They don’t make ’em like 1970s Dodge Challenger anymore

I’m always looking for interesting cars. I go to car shows and car museums. Thankfully, I get some emails from people with interesting vehicles. I have even followed people with unique cars until they stop someplace. I have found car collectors to be the nicest and friendliest people. They love to talk about their cars, and I’m all ears.

Recently while vacationing in Minnesota, I had the opportunity to step back more than 50 years when I found the Minnetonka Drive-In Restaurant in Spring Park, Minnesota (trivia question: What states surround Minnesota?). It’s been in business since 1961, and you can still order a $3.95 hamburger from your car and have it delivered on a tray next to your vehicle. Not only can you find good food at yesterday’s prices, but every Thursday evening you can find yesterday’s cars, many looking like they were just driven off the showroom floor. Collectors bring all sorts of vehicles, enjoy the food and talk cars.

One of the cars there was a 1970 Dodge Challenger.

The Dodge Challenger has an unusual history.

Dodge has used the Challenger name four times, the first in 1959 but only as a sales marketing package as the full-size Coronet Silver Challenger. Dodge was a little behind in getting competitive in the “pony car” niche. The Ford Mustang, introduced in 1964, was a very hot seller from the get-go. The Mercury Cougar, a more upscale model based on the Mustang, came along three years later. The Challenger and Plymouth Barracuda were introduced in 1969 as 1970 models. The Challenger, aimed at the more affluent American buyer, was somewhat bigger and more luxurious than the Barracuda. Principal competitors for the Challenger were the Cougar and the Pontiac Firebird. Almost every engine Chrysler made was available in the new pony cars.

These Challengers, referred to as the first generation, were produced for model years 1970 to 1974.

One of the individuals who showed up at the drive-in was Warren Vala of Plymouth, Minnesota. He has owned his 1970 Challenger R/T since April 2000.

‘It was in real good condition, but I had a frameoff (restoration) done in 2004. It was stripped down to bare metal; some body work was done; then it was repainted and put back together; and the drive train was rebuilt.”

He kept the original color scheme of a red exterior and black leather interior. This Challenger is powered with a 440-cubic- inch engine with estimated horsepower of about 350 and is teamed with Chrysler’s TorqueFlite automatic transmission. Not just a show car, this car is also a driver, and Vala drives it about 1,500 miles each summer. It is garaged in the winter, which I understand is sometimes very long and cold in Minnesota. I learned Vala had just retired from General Mills that very day I met him and is partial to Mopar products.

“A friend of mine was really into Mopar and I just sort of tagged along. My first car was a 1968 Dodge Coronet I bought for $200 at age 14. My dad let me buy it, as he thought it would keep me out of trouble.”

Vala is a fan of Challengers and has owned 2009 and 2014 models too. But he said, “I love this car. I also have a Plymouth GTX.” The mechanically inclined owner’s retirement plans include working on his cars and enjoying them. When new, the 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T Convertible list price was $3,535 or about $23,557 in today’s dollars.

“I bought it from a guy in the Coast Guard down in Texas and paid $18,000 back in 2000,” Vala said. He estimates his total investment including the restoration at about $50,000. “I had it appraised in 2009 by a specialist here, and he appraised it between $69,000 and $72,000, and that was 10 years ago.”

But by the time the Challenger was introduced, pony car sales were declining. A total of 165,437 first-generation (1970-1974) Challengers were sold. Production ended halfway through the 1974 model year, probably shortened as a result the first oil embargo and rising gas prices. Remember the expression, “They sure don’t build ’em like they used to?” Most folks would agree with that statement about almost everything, but if you look at Vala’s 1970 Dodge Challenger and look at the 2019 Dodge Challenger, they are almost identical in appearance, and the new ones are selling well. Hats off to the 1970 Challenger’s designer, Carl Cameron, for proving that expression is not always correct. But if you’re talking about what’s under the sheet metal, it’s not even close and that expression is definitely correct.

Have an interesting vehicle? Contact David Krumboltz at MOBopoly@yahoo.com.

To view more photos of this and other issues’ vehicles or to read more of Dave’s columns, visit mercurynews.com/ author/david-krumboltz.

Warren Vala of Plymouth, Minn., has owned his 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T since April 2000.

PHOTO BY DAVID KRUMBOLTZ

David Krumboltz

Me and my car