1970 Dodge Challenger R/T 426 Hemi

If you aren’t a die hard Mopar fan then you’ll be forgiven for thinking this isn’t a factory color. It’s likely to be polarizing and you’ll either love it or hate it but it was one of the several high-impact colors available for 1970.

The Plum Crazy (C7) paint you see on this car was one of several high impact colors that were introduced by Dodge for the 1969 model year. It sat with other, equally bold, colors such as; Sublime, Hemi Orange, Panther Pink, Go Mango, Top Banana and Green-Go.

The Challenger was brand new for 1970 and, while a little late, was intended to offer competition to Ford’s Mustang, Chevrolet’s Camaro and Pontiac’s Firebird. It might have been late to the game but it was certainly impressive and proved an immediate hit.

Side view of a 70 Dodge Challenger R/T in Plum Crazy
side view

Challenger used the, brand-new for 1970, E-body platform which it shared with the Plymouth Barracuda. Sitting 2 inches lower than the B-body cars it gave the Challenger a much lower stance. It was available in two body styles: a 2-door hardtop and convertible.

rear view of a 1970 Challenger by Dodge
rear view

The R/T was a performance package that gave you Rallye suspension with sway bar, heavy-duty drum brakes and also provided different hood.

Also included was special R/T external badging and a choice of side decal or painted Bumblebee stripes at the rear.

Inside, the R/T also enjoys a Rallye instrument cluster as standard along with bucket seats and a center console.

All vinyl, bucket seat interior of a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T
all-vinyl, bucket seat interior

While the standard Challenger came with a 225 cubic inch, six cylinder, the R/T came with a 335 horsepower, 383 cubic inch V8. There was also a more powerful 383, a couple of 440s and what some would say was the ultimate – a 426 Street Hemi with two, 4-barrel carburetors that managed 425 horsepower and could only be ordered with an R/T. The latter is exactly what this Challenger was ordered with, costing an addition $978 with Torqueflite automatic transmission.

It was a huge chunk of extra change, and unsurprisingly, only found its way into 287 hardtops with very few of those being ordered with a shaker hood,

1970 Dodge 426 V8 Street Hemi engine
426 V8 Street Hemi

There were 53,337 Challenger hardtops made for the 1970 model year with 8,939 of them fitted with a 383 V8 and 6,014 with an automatic transmission. The R/T hardtop (JS23) started at $2,851.

So, can you see yourself driving this Challenger R/T?

This 1970 Challenger R/T Hemi 426 is currently for sale on eBay. (follow the link for even more photos)

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