383RT
Active Member
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2018
- Messages
- 35
- Reaction score
- 20
So, as promised here is the follow up story of my 2nd Challenger. A 1970 SE 383 Four Barrel, Plum crazy car.
This story begins in 1981 with my neighbor Bob who owned the SE Challenger. Bob was a car guy that would give you the shirt off his back. He said to me one day "let me know of any special tools that you might need to work on your car and I'll buy them and then loan them to you" then we'll both have the right tool for the right job. For a kid working at a gas station and not making much money, that was music to my ears.
Bob originally bought the car in 1971 and gave it to his son to drive. A few years later during the gas crunch, his son gave it back as it was costing him too much in gas. Bob just parked it on the side of his house and left it.
Now the sad part: I was coming home from work one day and Bob's wife (Judy) came over to tell me that he had a massive heart attack and died. I couldn't believe it, not Bob.
A few months had gone by and Judy came over to ask if I wanted to buy the Challenger or she was calling the wreckers to come pick it up. She said Bob would have wanted me to have it after all of the time I spent looking at it and trying to buy it from him. I told Judy I would be happy to buy it and restore it in Bob's memory.
Here are some pics of the day I towed it over to my house:
The headliner dropped as soon as I brought it out into the sun!
The tires were completely rotted but working at the gas station gave me the opportunity to scrounge up some tires that would hold air.
You can see my R/T in the garage and a spare rear bumper on the ground I already found as a replacement. I got it started and the mufflers blew out all over the drive way.
This is years of dirt with the hood left up, sitting under Bob's carport in the back yard.
Here she is after a few months of cleaning. Paint is faded on the top surfaces but it looks good from the sides. Judy moved away and I never got to show her how well it cleaned up.
After becoming my daily driver for a few years, I finally started a mini restoration on the top and paint with the help of a good friend of mine.
I don't have a lot of detailed pictures but here it is completed. I drove it for it for 12 years and then made the mistake of selling it one day. I've never seen it again, not sure were it ended up. Turns out the car is rarer than my R/T!
This story begins in 1981 with my neighbor Bob who owned the SE Challenger. Bob was a car guy that would give you the shirt off his back. He said to me one day "let me know of any special tools that you might need to work on your car and I'll buy them and then loan them to you" then we'll both have the right tool for the right job. For a kid working at a gas station and not making much money, that was music to my ears.
Bob originally bought the car in 1971 and gave it to his son to drive. A few years later during the gas crunch, his son gave it back as it was costing him too much in gas. Bob just parked it on the side of his house and left it.
Now the sad part: I was coming home from work one day and Bob's wife (Judy) came over to tell me that he had a massive heart attack and died. I couldn't believe it, not Bob.
A few months had gone by and Judy came over to ask if I wanted to buy the Challenger or she was calling the wreckers to come pick it up. She said Bob would have wanted me to have it after all of the time I spent looking at it and trying to buy it from him. I told Judy I would be happy to buy it and restore it in Bob's memory.
Here are some pics of the day I towed it over to my house:
The headliner dropped as soon as I brought it out into the sun!
You can see my R/T in the garage and a spare rear bumper on the ground I already found as a replacement. I got it started and the mufflers blew out all over the drive way.
This is years of dirt with the hood left up, sitting under Bob's carport in the back yard.
Here she is after a few months of cleaning. Paint is faded on the top surfaces but it looks good from the sides. Judy moved away and I never got to show her how well it cleaned up.
After becoming my daily driver for a few years, I finally started a mini restoration on the top and paint with the help of a good friend of mine.
I don't have a lot of detailed pictures but here it is completed. I drove it for it for 12 years and then made the mistake of selling it one day. I've never seen it again, not sure were it ended up. Turns out the car is rarer than my R/T!
