[Bearhawke]

http://www.dynacornbodies.com/body-shells/challenger.php

The above repop Challenger bodyshell from Dynacorn may be of interest here, they are becoming famous for their replacement 1967-69 Camaro, 1967-70 Mustang, etc. shells.

 

[dana44]

This is real cool. It isn't a Camaro, so that doubly makes it great, and I did see the words "convertible"! It does give more hope for those of us in the Challenger world with the ability to actually build something like this, so now we can start with fresh new metal that is even thicker than original instead of having to waste tons of money trying to fabricate and replace existing rust pockets.

 

[Bearhawke]

This is real cool. It isn't a Camaro, so that doubly makes it great, and I did see the words "convertible"! It does give more hope for those of us in the Challenger world with the ability to actually build something like this, so now we can start with fresh new metal that is even thicker than original instead of having to waste tons of money trying to fabricate and replace existing rust pockets.

No joke there and a 5.7L Hemi would be a slick swap since there are kits out there to facilitate the above into E bodies.

 

[dana44]

I totally agree. Now that we have a new body main structure, repop fenders, bumpers, interiors, suspension is pretty easy to get for these still, and after market has a whole selection, running gear is the next thing to consider and the 5.7 or even 6.1, transmision choice, having a classic look would cost about the same or even less than a brand new Challenger if you shopped and hunted properly for everything.

 

[patricklynch]

Both Mopar Action and Mopar Muscle have articles on the repop bodies.

 

[dakotasport94]

question, how will these be titled as?? what vin would it get?? as a kit car??? just wondering..

 

[dana44]

It does vary state to state, from whatever title you have on a car that you swap numbers to and then the DMV verifies you owned the vehicle and now it has a different body, to DMV having a location (usually called a referee station) that takes and verifies your engine size and smog requirements met current to the engine itself and then gives the car a sticker that says it is a kit car. You have to get ahold of the DMV and then determine the best action to take.

 

[dakotasport94]

In my honest opinion if it is illegal to re body or swap VIN's, a car than i think it would be to do the same with a Re-pop body...wouldn't you think??

 

[dana44]

No, it is a production aftermarket body that is allowed under certain conditions in order to then get a VIN assigned through the state DMV. Have a friend that did it the old way, as in a short production run of Model A Ford, to which a Pinto 2.3 engine is used, along with the associated VIN and all the smog equipment (kind of a waste), so it is a 32 Ford registered legally as a 1975 Pinto.

 

[Bearhawke]

In my honest opinion if it is illegal to re body or swap VIN's, a car than i think it would be to do the same with a Re-pop body...wouldn't you think??

The state DMV would issue a special VIN to get around as you described. Although supposedly if someone kept the cowl with its VIN from an original 1970 Challenger and swapped it onto a new bodyshell; it would be 'legal' since on paper the car simply had a lot of bodywork done.

 

[dana44]

The state DMV would issue a special VIN to get around as you described. Although supposedly if someone kept the cowl with its VIN from an original 1970 Challenger and swapped it onto a new bodyshell; it would be 'legal' since on paper the car simply had a lot of bodywork done.

Yes, that is the second option, which also fixes the issue with the title itself and any kind of inspection. Factory Five and several other kit car companies have all the necessary information needed in order to get them titled.

 

[TWX]

I know with trucks, the frame itself counts as the truck, so long as it was factory-stamped with the VIN. If I ever get around to building my D-series crew cab short bed diesel, I might instead find a good '91-'93 Ram club cab long bed and do a cab and bed swap, notching the back of the cab to clear the frame rails, painting the door jambs, and then getting it inspected and the new information properly attached to the freshly-painted jamb.

There was another company building some kind of body where one had to install the original firewall into the new body, as the firewall was stamped with the VIN, but that did make it legal.

It would be interesting to find a rollover of a modern Challenger, and to take all of the goodies (suspension, airbags, computers, wiring) and put that stuff into a repro Challenger body that's been improved upon.

 

[Bearhawke]

TWX: no Chally needed as a donor since the dash is similar between it and the other LX/LY cars; read that a donor Charger/300 would be easier to find and probably cheaper.

 

[dana44]

You can go either way with a title. If you do it with the DMV, the 70 Challenger becomes a 2012 whatever you want, so the title reflects the current year, not what model the body is.

 

[mason66]

You can go either way with a title. If you do it with the DMV, the 70 Challenger becomes a 2012 whatever you want, so the title reflects the current year, not what model the body is.

That could get tricky though, having to comply with 2012 smog equipment and requirements.

 

[dana44]

Yeah, gotta check with locals and the company to see the different ways it can be done. A clean title in your name and a swap of ID numbers and drivetrain then checked and verified by a DMV station is one way, as long as the title is in your name to begin with. There are crate motors that can be plugged in and have all the smog equipment attached or listed to make it legal, heck, state by state. I am pretty positive California allows 500 special build car titles per year, so have to have another way to work around that.

 

[956BFY]

It is my personal feeling that there are good owners of real cars that can benefit if the steel was correct. I can see many many issues with superbirds and road runners, its incredibly bad out there I feel its a tragedy to chrysler nostalgia, chryslers stance with nascar and other manufacturers which gave real nostalgia its honor at least in my eyes. Its kinda like taking a race car putting in a six cylinder with a one barrel carb and saying ok theres the basic car for the masses and then some non company guy even after being told production numbers were lost says hes got the production numbers. Its just sad. You can hear it when von numbers are being talked about as vins back then were not registered like they are today.

 

[TWX]

It is my personal feeling that there are good owners of real cars that can benefit if the steel was correct. I can see many many issues with superbirds and road runners, its incredibly bad out there I feel its a tragedy to chrysler nostalgia, chryslers stance with nascar and other manufacturers which gave real nostalgia its honor at least in my eyes. Its kinda like taking a race car putting in a six cylinder with a one barrel carb and saying ok theres the basic car for the masses and then some non company guy even after being told production numbers were lost says hes got the production numbers. Its just sad. You can hear it when von numbers are being talked about as vins back then were not registered like they are today.

huh?

 

[Tweety Bird]

Challenger is nice. I'd be much more interested if it was a 'Cuda. Yeah, I always was a guy who preferred the Plymouth lineup over the Dodges.

 

[Joe Dart]

Some Mustang and Camaro people tried to pass off legit cars but the Ford and GM people narked them out immediately!

It takes major balls to commit fraud and these people almost always get busted.