When talking about rare muscle cars, we tend to include pretty much everything from the golden era. Not because they're truly rare, but because they're hard to find in good condition nowadays.
But while most classic muscle car nameplates are far from rare, certain versions are indeed difficult to find and expensive to take home. When it comes to Mopars, it's the HEMI-powered cars that reign supreme.
The mighty 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) V8 was not only expensive back in the day, but it also came with higher insurance rates. As a result, people didn't exactly rush into showrooms to buy them.
Let's look at the 1970 Dodge Challenger to illustrate that. The muscle car was quite popular in its first year on the market, moving a whopping 76,935 units. While all but 10,657 cars were ordered with V8 mills, only 356 left the assembly line with a HEMI.
The convertible version is by far the rarest, as only nine (!) of them were fitted with the 425-horsepower V8. Yup, you'll need a ton of good luck to find one. And if you, you'll have to spend way more than $1 million to take it home. The last HEMI Convertible auction I remember happened in 2016 and saw a green R/T cross the block for $1.65 million. In 2018, a Plum Crazy example was listed on JamesEdition for a whopping $1.9 million. Crazy, right?
If you're a fan of the 1970 Challenger convertible, you'll get away with a small sticker if you opt for a different engine. However, these drop-tops are rare no matter what they have under the hood. In addition to the nine HEMIs, Dodge built another 954 R/Ts fitted with either the 383- or 440-cubic-inch (6.3- or 7.2-liter) V8s.
As for non-R/T models, a further 2,543 left the factory with the smaller V8 options, and a further 378 were fitted with the entry-level 225-cubic-inch (3.7-liter) slant-six. And significantly fewer than that have survived to see 2022. Especially if we're talking about unrestored, unmolested examples.
Well, if you haven't seen one in a very long time, "Old Skool Rides" just uncovered a cool survivor in a small Mopar collection in Oregon. It's been parked in a garage for years and it's still highly original. Still finished in the factory Burnt Orange paint, it comes with a matching interior and a small-block V8.
Yes, the paint has faded away and the interior looks like it spend a lot of time in the sun at some point, but this Challenger still looks the part from just about every angle. Again, drop-tops in this condition are very rare, so this is an awesome find. And hopefully, it still runs and drives.
The Challenger is resting its bones in a larger garage that includes a few other interesting Mopars. The stash includes a couple of Plymouth Dusters, one of which looks like a real-life Hot Wheels car, and a 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona clone. The guy also owns a 1963 Dodge 880 convertible in stunning condition and a late 1970s Li'l Red Express truck. And you can check them all out in the video below.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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