For Sale: Battle-Ready 1973 Dodge Challenger on a Military Truck Chassis
Mall-crawlers beware.
Don't be surprised if apocalypse-ready vehicles became a lot more popular after this year. You can get a head start on that battle car price bubble by picking up a massive 4x4 1973 Dodge Challenger, for sale at close to $30,000 on Craigslist in Tuscon, Arizona. It's no show pony. Like a prop from the latest Mad Max flick, this thing is built to brawl.
The drivetrain is pretty serious, with a Dana 44 axle at the front and a Dana 60 out back. The motor, a 5.7-liter small-block Mopar V8, has a variety of mods as well, including long tube headers, a new intake manifold, Holley four-barrel carburetor, and ignition system. It has a four-speed automatic transmission with a transfer case, and the suspension including Skyjacker Black MAX shocks is custom built to a level of perfection rarely seen on a project this ridiculous.
The tires are 37-inch BF-Goodrich KM2s, and they fit very nicely under the Challenger's unmodified fenders. That's thanks in no small part due to the M1009 frame—that's the military version of the Chevrolet K5 Blazer—that now underpins the classic body. Four-wheel drive is run through a rebuilt NP205 transfer case. The seller claims that even with the big tires and massive lift, the vehicle is still well behaved on the road, even comfortable enough for long road trips.
You may doubt that road trip claim, but the car has a lot of modifications related to livability. The interior, for instance, is almost entirely new. The car has a brand new Bluetooth-enabled stereo system. As if all of this convenience wasn't enough, the owner has also installed a backup camera to assure you don't run over anything you can't see.
Builds like this are always a hard sell because what exactly are you going to do with this thing? It's a big toy with pretty much no practical uses. It's not like you're going to take it to the grocery store.
I think you can make a better-than-average case for this car, though. Clearly it's built with the right parts, the interior has not been completely ignored as it often is with these sorts of builds, and there are a few good drivability mods installed to make your life of ownership easier. And just in case you're still skeptical about the truck's offroad capabilities, the seller has provided a video of the Challenger in action.
Nearly 30 grand may seem a little steep, but this is pretty close to the perfect Mad Max-style bugout vehicle. You would certainly be intimidating the local mall-crawlers pulling up in this thing.
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