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1970 Dodge Charger - Material Witness
A Highly Original, Low-Mileage '70 Charger R/T
If objects that survive over time can be called "witnesses to history," this '70 Dodge Charger R/T has witnessed its share of it. it was preserved in its original condition, back when potential buyers were reminded in TV and print ads that they could be "Dodge Material."
Since it rolled off the final assembly line at St. Louis nearly four decades ago, only a new coat of paint has gone on this Charger, which has less than 38,000 original miles on it. Everything else that you see here is original--even the white bucket-seat interior, dressed in the one color that tends to show age the fastest.
To find out more about this Charger, we spoke with Chuck West, who along with the Charger's owner, Todd Werner, maintains a collection of musclecars and original Super Stocks and Pro Stocks near Florida's Gulf Coast. He says this is a car that you might have seen at Daytona if you were there when Dodge started racing Chargers in NASCAR again. "When they returned to NASCAR, Jon Clark, David Hakim, and a bunch of my Mopar buddies called me, and asked if we could bring a couple of cars over. This was one of 'em and it was very appropriate." "Appropriate" because its color scheme matched the red-and-white factory Dodge colors. This one was the '70 model in the one-of-every-year-Charger display that Dodge had at the "Big D" back in 2005.
As '70 Charger R/Ts go, this one was fairly well optioned. If you had the chance to see its original window sticker, you'd have seen equipment like this listed on it:
# A01 Light Package (includes hood-mounted turn signals)
# B41 Power Brakes: Disc Front/Drum Rear
# C16 Console with Woodgrain Panel
# C6XW White Vinyl Bucket Seats (with black carpets/dash/steering wheel)
# D32 Transmission: Torqueflilte (727) Automatic
# D91 Differential: Sure Grip
# E86 Engine: 440 Cubic-Inch Four-Barrel Carburetor
# FE5 Paint: Medium Red
# G11 Solex Tinted Glass-All Windows
# H51 Airtemp Air Conditioning
# N42 Exhaust Tips: Bright
# M26 Moldings: Wheel Lip Bright
# R11 Radio: Music Master AM
# S77 Power Steering
# U84 Tires: F60-15 Raised White Letter
# V1W Vinyl Roof: White
# V8W Bumblebee Tape Stripe: White
# W21 Wheels: Rallye 15 Inch
All this added up to a sticker price that was just north of $4,700, about a grand more than the base Charger R/T sticker price of $3,711. It also added up to one rare car; production figures at 1970chargerregistry.com put it as one of only 66 '70 Charger R/Ts that were built with the 440 Magnum/727 Torqueflite/3.23 Sure Grip powertrain combo. (Per the registry, most of the 440/727 R/Ts were built with 3.55 Sure Grips.)
With such a low, original-mileage figure on it, this Charger has seen a lot less tire-smoking than other R/Ts did. Also, this one never got close to "Hazzard County," even though it did get a workout at Daytona from a Skip Barber Driving School instructor.
Should this built-for-the-street Charger ever change hands, it'll be a historically significant addition to the garage that will house it. Not only that, but it will confirm that the owner is, beyond question, "Dodge Material."
Fast Facts
'70 Dodge Charger R/T
Todd Werner Clearwater, Fl
Final assembly point: Chrysler's St. Louis Assembly Plant, Fenton, Missouri
Mopar Power
# Engine: '70 440 Magnum, original down to the Carter AVS four-barrel carb, 440 Magnum "pie-tin" atop the dual-snorkel air cleaner and miles of vacuum lines under the hood. Original emission sticker on fenderwell is the second one Chrysler used during the '70 model run (for 440/727s built after March 1, 1970).
# Transmission: Charger R/T buyers had a tough choice back then: 727 or 833. This one was ordered with a console-shift 727.
# Rearend: 8 3/4 inch with a 3.23-geared Sure Grip differential. (Who'd have thought this would make this car a one-of-under-100-built rarity?)
Sure Grip
# Suspension: When only the very best will do--OEM front torsion bars/rear leafs with front sway bar, and HD shocks all around.
# Brakes: State-of-the-art in 1970: Front discs/rear drums, power assisted.
# Wheels: The optional road wheels Mother Mopar got right the first time: 15-inch steel Rallyes, wearing OEM G60-15 Goodyear Polyglas GTs.
High Impact
# Body: Original '70 Charger unibody, as welded/primered/painted/trimmed by Chrysler's St. Louis, Missouri, Assembly Plant.
# Paint: One repaint in original FE5 Medium Red.
# Interior: Original white buckets, rear bench, black dash, carpets, and steering wheel, with OEM console, AM radio, and Airtemp air conditioner. Only non-original item is the Do Not Lower Windows At Speeds In Excess Of 120 MPH dash plaque. |
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