[LetsFNgo]

So,

After looking over the car for approx 20 minutes I realized I needed to make an attempt to buy it. I love Mopar stuff but I was not well versed(as much as I am now) at that point. A lot of the car was very hard to look at. The rear of the car was pushed literally into the wall, the right side was 1-2” from desks and shelving on the right side, and a large table saw table on the left side prevented me from looking at the much either. But I knew the car was solid and was cool.

Knocking on the garage door Tommy let us out, and my dad walked back home. Tommy and I spoke about random stuff for about 20 minutes before getting back to the Challenger. He threw a number out that both of us saw as fair. I agreed to his number but then ran into a problem. Tommy said a price without checking with his nephew, who works nights and he didn’t want to bother, so he wanted me to wait a week for an answer. Not wanting to wait I offered Tommy 1000 dollars just to get in touch with his nephew that day. He said he’d think about it but that was it for the day.

I walked back home and at this point was a little dejected. A chance at a literal dream car of mine, something I never thought I’d have a chance at, and I just can’t complete the deal. My dad, seeing my sadness, decides fried chicken is a good way to solve my problem. So we take a ride to the other side of town to buy good fried chicken.

About 5 minutes from returning to my house I get a phone call. It’s Tommy, telling me he’d like 2 checks. One for the car, and one for the extra money, and everything that is Dodge related goes with the car.

At this point my dad runs to his job to get a flatbed to move the car home, I take the pickup and run up the street to start loading parts. We ended up loading my pickup, another friends truck, and a flatbed with the parts for the car. Hopefully these photos aren’t sideways but if they are I’ll figure it out later.

Now the car is home. The first thing to do is clean and inventory everything I have. I ended up with most of a complete 440 6 barrel out of a 70 Cuda, most of a Shaker assembly off a different Cuda, and the Challenger that has been sitting since 1975.

My dad and I began cleaning, and cleaning, and then we cleaned some more. The interior, all factory, was cleaned using mostly vinegar and water. The exterior, having been repainted before being put away, cleaned up with little more than a basic cut and buff.

Most of what needed to be done was mechanical. And being a mechanic by trade this scared me least.

The 440 was built using mostly stock parts with a nice Lunati cam. The carbs were over the counter, brand new from a Dodge dealer in 1975. One still had the tag on it. The intake was a brand new A12 aluminum Edelbrock with the Chrysler part number cast into it. The shaker was only missing the 6 pack baseplate, and while I would’ve loved to use an original, a reproduction was all I could find at the time.

Putting the car together was a blast for my dad and I. And the car ended up going into the general area at MCACN 2022. Wearing the slot mags and tires David bought for it in the late 70’s. The Pos a traction tires have stamps on them from Steve’s specialty tire in Manville NJ, about 10 minutes away.

Tommy has been able to ride in the car several times. And I've formed a great friendship with Tommy because he was finally able to see his brothers dream for the car come true.

I’ve kept the car basically the same for the last several years. Once it’s nice out I try to drive it several times a month. It’s a blast to drive and the feeling of the outer barrels of a 6 pack setup slamming open, falling on its face, then the front end rising when the fuel matches the air coming is is something truly special.

I will probably add final photos in another post.