1970 Charger melds power with good looks
Handsome, robust Mopar classic brings back memories of youth
Gordon Mathies is a true car enthusiast. Being involved in the car hobby gives him the opportunity to tinker and express his creativity away from his day job helping to run the family’s nursery operations in Chilliwack, B.C.
Mathies has always loved muscle cars; he was a kid during their heyday. The 1970 Dodge Charger R/T, one of the most popular muscle cars from the period, stood apart from the rest with its squared off and seemingly chiselled body lines, coke bottle shape, and aggressive stance.
“I bought this car because when I was a teenager this car was the epitome of cool,” said Mathies. “This was the car to own!”
This example was originally from Manitoba and a rusty basket case when Gordon found it a decade ago. The lower quarter panels were rotted out and had to be replaced, as did the trunk pan, but the floor was in good shape. The fenders were also banged up.
“The car is basically just like how it came out of the factory,” explained Mathies. “I have changed a few things, but the block, transmission, and rear end are all datecoded correct. It’s not numbers matching, but that is a tough thing to find when it comes to the MOPAR cars from this era, as guys blew stuff up racing them.”
Under the pinned steel hood of this Charger resides the 440 cubic-inch, four- barrel, Magnum V-8 engine. This power plant may not be the most powerful offering available that year, but it does offer enough horsepower to meet the needs of all but the most hard-edged performance driver.
“I built this car as a driver to original specifications, so this is a stock engine rated supposedly at 375 horsepower,” Mathies said. “But they never made that much power. It is probably closer to 300 horsepower. To get the bigger number you would have to put a much bigger cam in it, like that fitted to the six-pack cars.”
Factory literature claims the engine produced 480 poundfeet of torque, which provides sufficient performance to appeal to the hooligan behind the wheel without breaking the bank at the pump, or requiring an excessive maintenance schedule.
“The Magnum 440 has always been a reliable engine, and the TorqueFlite transmission, with 3.55 rear gears, works very efficiently.”
For a car with 134,000 miles on the odometer it still runs strong and is surprisingly rattle-free, and that reflects Mathies’s diligence in maintaining his pride and joy.
“The interior is all original, except the seat covers, and no reproduction pieces were used. The bumpers are also original. I added custom billet Magnum 500 wheels to give the car a look that I prefer, but I have the original steel wheels and hubcaps,” he said, noting if he was to show it, he’d swap them out.
Luckily, the car came relatively complete, as parts for the 1970 models are among the most difficult to find. In fact, Mathies has never been able to find original seat cushions and no one makes them for the 1970 model, because it featured a design used only for a single year.
“This car had the factory air-conditioning option, but I haven’t installed it, as I don’t have all the pieces, and they tend to be very difficult to find. With a little time, energy, and extra money I would be able to solve this problem.”
Cloaked in a deep Burnt Orange and sporting a black vinyl roof and tail stripe, this Charger R/T stands out from the crowd. Most of the Chargers that have survived seem to be black or green, or unfortunately given the bold orange and Confederate flag treatment made famous by the General Lee star car in The Dukes of Hazzard.
The mid-size two-door coupe is one of the most distinctive designs offered by Chrysler when muscle cars ruled the streets. This example is a second-generation car, which includes models from 1968 through 1970.
The design incorporates a double-diamond coke bottle profile with curves around the front fenders and rear quarter panels.
The rear end sheet metal features a “kick up” spoiler appearance, said to be inspired by Group 7 racing vehicles of the period.
Rival Pontiac had experienced great success with the flying buttress design element that surrounded the rear window area of its GTO model, so the Chrysler design team used a similar concept in the Charger.
For 1970, the Charger was fitted with a new grille treatment, which was no longer divided in the middle and was completely surrounded by a chromed loop bumper. Vacuum-operated flip-away headlights helped clean up the front end and gave the car a menacing grin.
Simulated rear-facing vents were affixed to the doors and proved the perfect location to embed the attractive R / T-designation trim. They also helped enhance the car’s sporty look.