If it seems like the last few episodes of Dylan McCool’s 1973 Dodge Challenger restoration has been focused on the rear of the car…well, it has been. Between the missing trunk floor and the rotted rear subframe, a lot of work has been needed in order to bring this rustic E-body back from it’s very, very long slumber. Remember that this car was parked pretty much the same amount of time I’ve been alive…there was going to be plenty to do to get this car back on the road, and the work was going to be intensive thanks to Ma Mopar’s lazy eye towards metal quality time, age and the environmental conditions this car was sitting in when it was parked.

Happily, McCool is starting to put stuff together instead of just ripping things apart. The trunk floor that has probably been missing since Vanilla Ice first started rapping and dancing, is going to be tacked into place and once that’s happily attached to the Dodge, it’s time to turn attention to the rear axle. For a small-block, three-speed car, this Challenger got a pretty ideal setup: a 3.23-equipped 8.75″ Chrysler rear axle. It’s no Dana 60 like the 440-6 and Hemi cars got, but the 8.75 will take plenty of abuse, certainly what a late-model 5.7 Hemi is going to be sending through the driveline. Need inspiration for getting out into the shop on a cold day? Decided that you aren’t going outside for anybody? Either way, give this video a watch!