Introduced in 1966 as a somewhat luxurious fastback, the Dodge Charger was redesigned into a full-fledged muscle car in 1968. The second-gen version remained in production until 1970, and now it’s the most desirable iteration of the nameplate.
It’s actually one of the most sought-after muscle cars from the golden era, thanks to its sporty design and high-performance engines. Sure, the Charger was also available with an inline-six and a small-block V8, but the R/T came with a selection of highly powerful big-block mills.
The latter is also somewhat rare, as only 9,509 cars of the total 49,800 examples sold in 1970 were ordered with the R/T package. The HEMI version is the scarcest at 112 units, while Chargers fitted with the 440-cubic-inch (7.2-liter) Six Pack number only 684 examples. This leaves 8,713 R/T cars equipped with the four-barrel version of the 448 V8. The green Charger you see here is one of those cars, but it’s much rarer than the official production figure suggests.
Because this Mopar is equipped with a couple of super rare options. For starters, the Dark Green Metallic (code EF8) finish was paired with a light green stripe. Haven’t seen this color combo yet? Well, it makes sense because it’s as rare as they get. Most Chargers in this color left the assembly line with either black or white stripes. The latter is rare too, but the green wrap-around stripe is the kind of option you won’t see anytime soon, no matter how many Mopar meetings you attend.
Then there’s the vinyl top. Yes, vinyl roofs are pretty common on 1970 Chargers, but this top is not your regular wrap. It features a gator grain finish that wasn’t particularly popular that year. There’s no official factory data to back this claim, but the consensus is that only about five percent of the cars ordered with the vinyl top got the gator grain option. That’s fewer than 350 units.
But things get more interesting when we factor it in the gator top, the green stripe, and the 440 V8/four-speed combo. Because it likely makes this 1970 Charger a one-of-a-kind gem. And yes, it’s a true gator top car because it has the magical “V1G” code on the VIN tag. The same goes for the green stripe, authenticated by the “V6F” code. By the way, Dodge also offered light blue and red stripes and a stripe delete.
Moreover, this Charger is a rotisserie-restored classic that looks perfect inside and out. Sure, the black interior is a bit boring if you ask me, but at least it has bucket seats and the cool pistol-grip shifter. And both the 440 V8 and the four-speed manual gearbox are of the numbers-matching variety. All told you’re looking at a Mopar worth more than $100,000. Hit the play button below to check out, and make sure you also watch the second video to hear the V8 “Magnum” purr.