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Octane red 71 Challenger

12sandwich

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I am in the process of painting our 71 Challenger R/T clone.
Car is a GB5 blue car originally. Wife sorta wants to keep it blue. I not so much.
Is it silly of me?
She does like the red, but I think she feels the car is worth more the original color.
I keep telling her its not a numbers matching car, and was a original 383 2 barrel car. Now a 440 six pack R/T clone mostly correct. Been a driver for over 10 years, finally getting near completion on a over winter stripping, and am pulling the engine to strip and paint.
Another part of the reason is, I have a super blue Dart also, and have had it over 30 years, and am not sure if I want 2 blue cars. Though admittedly I built the Challenger for her.
 

Adam

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Happy wife and all that... also, if price is a concern, you should see if there is a difference, I believe red is much more expensive because it is mined by children in Antarctica...j/k. I know a half gallon of Plum Crazy base was over $200 a couple of years ago.. or maybe I just got hosed.
 

12sandwich

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Happy wife and all that... also, if price is a concern, you should see if there is a difference, I believe red is much more expensive because it is mined by children in Antarctica...j/k. I know a half gallon of Plum Crazy base was over $200 a couple of years ago.. or maybe I just got hosed.
She brought up the same thing about red paint being more, I didn’t sorta believe her, but she was correct, red cost more.
It’s all expensive though.
I bought 2 small samples of B5 blue, the correct 71 paint, and the new version, which I saw has some red in the new B5 mix. In the can I can’t hardly tell them apart. 50 bucks
 

12sandwich

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Last year, shortly before we drove it to the mopar nats.

The other pics is the other day at a friends body shop.
Picked it up today to pull engine, strip firewall, and give him a break from it for a couple weeks.

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BC54F9AB-58C9-4543-AC72-F231C1BEF683.jpeg
 

aussiemark

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If it is you wife's car let her decide happy wife happy life plus it will save time not having to paint every nook and cranny like under the trunk lid and even the original jack instruction decal can stay.
 
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12sandwich

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If it is you wife's car let her decide happy wife happy life plus it will save time not having to paint every nook and cranny like under the trunk lid and even the original jack instruction decal can stay.
We bought it together, but I’ve always referred to it as her car.
The painter is painting everything anyways, and he’s the one that put out the idea of changing the color. Now is the time if you want it another color!
He’s pretty adamant about painting every nook and cranny and said he wants the under hood, door jams to look as nice as the rest. I have all new decals for all of it also.
I admittedly drive it more than her.
 

Knock Out

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Hmm b5
Works for me
Hope it works out for both of you
 

Grady Cain

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First - welcome from NW CT. Nice looking car you have. Sounds like you have a potential domestic conflict brewing. :lol:

As far as value is concerned, original paint color is best for a car that has significant value. I'm always for original but you are building a tribute car so a color change is not an issue here in my opinion. Now is the time to change color for sure. Yes, red is more expensive but as you stated earlier, everything is expensive so don't let a minor increase in material cost dictate what your vision is for the color of the car. It comes down to coming to a peaceful compromise with your spouse and what will ultimately look the coolest when she (or you) is driving it. At the end of the day, it's a Challenger - it will look f'n awesome no matter what color you paint it...
 

moparlee

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Welcome to the site from mid Michigan. Either one of those colors looks great on a Challenger. As you know there are many shades of a color unless of course you stick with the original factory colors.
 

12sandwich

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First - welcome from NW CT. Nice looking car you have. Sounds like you have a potential domestic conflict brewing. :lol:

As far as value is concerned, original paint color is best for a car that has significant value. I'm always for original but you are building a tribute car so a color change is not an issue here in my opinion. Now is the time to change color for sure. Yes, red is more expensive but as you stated earlier, everything is expensive so don't let a minor increase in material cost dictate what your vision is for the color of the car. It comes down to coming to a peaceful compromise with your spouse and what will ultimately look the coolest when she (or you) is driving it. At the end of the day, it's a Challenger - it will look f'n awesome no matter what color you paint it...

I’ve seen the car blue for almost 15 years.
I like F7 green, they’re all like yuk.
I could easily love Black with white stripes.
I’m not really a red guy, but everyone likes that High Octane red.
Years ago I pulled the hood off, and had another local shop paint the bottom of the hood, as it was flat black and drove me nuts. Funny thing is I like that color, he insisted it’s B5 blue, I said it looks like it’s got a little green in it?
I thought about having him mix up a couple gallons, and match it, but the painter doing the car says that’s not B5 blue.
Anyways by changing the color to a more current paint code, I figured it may pop more, and end some of the, is it all original questions I get.
Most people that know mopars, can determine pretty quickly if it’s a original v code car, and the moment it’s started they know it’s not original, as it’s got at least a 100 or more horsepower then original, and idles like a super stocker. I’ve ran 11s in the car and lifted around a 1,000 feet.
 
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wedg2go

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If you "Built the Challenger for her" then ultimately the decision should be her choice. You can try to sell her on a color change - red, blue, green. However, in the end, it's all her because of those 5 little words. Keep her interest going to be proud of what she is driving. Color is a very personal choice. I know this to be true first hand.
 

12sandwich

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If you "Built the Challenger for her" then ultimately the decision should be her choice. You can try to sell her on a color change - red, blue, green. However, in the end, it's all her because of those 5 little words. Keep her interest going to be proud of what she is driving. Color is a very personal choice. I know this to be true first hand.

Your correct, I did build it for her.
But as Grady stated it’s a tribute car, and color change isn’t an issue.
So by including other E body owners, lovers of them, mopar gurus, maybe she will be less inhibited in a choice of color, and make it hers, and a more personal choice when choosing a color. Being a available current mopar color is kinda cool also.
I get it if it was a numbers matching car, and one of 250 six pack challengers, or even an original R/T car.
I could tell her Purple cars command more money, and she could easily probably be swayed towards purple.
It’s not about the money to me, it’s about living with a color you like, and will enjoy for years to come.
If it’s painted blue again, it’s a shiny new version of what we had.
If it’s any other color, it’s personal and your choice, and yours.
The car has personality, and turns heads everywhere it’s drove, and when it’s started and running they know it’s a brute.
The right color will emphasize it more, or it could make it more understated I suppose.
I just don’t want it kept blue for the wrong reason, like thinking it’s worth more money, cause it’s original.
 

Knock Out

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Just curious
I have not built a challenger or cuda myself
But when you build a tribute car with more power than the original how important are the torque boxes
 

12sandwich

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Just curious
I have not built a challenger or cuda myself
But when you build a tribute car with more power than the original how important are the torque boxes
It’s a big block car so it has torque boxes.
It could use frame connectors, as I don’t want to screw up the bodywork.
Hemi torsion bars, front and rear sway bars, skid plate on the k frame, hemi oil pan, it’s mostly correct.
I did pull the 3.91 gear and put some 3.23 in, and it still ran 12.70 with the drag radials.
Currently has Magnum 500 wheels and some Cooper tires you can spin at will.
 

DrEamer

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First of all Welcome to the site!!!, You have a beautiful Challenger. I know what a struggle choosing a paint color is. My wife and I went through this last year on our tribute car. My original thought was Plum Crazy, but she thought Rallye Red after seeing it in a car show. One morning after she was playing around on the internet looking at colors, she loved the Purple. I was considering the new Plum Crazy, but after finding it was $1200 a gallon for just the PPG Deltron base coat,we decided not to. In the end we went with House of Kolor Pavo Purple. Most people will not care that it is not an exact factory color, just that you are preserving a piece of automotive history in your own way.
 

340challconvert

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It has already been said;
Paint the car the color your wife wants
You are lucky your wife enjoys the Challenger.
Many wives just “tolerate” their spouse’s
hobby. If she is that into it; make her happy
JMO
Dino2 (1).gif
 
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wedg2go

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It has already been said;
Paint the car the color your wife wants
You are lucky your wife enjoys the Challenger.
Many wives just “tolerate” their spouse’s
hobby. If she is that into it; make her happy
JMO

Boy-'O-Boy, ain't that the truth!!!

or

"If" the "tolerate" factor becomes a small bit of "Interest" from time to time she'll come around with:

"Your car is stinkin' up the garage." or "You smell like you car." not caring you installed the biggest lift comp cam under all those carburetors.

or

"It costed how much in gas to go to that show in Colorado Springs?" not realizing you're running 3:92s on that 110 mile one way trip.

or when wifey, again, having a casual interest in it - will say

"I don't like the color, but it's your car!".......I've learned to smile alot and roll with the punches....Grrrrrrrr!!!

Coming up 42 years and I still love her! I'm just glad I had the foresight to designed the garage, where my show cars are parked, to be the farthest one away from the livable area. A man, sometimes, just needs his space after hearing all those snippets from his wife. LOL!

"Make her happy" is right!

Just another JMO comment....
 

DetMatt1

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Welcome to the site from the Motor City!
If my wife was as interested in these cars as it sounds like yours is the decision would be all hers.
 

340challconvert

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One important lesson; NEVER use Brake Cleaner fluid or Industrial Grade Aerokroil Rust Buster in a garage that is attached to the house.
Could be grounds for divorce?
Be forewarned!
 

12sandwich

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A few years ago right after the cam break in. Let it cool down a few hours fired it up.
Pulled the engine a year ago, inspection, file fit rings, touched up the valves, thinner head gaskets, milled the heads a touch.
Gonna put new valve springs in the next couple weeks, as we are pulling the engine anyways to paint.
Idles nice enough in gear and traffic the wife can drive it.
In the end I will let her decide on the color.
 
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