New E-body owner from Montreal, Canada, 1971 R/T

[benlavigne]

Hello all, Thanks to Cody for the invite from the FB group!
As for most of you, I imagine, for me it's always been Mopar or No Car! My first car as a 17-year-old in 1980 was a Superbird, for 2000$ a rustbucket which I sold after a couple years of patching it up for a nice profit, at 3500$! Yes I do wake up at night sometimes to kick myself!
So after a few years of family-oriented drives (K-Cars, Caravans, then LX-plaform Chargers), I got into the vintage Mopars again, progressing from a 71 300, to a nice 69 Satellite, then a 69 Road Runner A12 look-alike, which I sold last January. I had been looking for an E-body since then, almost ''settling'' for a 72-74. Not bad cars, just not the same personality as a 70-71. A good friend told me of a local car, which had been restored 10 years ago, and had barely been driven 300 miles since. The owner was looking to retire in the Summer, and might want to sell the car. He sent me a few pics and it was love at first sight with this B5 beauty. I went to see it and was a bit disappointed with the fact that it did not have the original drivetrain or a fender tag to prove it's options, louvers, spoilers... so I put it on the back burner and kept looking, but no good cars were available, especially since I limited my search to Canada because of the 30+% exchange on US dollar... About a week later, the owner calls me back, seems he had a nice build sheet stashed away 10 years ago, and since he was not a numbers kind of guy, he had forgotten about it! No trace of the original drivetrain, but I can live with that. That sealed the deal for me, as the sheet shows some nice options, A44 louver group, A45 spoiler group, which are already rare, but almost unheard of on a Canadian car, which were almost always very basic in equipment. Might have been some sort of dealer demo, as it is an August 1970 order. It needs some mechanical love, carb, ignition, dash is a 72-up rallye, and needs to be completely redone, and although it was rotisserie-restored, there are some paint flaws, even though the body is very nice and most sheetmetal is new. But that made the price come down to my budget!
One big deviation from the build sheet is the color: it was originally EL5 Butterscotch with  Black vinyl top! Originally had 14'' Road Wheels, which I replaced with 15'' Rallyes, and I also have a set of color-matched steel wheels with dog dishes.
Bumperettes were also added at restoration, as well as a Salt-and-Pepper 1970-style cloth-and-vinyl interior. Incorrect... but I like it better than the 1971 design, or all-vinyl, especially without A/C!
I'll add the flip-top gas cap, Challenger fender nameplates and Pentastar, correct seat belts, antenna, etc... as I learn more about E-bodies from this site!
Any other members from Quebec?

Ben

[ec_co]

   beautiful Challenger! love the B5

[RUNCHARGER]

Welcome from Chilliwack B.C.

[Chryco Psycho]

Welcome from Panama 

[jimynick]

Welcome to the site from Ontario and that's a beauty you've got there! 

[Cuda Cody]

Welcome @benlavigne  and thank you for sharing your story.  Looks like you found yourself a great Challenger.  EL5 or B5 blue are both great colors.  I would be happy with either one of those, but I think if I had to choose I would go with B5 myself.  And finding a build sheet would seal a deal for me too.  I love having matching numbers, but there's something special about a Build Sheet and or Fender Tag.  Have a great evening!   

[70/6chall]

Welcome from SoCal, Ben, that '71 Chally of yours is a real beaut. For several years my Dad owned a 1971 Chrysler Newport, 2dr hardtop, green/green, power everything, 383. Dad ended up selling it , unbeknownst to me. Otherwise I would've bought it from him. Oh, well.   Thanks,   Al

[benlavigne]

Welcome from SoCal, Ben, that '71 Chally of yours is a real beaut. For several years my Dad owned a 1971 Chrysler Newport, 2dr hardtop, green/green, power everything, 383. Dad ended up selling it , unbeknownst to me. Otherwise I would've bought it from him. Oh, well.   Thanks,   Al

Thanks Al,
Well you would have liked my old 300, then, also Green/Green... We all wish we could keep them, but at least I do know where it is still and have first dibs on it... :-)

Ben

[mopar thunder]

  from Florida. That is a beautiful car. My grandmother was a Mopar girl. She had a line of 60's cars from what I can remember.

[anlauto]

I would go back to original with that one.

[Jay Bee]

  Welcome aboard from St. Catharines, ON

[JS29]

  from central New York!!! good looking car the way it is.

[Rev-It-Up]

Welcome to the forum Ben! Congratulations on your new score! The Challenger is beautiful. 

[benlavigne]

I would go back to original with that one.

Thanks Alan, I've been a fan for a long time and value your opinion!
While I appreciate originality, it would not make financial sense to re-restore a 383 automatic R/T with a color change, especially if the current one has a lot of eye-appeal...
The previous owner has already experienced putting more into the car than it is worth, I will not repeat!
Cheers!

Ben

[anlauto]

Thank you, I certainly agree with you from an investment standpoint....

All money aside.....would make a spectacular looking EL5 car