Greg & Mary Kern

Greg's 73 Challenger click on photo to the restoration of a 73 Challenger

click on photo to see the AFTER photos
I found this ’70 Charger 500 advertised in the Sac Bee for $1900 in March 2000
The car started out like most 1970 Dodge Chargers.  Green/Green with a 318.
It had the usual wear and tear you’d expect from a car 30+ years old, but it was complete and the 318 ran great.
The car had never been wrecked, but it had its share of door dings and shopping cart rash.

That's me poping up for air while cleaning.  As the paint is starting to show, I want to acknowledge Rich Gamez as the guy that did the body and paint. He was one of the 2 best men at my wedding. I’m helping him remodel his house. Fair Trade?

Being an original vinyl top car, the rear window area had plenty of rust to cut out. The repair was done with a panel from Auto Rust Technicians and some custom cut-to-fit pieces.

The rust on the trunk was limited to the center section, so I patched in another section from a Plymouth Satellite.

Before paint, we laid down several coats of high build primer which was block sanded to get most of it off to get the panels nice and straight.
The suspension was rebuilt with urethane bushings everywhere except the lower control arms, which utilize stock style rubber to minimize harshness.

I boxed the lower control arms with flat steel and put in 1.00 inch torsion bars and KYB shocks. The front sway bar is an 1 ½" unit from an ’84 Chevy 1 ton truck, cut to fit.

The stock 10" drums were barely adequate 30 years ago with a 318, so now the front brakes are a mix of ‘75 Dart spindles and calipers with ’77 Cordoba 12" rotors.
Since this car started out as a nothing special 318 2 barrel 500 model, I didn’t feel like I was ruining a rare car by swapping engines or paint colors. I’ve always liked the 68-70 R/T Chargers and I have mine – even though the V.I.N. tells another story.

Genuine ’70 Charger R/T’s had scoops over the simulated door vents, but I wanted a cleaner look.

The motivating force comes from a ’76 440 block with Edelbrock aluminum heads, six pack pistons and a MP purple shaft cam. Carb is an 850 Speed Demon.

Exhaust spews from 2" hooker headers, 2 ½" pipes and Flowmaster mufflers.

Have questions or want to talk about Chargers, drop me a line.

To see the finished product, click on picture.

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY FOLKS...