This past year I was able to purchase a 1970 Charger R/T FM3 U code car, it is matching #s with fender tag and build sheet. I never thought I would own a car such as this, I'm 40 years old and have been a Mopar fan since '84 or so. I've had a couple of Barracudas and a few Darts and Dusters.
So having this for my first B body is pretty wild. The previous owner had purchased the car in the mid eighties and it was black when he bought it. He pulled the 440 wanting to rebuild it and replaced it with a 383 but had the sense to leave the original manifolds on and keep the original motor in storage, the #s on the oil pan rail match the VIN so that's good, he said the trans is original but I have not verified yet.
When I first inspected the car I noticed the core support was riveted on but the #s matched the VIN, then the owner came clean said the car was rebodied in the late 80's after the repair shop had botched the job. He had the front clip, doors, dash, motor and trans, rear end and core support removed and put on a 70 Charger 500 body that was needing some lower qtr patch panels. I still bought the car though as the donor car was legit and the price was right.
After questioning the owner extensively to get as much info as possible (he didn't like that) I was able to get a lead on where the original shell was. After a couple of months I found it in a field with about 30 other cars an hour north of where I live. I thought I'd have better odds of hitting the lottery. It was a shame the guy had the car rebodied, the original car was in surprisingly good shape, it needs all the metal from the doors back, the floors and frame sections are very nice though. The original car will be restored.
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