Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Would you believe this is only our second Alameda Challenger?
Nearly a year ago, we saw this Sub Lime '70 Challenger gracing the streets of the rust-challenged isle, and that's been it for Chrysler E bodies before today. Not only is this mean-looking Mopar- which definitely has a Vanishing Point air about it- a daily driver, it's a painter's work vehicle! I ran into Dave, the owner of this '73, while on the same block that brought us the Moto Loco VW Golf, while he was painting a house in the neighborhood.
He's owned the car, which is an original 340/automatic machine, for 8 years and has been gathering parts for a full-scale restoration. The new engine- a hairy high-compression 340- is ready to go, and the bodywork is next. The leaky-trunk rust won't be too hard to fix, and you can buy reproductions of all the interior components, but the damage done to the roof by a previous owner who apparently used a hammer and chisel to remove the vinyl top will be quite a chore to undo.
Since this is Alameda and everyone knows each other, it turns out that Dave works for his Alameda-native uncle, who is the owner of several DOTS machines: the '62 Corvair van, the '61 Plymouth Valiant (which he purchased new, in Alameda), and the 1945 Chevrolet pickup (which he bought in 1966 at an Alameda County Transit equipment auction). I'll try to track him down and get more of the history of these vehicles for later posts, so check in later!