I concur that we should try to save every one of the abandoned muscle vehicles from the golden age. Regardless of the drivetrain configuration, they are simply too cool to pass up. Unfortunately, some automobiles are too damaged and end up in the crusher.
How can we tell when a classic has devolved too far? Well, this conversation typically centers on how much money is required for a restoration. It is not worthwhile if the price is equal to or higher than the car’s market value in Concours condition. Unless, of course, it’s a classic with a special meaning.
Body and frame rot is usually the main enemy, but the 1970 Dodge Challenger you see here doesn’t have an inch of rust. This once glorious Mopar was rendered unsalvageable by fire. The car burned to a crisp during the Paradise, California wildfire, and even though it may still look solid at first glance, it’s one of those classics that shouldn’t be saved.
Now residing at the Shade Tree Vintage Auto salvage yard, the Challenger is pretty much a brown shell. The white paint is gone, and the interior is nothing more than a pile of metal debris that didn’t melt during the fire. The engine is still under the hood and looks decent, given the hot ordeal this car went through.
But why isn’t this Mopar suitable for a complete restoration? Well, as our host points out, even though it may look like a solid project car, the steel shell has no integrity left due to the high temperatures it was exposed to. The body panels would simply deform as the vehicle hits bumps that are common on most roads.
Or, as a bodybuilder points out in the comments section of the video, the body panels are “weakened so badly that a squirrel running past it sneezing in its direction would almost dent it.” This Challenger shouldn’t be driven on public roads, even though the man is plainly exaggerating to make a point. Unless it receives a completely new body and structure, in which case it would become a whole different vehicle.
Granted, the Challenger serves only as a stark reminder of the power of mother nature. The saddest thing is that it serves as the clearest illustration yet that some old cars simply cannot be saved.
This hardtop, one of over 77,000 Challengers constructed and sold in 1970, is an early E-body model. It also isn’t an R/T vehicle despite having a big-block 383-cubic-inch (6.3-liter) V8 under the hood. It is one of the 36,951 non-R/T hardtops with a V8 engine that were produced that year. At least it isn’t a very rare example of the original Challenger.