Black Ghost - Hemi Challenger
 

i have always thought of this guy as a backyard hack,but he makes some sense here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...JxDdbwNSZwBmwg

I know a stock ‘70 Hemi Challenger in 1970 couldn’t hang with the Silver Bullet or that Gapp & Roush Mustang in 1975. Could Pennington’s Corvette today through exhaust manifolds? Yes Indeed. Could a 1970 Stock Hemi anything through exhaust manifolds in 1970. No way. Hell, the SS/EA Hemi SuperBird Chrysler built for Jack Werst to beat Ray Allen’s Briggs Chevelle couldn’t run with the Silver Bullet. There were some damn fast street cars back then, and if that Black Ghost car is currently how it was in the 1970s, this guy is probably on to something. Wanna talk about another fast street car from that era, look up the “Mutt Brothers”….that Challenger wasn’t in the same league.

He is right on the money!

The latest thing on the Detroit streets is that he turned down 1.5 million a week before the auction

I never heard of the car until it was publicized by hagerty & dodge a few years ago. Although the back story might be true, I highly doubt a bone stock hemi challenger “dominated Detroit street racing” as the hagerty headline said.

https://www.hagerty.com/media/video/...street-racing/

“He also vows to keep the car in the family and someday pass it on to his own son.“


So much for passing down to his own son.

He DOES look, talk, like a hack for sure. But apparently he was on a Mopar magazine payroll, I never googled it.
He has some legit points, long winded for sure. But the car "appears" on the scene in the last 12-18 months(?). No mention of it with the Legendary "back door" cars when you see a write up about them. "Got my doors blown off by a black Challenger the other night, never seen the car before!"

Never saw it mentioned in a Royal Pontiac story, a Roush story......

Did the original owner order the car as we see it today? A Gator Grain vinyl top on a Hemi is super rare.

The Silver Bullet ran an A990 Super Stock Hemi which put out around 750 horsepower. The same engine that powered the 1968 Darts and Barracudas to 10 second quarter miles.

Thanks Lee, never knew or thought about my much-love '68 Hemi cars being a A990. I know a few guys from the streets in D in the mid 90's till now. No one ever mentioned this BLACK Challenger.

I think this car could very well be defeated, but not as a big streetracer? Maybe the minor leagues but not with the hitters back then. A Motion ANYTHING car, Mr.s Norms stuff, Nicky/Dana cars would have killed this even if it was worked on some.

I have a friend, that raced his 1969 4sp L78 Nova he bought new in 69. Headers, recurved dist, slicks with 4.10's, the car ran 11's. Ain't no was that hemi would run do his Nova with it's stock motor/manifolds. I "could" see tuned and preped to a mid 12 ot even a low 12. But no way would it run with cars like that.

NOt sure IF the MAX WEDGE BROTHERS were runnin there stuff back then either, I don't think they had there hitter at the time, think they were a bit after.

I'm Sure late at night it whooped up on it's share unsuspecting Stock Muscle. So it may of had a known reputation? But a Street Racing Legend in Detroit in that time frame ? As someone else said "Minor league threat on the streets of some Very Heavy Hitters ... Cool car & owners Story tho

Uncle Tony is spot on. That car is fantastic in its own right, but there is a very simple way to find out... spin it down the quarter mile and see what she runs. If the trick mods are there you will be able to tell pretty quick right?

That is the point of the video and on the numbers He is correct.

So if the car doesn't somehow crack into the 10's then I would agree that the hobby is being played by another hoax.

What's this?,manipulation with the intent to gain more money in the classic car hobby? Say it isn't so.
Unfortunately this has been going on since the wheel was invented.
I 've always taken that particular cars story with a grain of salt,for so many reasons.
It stands on it's own for how it was built,it doesn't need a outlandish story like that.

Actually, the Silver Bullet’s mill was closer to 500 cubic inches. It was “poked & stroked” by Chrysler engineers and was also put on a helluva diet, as it had fiberglass nose, doors, etc. It was a freakin’ beast that ran through 4 Cadillac mufflers. It ran bottom 10s. The “Sudden Death” Mustang (Mustang II) was even quicker as it ran mid 9s. The Black Ghost wouldn’t have been a threat to those two.

Twice, I see much-respected Tony DeFeo described as a “hack” in this thread. He’s owned, raced, driven Fuel cars, Hemi cars, was a pioneer in the Fox-body Mustang movement, etc. He’s a long-time wrench spinner operating at a Jedi-level. He’s the “hack” that will get your car started for you at a car show before you can even call AAA on your phones.

What he said !
 

Tony Defeo is not a hack. I have followed him since his days at Cars Illustrated. Honest to a fault and not beholden to auto companies, part manufacturers or auction houses.

It may be a case where The Black Ghost was very selective about which cars he ran against. Take on anything out of the showrooms - guaranteed he would win, except maybe another Hemi, and he probably avoided racing them.

If you street race and win a lot, you get a reputation which you then have to defend. Better to not race and keep your reputation intact then lose and get a ding to your reputation.

But beating a professionally built Super Stock car running on the street . . . never happened.

It's evident that with all the street racing, only a handful of cars became legends. And yes, the Black Ghost was one of them.

Legends have proponents. Follow the money.

What is the job of an auction house? You might say to put a seller and a buyer together. And that would be a fact. But they do more than that.

Their real job is to get the highest price possible for the seller. Their commission depends on it as does their reputation.

I remember when Mecum was standing in the shadow of Barret-Jackson. Now IMO, it's reversed. Mecum is getting the high dollar cars and B-J isn't. They earned their current standing. And getting big bucks for the Black Ghost is just one example of their prowess.

Mecum gets much criticism for not vetting old muscle as B-J does. Those days are quickly fading as dockets are increasingly trucks, resto-mods, late model exotics. No need to vet those. With their busy schedule, they are eating B-Js lunch.

Wonder what direction the new B-J ownership will take.

Tony is a long time performance car journalist.

I think his points are valid, the car was all stock and most likely the owner simply took it out once in a while and ran some other folks from a light when cruising.

As the high bidder of the Black Ghost, here is my 2 cents worth. It is a fully documented, triple black, "original" numbers matching Hemi Challenger R/T SE 4 speed with a gator grain top. The documentation for the car is in the top 1% of all Mopar's. As for the history of this car, I will listen to (1) Dodge Factory; (2) Hagerty; (3) Bob Ashton; (4) Dave Wise; and (5) the Qualls' family any day of the week over Uncle Tony's Garage.

Over the past 2 days, I have seen the absolute best and worst of the classic/muscle car community in its treatment of this car. As far as I'm concerned, it is a bad ass Hemi Challenger with a trailer hitch that has a pretty cool backstory...embellished or not.

I guess I don’t recall anyone saying it ran against the famous Detroit street cars. This guy, is forgetting one thing, nobody twisted anyone’s arm to pay $975k.

One by one, the guys who were there are leaving us. Now what mostly remains are guys like this who think they know the Detroit street scene from back in the day, which they don’t.

Outstanding and congrats, are you planning to see how she runs on the track?

I don’t think anyone is doubting the rarity or provenance of the car. It’s a 1 of 1 and it survived. My idea of a “street racing legend” isn’t a 13 second boulevard cruiser. Congrats on the purchase… it’s a helluva car.

Yeah, that's exactly what you should do Ryan. Drop $975k on an original drivetrain car that's in the National Historic Vehicle Register and run its ass off trying to squeeze every hundredth out of it.

I have no plans of running it down the track as I think a Hyundai Sonata probably has a better 1/4 mile time than a bone stock 70 Hemi Challenger. Next month, I will probably load it in the trailer and take it down to the local cars and coffee meet where there will be a sea of Porsche's, McLaren's, etc. My hope is a young kid or 2 will see it and take interest in it or it will bring back a good memory for some old timer walking around. Too many of these cars are getting bought up and stored away in private collections. There are a few of us trying to buy these cars to share with others and keep the hobby alive, but then we have to deal with bullshit like the Uncle Tony's Garage video. The sad thing is Uncle Tony knows what he is talking about and he should be spending his time sharing his knowledge and celebrating the muscle cars of yesterday instead of trashing them to earn ad revenue. For the record, there was NOTHING Mecum said or did to impact my decision to buy this car. I was not scammed by anyone in my decision to buy the car. I was just one of several hundred people at Mecum that day that overpaid for a car...nothing less and nothing more. My garage is open to anyone at anytime. If anyone that reads this message is ever in the Bradenton, Florida area, shoot me a message as you are welcome to stop by...and yes The Black Ghost will be there.

Internet hype paid off for the guy.

Cool car nevertheless....

Congrats on your latest acquisition!

Shoot, I would. The entire point of the Hemi was racing. Otherwise it's a $975k paperweight.

I've lived near and hung out on Woodward my entire life.

I'm really sorry - but I never heard of the Black Ghost until a couple years ago.

My Pontiac buds that I have asked had not either.

K

Congrats on a bad ass car!
As far as overpaying, time will be the judge of that.
I’m sure folks that paid big money 20 years ago for cars like AC Cobras were considered to have overpaid too.

He gets no judgement from me.

Who knows what any of us would do if that much money was waved under our nose.

(On the other hand, my sister would kill me).

K

Just a few short years ago, actor David Spade paid $975K for a 69 Hemi Daytona. Many said it was crazy money. Fast forward . . . he sold it for $1.5 million.

Regardless if that car was street raced nightly or was used as a street sweeper for the city of Detroit who the hell cares. The car is a killer car end of story. Let’s celebrate the fact the car exists. I am more excited to see the cars paperwork than a time slip. Let the critics bitch they weren’t buyers anyway.

Spot on….487ci….definitely a hired gun!!!

Kurt

And to top it off…..it had Cragars…..j/s

Internet hype and money aside....


A loaded up triple black '70 Hemi Challenger with original paint and drivetrain is the one to have. Good luck finding another one like it....

I would hope I wouldn’t have made that statement and then sold later on. The green car will be sold for whatever the market value is when I’m gone. Wife gets the funds and she can do with it what she wants. Only stipulation is that whoever the next owner will be will cherish it like I and my father have. Sometimes money doesn’t mean as much as the objects memories it holds for that person.. I hope I can stick to my own morals as life goes on. But then again I don’t have to worry about someone offering me that kinda coin either..

I've said from day one I don't plan on selling the Camaro or the Mustang. The Camaro is only if I get so financially destitute I have no other choice.

The Mustang, it doesn't matter what happens to me it's not leaving this family. I will either pass it along to the next generation or I will be buried in it. Okay maybe hyperbole on the burial- that's no good for the car- but seriously I will be dead before that car ever leaves me.

As far as not selling, life happens. I sold Tin Soldier to put my kids through college without debt. I then had the opportunity to buy it back later on when finances were better, so I did (for more).

Was the car at subject here hyped for more than it was? Maybe. What seller doesn't put his car in the best light. Was there any lines crossed (ie fake options etc) should be the real question.

My .02, not worth much,

/R

He, we can now put the "Black Ghost, DETROIT STREET RACING LEGEND" to rest.

This is from 1976. By then there was a mine of 25 10 sec or better cars with mufflers a bunch that could run that slicked/headered. Sounds like this Challenger was in the "daddy-stock" style of racing, not the legit $$$ or respect racers/hitter class. Ain't now way the Black Ghost would even attempt to run Silver Bullet or Blackbird.

https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...hived-feature/

But that being said, it still would be a nice car to have and I know people that pay HUGE because they want something they want and have the $$$ to throw around. I know of a cloned '67 L88 Vette the guy paid just over $300,000. $400,000+ drag cars, million $$$ exoctics. Guys that can afford it sometimes just pays whatever it takes. I said to most, is it worth it, they says YES to THEM.

Congratulations on the purchase Ryan!