What can I say…everything fell into place just right for this photo shoot to happen. After Kevin from Junkyard Digs tipped me off to a Marketplace ad for a 1971 Dodge Challenger that looked like it leapt from the pages of Popular Hot Rodding with nothing more than a coat of dust all over the car, I wrote the story, published it, and received a warm response from both the sellers and a friend of the original owner of the car. One of the notes was that I had an invitation to come see the Challenger in person at a shop in Missouri, and this was just about the same time that the details for Rocky Mountain Race Week were being set in stone. Since I have to drive the Interstate 70 route to get to Denver with any sort of speed, I’d be passing right near the shop and if I stopped in on the way back, I wouldn’t be rushed for time.

Enjoy the photos and note the details…I’m not gonna lie, a lot of you have forgotten more about stuff from this era than I’ve ever learned. A couple of things to check out as you go through the pictures…look at the welds on what is most likely a Don Hardy setup. I know builders who’d struggle to make anything that clean with today’s technology. The engine block is the Hemi for the car (which was originally a 383 from the factory) and if you want to get an idea on what the paint looks like without the dust of being left in a shop since 1974 or 1975 all over it, look just aft of the passenger-side door handle to see the only cleaned-up spot on the car. Yeah, it’s got some scarring but most of the paint is just fine and it’d be a travesty to wreck any of what’s left.

It’s a damn good thing I don’t have the coin for this car. My wife was starting to get real nervous with the sounds I was making. She wasn’t wrong to be concerned.

Thanks again to Terry Murphy for letting us crawl around the car and for giving us the tour, we appreciate it!