It was September 25th, 1969 and the Chrysler Corporation introduced their brand new Dodge Challenger E-Body for the 1970 model year. Along with the Plymouth Barracuda, these new E-Bodies were marketed to compete against in the Pony Car market against cars like the Pontiac Firebird, Mercury Cougar, Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro.

The new E-Bodies came available to order with a truck load of options and colors to choose from and basically every engine made by Chrysler under the hood. The possibilities were endless when it came to ordering a new Challenger or Barracuda.

Three days prior to the official announcement, at Dodge’s Hamtramck, Michigan plant, production was in full swing on the new E-Bodies and a particular FF4 Light Green Metallic Challenger SE (Special Edition model) rolled off the assembly line destined for a dealership in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

This Challenger was powered by a 383-four barrel engine under the hood with a 727 Torqueflite automatic transmission backing it up. Being a SE trim level, it came standard with the formal small rear window, overhead console, formed headliner, vinyl roof, leather seats, deluxe door panels and unique bright exterior trim.

For options, it was decked out with a green vinyl roof, black leather bucket seats, center console, A01 Light Package, A04 Basic Challenger Package, power brakes, chrome driver side racing mirror, Music Master AM radio and the V7X black accent side stripes.

Once the Challenger arrived in Edmonton and was sold, its history is unfortunately unknown until the late 1990s. Over the years, it had been fully restored and during the restoration it was turned into an R/T SE replica. The original FF4 Light Green paint was changed to Hi-Impact FJ5 Sublime Green, the green vinyl top had been changed to black and the accent stripes had been changed to thick black R/T stripes.

The original 383-four barrel engine was pulled out and a period-correct 426 Hemi was installed. Shifting was now done by a 1970 date code A833 Pistol Grip Hemi 4-speed transmission versus the original 727 Torqueflite automatic. The options on the car stayed relatively the same except for the addition of the N96 Shaker hood, front T/A style spoilers and a rear Go-Wing.

In 1999, the Challenger was used as a giveaway car for a sweepstakes; the typical “enter and win a car!” type of contest. It was displayed in the well-known “West Edmonton Mall” in Edmonton until it was given to a lucky winner. The winner would keep the car until 2005 when it was sent to Barrett Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona.

It’s assumed the fellow that purchased the car from Barrett Jackson was into some less than legal business activities as in 2012, it was seized and sold at government auction in Riverside, California along with a yellow 1970 Super Bee. From there it went back to Edmonton of all places.

Around 2022, a fellow named Basim Aljohani from British Columbia, Canada purchased the car. He tells us, “I love the car. The Hemi has such a nice rumble and it drives really nice. You can’t get much better than a Hi-Impact 426 Hemi 4-speed Shaker hood E-Body”. While Basim says he doesn’t get to drive it as much as he’d like, it has good company in his large collection of cars.

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