AMCAR’s 1970 Dodge Challenger ‘Restomod’

Feb 13th, 2017 MoJo - Megalen Govender 1614 Views

In 1970, the Dodge Challenger was considered to be a failure of epic proportions. It was meant to be a ‘Pony’ car but was huge, looking more like a ‘Muscle’ car. The Hemi engine, the transmission and the differential were made extremely well and were hardly ever prone to failure. However, the body produced for these cars was so poorly painted that the cars were prone to rusting to pieces.

Herein lies the true value of this car. So few Challengers still exist, that they are worth an absolute fortune. Recently, a well-preserved Dodge Challenger auctioned for $350 000 (R4.7-million).

Durban based company, AMCAR Imports, recently took delivery of Dodge Challenger exclusive, the first ever replica of the 1970 Dodge Challenger Dynacorn body. Dynacorn are officially licensed to the world’s biggest muscle car manufacturers, adding an authentic and exclusive stamp to AMCAR’s Dodge Challenger project.

Now, for the exciting bits:

AMCAR have taken a leaf out of the books of well-known ‘Restomod’ creator, Chip Foose. The concept of ‘Restomod’ is to restore and modify older muscle cars so that they are crammed with technology of today while retaining their ‘old-school’ classic looks.

AMCAR CEO, Craig Buck says the beauty of this project is that the buyer will receive an exact replica of the 1970 Dodge Challenger with the car technology of today.

“What this means is that we will sell the car with the old-school look, original components but with modern and state of the art specifications. The thinking behind this is that we want to give our customers the best of both worlds,” Buck explains.

This means that the AMCAR 1970 Dodge Challenger will boast a custom leather interior with beautiful custom gauges and trim, coupled with creature comforts like air conditioning and power steering.

The suspension will be a dual-link coil suspension, ditching the ancient leaf spring suspension that old ‘Muscle’ cars came standard with. To enable to car to stop, custom four-way disc brakes will be fitted to the vehicle as well as huge 20 inch rims mated to fat tyres to maintain traction.

Transmissions will be offered in manual or automatic, depending on the choice of the buyer.

Engine wise, AMCAR have ditched the ancient Hemi engine that the 1970 Dodge Challenger came standard with in favour of a 2016/2017 Dodge Hellcat Hemi V8 engine, with over 700 horsepower (522kW) on tap.

“We mix old and new technology for performance and reliability. This car will be fitted with a modern steering system. The latest in braking technology, upgraded suspensions and bigger tyres. The brand new engine is run by an engine control unit (ECU), something we are accustomed to in 2017,” added Buck.

The AMCAR 1970 Dodge Challenger will sell for around R2 million and customers will be offered an assortment of funky colours to choose from. Each car will be completely unique and will be tailored to suit the customer’s desires.

After looking through the AMCAR workshop where multiple classic Ford Mustangs reside, along with a fully restored Chevrolet Chevelle and a version of the iconic ‘Gone in 60 Seconds’ Shelby Mustang (Eleanor), the AMCAR 1970 Dodge Challenger looks destined to be a masterpiece. As the project is not yet complete, performance statistics are currently unavailable.