I hope that some expert Mopar gurus can help me out. I am looking at a purchase of a 1970 Charger R/T and it has some features that I haven't seen on an R/T previously. First, the body and VIN numbers match, so the car hasn't been the recipient of a VIN swap. I checked carefully to insure that some crook hadn't cut out and welded in sections of the tie bar, cowl and trunk lip with the R/T VIN. The fender tag is there and it has one painted screw and one rusty one, but I can't find any answers there. It has the original automatic trans, but no console. It has a column shift and a buddy seat. The buddy seat brackets are OE spot welded in place, with original red paint overspray on them. I have owned nine 70 R/Ts and all had consoles. I have looked online at hundreds of pics of 70 R/Ts and all have consoles. The next item that puzzles me is the dash and instrument bezels are not faux woodgrain clad. They are the pebble black like you would see on a Road Runner or base Charger. I guess it is possible that the dash and instrument bezels have been changed sometime in the past, but I can't confirm this. Has anyone else seen or owned an R/T with a buddy seat and black dash? The build sheet is present in the rear seat, but it is so shredded with portions missing I can't find the pieces that would call out console and instrument panel options. I have learned to never say never, when it comes to Ma Mopar's builds, but this worries me. Help me out if you can. Thanks in advance to any who reply.

i had a 70 RT triple black car, was rough bucket seat with buddy seat column shift auto. but it did have the woodgrain dash

Thanks for the reply. Well, maybe there were at least two built with a buddy seat. The current owner is only the third owner, with paperwork to prove it and he swears it was always that way.

Does the fender tag shows any options or a production date or special order by a customer? Maybe there was a parts shortage at the assembly plant and instead of waiting for the part and delaying production, it was easier to put the incorrect one in and send the replacment to the dealer when the parts arrive. Another possibility, quality control was not having a good day when the charger went through.

I don't think bench seats were not optional in 1970 Chargers, so that could be the reason for the buddy seat. Some folks don't like buckets, so A buddy seat makes for a easy bench seat conversion. I have seen 2 70' R/T with buddy seat, so that's not unlikely. My 1971 Charger R/T is diffrent than a 1970, but it has the buddy seat, column shift and automatic.

The buddy seat was available in the '70 R/T. Code is C21, there was just over 1200 cars or approx 13% built with this option.

I'd love to know how you just did that! Are you a member of the Charger Registry?
Jeff

1970 Charger options & information at http://www.hamtramck-historical.com/dealerships/1970DealershipDataBook-03.shtml

My 70 Charger R/T is an early production car; it has bucket seats and a console, but the instrument panel does not have the wood grain. I didn't buy the car new, but the second owner (I'm the third) told me the car had the black dash in it when he got it in the early 1980s from the original owner (who had blown up the 440 in the 70s and parked it beside his house.) With an early production date and Mopar's "reputation" for occasionally hanging parts that ain't exactly supposed to be there on a car coming down the assembly line, who knows?

"buddy" seat, column shift was available for 70 R/T's..pretty sure 68-9 also. I think you could also get a bench seat charger in 70...not sure on R/T.

my 70 Triple white Charger was an R/T with a 440 and a 727 with a column shift. White buddy seat, black dash and woodgrain panels with power windows. I also had a luggage rack, 11x3 drum brakes all around, longitudinal body bumpers.

Needless to say...that column shift came out and I switched to the console, swapped out the 11x3's on the front and put 75 A-Body LBP discs. body bumpers came off as did the luggage rack.

XS29U0G201xxx

I can't believe I still remember my VIN number after 8 years

Moparts member Craig ( orange crush) has a 70 r/t buddy seat 4 speed car, that's gotta be pretty rare

Thanks for your reply. I especially appreciated the VIN information. The VIN on this car is XS29U0G178xxx, not that much different from yours. I guess I will go ahead and buy the car, I was just concerned about the unusual features. I guess they weren't as unusual as I thought.