Introduced in 1966 as a two-door fastback with premium appointments, the Dodge Charger morphed into a full-blown muscle car toward the end of the decade. Fitted with Mopar’s most powerful engines and sporting an aggressive design, the Charger became one of the most iconic nameplates of the golden muscle car era.
But the badge lived on beyond that. While performance cars began disappearing from showrooms in the early 1970s, the Charger remained in production until 1978 as a much milder intermediate. Come 2022, and it’s the pre-1972 Chargers that get all the attention, but some later models, especially of the third-generation variety, are also worth a look. This 1973 Charger SE is one of them.
Yes, it’s one of those classics that has been sitting for way too long in storage, but it doesn’t look half bad. According to “Dead Dodge Garage,” this Charger spent a whopping 31 years off the road. That’s more than enough time to turn a vintage muscle car into a rust bucket, but somehow this one managed to soldier on in one piece.
And it doesn’t have too many rust sports either, which is quite surprising for an early 1970s Mopar. On the flip side, the solid-looking paint is not original. This Charger was refinished at some point in a hue that looks a lot like Petty Blue. I think Dodge called this color Light Blue for the 1973 model year.
Anyway, it’s also fitted with a matching blue interior that looks pretty good, apart from some cracks in the dashboard and the worn-out upholstery. But here’s what makes this 1973 coupe a really cool and rare car: it’s equipped with a floor-mounted cassette deck. One that also came with a microphone input to record notes.
Yeah, it’s an ancient piece of technology in 2022, but it’s quite a rare feature. You see, Dodge offered this option in 1971 and 1972 only, and not many customers went for it. While there’s no specific info as to how many Mopars left the factory with this deck, the consensus is that fewer than 1,000 Dodges had one for the 1973 model year. And I’m talking about the entire lineup, not just the Charger.
Chances are this car is one of fewer than 50 that got it. And it’s downright amazing that it’s still mounted on the floor, even though it’s probably not working anymore.
But it might just work again because this 1973 Charger is about to receive a full restoration. And to make things easier for the folks at Rocket Restorations, who will handle the refresh, our host got the V8 engine running again. It didn’t take that long either because, as I said, this Mopar is in remarkably good shape.
What’s under the hood, you might ask? Well, this Charger doesn’t have a 383- or 440-cubic-inch (6.3- or 7.2-liter) like you might expect from a third-gen model. It’s powered by a 400-cubic-inch (6.6-liter) unit, which Dodge introduced in 1972. The mill was available with a two-barrel carb and 170 horsepower or as a four-barrel unit with 260 horses.