rebuilt it from the ground up. The result is a
car that looks fairly stock aside from the rolling stock, but moves
like a modern supercar with all the creature comforts. In short,
it's the pure essence of pro-touring, Mopar style.
When that Challenger body was stripped naked, they fixed every bump
and bruise it had ever suffered. If the panel was too far gone to
be salvaged, it was replaced and invisibly stitched into the
existing shell. It was primed, sanded, blocked, sanded some more,
until it was totally straight. Once that part was done, they
sprayed it with a few coats of traditional Hemi Orange Metallic, so
it looks stock until the light hits it just so, then it really
starts to glow. The blacked-out hood treatment is painted on, not a
decal, and it's buried under the clear so it looks like a black
hole that's settled on the hood. Trick flat black R/T side stripes
were added to complete the factory look. All the things guys love
most about the E-bodies, including a Go-Wing on the trunk and
hard-to-find louvers on the rear window, were included with this
build. Like I said, aside from the large-by-huge wheels and the
subtle custom grille, this sucker's got a very stock look and
that's just the way they wanted it.
Respecting the original design was paramount on this build, so
while it does everything better than a stock car, it doesn't color
too far outside the lines. That's why inside you'll find a set of
custom buckets reupholstered to look like stock Challenger seats,
complete with horizontal pleats. Sure, the bolsters are aggressive
and the headrests are cool, but they don't jump out at you like
with some builds. The stock center console remains in place and the
back seat was reupholstered with restoration-grade seat covers for
a totally original look. New carpets, fresh door panels, and
several hundred feet of DynaMat underneath give it a factory-fresh
look and a new car feel. There's a custom tilt column that blends
into the background, mostly thanks to the original-style Tuff
Wheel, and the full complement of factory gauges remains in the
dash. The original Music Master AM radio remains in the dash for
show, but there's a killer AM/FM/CD/iPod stereo system hidden out
of sight, and the original A/C controls still manage the system,
which blows ice cold today. Carbon-fiber accents on the dash,
console, and pistol-grip shifter add a touch of high-tech without
being terribly obvious about it. Even the painted and powdercoated
trunk was neatly outfitted with a custom OEM-style mat and original
space-saver spare and inflator kit to help the illusion. Honestly,
the truly amazing thing here is that guys this talented were able
to restrain themselves and stick to the factory recipe, because the
line between the new and factory stuff is virtually invisible.
The engine is a Gen III HEMI stroked to a legit 426 cubic inches by
Muscle Motors, noted Hemi builders with a serious reputation. With
close to 600 horsepower on pump gas, this Challenger humiliates any
original Hemi Challenger and once you find out how well it works
you won't go back to stock again. It idles nicely, it pulls like a
freight train, and thanks to a full shakedown on the Power Tour, it
can be driven daily without complaints. There's sequential fuel
injection living under a custom billet aluminum air cleaner that
simulates the original dual-quad look but with modern day
performance and reliability. A billet accessory drive with
serpentine belt controls all the modern conveniences and dresses up
the front of the engine, and a giant aluminum radiator keeps it
cool. You can see Jason Bair's attention to detail everywhere you
look as there's simply no part that was simply installed;
everything was either polished, painted, or plated and when it went
on, it was aligned and straightened to look right. Maybe that's a
kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder, but when you get results
like this, a little crazy is probably OK.
It's backed by a Keisler/Tremec TKO600 5-speed manual transmission
that's more than willing to handle the massive torque moving
through it. A custom driveshaft was fabricated to withstand the
force and feeds a built Dana 60 rear end filled with 3.73 gears on
a Sure Grip limited slip. The original suspension is long gone
(would you trust it at this point?) and replaced with a tubular
subframe and a full Reilly Motorsports Alter-K-Tion front
suspension with tubular A-arms, coil-over shocks, and a fat sway
bar. There's also power rack-and-pinion steering and giant Wilwood
brakes with 6-piston calipers in front and 4-pistons in back, all
supported by a Hydro-Boost power assist. In back, that bulletproof
Dana 60 hangs on a custom Hotchkiss suspension with a set of trick
adjustable shocks and application-specific leaf springs. Subframe
connectors reinforce the tub and obviously the floors and underside
of the car are every bit as nice as the top side. Finally, 2.5-inch
exhaust system, which features polished ceramic-coated long-tube
headers, a TTI X-pipe, and mufflers big enough to make the Hemi a
reasonable choice for long-distance cruising. Custom Boze 2-piece
wheels measuring 19x8 up front and 19x10 in back were fitted with
Mickey Thompson street performance tires that do their best to hook
it up.
It took thousands of hours and deep into the six-figures used to
create this awesome machine, and If quality and detail, not to
mention full functionality, matters to you, then this is the
Challenger for you. Call us today to make it yours!
Highlights:
Professionally built pro-touring restomod Challenger
6.1L Hemi V8 bored and stroked to 426ci (7 liters)
Electronic Fuel Injection
Estimated 600 horsepower
Tremec TKO600 5-speed manual transmission
Dana 60 rear axle
Hemi Orange metallic exterior
Power rack-and-pinion steering
Modern air conditioning
Black custom bucket seats with enlarged bolsters and custom factory
style upholstery
Alter-K-Tion front suspension with tubular A-arms and coil-over
shocks
Custom Hotchkiss rear suspension with adjustable shocks and
application-specific springs
19" custom Boze 2-piece wheels
Power four wheel Wilwood disc brakes
Fabricated 2.5-inch exhaust system
