Okey, Story time! The Year is 1970, and a young Vietnam Vet purchases a Dodge Challenger R/T-S.E. Hemi automatic for the insane sum of nearly $5000.00. He drives the car all over Detroit for 4 or 5 years and then the car disappears, only to show up nearly 45 years later after the Original owner has passed, and willed the car to his only son! Fast forward and the story takes a strange and surreal turn. Supposedly, this Dodge Challenger absolutely RULED the streets of Detroit through the early 70's, and had stacked up a record of wins that shamed the best of the best! Only one problem, it was ALL A LIE, that just sold for more then a million dollars at auction! Now, here is my story! 1984 A Young Ura-Ki is a teenager with a wad of cash burning a hole in is pockets from mowing laws, splitting and stacking firewood, cleaning gutters, and delivering newspapers, as well as being the neighbor kid who was willing to do anything for a few bucks and a Ice Cold Rootbeer! Every day, our young hero Ura-Ki walks to and from school and he passes by a very crusty old wreck of a car hidden under a tarp on the street. Now, I know this isn't some crusty old car, but one of those legendary muscle cars I had read about in all the magazines of the day, and one day, I decided to knock on the door and inquire if the car might be for sale! After hearing the sad story of the cars original owner, and how the car became the wreck under the tarp, we struck a deal, for $3000 bucks, it was ALL MINE! So I hornswaggled all my buddies and both brothers and we drug and pushed the car the two blocks home and into the garage, which was mistake #1, pushing Dads beloved pickup out into the driveway, and Mistake #2 was when Dad came home on leave, not only did he see his ever faithful 1949 Chevy in the driveway, but one of his soon to be murdered sons had usurped his warm and dry garage space with this nasty looking wrecked Green 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T! TO say Dad was pissed would be an understatement, BUT, after he had calmed down and started to actually look at this car, the gears started to turn and he realized his oldest had actually scored a pretty good deal on a very powerful and, as we found out much later, a very Rare muscle Car! Now, this Dodge Challenger was Special in many ways, in fact Dodge denied it ever existed, but the stack of factory paperwork proved it not only existed, but a glove box full of speeding tickets and drag time slips proves its heritage and legendary status! I spent most of my savings putting the car back together that summer, but when she was all done and ready to drive, she was a real heart stopper! I will never forget the first time she roared to live, spitting dust, mouse houses and no small amount of fire out the side pipes through a set of Mufflers that really didn't, to say it was impressive belays the fact it was a factory race car and NOBODY had any clue what was about to happen when she was tuned and running the streets! I spent close the the $7000 dollars I had saved up the last 4 or so years, but this car was special, even back then, we all knew it, so it was well worth it! My first test drive was epic, that car was hunger, it wanted to run, and it wanted to go fast, and fast it went, it also taught me to respect it, or it would do everything to try and kill me! All through my senior year of highschool, There was Not a single Muscle car, or any other kind of car that could touch my Challenger in a race, NONE! and this was the mid 80's so muscle cars were cheap and plentiful, and every cool kid seemed to have one, and some of them were flat out nasty if they were driven properly! My best official time at a real drag strip was 11.30 @135 MPH in the quarter, and that big 440 Magnum had lots left in the tank! I could tear Hemi's a new one, and the only other cars that were real close were the 1970 Buick G.S. 455 stage1 automatic cars, or the Hemi Cudas, and maybe an Olds 442 with 455 Rocket and automatic, the Chevelle SS 454 was a joke, more bark then bite unless you spent a fortune, but hey, they LOOKED FAST, and then there were the sleepers, the cars ether everyone forgot, or no one even knew about, the 1964 Fury's with the 426 Max Wedge or the Polara Hemi cars, Those cars were flat out FAST, and you learned real fast, not to mess with one! Anyway: Back to the beginning story and the greatest scam in automotive history! The Black Ghost of Detroit was NEVER anything but a fun story, made up to drive intrist in a rare and uniquen but COMPLETLY STOCK 70 Dodge Challenger that couldn't have ever done what the stories all said it could, and I know first hand what a 70 Challenger CAN do, and mine was built by a kid and on a budget using the tech of the times which hadn't changed all that much since 1970 when the Black Ghost was built! That Car on it's best day, with good hot rear tires, a iced down intake and carb, and an awesome driver, MIGHT do 13.80's in the quarter at maybe 105 MPH, MAYBE, The Hemi was NOT a very quick car unless the car around it was highly modified and lost a bunch of weight, that Black Ghost was nearly 1200 pounds heavier then mine, and while mine was far from stock, being an ultra rare factory High Performance Drag Pack optioned car with a advertised Horse Power of 425, ( So as not to look better then the Hemi) in actuality, that engine ( As confirmed on the dyno later, it made well over 600 Horses. 638 actually) while the Hemi all stock made a real honest 520 ish in a 4500 pound car! You see where this is going yet? Some dumb schlup just spent a record amount of cash on a story, and got a cool but bone stock car for his money, and the whole automotive industry was in on it, from the magazines to Dodge it's self, and everyone else in the Universe, all bought into the story of this car, and it was all ONE BIG LIE!
Thanks for a trip I had back in the late 60,s and the 70,s. Glad I found the real NEED 4 SPEED !! Birds . I did in January a Spiral drop from 11K down to 2.3 K in squat ,, Haven't done one since the sandbox time and looking like prey .. Sloth Tighty-whiteys were still dry , heart was swolled !
I had a 70 440 cuda back in the day along with 3 1971 318 barracudas,lucky me sold them off right before all the crazy prices hit on them.
My uncle ordered one of them Buick GS , factory 4 speed , convertibles ,, while he was in Nam '68 or '69 , it was a special order car. Loved your story ,, I saw a utube clip about a black dude , I think it was Detroit ,, but if I remember right , he was an Army Vet , and was a similar story .
The coolest thing about these old muscle cars is the memories of them, the promise of speed and performance, and the undeniable looks they had! One of the greatest eras of automotive design and innovation, those cars were amazing! I remember as a kid, studying them all in detail, and dreaming of the far off days when I might sit behind the wheel of one of those monsters, the open road ahead, a tank full of cheap gas, a 8 track cassette of some new cool band, and a pack of smokes! Reality wasn't that far off if you saved a few bucks, the base line cars were amazing deals, and some of them were far better then their big block cousins, and outside the crazy prices for them now, there are still deals out there! Both my brothers got their dream machines, same as me, My middle Brother got his 67 Mustang fast back GT and converted it to "Shelby Specs" before cloning was a thing, his was then, and is today, wicked fast it has a 428 Super Cobra Jet and 4 speed stick in it. My Baby bro also got his dream machine, a 68 Chevy Malabo SS, his has a insane 454 and automatic, and is probably too wild for the streets, but he drives it anyway! Irony is: as unbeatable as I was in my Challenger back in the day, both brothers can walk all over me with their cars now, and there are hot hatch 4 bangers out there that can smoke my butt,, but No one looks as cool as I do while doing it! After I restored it ( After retiring and settling down with the then new Wife) I took the Ol' Girl out to our first Cars and Coffee event, it was a Huge gathering of very expensive and exotic cars, and when the Wife and I showed up, the place got quiet! As i'm backing into a good spot, the crowd started to gather around, and you could hear the comments, people knew what it was, or at least thought they knew, and it was an amazing night! I have made some amazing friends along the way because of that car, and have had more fun then any man should have! The Wife wasn't about to let me have all the fun, and while driving the Challenger scares the hell out of her, she wasn't about to shy away from muscle car awesomeness, so she picked her own from all the asweomeness a beautiful 1967 Cougar XR-7 factory 390 automatic that she and I have rebuilt and restomodded slightly! It has a 428 Cobra Jet now, really sweet wheels and and paint, sounds awesome, and is a blast to drive, exactly how they should be, and making new memories of the greatest era of automotive design and competition! Seeing her great big smile going down the road, it's ALL WORTH IT! And when she stomps on the gas at a stop light and the front end lifts, the back squats, and the poor dude along side eyes just about pop outta his head, as that Cougar lays twin black stripes 200 feet long, pure automotive heaven! We have added a few others, just because they are so cool, my 55 Dodge Coronet you have seen pictures of, I scored a sweet deal on another dream machine, a 64 Dodge Polara 500, and the Wife scored a 72 Olds Cutlass W code car for a really sweet deal, so we have a future of muscle car greatness ahead of us!
Uncles old cuda, had a handfull of motors in it, think it has a 383 in it now. Sitting out in a colorado field been trying to buy his old fairlane but he wont part with anything
Here is the 64 Polara, she is clean and mostly all there, needs a bunch of work, and the interior isn't that great, BUT, she is a survivor,, looks good, sounds good, and will make for a real stunner when done! The little 318 ain't cuttin it, but at least it's a V-8! Paid way to much for it, but you just don't find them in this nice a shape and rust free! And, here's the Wife's 72 Olds we found out on the front range sitting in a driveway with a little faded for sale sign on it! it's a plane Jane cruiser with a 350 in it, BUT, it's got the goodies to make it great! Here's the Wife's Baby, her 67 Cougar, and I gotta tell ya, it's a real sweetheart, drives amazing, has loads of power, and just looks awesome! Wife did an amazing job for her first car build, and I only helped a little! Tell me that ain't one Sexy Cougar! And, last but not least, the legend her self, my 70 R/T Challenger Drag Pack all done up better then ever! If this doesn't make you heart race even a little, there's something wrong with you!
I wasn't much of a gearhead back then ,, but was in to burning rubber and speed . My 1st bit of muscle was a ' 70 Torino GT ,, 351 C . Loved that car . Had a chance at a '69 Cougar Eliminator , 351 C, around '79 ,, just couldn't come up with 1200 bucks at the time. Picked up a '72 Galaxie , Ex Hwy State Patrol car with a 429 Police Interceptor ,, around '79''80 ,,, she wasn't that quick off the line ,, but I never found her top end ,, she had a 140 mph certified calibration speedo in her ,, I took her down the interstate one night around 0200 one night at 135 for about 20 miles , and she sucked up about a 1/2 tank of gas . I always wanted to drop that 429 in the Torino , but never had the time, money , or place , at the time . Now days , I think back about the possibilities I missed with them old cars ,, and women ,,,,,, and I sure miss them old cars ,,,,,
One of my uncles owned a 66’ Plymouth Satellite 426 Hemi convertible with 4 Spd, and Positrack, and. 67’ Plymouth (can’t remember the model) with a 440 semi hemi with Torqueflite tranny. Both were very fast. Youngest Nile has a 67 Chev Impala with a 427 and automatic transmission. Jim
64 Galaxy, 427 tunnel port and Super T-10, 5.13 gear and MT L60-15s under a set of aluminum tubs. My fav though was my 65 Falcon with factory AC, 289 with a T-10 and 4.10 gears. Some nights I ran the AC while waiting for some rusty General Motors product to stage, clicked it off, ran my 7:10 to 7:30 in the 1/8, clicked the AC and radio back on while cruising back to the pits. Super fun car and gas was only 98 cents for regular, and $2.10 for aviation green gas (100LL) for Saturday nights. Sold them both when I bought a house.
I also saw a lot of interesting factory cars, like a 440 Coronet 4 door that actually came from the factory with a 426, a Ford F-100 with a 427 low rise in place of the 390, and a few 302 Mavericks with a 351 Windsor. It seems that back in the day the manufacturers would put in whatever was lying around to keep the assembly line moving. In 1997 I had a friend who was the service manager at the Ford dealer order me a 427 long block, and they actually found one in Iowa, but it was intercepted along the way and I never got it, no doubt by an employee. I miss the days of a dealer being able to submit a build sheet instead of the options menu they have now.
Buddy of mine ran into one of those weird factory screw ups, like you said, used to be pretty common, any ways, it was a 77 Ford King Cobra II that the factory slipped a 351 Windsor in, along with a Super T-10. 4 speed! Ford NEVER offered those Mustang II's with anything bigger then a 302! Should have bought it, the owner showed us it was factory stock and original, you couldn't fake that very easy, not back then. Grand Daddy bought a Brand New Chevy truck in 72, ordered it with the then new 454, but instead got a 402, he was pissed and refused to accept it, stating he paid for the big engine, and that's what he expected, so the dealer pulled the 402 and installed a brand new crate 454, but it wasn't the truck version, but the ultra rare LS-6 version! Gramps was pretty happy till he learned it was the car engine, but by then, he didn't care! My Cousin still has that pickup, and it's amazing, and while not a factory package, it was a factory screw up. Last one, my best friend all through school, his mom bought a Brand new 70 Dodge Challenger ( like mine) for high school graduation, she had $3500 to spend, and really wanted a Blue convertible with white top and interior, factory 383 car, but it was a couple hundred more then she had so she settled for a Plum Crazy plane jane 340 4 speed car. Turned out I was a factory screw up, should never had the 340 and pistol Grip 4 speed, or all the cool R/T trim goodies, but that's how it was, and she bought it and still has it to this day, it's a national show winner, and is in the regerstry of rare muscle cars, and has been featured in a few big magazines for how unique and rare it is! That car is why I like the Challengers so much, I grew up riding around it it, and it sure impressed me, even at a young age!
Guy in NC has a rare green 77 Mustang II Cobra with factory screw up Windsor and an automatic with T-Tops. I offered him 12k, he laughed and asked which tire I wanted.
I have been watching Adam-12 lately. Lots of then new muscle cars and classics being as that was filmed in California. I did notice a gas station sign advertising Reg 3.89 and Prem 4.29 a gallon from a 1972 filming. I guess those steep California prices were everywhere.
Don't know what you saw, but reg gas was 65 cent a gallon in the Commiefornia bay area in the middle 70's.
Best friends grandpa has a early corvette, guess its a rarer one. Needs restored bad. Guy offered him 60 grand as is and he told him to kick rocks. Hes got a guy going to restore it and said it should bring 250-300k at barret.
