Do I have a 340 Rallye Challenger??

[JollyB]

Hello! New to the forum. My son and I picked up a 73 Challenger a few weeks ago. I am not new to them by any means however this one was pretty much a shell with random parts in it. Two dashes, neither original to the car. Vin sticker in door jamb all but gone so no VIN. It was a bill of sale only deal, no title. I have the rad support and cowl vin section but of course that’s not complete.

It has a 7/8” front sway bar. 13/16 rear sway bar. Straps for dual exhaust. Has power bulge hood and both fenders have the holes for the fender gills but I’m not 100% positive these are original to the car. No fender tags so no A57 verification. 2:76 gear ratio tag. I did a little paint archeology on the hood and got what looks like “”Magnum, but again, not sure it’s original. What was left of the grill that wasn’t sun faded was black and not argent. Where there is blue on the car, it seems to be matching. Any tips or opinions/input would be appreciated. Thank you!

Brandon J

 

[moparleo]

Is there more information coming ? Not a trick question?
You have nothing to identify the car, no vin. just some loose 1972+parts and you are seriously looking for some type of validation?
Just hoping you didn't pay much for the parts.
Without the original Vin, there will never be any type of verifiable lineage.
Just some 72 up Challenger parts.
Good thing is that even if it was a 73, you had the vin and title it would not have any real collectibility because no originality left other than being a 1973 E-body. The least desirable year.
But the parts will have some value and you don't have to worry about doing something that will hurt any value to the car.
You will never track down any real information without the original vin.
Choices? Use any salvageable parts that are needed for another project you may have, Build a Race car that will never see the street so registration will never be an issue, Sell it before you dig a giant $$$ hole trying to build a complete car with registration problems that will not attract many potential buyers, Due to lack of any original documentation or history. worse than a Salvage title vehicle.
Or you may not care about these things and have time and money to burn on something that you have always wanted to build from scratch.
Everyone has their own motivations to do things.
Myself ? Take it to a local car show/ swap on a trailer like ictured and sell t as is for parts and keep looking for something with more to it as a starting point.
Garages across the country have items like these that have been on someones list of things to do someday and 20 years goes by and the enthusiasm is gone and they just want to get some room back in their garage.
Just one of probably many meaningless opinions out there.
Good luck with what ever happens. Just try to be smart. Even it was a fully documented " Rallye" car, which in reality was only a Post R/T trim package name getting you basically a black painted tail panel and fake front fender vents. no collectible value really unless a fully optioned, survivor condition car in a desirable color.
In the condition shown would cost probably 0ver 50-80K to "restore" and have a resale value of a quarter of that, no real, docummented VIN.
My advice to someone else who hadn't made the plunge on a similar " project car" is to always buy the type of car you like, in the best possible condition you can afford.
Even if you bought these Parts for $1K or less, it would not be financially practical to get the parts into a restored, usable condition because of reproduction part availability and lack of any perceived original value of the parts shown.
Now if this was a 1970-71 Challenger, the story would be different as at least some 70-71 parts were one year only production so do have some rarity.

 

[moparleo]

SOLD - 1972 Challenger Rallye 340 Slap Stik project. Real H code car $10,000
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/1973-74-dodge-challenger-rallye/

 

[JollyB]

Is there more information coming ? Not a trick question?
You have nothing to identify the car, no vin. just some loose 1972+parts and you are seriously looking for some type of validation?
Just hoping you didn't pay much for the parts.
Without the original Vin, there will never be any type of verifiable lineage.
Just some 72 up Challenger parts.
Good thing is that even if it was a 73, you had the vin and title it would not have any real collectibility because no originality left other than being a 1973 E-body. The least desirable year.
But the parts will have some value and you don't have to worry about doing something that will hurt any value to the car.
You will never track down any real information without the original vin.
Choices? Use any salvageable parts that are needed for another project you may have, Build a Race car that will never see the street so registration will never be an issue, Sell it before you dig a giant $$$ hole trying to build a complete car with registration problems that will not attract many potential buyers, Due to lack of any original documentation or history. worse than a Salvage title vehicle.
Or you may not care about these things and have time and money to burn on something that you have always wanted to build from scratch.
Everyone has their own motivations to do things.
Myself ? Take it to a local car show/ swap on a trailer like ictured and sell t as is for parts and keep looking for something with more to it as a starting point.
Garages across the country have items like these that have been on someones list of things to do someday and 20 years goes by and the enthusiasm is gone and they just want to get some room back in their garage.
Just one of probably many meaningless opinions out there.
Good luck with what ever happens. Just try to be smart. Even it was a fully documented " Rallye" car, which in reality was only a Post R/T trim package name getting you basically a black painted tail panel and fake front fender vents. no collectible value really unless a fully optioned, survivor condition car in a desirable color.
In the condition shown would cost probably 0ver 50-80K to "restore" and have a resale value of a quarter of that, no real, docummented VIN.
My advice to someone else who hadn't made the plunge on a similar " project car" is to always buy the type of car you like, in the best possible condition you can afford.
Even if you bought these Parts for $1K or less, it would not be financially practical to get the parts into a restored, usable condition because of reproduction part availability and lack of any perceived original value of the parts shown.
Now if this was a 1970-71 Challenger, the story would be different as at least some 70-71 parts were one year only production so do have some rarity.

Thanks for the .02. We didn’t pay much at all for it. I’m going to try to track down the information going backwards through purchasers, but thought I’d ask to satisfy my own curiosity in the meantime if there was enough original features to extrapolate an educated guess. Our plan is to just have fun with it and put a decent driver back on the road. Thanks again!

Brandon J

 

[DetMatt1]

If Leo didn’t make the point clear enough, don’t actually start working on the car before it has a legitimate vin attached to it.

 

[Challenger RTA]

What you have is on the radiator core support and cowl. Take a look vin number should be there.

 

[JollyB]

What you have is on the radiator core support and cowl. Take a look vin number should be there.View attachment 153944View attachment 153945View attachment 153946

Yes, have that. I just scraped the rattle can spray off the driver side door sticker and there’s a full vin there but the sequence numbers don’t match the cowl. So clearly not the original door.

 

[Challenger RTA]

2:76 gear ratio tag.

With that gear ratio, I want to say it was a slant 6 engine or a 318 2 barrel. So what motor mount are there.
The 2.76 gear ratio was typically paired with the TorqueFlite 3-speed automatic transmission (A833) on Dodge Challenger models around 1970-1973. According to factory specifications, the 2.76 ratio was a standard or optional offering for 6-cylinder and certain V8 engines (like the 383 2-barrel) when equipped with the automatic transmission. It was generally not available with 4-speed manual transmissions, which were paired with numerically higher (steeper) gear ratios like 3.23, 3.55, or 3.91 for better performance.

 

[JollyB]

With that gear ratio, I want to say it was a slant 6 engine or a 318 2 barrel. So what motor mount are there.
The 2.76 gear ratio was typically paired with the TorqueFlite 3-speed automatic transmission (A833) on Dodge Challenger models around 1970-1973. According to factory specifications, the 2.76 ratio was a standard or optional offering for 6-cylinder and certain V8 engines (like the 383 2-barrel) when equipped with the automatic transmission. It was generally not available with 4-speed manual transmissions, which were paired with numerically higher (steeper) gear ratios like 3.23, 3.55, or 3.91 for better performance.

And that’s wha inside to me because it definitely has the rear sway bar which is definitely original.

 

[Challenger RTA]

Nothing saying there rear might have been changed or antisway bar added. Just have to look at all options.

 

[JollyB]

Nothing saying there rear might have been changed or antisway bar added. Just have to look at all options.

I’m going to go to the DMV and see if the can find the full VIN. Apparently that’s a thing.

 

[Katfish]

Only thing I'll add is, I would recommend getting the title situation cleared before starting any work. Would be a shame to dump a bunch of money, and then find out you have issues getting it registered and tagged to drive.

 

[Challenger RTA]

The motor and trans also have a partial number on them. You might find a build sheet somewhere or an old registration. Or a licenses plate form the car.

 

[HPP]

The collection of parts that this car is doesn't really mean anything in regards to rear end ratios. It has, IMO, been cobbled together to be a roller with whatever parts the seller, or previous sellers, had lying around. The various parts that do have VINs that don't align with the stamped numbers in the engine bay attest to that and prove it's basically a collection of parts

I question the factory status of the rear sway bar. OEM rear bars were 3/4" not 13/16". If its hanging from the axle, that's a dead giveaway. No factory bar hung from the axle as they were all mounted to the frame rails above the axle housing.

If Kentucky DMV can search the database off a partial vin and is willing to share the information with you, then go for it. Let us know what you find out.

 

[JDMopar]

It will either be a 318 car or a 340 car. Do a VIN search for JH23G3B218554 and JH23H3B218554 and see if you can find anything. If there are seats with it, look under the seat springs to see if you can find a build sheet. It would be a good idea to get a private investigator to run those VIN numbers before you go to the DMV. If you go to the DMV and they run the numbers and something is wrong....stolen or a lien, the car might get confiscated. You've done nothing wrong, but might lose whatever you payed if the state yoinks the car.

 

[JollyB]

It will either be a 318 car or a 340 car. Do a VIN search for JH23G3B218554 and JH23H3B218554 and see if you can find anything. If there are seats with it, look under the seat springs to see if you can find a build sheet. It would be a good idea to get a private investigator to run those VIN numbers before you go to the DMV. If you go to the DMV and they run the numbers and something is wrong....stolen or a lien, the car might get confiscated. You've done nothing wrong, but might lose whatever you payed if the state yoinks the car.

Thank you for that advice!

 

[heminut]

TorqueFlite 3-speed automatic transmission (A833)

That would be a really rare tranny! All the 833's I've seen were 4 speed manuals!