"70 Challenger A66 Western Sport Special, ex 80's custom

Found this car locally. Back in the 80's Car Craft magazine use to do a show called the Car Craft Street Machine Nationals that I was always at. This car was at several of them through out the years in the Sacramento CA area. Kind of funny when it comes to all mods the guy did to the car. My plans are to just return the car back to how it was originally. Nice original sheet metal. There is no rust at all even the original vinyl top is super nice. Original drive train and a color combination that I really like, red on red with the white vinyl top and white bumble bee stripe.

Here is what it looked like when I got it.

front

custom interior complete with shag carpet

custom exhaust

1984 Corvette wheels gone

Original paint trunk floor

Original paint drivers floor

Gutted, the guy had added a T/A box that I discovered when I was cutting the headers out.

Thats a sweet car. Some customs from the 80s I really liked. This one not so much.

You forgot to mention that it's an A66 Western Sport Special

OK, now you have my attention, which plant is it from?

Very few known so far.

Yes Barry, Chris is correct. It's a Los Angeles built car. The A codes on the tag are A63, A66 and A91. What's your guess as to how many of these are out there?

There is no way to know that for sure, but I do try to keep track of them as they surface.

A bit out of date now, but some information here at https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ubbt...hallengers.html

Thanks for the info Barry. The car is also codded for a white bumble bee stripe, V9W. Do you think that it would have gotten the WSS decals on the car also?

Yep, it should have.

So Eric this is a Challenger 340 Western Sport Special Deputy?

What kind of plugs are in the rear interior panels?

Deputy would be A93.

so, it has the A63 "moulding package"
sill mouldings & bumper guards (or are they added?)

& NO wheel lip mouldings what mirrors did it have G31/G33?

I couldn't remember if Deputy was A91 or A93. After I posted I started to think it was A93 so thanks for the correction.

I think the previous owner removed the wheel lip trim

Mirror code is G34. The A66 deleted the wheel lip moldings and the A63 and A91 packages did not include them. So no wheel lip moldings. Sill and bumper guards were included in one of the packages.

Delete

Then why were you trying to buy that set of NOS wheel lip molding I got in LA?


oh


The sunroof car ... never mind

Heater box and dash are back in.

The lower edges of the dash pad look awful black. I noticed that in the text you sent me.

The darkness in the lower areas of the dash are just due to the lighting or shading.

Any updates?

Most of the interior is in. Hopefully paint will be finished this Spring some time. Still waiting on machine shop to get the engine done.

deleted

Also got some work done in the engine compartment. The blower motor has the original plating on it.

Nice work


...just an FYI, a gel cell battery can save your paint when a voltage regulator goes bad. I know

Nice car and find. A previous owner did a lot of work on that car, too bad it was all in the wrong direction. I thought those were 'vette wheels in that first pic! Love to see it when it's done.

^
Hi Bob, how ya doing?

How is the project coming along?

I have a WSS 340, 4 speed car with factory AC.

Could you please help me understand what the difference is between the two different versions of the WSS decals are? There are two different styles of script for the word "Western" that were placed on the Dart and Challenger. I have one type, but haven't put it on the car yet because I am not sure it is the correct one.

Thanks for your help.

Nice. How the hell do you get Corvette wheels to fit a mopar ? Re Drilled ?

Finally got the car back from paint. I can't seem to find a paint and body guy that can get anything done in a reasonable amount of time. This car was as easy as it gets in terms of getting something done, I mean no rust and just lite body work needed. I mean even the guy that did the work said it was an easy car. Hopefully I can get it up and running before we get into winter. I am happy with the results, the car is straight and the paint looks good.

One more

Nice!

Nice job, and too cool..... an A66 WSS, I bet I'll never see another one of these.

Hey wait, I do know where there is a MINT sublime A66 hiding in a a garage in Southern NM. How do you tell if it's a WSS?

By the option codes.

A91 = WSS

Where are the DODGE letter hood holes?

that is going to be an awesome challenger.

wow...the six eyes were creepy....nice project

Got a little side tracked, but finally started moving ahead on the car again. I was going to try and save the original vinyl top but decided it was to far gone so it's getting replaced. Here's a picture of what was underneath the vinyl. The original factory red paint and roof looks like it was done yesterday. Kind of cool to see how they did the paint for the cars that got vinyl tops.

Original engine and trans back in.

Looking good!

Man Eric,
That car has a great body on it.

Actually, the big difference was how they handled the seams. On a non-vinyl top car they leaded the seam which held up great. On the vinyl top cars they used a kind of plastic filler that often bubbled up. Just another example of early cost cutting which resulted in less quality. I can't tell if your car has the filler and I don't see any bubbles. I remember looking at an FJ6 AAR back in 1984 that was for sale in my area with only 5k miles on it. It was a former race car and had beautiful original paint but I always remember seeing those bubbles under the vinyl top at the seam. A shame.

Just found this thread.
Very cool and rare Challenger; 340 car with the Western Sport Special package.
Your work on it is exceptional and it is looking good!

Some more progress. The engine compartment is close and the front end is about wrapped up.

Eric

Looking good man.

New vinyl top installed.

Eric
That is one good looking Challenger
Top looks awesome.

I hate red on Challengers but boy does that white top and bumble bee stripe make the car. Fantastic. And a great stance too.

Pretty much finished with the car. I've been driving it to get some break in miles on it and it seems to run down the road nicely. I have just a few more things to do and that's it.

The red with the white pops.

it sure does, Love the color combination

It looks awesome.

Have you been able to find the WSS graphics?

Year One used to carry the decals.... my father and I have another off the radar WSS Challenger... FK5 inside and out with a white top and a 318.

I love the white top/stripe!

I believe Performance Car Graphics has them but I don't think I'll be putting them on.

Interesting.

Very scarce car, so why not return it to the way it was made?

That car has sure come a long way. It sure had a lot of fungly thrown at it over the years. Such a good looking car in its original form. Well done!

Dave

Finished up!

Really nice A66 Challenger; red on red on white w A91 Rare

That thing came out great. I remember seeing it in custom form at the Mopar Alley shows back in the early 90's!

-Jon

Great looking car and restoration. Will it be at Fall Fling this year?

Beautiful job on your A66 WSS Challenger