INSTRUMENT PANELS AND DASH

There were two different dash panels used on the 70 Challenger. They were the standard cluster, and the rallye guages. The standard cluster is a black face with a big speedo guage, with four smaller pods of guages, which include fuel, temp, ammeter, and clock if ordered. If the clock wasn't ordered a blank panel was inserted. To the left of the speedo includes the switches for the (Left to right, top then bottom) Headlights, wiper switch, dimmer switch, rear defog or top lift. Note: rear defog could not be ordered with a convertable! If you didn't have the rear defog or top lift it was just left blank. The standard cluster was used in the Base models and not the R/T's. Yes, the standard cluster was standard equipment in the T/A's. If the car was an export it recieved a 240 KPH. The US was 120 MPH. Oil pressure light was located on the dash bezel as a light. There were three lights on the panel: high beam indicator, Brake, and Oil Pressure light. There were two different speedos used on the standard cluster. This was affected by the interior decor option. The option was to have a woodgrain applique on the cluster. The speedos without the woodgrain was PN 2984966 (export 2984967). Woodgrain applique recieved PN 2984964 (exports 2984965). Rallye Gauges was an option for the base models (except 6 cylinder models) including the T/A.

The rallye gauges were standard equipment in the R/T's. The rallye guages contained four large pods which had a tach, speedo, a guage that contained fuel, ammeter, oil, and temp. And the last one is the Rallye Clock. The speedo used in 1970 was PN 2984968 (exports 2984969) The US speedo was 150 MPH and the export was 300 KPH. The tach next to the speedo is PN 2984185, was standard on all five years. In the combination pod (fuel, ammeter, temp, oil) fuel (PN 2984178) was mounted at top, then the temp (PN 2984180) was mounted on the right, oil (PN 2984181) on the left, and the ammeter (PN 2984179) on the bottom. The rallye gauges are woodgrain faced. All rallye gauges up til (build dates) February 1, 1971 used woodgrain called American Walnut (PN 2985807)

There were four different dash pads for 1970. You could either get a non a/c and 1 speaker dash, a/c and 1 speaker dash, non a/c and 3 speaker dash, and a/c and 3 speaker dash. The three speaker dash is a rare item. This was for stereo optioned challengers only. The 1970 dash pad only fit correctly with the 70 Challenger. It had a script emblem that said "Challenger" on the right side of the dash. Below a picture of this dash is shown. Nowadays it is very hard to find a 70 dash pad because of its one year usage. The other years it was interchangeable. You can put a later year challenger pad on the 70 frame but the sides will not line up correctly. Its not a bad alternative if you can't find a dash pad. A company reproduces the 70 pad. This company is just dashes. They are a company located in Souther California. Their prices are extremely high (if you are on a budget). They charge over $600 for the reproduction! Ouch! The dash frame was painted to match your interior trim. The interior trim codes are posted below. The dash components consisted of some different add on options. If you had the A01 option you would recive a map light, which includes a light, switch, bezel, and shield. If you had a four speed you would have the Reverse warning light. The steering column was also painted to match your interior trim code. A conviently located hazard lights was located by the ignition. Also if you had the A01 option you also recieved a ignition light located next to the hazards switch. Shown below is a diagram showing the dash, a/c vents, glovebox, ashtray, map light assembly, steering column, dimmer switch, pedals, and one very nicely restored RIM BLOW steering wheel.

HEATER AND A/C CONTROLS

The heater and a/c controls are located on underneath the gauges and to the left of the steering column. A/C controls are different for Rallye and Standard clustered Challengers, while the non a/c Challengers are not different between the two clusters. Below is the pictures of the heater and A/C controls. They explain what each button is for.

INTERIOR TRIM CODES AND COLORS

HEADLINERS

There were a few different headliners used in the 70 Challengers! They were either the 5 bow, 6 bow, or the SE. The 5 bow was a perforated headliner (which corresponded to your interior code) The 6 bow headliner was like a corduroy like material (which also corresponded to your interior code) The SE headliner was a one piece felt covered hard board to accomodate the SE overhead consolette. This also corresponded to your interior code! Restoration Note: when installing a new headliner, be sure to number your bows because after so many years they form to the position! If you are using new bows no need to worry about this note! If you interchange places with the bows your headliner could sit funny! Just a little note! Convertable Challengers did not use a headliner since the rag top was the head liner!

INTERIOR DOOR PANELS

The interior door panel was a one piece molded plastic panel to match your color of your interior. (see interior codes posted above!) In the center of the door panel could be a trim plate that is chrome, black, and with a wood grain insert. In the center of this is the Dodge Tri-Star (I believe it is called the Fratzog) All 1970 Challengers that had the trim plate came with PN 3415312. The SE used a different trim panel. It was the same design but the emblem said Special Edition. This was PN 3415843. Below is a picture of both the front door panel and the rear quarter door panel.

RADIOS

You could also get radios as options. There were a few different radios available, which included: AM radio (PN 2884853) the volume and the tuning knob were located on the same side of the radio, AM radio tape player had the same knob arrangement and included a tape player below the push buttons. AM/FM Radio with four chrome thumb wheels, all on the left side. Then there was the four thumbwheel radio with an 8-track player.

POWER WINDOWS, REAR DEFOGGER, & CRUISE CONTROL

Power windows was an option for the Challenger, the driver could operate any of the windows from their seat. The driver's door panel has a switch that contains four switches to control the windows. The other doors have only one switch which controls the window closes to it. Rear deffoger system was available as an option also. It was a convienient option because it got rid of the fog in the back window which was hazardous for viewing. Cruise Control was another rare option available on Challengers! To set he cruise control you would press the button at the end of turn signal lever and release it when the speed you want is reached. The car will maintain the speed both up and down hills. To increase the speed by 2 or 3 MPH the button can be tapped, or you can press the gas pedal and press the button again. If the brakes are used, you can resume the speed by rotating the collar to resume. IF rotated to off it will erase the "speed memory". Turning the car off or applying brakes will disengage the system. The system will disengage if the speedo cable breaks. Availible with auto tranny and V-8 only. Below is pictures of all three options described above.

SHIFTERS

There were four different options for shifters. Two each for automatic and manual (stick) shift. For manual (stick) shift transmissions, the standard transmission was the 3 speed Manual, which was floor mounted. The shifter was a chrome rod with a big ball as the shift knob. This was standard on the: 225, 318, 340, and 383 (N.A. with 383 2bbl.). Not Available with the 440 and 426 Hemi engines. The optional shifter was the famous pistol grip shifter made by Hurst Shifters. It is called the pistol grip because it has the appearance of a pistol grip. This was floor mounted with or without console (console extra cost code C16). This shifter was available on all V-8 engines except for the 383 2bbl and the 225 Slant Six. The 318, 340, and 383 engines used a 2.47 low gear while the 440 and 426 used a 2.44 low gear. With this shifter, a reverse warning light was placed on the dash inbetween the ashtray and glovebox. For automatic transmissions (A-727 {which came with big blocks and 340's} and the A-904 {small blocks and 225 Slant Six}) had two options. There was the column mounted shifter (which was extra cost on all models) and the console mounted shifter. The Column mounted is a chrome rod coming out from the right hand side of the steering column and has a black knob with a silver center. The gear indicator was placed on the column in easy view. The floor shifted automatic was optional when the extra cost console is selected. This was optional in all models. The shifter is a small chrome rod coming out of the floor with a big wood grain knob and a black push button on the top. To shift push the black knob and pull the shifter backwards. This shifter was called the slap stick because you could change gears by "slapping" the shifter (not really slapping it! :-þ) into gears. You can "slap" the shifter from reverse into drive without having to push the button. You then can "slap" it in to Neutral and drive once its past reverse. If you shift it into 1st you can shift it to 2nd and then into drive. But not the reverse. From drive you cannot shift into 2nd, 1st, Reverse, or park.

S.E. INTERIOR OPTIONS

On the Special Edition Challengers, there were more highly optioned in the interior department. They had their own door panel applique (that said Special Edition) and a carpet trim lower piece on the lower half of the door. It was the color of your interior with a red reflector. Also, the SE’s came with an overhead consolette. It housed warning lights and a square shaped dome light (which now of days is kinda hard to find!) The lights were Low Fuel, Door Ajar, and Seat Belts. The latter two are on a time delay set at a fixed interval.

ENGINES, TRANSMISSIONS, & DRIVETRAIN

There were many available engines for the Challenger. Below is a picture and description of each engine, including specifications, horsepower ratings, and touque ratings.

TRANSMISSIONS
Challengers could only come with a 3 speed manual stick shift, 3 speed automatic shift, or 4 speed manual stickshift. The engine size determined what transmission the challenger recieved. The Slant Sixes (198 and 225) either got the A903 ( 3spd manual) or the A-904-G (3spd auto). 318 V8 engines could get the A-904-LA (3spd auto), A-230 (3spd manual) or the A-833 (4spd manual). From 318 up to 426 could have the A-833. The 383 2bbl could not have the A-833 as an option. 440 and 426 had the A-833 as standard but could not be ordered with an A-230. The automatic transmission from 340 to 426 is the A-727.


The A-833 is the favorite of all the Challenger Transmissions becuase of the shifter and its four gears! The shifter is so cool because its big, bad, and awesome! It is a moulded grip like a pistol (the actual name for it is pistol grip). It is shown to the left of this paragraph. The pistol grip shifter was made by Hurst especially for Mopar. The shifter can be seen in other cars (like cudas). The pistol grip is standard in Trans Am (T/A) models. If the A-833 transmission was ordered you got the pistol grip shifter! The looks and the style of the shifter complete the interior of the challenger, don't you think? The pistol grip could be console mounted or not. The console was an extra cost option (option C16).

DRIVETRAIN (REAR AXELS AND DRIVESHAFTS)

Three different axels were used in the Challengers. The 7.25", 8.75", and 9.75" Dana 60. The 7.25" rear end was used with the low performance cars (such as 198 Slant Six, 225 Slant Six, and cars equipped with one 2bbl carb up til 1972). The 7.25" is idenified with the oddly shaped cover and it has 9 bolts. The 7.25 either came in ratios of 2.76 or 3.23 open end. The most common type of rear end was the 8.75". It has no rear cover, only a smooth welded hump on the back (kinda cool looking I think!). It was used on all high performance cars (340 engine and up to 440). The ratios ranged from 2.76 to 3.91 (Open end and Sure Grip). There were three different diameter pinion gears. They were 7260 driveshaft used the 1 3/8" diameter, 7290 driveshaft used the 1 3/4" (1967-1968 I believe) diameter or 1 7/8" tapered pinion. The castine number is located 2 inches below the yoke on the left hand side of the carrier. Those using the smaller pinion used casting number 2070741, and the larger ones used 2881489. The 9.75" Dana 60 was rarely used. It was standard on 426 4spd Challengers. It was an option for 440 or the 426 automatic Challengers. The rear cover has 10 bolts and a hexagon shaped cover. The standard ratio was the 3.54 and the 4.10 super track pack gears!

CHASSIS, BRAKES, WHEELS, AND TIRES

All Challengers used a unibody construction and a front subframe. They used a seperate frame to hold the engine. It is commonly called the K-Member or K-Frame because its shaped like a K. Four K-Members were used. One for Hemis, Small Blocks and Big Blocks, Six Cylinders, and The T/A. The big block frame is the same as the small block frame. The Trans Am used a special frame, but has no different appearance than the small block and big block frame. A small welded tag is on the Frame with two numbers on it. These numbers are the last two numbers in Part Number. The six cylinders used PN 2962010, Small Blocks and Big Blocks used PN 3466477, Hemis used PN 3583076, and the T/A used 3583052. Below are some specifications of the Challengers Chassis and other numbers for interior room.
WHEELBASE-- 110.0"
OVERALL LENGTH-- 191.3"
WIDTH-- 76.1"
HEIGHT-- 50.9"
TRACK-- front-- 59.7" rear-- 60.7"
HEADROOM-- front-- 37.4" rear-- 35.6"
LEGROOM-- front-- 42.3" rear-- 30.9"
SHOULDER ROOM-- front-- 58.1" rear-- 56.8"

BRAKES

The standard drum brakes on the Challenger Six Cylinder and V-8 models are the 10" x 2.5" front and rear. Front Disc Brakes were optional. Standard on the R/T's and optional on other V-8 Models were the 11" X 3" front and 11" x 2.5" rear. The disc brakes wer powerful, quick-acting, fade free units. Disc Brakes were available as an extra cost option. The rear brakes would be 10" x 2.5" drum if ordered with front disc brakes. On the R/T Challengers 11" x 2.5" drum brakes on the rear were equipped when disc brakes were ordered.

WHEELS AND TIRES

There were many different wheels available in 1970. Below is a picture and description of each wheel available. Please note that full hubcaps rims were probably painted black while the dog dish hub caps were painted body color.