Marketing Collateral

• Chad Fletcher did a restoration in 2008 to promote the shop he owns with his father-in-law. Popular Hot Rodding comments on the blue 1970 Dodge Challenger with the original 440-cubic-inch engine as a lucky find under years of chicken coop residue. The project required metal work on the roof, quarter-panels, floors and firewall. The frame was replaced to fit a Corvette suspension. The rear axle was upgraded to handle the power of a 6.1 Hemi with a Tremec TKO 600, five-speed transmission. Door handles were shaved, mirrors from a 2008 Corvette were added and bumpers tucked prior to adding Limetime Pearl paint with wide, black stripes over the hood.
  
  

Go Man-go

• In 1992 Gary Sigel came across a '70 Hemi Challenger R/T minus the original 426 Hemi. The Challenger's original Go Mango orange had been painted blue and needed serious mechanical work as its second and third owners had used it for racing. In this frame-up restoration project, the original 727 TorqueFlite three-speed automatic transmission was rebuilt. Without the original Hemi, and with Sigel's desire to keep the Challenger as authentic as possible, he purchased a date-coded block from which to build an engine that would produce 590 horsepower with mostly stock parts. After the bodywork was complete, the Challenger was painted Go Mango orange with white horizontal side stripes.
  
  

Show Stopper

• Two brothers, Mike and Joel Stuffy, set out to perform a restoration with modifications (resto-mod) on a 1970 Challenger with the goal of getting a show-quality vehicle. In 2002 they completely stripped down the vehicle, did the body work, installed new wiring and added a 528-cubic-inch, 750-horsepower Aluminum Indy Hemi with a Richmond six-speed transmission. Painted Plum Crazy purple, this beauty won first place in her first two car shows.
  
  

On the Cheap

• Restoring or rebuilding a 1970 Dodge Challenger is an expensive project. However, in 2001 a man known only by the name of Perry set out to perform a cheap resto-mod with his own labor. For $2,700, Perry bought a drivable '70 Challenger R/T with a 318-cubic-inch engine. The primary cosmetic issues were oxidized paint, unattractive wheels and cheap side-pipes. Wanting a larger engine, he found a recently rebuilt 440, disassembled it and added performance parts. He added a used transmission from a '78 New Yorker, pulled-off the side-pipes, lifted the rear-end and put on new wheels and tires. Perry buffed-out the oxidized Plum Crazy purple and used touch-up paint to cover the scratches and installed new emblems. This is not a numbers-matching collector's car, but it now has the power and muscle car appearance he desired.