Photos: Clive Branson
“We purchased this car from a farmer in Alberta in Feb. of 2003. We already had a 1973 Dodge Challenger, a 2-door that was white with a red bumblebee stripe. We had bought it in Oct. 2000.
“My wife likes convertibles and found this one online. At the time, I was doing a lot of traveling for work which kept me from home for one to three weeks at a stretch. When the opportunity to purchase this car came up, I was to be heading home for about four days before heading back out on the road for another trip. I came home from a business trip and spent some time on the phone with the owner, who was a farmer in Alberta who loved MOPARS and restored one each winter to keep busy.
“The deal would be that I would pay my flight and if I decided to purchase, he would cover the cost of my expenses. I thought, considering the distance from where we lived in Gatineau, and that I was due head back out on another business trip by Sunday, this was not viable. My wife and I discussed the opportunity, and she actually encouraged me to go check it out. So next thing I knew, I found myself making hotel plans and arrangements for the following day.
“When I arrived at the airport in Edmonton, the farmer, Russ Kushinski, met me at the airport, brought me home to his place, showed me the car, provided me supper, chatted for a few hours and brought me to my hotel. I called my wife to let her know that I thought it was a beautiful car and was unsure and nervous about doing this, and as usual, the voice of reason (hers) said we should do it. I hung up and was still unsure as to what I was going to do. The next morning Russ picked me up and we went out for breakfast and made the deal. True to his word, we worked out a deal where he took the cost of expenses of the trip!
“Now the next thing, considering it was February, was to get this baby from Alberta to our home in Quebec. Turns out Russ had a friend who did cross country deliveries, and who already had a half load of house contents that he would be delivering to the Toronto area in a few weeks. So, arrangements were made to cost-share the delivery!
“The car looked and ran great, and we drove it to events and shows everywhere around the area. The odometer read 7988, so 107988 miles. One day while cleaning the car, I happened to be taking out the back seat, when to my surprise I discovered the original build sheet.”
RESTORATION:
“This was a rotisserie restoration, so basically everything was removed and repaired or replaced as needed. Yes, the car was born with a 318 engine; when we purchased it a 340 was in it; when the rotisserie restoration was done the motor was changed to a 426 HEMI. All work was performed at ASE Motorsports in Osgoode, Ontario.
“The body work was a little more then expected; you never know what the previous owners did… For example, in the rear inner fenders some dupont paint cans were found, and a front light bezel was attached with duck tape. For me keeping it clean, the rest of the work is performed by a restoration shop. The original color is FY1 – in Mopar language, in English Lemon Twist. I love driving it, the rumble is fantastic, but a modern Challenger has so much more driveabilty. Restoration started in 2008 and completed for the summer of 2010.
“When I was 15, about to turn 16, I was looking for a car. I needed Dad’s OK; the car I had found was a Challenger 383 Black, with black interior, but he said no, so a few days later got a 1969 Pontiac Strato Chief, 6cyl, 4Dr for 100.00. My uncle had several used car lots in the 60’s, but then opened a Chrysler/Plymouth dealership in Gatineau in 1970, where my Dad was the accountant. I would work there after school and summers.
“We have had many great trips – yearly, since the restoration was completed, we drive to Carlisle, PA. Weather always seems to follow us, and we have had 40 degrees heat to a hail storm. We did purchase a 2012 Dodge Challenger Yellow Jacket edition; hopefully someday it will be a collectible.
“I just don’t know where all these cars are going to go; there are some young people who like them, but not enough for all the cars out there.”
ABOUT THE CHALLENGER
As the Deputy editor for GQ Magazine observed, “Any car can be transportation, but only a few cars can transport you.”
Dodge wanted to build the most powerful pony car ever seen to compete against the phenomenal success of the Ford Mustang back in 1964. There was a bewildering variety of choices for the buyer: a two-door convertible or two-door hardtop, with three-speed manual, three-speed automatic, or four-speed transmissions.
The car’s designer was Carl Cameron, the man who had also masterminded Dodge’s 1966 Charger, another landmark vehicle for the company. The many different versions of the Challenger sold a total of 165,437 units which is remarkable considering how late the Challenger entered the ‘pony’ market.
The Dodge Challenger is arguably American’s greatest post-1930s street machine. Thoroughly American in its power, it consumed one’s raw yearnings and emotions with its definitive wind-swept design, compactness and sexiness.
The Chrysler Corporation was slow in reacting to the enormous success of Ford’s Mustang and GM’s Chevrolet Camaro/Pontiac Firebird cars. To match these, the archetypal ‘pony’ cars, Chrysler developed a matched pair of models – the Dodge Challenger and the new-generation Plymouth Barracuda – which were smaller and lighter than their older brothers, the Chargers. In four model years, the Challenger was available with no fewer than 12 different engine specifications, from the 3.7 litre powerhouse to the 7.0-litre ‘Hemi’ muscle.
As Dodge’s first foray into the hotly contested ‘pony’ car market, the Challenger was an instant success. The handsome styling was widely lauded and the tremendous range of engines, transmissions and options made it possible to easily build a highly personalized street machine. The Challenger sold approximately 50% better than the Barracuda.
