RzeroB
Well-Known Member
An aquaintence of mine here in St Louis has a 1971 Challenger RT Hemi (clone) for sale. John, the owner, has a large shop with a lift so I got to inspect the car from
bumper to bumper, inside and out and top to bottom. When I was done inspecting the car we took it out for a test drive of about 5-6 miles or so. Here's my impressions:
Body: The car was rotisserie stripped, cleaned and painted . The driver's floor, trunk pan, trunk extensions, one front fender, trunklid and both rear quarter panels
were replaced. The body is super-straight with all the body lines and panel gaps aligned properly. Given the extent of the metal work done on this car it turned out
exceptionally nice and you would never know it had so much metal work done to it. About the only issue with the body is with the doors. Both the left and right doors
line up properly when closed but "droop" slightly when opened (relatively common issue). When closing you can hear the jamb striker rubbing on the top edge of the door
latch which causes them to require a little "effort" to close them.
Paint: The car was painted in FE5 Rallye Red using a modern catalyzed base-coat clear-coat paint. The paint is very nice over the entire surface of the car. It has a nice shiney lusterous gloss to it as I imagine they had new from the factory. There are no runs, drips, sags, ripples or "orange peel" anywhere on the car - not even underneath! The car was rotisseried and the
underside of the car is fully painted and looks very nice too. Whoever body and paint person was, he was extremely good.
Exterior Trim: Bumpers are new. Tail lights are new. Grille and lower valance look good. Wheel lip, drip rail, hood edge and trunk lid edge stainless mouldings look
new. The "Challenger" script on the tail panel and the tail light reflectors (on the tail panel) looked a little "tired" and could use a good detail. About the only
issues are the right side drip rail moulding front edge (where it goes into the door jamb opening and ends just above the upper door hinge) didn't appear to be
installed correctly. The moulding end tab is sticking up when it should be "tucked" underneath the windshield moulding.
Engine/Trans/Axle: 426 CID 465 HP Mopar Performance crate motor. John claims that he installed it right out of the crate with out any modifications. Engine is mounted
to a stock small-block K-member using Schumacher motor mounts. Stock cast-iron exhaust manifolds are installed for the exhaust. Engine is topped with a single 750CFM
Holley vacuum secondary carb with electric choke. New Year One radiator. The trans is a 727 Torqueflite rebuilt by a local performance shop and uses a "stock" torque
converter. The rear axle is a "489" Sure Grip housing 8.75 unit with 3:23 gears rebuilt with new differential and axle bearings.
Suspension/Brakes: Manual drum brakes all around with all new brake lines. Front suspension completely rebuilt. Torsion bars replaced with "960" Hemi bars. Hemi front
sway bar installed. Hemi rear leaf springs installed. New rallye wheels with Goodyear 235/60/15 tires (tires still have the "nubs" on them).
Interior: The interior is a standard black vinyl bucket seat interior with standard gauges, a center console and a Slap-Stick shifter. The seat covers, carpet, door
sill covers, headliner and door panels are all new and look nice. The dash is an AC dash with the AC vent openings and has no cracks. The interior has some minor
issues where the steering column, metal part of the dash and the metal woodgrained door panel inserts look a little "tired" and could use a good detail. The center
console has some scratches and the storage compartment door hinge is messed up preventing the door from closing correctly (those things have always been a problem).
Test drive: The engine fired right up even though it was only about 42 F. The exhaust is relatively loud and "rumblely," On the drive the car was "tight" with no
excessive squeaks or rattles. The only noise other than that of the Hemi came from the speedometer. The speedometer needle fluctuated and I suspect the speedometer
cable needs to be replaced. The Hemi ran perfectly without a stumble or stutter and the transmission shifted firmly. John didn't press the car and took it easy - I
think the fastest we went was about 45 mph (he cringed every time he heard a tiny piece of road debris hitting his paint job!).
John's Challenger is a relatively nice Hemi "clone". The basic car is good and the body and paint (the hard time and cash consuming stuff) are exceptionally nice given
the extent of the work done. The engine is solid and the transmission appears to be also. The interior is a not as sharp as the outside - the big stuff is good (seats,
carpet, headliner, etc) but it needs some detailing attention to the lesser things (steering column, metal dash, center console, and door panel inserts) to make the
car super nice. I see Hemi E-body "clones" going for a more money than John is asking. Maybe those cars are exceptional and need nothing, I don't know.
John is asking $57,900
Contact John at 636-221-1640 or [email protected]
Link to photobucke album of the car http://s1087.beta.photobucket.com/user/tomravak/library/Hemi E-Bodies/1971 Hemi Challenger clone
bumper to bumper, inside and out and top to bottom. When I was done inspecting the car we took it out for a test drive of about 5-6 miles or so. Here's my impressions:
Body: The car was rotisserie stripped, cleaned and painted . The driver's floor, trunk pan, trunk extensions, one front fender, trunklid and both rear quarter panels
were replaced. The body is super-straight with all the body lines and panel gaps aligned properly. Given the extent of the metal work done on this car it turned out
exceptionally nice and you would never know it had so much metal work done to it. About the only issue with the body is with the doors. Both the left and right doors
line up properly when closed but "droop" slightly when opened (relatively common issue). When closing you can hear the jamb striker rubbing on the top edge of the door
latch which causes them to require a little "effort" to close them.
Paint: The car was painted in FE5 Rallye Red using a modern catalyzed base-coat clear-coat paint. The paint is very nice over the entire surface of the car. It has a nice shiney lusterous gloss to it as I imagine they had new from the factory. There are no runs, drips, sags, ripples or "orange peel" anywhere on the car - not even underneath! The car was rotisseried and the
underside of the car is fully painted and looks very nice too. Whoever body and paint person was, he was extremely good.
Exterior Trim: Bumpers are new. Tail lights are new. Grille and lower valance look good. Wheel lip, drip rail, hood edge and trunk lid edge stainless mouldings look
new. The "Challenger" script on the tail panel and the tail light reflectors (on the tail panel) looked a little "tired" and could use a good detail. About the only
issues are the right side drip rail moulding front edge (where it goes into the door jamb opening and ends just above the upper door hinge) didn't appear to be
installed correctly. The moulding end tab is sticking up when it should be "tucked" underneath the windshield moulding.
Engine/Trans/Axle: 426 CID 465 HP Mopar Performance crate motor. John claims that he installed it right out of the crate with out any modifications. Engine is mounted
to a stock small-block K-member using Schumacher motor mounts. Stock cast-iron exhaust manifolds are installed for the exhaust. Engine is topped with a single 750CFM
Holley vacuum secondary carb with electric choke. New Year One radiator. The trans is a 727 Torqueflite rebuilt by a local performance shop and uses a "stock" torque
converter. The rear axle is a "489" Sure Grip housing 8.75 unit with 3:23 gears rebuilt with new differential and axle bearings.
Suspension/Brakes: Manual drum brakes all around with all new brake lines. Front suspension completely rebuilt. Torsion bars replaced with "960" Hemi bars. Hemi front
sway bar installed. Hemi rear leaf springs installed. New rallye wheels with Goodyear 235/60/15 tires (tires still have the "nubs" on them).
Interior: The interior is a standard black vinyl bucket seat interior with standard gauges, a center console and a Slap-Stick shifter. The seat covers, carpet, door
sill covers, headliner and door panels are all new and look nice. The dash is an AC dash with the AC vent openings and has no cracks. The interior has some minor
issues where the steering column, metal part of the dash and the metal woodgrained door panel inserts look a little "tired" and could use a good detail. The center
console has some scratches and the storage compartment door hinge is messed up preventing the door from closing correctly (those things have always been a problem).
Test drive: The engine fired right up even though it was only about 42 F. The exhaust is relatively loud and "rumblely," On the drive the car was "tight" with no
excessive squeaks or rattles. The only noise other than that of the Hemi came from the speedometer. The speedometer needle fluctuated and I suspect the speedometer
cable needs to be replaced. The Hemi ran perfectly without a stumble or stutter and the transmission shifted firmly. John didn't press the car and took it easy - I
think the fastest we went was about 45 mph (he cringed every time he heard a tiny piece of road debris hitting his paint job!).
John's Challenger is a relatively nice Hemi "clone". The basic car is good and the body and paint (the hard time and cash consuming stuff) are exceptionally nice given
the extent of the work done. The engine is solid and the transmission appears to be also. The interior is a not as sharp as the outside - the big stuff is good (seats,
carpet, headliner, etc) but it needs some detailing attention to the lesser things (steering column, metal dash, center console, and door panel inserts) to make the
car super nice. I see Hemi E-body "clones" going for a more money than John is asking. Maybe those cars are exceptional and need nothing, I don't know.
John is asking $57,900
Contact John at 636-221-1640 or [email protected]
Link to photobucke album of the car http://s1087.beta.photobucket.com/user/tomravak/library/Hemi E-Bodies/1971 Hemi Challenger clone
