Finally got me an E body

[tinman2]

Man I had the chance to buy a 73 Challenger with a 360 back in 1989...it ran and drove , I passed because I had a B body who knew they'd become hard to find...

can any old timers on here elaborate? how popular were the E bodies? I seem to recall everyone in High school in the 80s was into Mustangs, Camaros, and Dusters for Mopar pick.

I bought a brand new 74 Challenger 360 auto, slapstick shifter PS, PB, air. Looked really nice. Really dark brown metallic with redish glow in the sunshine, black vinyl top, magnum looking wheels, and black interior.
It should have been badged R/T for rattle trap. The door handle and door lock rods would fall off inside the doors and I would have to reach the outside door handle to get out. Had to wrap each clip with wire to make them stay. And they still rattled. The factory am/fm quite working. The auto shifter was finicky about the starter safety switch. First time it wouldn't start, it took a while to figure out why. There was bright molding along the rear edge of the quarters and trunk. If you weren't very careful closing the trunk lid, it would twist slightly and quarter and trunk molding would hit knocking them out of place. Got rid of it within a year. Nothing super serious, but never had problems like that with my a & b bodies.

 

[Dartnut]

Man I had the chance to buy a 73 Challenger with a 360 back in 1989...it ran and drove , I passed because I had a B body who knew they'd become hard to find...

can any old timers on here elaborate? how popular were the E bodies? I seem to recall everyone in High school in the 80s was into Mustangs, Camaros, and Dusters for Mopar pick.

I'm not exactly an ''old timer'' but I graduated high school in 1980.
Back then (in the mid to late '70s) from what I remember, E-Bodies weren't that common overall, but they were around here and there.
I swear that there were more in our local junk yard than seen on the street.
That being said, my older brother was big time into '70 Challengers.
In the spring of 1978 he answered a local ad for a '70 Challenger with a 440 in it with a bad automatic tranny in it.
When we went to look at it, it was actually a '70 440 6 pack R/T car with a slapstick transmission and a 4:10 Dana 60 rear end.
It was dark brown with a brown interior, and had Appliance 5 spoke mags.
The body was in good shape other than a few small rust bubbles here and there.
It had been repainted once.
The engine was all original even the hose clamps, manifolds, and air cleaner. (The car had 40,000 miles on it.)
He paid a fair price for the day of $1450 for it and we drove it home.
The tranny wouldn't shift out of first gear and the carbs leaked.
It was probably matching numbers too, we didn't check or care at that time.

So, what did he do with it?
Well, he had a good 440 4 barrel with a B&M transmission and headers, in it went, and the original engine, 6 pack, air cleaner and trans still bolted up went under a tree with a piece of plywood covering it up.
He drove it for a couple of years (he never lost a street race with it) and sold it for $4500.
He wanted a Hemi Challenger, and this one wasn't good enough.
The guy that bought it didn't care about the original engine and stuff and didn't want it.
He then sold the engine etc. to my oldest brother and he rebuilt it and it went into his '71 Challenger R/T 383 car.

My brother used the money to buy a 440 console auto Super Bird for 8 grand.
It was a very nice car I may add.
He never did get a Hemi Challenger....

Other cars that you saw a lot of were Camaros, Trans Ams, Corvettes, Mustangs and Cougars, and Dusters.
Dusters and Swingers were everywhere!

Oh, the good old days.....

 

[66340SEDAN]

I’d save every part that’s good or repairable, small things like nuts and bolts people want...but I’m sure you know this already from parting cars out before.

 

[66340SEDAN]

That back glass will fit Challenger and Barracuda, as well as rear 1/4 panel windows.

I am sure you know that all ready Geoff

The door & quarter glass windows are the same between 70-74 Challenger and Barracuda but rear window is different. I believe much of the structural & mechanical parts are also the same between the 2 but some trim and body panels are different.

 

[Dartswinger70]

I'm not exactly an ''old timer'' but I graduated high school in 1980.
Back then (in the mid to late '70s) from what I remember, E-Bodies weren't that common overall, but they were around here and there.
I swear that there were more in our local junk yard than seen on the street.
That being said, my older brother was big time into '70 Challengers.
In the spring of 1978 he answered a local ad for a '70 Challenger with a 440 in it with a bad automatic tranny in it.
When we went to look at it, it was actually a '70 440 6 pack R/T car with a slapstick transmission and a 4:10 Dana 60 rear end.
It was dark brown with a brown interior, and had Appliance 5 spoke mags.
The body was in good shape other than a few small rust bubbles here and there.
It had been repainted once.
The engine was all original even the hose clamps, manifolds, and air cleaner. (The car had 40,000 miles on it.)
He paid a fair price for the day of $1450 for it and we drove it home.
The tranny wouldn't shift out of first gear and the carbs leaked.
It was probably matching numbers too, we didn't check or care at that time.

So, what did he do with it?
Well, he had a good 440 4 barrel with a B&M transmission and headers, in it went, and the original engine, 6 pack, air cleaner and trans still bolted up went under a tree with a piece of plywood covering it up.
He drove it for a couple of years (he never lost a street race with it) and sold it for $4500.
He wanted a Hemi Challenger, and this one wasn't good enough.
The guy that bought it didn't care about the original engine and stuff and didn't want it.
He then sold the engine etc. to my oldest brother and he rebuilt it and it went into his '71 Challenger R/T 383 car.

My brother used the money to buy a 440 console auto Super Bird for 8 grand.
It was a very nice car I may add.
He never did get a Hemi Challenger....

Other cars that you saw a lot of were Camaros, Trans Ams, Corvettes, Mustangs and Cougars, and Dusters.
Dusters and Swingers were everywhere!


Oh, the good old days.....

I graduated in 87. I remember a girl I went to school with paid 5 grand for a restored 65 Mustang fastback. I mean fresh paint and interior buy with the 6 cylinder. Shed hit things with it and it would go in and out of the body shop, the car was 20 years old at the time in 85. Another guy had a 73 340 Duster also in pristine condition, red with white stripes, white half vinyl top and interior. Other guys would have the "primer bucket" 71 Charger Super bees with 400 in them etc. Then there were Chevelles, the occasional Gremlin with a 304..I hate to say it but one of the neat cars I remember was a Datsun 240 Z from the early 70s that a kid had, theree was also a kid with a 66 Chevelle that his dad built for him. What amazes me is we grew up driving V8s and at some point parents started saying "that's too much power..."

 

[memike]

The door & quarter glass windows are the same between 70-74 Challenger and Barracuda but rear window is different. I believe much of the structural & mechanical parts are also the same between the 2 but some trim and body panels are different.

There is two different rear window packages, a very small one and the large.. hummm, I seem to disagree but it would be worth looking into

 

[rumblefish360]

RT/SE small window, but the glass was the same as regular Challengers.

 

[Dartnut]

I remember a lot of slant 6 cars, and a lot of low line Fords and Chevys in the parking lot.
A lot of us didn't have the money to have big power cars, that was left to the rich guys or cars they borrowed from family....
Myself, I drove a '64 Buick 4 door with a small V8 and a powerglide.
It was a hand me down from my mom when dad bought her a '72 Olds 2 door with a 455....
One of my friends drove a Hornet wagon with a 6 cylinder and a 3 on the tree.
That thing actually went pretty good!

 

[rumblefish360]

That’s true. You really couldn’t walk any one street and not find a Duster/Dart or a Capri or Maverick, Nova/Apollo/Omega.

This were the Hyundai Excells of the late 80’s and early 90’s. Buy, drive until used up and then discard without a thought…. And moving on to the next car….

 

[Unconventional]

...

View attachment 1715902219

Must be toad"

 

[toolmanmike]

I had a couple but they were 73's. Not as cool as the 70 & 71's. They were still fun cars though.

 

[66340SEDAN]

Here is the challenger and barracuda glass, notice the barracuda glass has different corners at the bottom?

 

[Cuda Hunter]

Looks as though the front seat is there also (B.S.).
I would be interested in the remaining parts, possibly.
Always interested in tags or sheets or any original info. Looks as though there is an inner fender.
And there is the rare passengers side mail box. Looks as though the flag is broke but that can be fixed and restored.

 

[1WildRT]

The door & quarter glass windows are the same between 70-74 Challenger and Barracuda but rear window is different. I believe much of the structural & mechanical parts are also the same between the 2 but some trim and body panels are different.

Getting close to the correct answer...

The windshield & front door glass interchange between Cuda & Challenger.. The rear quarter windows do not interchange, & the cuda quarter windows have a hard angled corner...The Challenger quarter windows are curved at the top...

Cuda

Challenger

And as previously shown the rear glass doesn't interchange...

Then there's the SE rear glass

And the Convertible quarter glass which does interchanger between Cuda & Challenger but not either Hardtop....

 

[plymouth67]

There would be a piece of stainless trim at the bottom of the windshield where the wipers park. I would be interested in that if it's decent and maybe the splash shields if they are any good.

 

[cosgig]

There would be a piece of stainless trim at the bottom of the windshield where the wipers park. I would be interested in that if it's decent and maybe the splash shields if they are any good.

i don’t think either of those pieces are any good, or in the case of the stainless moulding, it might not be there at all. I have it home and on my trailer, I’m going to chop off what’s good today and take the hulk in. My trailer is a busy place lately, there are many cars to retrieve from there, and nothing can sit too long in the trailer.

 

[YY1]

If it's a "Cuda" it could have a sure grip.

My 73 rallye 318 Challenger had a 3.23 SG and a rear sway bar.

Probably should have kept that car.

Would have been pretty in it's original silver with the black rallye strobes.

 

[cosgig]

If it's a "Cuda" it could have a sure grip.

My 73 rallye 318 Challenger had a 3.23 SG and a rear sway bar.

should be easy enough to check, it pulled out from underneath the car when he pulled it out from the weeds!

View attachment 1715907333

View attachment 1715907334

Probably should have kept that car.

Would have been pretty in it's original silver with the black rallye strobes.

 

[Cuda Hunter]

Can i please purchase the fender tag?
Or any tags?
Pm me.

 

[cosgig]

Can i please purchase the fender tag?
Or any tags?
Pm me.

there was no fender tag, there was no inner fender! And, the dash pad was gone, and I believe that the vin tag would’ve been attached to that. Sorry bud.

 

[Demonx2]

Man I had the chance to buy a 73 Challenger with a 360 back in 1989...it ran and drove , I passed because I had a B body who knew they'd become hard to find...

can any old timers on here elaborate? how popular were the E bodies? I seem to recall everyone in High school in the 80s was into Mustangs, Camaros, and Dusters for Mopar pick.

Well, I qualify as an "old dude" since I graduated in 79. A guy in my small town in NE Ohio had a 70 or 71 340 Sublime green 4-speed Duster with Keystone Klassics on it. Headers, carb, intake, etc. That car was FAST...or so it seemed when I rode in it. Probably a mid-12 sec car looking back. But it was fun!! Then I met and got a ride in a guy's 70 Coronet RT...440 car. That was it, nirvana, big block power for me!! A few months later I bought my 69 Charger from a guy around the corner from my house who had been gifted the car from his aunt who lived across the street. He didn't want it and sold it to me for $1500 in 78. 32k miles. Still have sitting out here in my garage...40k miles now. In that town of 11,000 people, there were numerous hotrods from these Mopars to a SD Trans-Am (4-spd), a 71 SS 454 Monte Carlo, a Boss 429 Hemi Mustang, a 69 SS 396 Chevelle and my buddy's 70 302 Mustang. Also a racing family that had a Cuda, an F-body, and maybe a Challenger. They sold me lots of used parts (slicks!!) and taught me all about Holleys. Ahhh..the good old days...wish I could have afforded more than the Charger!!

 

[cosgig]

Here’s what’s left of the car now!

 

[AJ/FormS]

can any old timers on here elaborate? how popular were the E bodies?

Like you said, we were into lightweights, and cars that looked the part
In the crowd I hung out with, Cuda's were nice looking and all, but every time you fell into one and heard that door close, ouch; the jig was up. Not to mention the teensey weensey rear seat. That was NOT the car you took your girl to the All-Night Drive-In-Theater. (nor was a 66Charger, unless you were all boys). I had a bench seat Swinger340.
Out of probably 300 hi-schoolers or more, from grades 10 to 12, notta one of us had one. I graduated in 72.

 

[rumblefish360]

You took your chicks to an all night movie drive in Theater and scored?!?!

WTF!!!!

Hotels are sooooooo much nicer.
Just sayin… clean bathrooms, room service… ice down the hall or order it in…. Along with what ever the kitchen can cook up…. Ohhh yeaaaa…


Yea! Anyway…
tiny back seat designed to keep people out.
Excellent job Chrysler! Can’t thank you enough for that. Just me and my partner…..

 

[cosgig]

So, just to have a little fun, I’ll resurrect this old thread, I did manage to save a couple more E bodies from the clean out project. Only one was savable, but both of the other cars gave up a few parts, and the good one was the recipient of a few of those parts. Sold and off to a new home.