"Whoa!" That was the only sound uttered by Steve Stanley the first time he saw his car-to-be. To hear him describe the moment now, some six months later, he still has trouble with words. We can all relate to that, too. Just how do you put into words the notion of being floored by a car's awesome coolness? See-sounds stupid, right? Steve didn't bother with words when he saw this '70 Dodge Challenger.
Our reaction was similar to Steve's. We were filled with anticipation on the way to meet him and photograph his car. When he opened his garage and rolled the car out, we uttered a word or two also-except none of them was fit to print.
If this car looks familiar, then we thank you for being a loyal CC reader. It appeared first on the Jun. '83 cover and then again in Jan. '08's Rear View. Steve purchased this car last year from John Harai, the guy who built it back then. John bought this car in 1979 when it was in pretty sorry shape. He and his brother resurrected it, augmenting it with some of the best speed parts available at the time. It was legendary painter Pete Santini who originally tipped CC off to the coolness of this car as it was nearing completion. He's the guy who painted the stripes on this Challenger and the '69 Camaro that appeared on that issue's cover.
Shortly after its appearance in the magazine, John parked the Challenger in his parents' garage because he knew it wouldn't pass California's tailpipe emissions tests. And so it sat untouched for nearly a quarter century until last September. Current owner Steve Stanley picked up the story from there. "I'd been looking for an E-Body and heard about the car from friends in the Mopars Unlimited club of Southern California. One of them took me to see it." It was like looking through a portal back in time. The car didn't run, but it was intact and well preserved. Steve quickly worked out a deal and bought the car on the spot.
All it needed to run was a new gas tank and a carburetor rebuild. Rebuilt wheel cylinders then made the car roadworthy. Steve drives it, too. "I take it out at least once a week," he said. And he gets lots of positive response from people. "It's a great conversation starter."
Steve contacted us shortly afterward, wondering if we'd be interested in looking at an old CC cover car. Admittedly, we were dubious before seeing the archive photos of the original 1983 cover shoot-really, how many cars built in the '80s still look good today? This car is an exception, however. It has all the visual cues of an '80s car without being obnoxious or over the top.
Steve kept all the receipts from the original owner, most being from Mopar Direct Connection and Super Shops and brings them to shows and cruises. It's fun to rifle through them and watch the build progress. It's also a little depressing how cheap some of the parts were back then.
It's a testament to one's sense of style when you can build a car that still looks good 25 years later. Steve says he's not going to change a thing about the Challenger, and he'd be a fool if he did.