This incredible Hemi Challenger is fully sorted and ready to rock. You'll probably need a new Viper to keep up with it, and if you put a set of stock Rallyes on it, it might even pass for a restored stocker at shows. The combination of build quality, performance, and the subtlety of the package make for an insanely appealing Hemi Challenger.
Jason Bair and the experts at Bair Customs, home of the Big Hemi garage get the nod for the workmanship. To start, they sourced a clean but tired Challenger, complete and running, and tore it down to a bare shell and rebuilt it from the ground up. The result is a car that looks fairly stock aside from the rolling stock, but moves like a modern supercar with all the creature comforts. In short, it's the pure essence of pro-touring, Mopar style.
When that Challenger body was stripped naked, they fixed every bump and bruise it had ever suffered. If the panel was too far gone to be salvaged, it was replaced and invisibly stitched into the existing shell. It was primed, sanded, blocked, sanded some more, until it was totally straight. Once that part was done, they sprayed it with a few coats of traditional Hemi Orange Metallic, so it looks stock until the light hits it just so, then it really starts to glow. The blacked-out hood treatment is painted on, not a decal, and it's buried under the clear so it looks like a black hole that's settled on the hood. Trick flat black R/T side stripes were added to complete the factory look. All the things guys love most about the E-bodies, including a Go-Wing on the trunk and hard-to-find louvers on the rear window, were included with this build. Like I said, aside from the large-by-huge wheels and the subtle custom grille, this sucker's got a very stock look and that's just the way they wanted it.
Respecting the original design was paramount on this build, so while it does everything better than a stock car, it doesn't color too far outside the lines. That's why inside you'll find a set of custom buckets reupholstered to look like stock Challenger seats, complete with horizontal pleats. Sure, the bolsters are aggressive and the headrests are cool, but they don't jump out at you like with some builds. The stock center console remains in place and the back seat was reupholstered with restoration-grade seat covers for a totally original look. New carpets, fresh door panels, and several hundred feet of DynaMat underneath give it a factory-fresh look and a new car feel. There's a custom tilt column that blends into the background, mostly thanks to the original-style Tuff Wheel, and the full complement of factory gauges remains in the dash. The original Music Master AM radio remains in the dash for show, but there's a killer AM/FM/CD/iPod stereo system hidden out of sight, and the original A/C controls still manage the system, which blows ice cold today. Carbon-fiber accents on the dash, console, and pistol-grip shifter add a touch of high-tech without being terribly obvious about it. Even the painted and powdercoated trunk was neatly outfitted with a custom OEM-style mat and original space-saver spare and inflator kit to help the illusion. Honestly, the truly amazing thing here is that guys this talented were able to restrain themselves and stick to the factory recipe, because the line between the new and factory stuff is virtually invisible.
The engine is a Gen III HEMI stroked to a legit 426 cubic inches by Muscle Motors, noted Hemi builders with a serious reputation. With close to 600 horsepower on pump gas, this Challenger humiliates any original Hemi Challenger and once you find out how well it works you won't go back to stock again. It idles nicely, it pulls like a freight train, and thanks to a full shakedown on the Power Tour, it can be driven daily without complaints. There's sequential fuel injection living under a custom billet aluminum air cleaner that simulates the original dual-quad look but with modern day performance and reliability. A billet accessory drive with serpentine belt controls all the modern conveniences and dresses up the front of the engine, and a giant aluminum radiator keeps it cool. You can see Jason Bair's attention to detail everywhere you look as there's simply no part that was simply installed; everything was either polished, painted, or plated and when it went on, it was aligned and straightened to look right. Maybe that's a kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder, but when you get results like this, a little crazy is probably OK.
It's backed by a Keisler/Tremec TKO600 5-speed manual transmission that's more than willing to handle the massive torque moving through it. A custom driveshaft was fabricated to withstand the force and feeds a built Dana 60 rear end filled with 3.73 gears on a Sure Grip limited slip. The original suspension is long gone (would you trust it at this point?) and replaced with a tubular subframe and a full Reilly Motorsports Alter-K-Tion front suspension with tubular A-arms, coil-over shocks, and a fat sway bar. There's also power rack-and-pinion steering and giant Wilwood brakes with 6-piston calipers in front and 4-pistons in back, all supported by a Hydro-Boost power assist. In back, that bulletproof Dana 60 hangs on a custom Hotchkiss suspension with a set of trick adjustable shocks and application-specific leaf springs. Subframe connectors reinforce the tub and obviously the floors and underside of the car are every bit as nice as the top side. Finally, 2.5-inch exhaust system, which features polished ceramic-coated long-tube headers, a TTI X-pipe, and mufflers big enough to make the Hemi a reasonable choice for long-distance cruising. Custom Boze 2-piece wheels measuring 19x8 up front and 19x10 in back were fitted with Mickey Thompson street performance tires that do their best to hook it up.
It took thousands of hours and deep into the six-figures used to create this awesome machine, and If quality and detail, not to mention full functionality, matters to you, then this is the Challenger for you. Call us today to make it yours!
Highlights:
Professionally built pro-touring restomod Challenger
6.1L Hemi V8 bored and stroked to 426ci (7 liters)
Electronic Fuel Injection
Estimated 600 horsepower
Tremec TKO600 5-speed manual transmission
Dana 60 rear axle
Hemi Orange metallic exterior
Power rack-and-pinion steering
Modern air conditioning
Black custom bucket seats with enlarged bolsters and custom factory style upholstery
Alter-K-Tion front suspension with tubular A-arms and coil-over shocks
Custom Hotchkiss rear suspension with adjustable shocks and application-specific springs
