I purchased my first 70 Challenger in 1978 and fell in love with the model, specifically the T/A. I was 16 and loved everything about it. The hood, the six pack, the exhaust, and the stripes. In 1979, on one trip to my Grandmother's in upstate NY I spotted and ad in the newspaper for a Challenger. It sounded like a TA and sure enough, when I went to see it, it was. It was everything I wanted including a 4spd, loaded with options, and EK2 Go-mango paint all for $1800, 0B307227. I talked my Dad into signing for the $1000 loan at 20% interest rate and the T/A was mine. It became my daily driver. A few years into ownership I decided it was time for an engine rebuild so I pulled the motor. When the motor came out it had a riveted tag on it that said it was a warranty block. I had heard about "matching numbers" and checked the raised boss only to find no numbers at all. I did find the VIN on the 4 speed tranny. I rebuilt the motor and enjoyed the car for a few more years but the upstate NY winters and salt had taken a toll on the body and it was badly rotted. I had the opportunity to purchase a nice clean T/A body so I did. I put my rebuilt T/A motor into my new T/A body and parted what was left of 0B307227 in 1986 and sent the rust hulk off to the junkyard.

So last week someone on Facebook posts a T/A block looking to see if the car was still around, the VIN? 0B307227, my old car! I couldn't believe it. I took ownership of the car in 79, just 9 years after it was new. I figured the original owner had an issue with the original motor and it was replaced at the dealer. I contacted the poster and he said he got it from a friend who got it for free after it was left at a house. No surprise, they were also in upstate NY, not too far from where I bought the car. I asked him if the block was damaged in any way and he never said.

I'm sure he was disappointed the car wasn't still around. I was so surprised to see the motor surface after all these years and it just goes to show you that even in their first few years of ownership these cars had much happen to them. I'll never know what happened here but hopefully the block finds its way into another T/A, even if it is not numbers matching.

Here is a picture of 0B30772 when I first saw her in 1979.