Challenger

1971 Dodge Challenger Pro-Touring

Sorry, this vehicle has been SOLD. If you were interested in this car and would like us to help find or build you a similar one, please contact us at 847-487-2272.

"If you want to build a real crowd-pleasing custom pro-touring car, there are a few simple rules to follow: First, start with one of the most desired American muscle cars to date. Then, lay out a killer two-tone paint job on a laser straight body. Add a set of great looking wheels, and then sit the car down to hug the asphalt. The resulting vehicle is what you see here—a car with a sense of purpose, of contained energy, something that modern cars simply can't capture… something truly special." - G. Bryan, President Custom Classics.

Here at Custom Classics Auto Body & Restoration we have yet another ground pounding, heart stopping beauty to offer you. Built by the talented crew from Body Werx, this is an extremely high level Mopar that will not last long in our inventory. Whoever says you can't own a nice six-figure Mopar without a framed broadcast sheet and a call to Galen Govier obviously hasn't seen this car yet.

Winner of the Goodguys Fab 5 and other prominent awards, this 1971 Dodge Challenger comes in full blown Pro Touring fashion with a heaping helping of pachyderm power under the hood. Art Morrison Enterprises supplied the foundation for this car in the form of one of its custom tube chassis, in this case fitted with quick-acting rack and pinion steering, a heavy duty Ford 9-inch rear end and Wilwood 4-wheel disc brakes. Powering the car is a full-show, all-go 426 Hemi crate engine topped with Hilborn electronic fuel injection and mated to a 4L60E overdrive automatic transmission. The Challenger's distinctive appearance is more than paint and graphics; it has been skillfully crafted by shaving and smoothing such items as the door handles, side marker lights, emblems and locks, sectioning the front and rear bumpers and bringing them closer to the body. Once the full range of mods was completed, the car was sprayed with DuPont Hot Hues paint in Blazin Orange and Black Metallic, and a slick body side flourish executed on the quarter panels in old-school engine turned Gold leaf. The lowered stance was achieved by dropping the front end and tucking the rear rolling stock inside tubbed wheel wells, making enough room to accommodate low profile BF Goodrich rubber on American Racing 18-inch front and 20-inch rear Torque Thrust wheels. The basic interior layout remains faithful to the original design, but stunning Saddle leather upholstery, a suede headliner, Vintage Air and a custom made back seat put it in a class by itself. It's an exceptionally well-done piece that'll more than hold its own against any pampered trailer queen.

Thanks to a high-quality build, this Challenger's laser straight body lines present themselves even better than they did when it left the assembly plant over 40 years ago. At the front, a 1971-exclusive split stainless trimmed grille between four pristine headlights, amber round parking lights and a mirror-like, black custom fit and trimmed bumper. The top of the car sports a R/T specific scooped hood that rides in front of brand new glass framed by custom-built black trim moldings. The prominent fender lines on the side of the car are underscored by the lack of badging, wheel-well trim, belt moldings, or door handles. The chrome gas cap was also removed on the passenger side. All of these subtle changes simplify and smooth the car to create an unbelievably pleasant look to the car. While this Challenger may have left the assembly line with a 318 or a 383cid V8 between the frame rails, a motor like that just isn't enough power for this kind of build. The decision was made to upgrade it to a much more potent 426 Hemi. It's a Mopar Performance piece that's centered around a custom painted cast iron block with a beautiful Hilborn Electric fuel-injection unit. The traditional wrinkle finished valve covers were upgraded to some smooth glossy valve covers to help offset the smoothed out custom aprons and firewall. At the front of the engine, a set of billet pullies, alternator, Vintage A/C compressor and power steering pump spin from their respective homes which all feature a view of the aftermarket radiator and a lot of polished billet parts. Turn the key and a reliable MSD coil sends fire to the distributor which channels that spark through the wires to breath life into this 426 Hemi monster. Opening the hood and seeing the glistening motor nestled tightly inside evokes the same emotions as one would have viewing a diamond ring inside a ring box. There's a certain care in the way that everything that would potentially distract the viewer from the beauty of the motor has been hidden behind hand-made engine panels and tucked away to preserve the same clean look obtained in the rest of the build.

Peer underneath the car and you'll find a well-built Art Morrison chassis ready for miles and miles of cruising. Note how the custom exhaust actually runs through the chassis, not once—but twice! That is some serious engineering. The floor pans are solid and smooth. To finish things off, the chassis and floors were painted in the same metallic high gloss black finish matching the rest of the car. If you could figure out a way to flip the car over and park it in your dining room without hurting it, (bear with me here for the sake of this sentence) you wouldn't think twice about eating directly off the underside of this car because A.) That would be an AWESOME dinner table that would be sure to strike up interesting conversation, and B.) It's unbelievably clean!

At the center, a 4L60E automatic transmission takes care of quick gear selection and switching and features an updated large capacity oil pan that keeps it cool during spirited driving. Follow the drivetrain a little further and you'll find a rock-solid Ford 9 inch differential with Strange S-Series axles that transfer the Hemi's power to the pavement with ease. Surrounding the drivetrain is a 4-link rear suspension with a pan hard bar keeping the back end in place. When the roads get twisty, the IFS Steering power steering rack setup definitely saves some strain while Wilwood power assisted brakes clamp down hard on disc brakes right when you need them. Also helping out around the curves in the road is front and rear mounted sway bars. At the corners, a set of 18-inch American Racing wheels in the front and 20-inch wheels in the rear are all wrapped in nothing but the best BF Goodrich rubber. The high-gloss wheels really compliment the rest of this car and definitely are an attention getter.

Inside the cockpit of this Mopar is a completely custom designed, top-grade leather interior that is simplistic in nature, functional, and comfortable to sit in and look at. The front high-back bucket and rear custom bench seats have been delicately crafted beyond what most would ever spend time to create with great attention to detail, and they display little to no signs of any wear. Below those leather seats, new carpet is laid between color-keyed floor mats and sound deadening insulation. At either side, pristine molded custom door panels feature billet interior door handles, cool billet pull cups and a nice set of speakers mounted flush into each door panel. Window cranks are gone and replaced by electric power window switches that are neatly placed in the center console for ease of use. Let's not forget to mention this car has a Vintage A/C system for anyone who would plan on driving this on a hot and sunny day... which is everyone and anyone. In between the seats there's a full custom console with a Lokar shifter protected by a neat barrier of leather. From the driver's seat, a custom rimmed steering wheel spins in front of a fully rebuilt and precisely calibrated Dakota digital instrument cluster that looks stunning when it's fully lit at night. Behind the rear seats, a fully custom trunk plays host to easy-to-remove panels to access all electrical items and the battery. Remember how the chrome gas cap was removed from the side of the car? The entire fuel spout and new custom cap was conveniently relocated to the inside the trunk.

This Fully sorted and ready to cruise 1971 Dodge Challenger pro-touring BEAST is a refreshing break from most of the other “cool” cars you'd see at the cruise nights and your local car shows. With HEMI power, a modernized driving experience and a classic pro-touring look, you'll thank yourself every time you walk into the garage to gaze upon what has to be the best '71 Challenger custom build ever. Dare to own the best!

FEATURES:
- Good Guys Fab 5 and other awards
- 426 Hemi crate motor
- Hilborn electric fuel injection
- 4L60E transmission
- Art Morrison chassis with rack and pinion steering
- 9" Ford rear end
- Wilwood 4-wheel disc brakes
- American Racing torque thrust wheels, 20" rear and 18" front
- Vintage air conditioning with hear and defrost
- Body smoothed, door handles and marker lights shaved
- Bumpers sectioned and moved closer to the body
- DuPont Hot Hues paint in Blazin Orange and Black Metallic
- Gold leaf type machine turned stripe on quarter panel
- Full leather custom interior with handmade back seat
- Tubbed rear wheels, suede headliner

Contact Bryan for more information at (847) 487-2272 or contact@customclassics.net