It's always dangerous to get excited about a car that looks halfway decent in pictures. This creative body project that was born from a very rare 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T SE is just such a car. Yes, the value of this car has been pretty well erased by the addition of an Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser roof, and that could cause some outbursts from purists. The thing is, the stupid values that cars of this era have been reaching at auction are a recent phenomenon. This particular Challenger was just a two year old car when someone went at it with the nibbler back in 1973. From what we can see, this is a 50/50 car – the closeups tell a story that's a little rougher than the more distant snaps. If you've got $28,000, you can enter a starting bid. The seller points out that it'll need some work, and that'll likely cost you at least another 30-large for a full proper restoration. Nobody has thrown cash at the auction yet, so that's a good sign for bidders. With less than a day to go, you may be able to snag this vintage metal shop Frankenstein without a bidder war.
Thanks for the tip, Tobias!
[Source: eBay]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
calebe @ Feb 20th 2008 9:42AM
This has been around before. Take one sweet challenger,wreck your mom's vista crusier then cute the rear hatch out of your sisters Gremlin and Poof, you have just made something, well, you describe what you've made. The quarts of oil in the rear storage area really top off the pic's
calebe @ Feb 20th 2008 9:45AM
Cut, not cute. Damn, i wish there was an edit like on other sites that give you 30 minutes to change your stupid typo's
K. Ryan Hasse @ Feb 20th 2008 9:44AM
I read this guy's ebay ad. Is it me, or is the world full of impolite people?
In reading the ad from a product he's trying to sell, the first words we get are rules, which amount to a scolding.
Then again, there will be those that complain to the seller that the product actually exists in its current form.
I wish people would simply act reasonably, politely, with a modicum of decency and accountability (to themselves).
That said, whoa! That's one ugly Challenger!
Pat @ Feb 20th 2008 9:44AM
"With less than a day to go, you may be able to snag this vintage metal shop Frankenstein without an bidder war."
Until every bored 15 year old who's reading this blog in computer art class bids it up to the moon.
camerazn @ Feb 20th 2008 12:10PM
What bored 15-year-old has access to $28K+?
Shakatar @ Feb 20th 2008 9:45AM
Minor detail, but I'm gonna guess that the roof was transplanted from a '68-ish Buick Sport Wagon, hence the badges adorning its purple flanks.
Corey W. @ Feb 20th 2008 10:02AM
Why buy this when you can get a new Challenger wagon?!?!?..... it's called the Magnum!!
MajorGeek @ Feb 20th 2008 10:26AM
You should get a prize for that comment, so true! What a fugly car.
mk @ Feb 20th 2008 10:57AM
I think it would be hilarious for someone to chop the new Challenger front end on the front of a Magnum.
Or the back of the magnum with the roof-hatch and custom rear side windows, trimmed to fit with the challenger quarter windows, onto the two-door new challenger body.
Considering that they share the base platform, I would think that some of the dimensions of the body would be close enough for a good metal worker to make it fit.
This sort of thing seems odd, but strangely compelling that there is at least one of these things, as a custom vehicle. There were conversions for 2-door mustang wagons, too. Odd, but unique. I am glad to see some originality.
Mal Fuller @ Feb 20th 2008 10:02AM
More like the Ebay Abortion of the Day.
Jerk Face @ Feb 20th 2008 11:34AM
That comment was full of Win!
Egon @ Feb 20th 2008 10:10AM
Bidding has ended for this item with 0 bids posted. Imagine that.
LMBVette @ Feb 20th 2008 11:03AM
I actually like the car.....oh no!...I must be coming down with something.
MemphisNET @ Feb 20th 2008 11:07AM
I'd buy it if I could, only to save the poor Challenger and restore it to its former glory.
Frank @ Feb 20th 2008 11:29AM
Mmmmm.... that's just wrong!
The Mustanchero earlier didn't look half bad. But the proportions of this are all wrong.
MajorGeek @ Feb 20th 2008 11:48AM
Anyone check his other auctions? Roscoe P Coltrain clone, lol. Ahh, old school North Carolina country. Didnt see a moonshine distillery in the background though. No one bidding on that crap either.
http://motors.search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZsixpak71
DKB_SATX @ Feb 20th 2008 12:18PM
This guy lives in a fantasy world. He admits up front that the '70 Le Mans convertible he's selling is a GTO Judge clone, sets a STARTING bid at $35k and is probably whining into his Busch (or spitting chaw into one of the empties) about no one bidding on his fine ride.
British_Rover @ Feb 20th 2008 11:56AM
Thats not rally a wagon as it only has two doors. I would call that a shooting brake.
Polly Prissy Pants @ Feb 20th 2008 1:39PM
This is America and over here we speak English. It meets the definition of a Station Wagon:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Station_wagon
Gary Blomquist @ Feb 20th 2008 12:40PM
That is one ugly butchering of a great collector's, muscle car. Very sad, indeed. :(