Resto-Mods are in. Of the 1,850 vehicles consigned to the recent 2019 Barrett-Jackson collector car auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, just over 700 were resto-mods, an all-time high. To define, resto-mods are vehicles that have been treated to an artful and functional blend of restoration and modification (thus, the term “resto-mod”).
So what’s behind this trend? Well, simply put, it’s been nearly forty years since Dodge stopped using drum brakes, carburetors, bias-ply tires, leaf springs and AM radios in new passenger cars. In those years, an entire generation of Dodge enthusiasts have grown up and entered the hobby. These folks are accustomed to the convenience of four-wheel disc brakes, electronic fuel injection, massive, sticky radial tires, independent front and rear suspension, and killer sound systems.
Today, it’s no surprise that older cars that have been rebuilt to incorporate a blend of semi-stock external appearance and modern running gear are attracting the big bucks, sometimes leaving concourse-correct restorations in the rearview mirror. And it’s not just Dodge vehicles. In the world of that two-seat fiberglass sports car from General Motors, we saw several well-executed resto-mods hammer “sold” for a quarter-million bucks! That’s over twice the typical selling price of a correctly restored, award-winning, numbers-matching “fuelie”, “split window” or “big block”!
So we now have to wonder, will dealers and hot rod shops hoping to attract maximum dollars at auction soon begin cutting into clean original 383 Challenger R/Ts, 440 Magnum Charger R/Ts, 340 Dart Swingers and Super Bees to transform them into resto-mods?
This writer is something of a purist and suggests that any current Dodge resto-mod project be based on a Slant Six or small block core vehicle. Then again, as supplies of these garden variety Dodge vehicles are about dried up, will resto-mod builders be left with no choice other than to slice into muscle Dodge vehicles of the past? Time will tell. For now, let’s take a look at some Dodge highlights from the event. –Steve Magnante
Representing the high end of the resto-mod built style, this 1965 Dart packs a Magnuson supercharged 392 HEMI® engine, Tremec, 6-speed manual transmission, Ride-Tech coil-over suspension, billet aluminum Schott wheels, a 100-watt stereo with Bluetooth® connectivity, a back-up camera (!) and 142 subtle body modifications. The one-off machined aluminum grille is a work of art unto itself. Blurring the line between resto-mod and all-out custom show car, it hammered for $117,700. (From here on, the term “hammer” indicates the winning bid but excludes buyer and seller commissions which add 18 percent to the hammer price).
A total of 15 Gen III (2008-up) Dodge Challengers were sold, 6 of which were 2018 Challenger SRT® Demons. This Tor-Red meanie had only three miles on the odometer and was sold in as-delivered (no dealer prep) condition with the Demon Crate for $154,000. Like many SRT Demons, it was built with the Comfort Group and Harmon Kardon sound system. It takes a real drag race purist to go for the single-seat layout. Remember, the single-seat SRT Demons are not equipped with provisions for mounting passenger seats, they’re built to stay that way. Children of the late 1970s will recall the Mitsubishi Gallant-based Gen II Challenger, complete with its “2.6 HEMI” engine.
Old-school Dodge muscle was well represented by this pristine 1969 Charger Daytona. A correct restoration, this numbers-matching 440 car featured a console-shifted 727 TorqueFlite automatic, power brakes, power steering and a factory-installed R22 AM/FM, 8-track radio. At a hefty $196.25, the 8-track equaled nearly half the $418 price difference between a Charger R/T and a Charger Daytona ($3,575 vs. $3,993). This one-of-503-built winged warrior hammered sold for $330,000. Notice the white Plymouth Superbird (Lot 1430) re-creation behind the red Daytona. A full-on resto-mod with a twin-turbocharged 572-cube Gen II HEMI engine and modernized independent suspension, this customized Satellite (wing and nose added) hammered for $181,500. Had these been more common 1950s and 1960s Corvettes, Tri-Five Chevys or 2-seat “baby Birds”, the results seen here would likely be reversed, with the showroom stock restoration selling for half of what a high-end resto-mod would bring.
Lets’ not forget that Dodge was building factory muscle cars during Detroit’s first horsepower race of the late 1950s. This 1958 Custom Royal convertible is a factory-documented Super D-500 unit. Marking the transition from HEMI engine to wedge cylinder head architecture, the low-deck 361 big block wedge arrived for 1958 to reduce manufacturing cost and complexity. With its dual inline Carter AFB carburetors, the D-500 delivered 320 horsepower. The only topper was the incredibly rare 333-horsepower Bendix Electro-Jector system. Dodge’s first electronic fuel injection (EFI) offering, less than 10 were sold. This rust-free, concourse-correct restoration hammered for an appropriate $159,500.
What’s better than a D-500? How ’bout a D-501! This authenticated 1957 D-501 Coronet drop-top is one of just six built and represents Dodge’s maximum muscle of the day. Built seven years before the advent of Chrysler’s A-833 4-speed manual transmission, a column-shifted 3-speed manual transmission transfers power to the factory-installed 3.73:1 rear axle ratio. Despite the otherwise austere specifications, it’s equipped with power windows. Heavy-duty suspension components and huge 12-inch drum brakes were borrowed from the Chrysler Imperial parts bin.
Another item borrowed from the Chrysler parts bin is the 1957 Coronet D-501’s 354-cubic-inch HEMI engine. Don’t forget, while the Chrysler, DeSoto and Dodge HEMI engines of the 1950s may look similar, each engine family is unique and very few parts interchange. Launched in 1953 at a measly 241 cubic inches, even after maximum boring, stroking and block deck-height manipulation, the Dodge HEMI engine maxed out at 325 cubic inches and 325 horsepower in 1957 D-500 tune. To keep the supercharged Fords, Tri-Power Pontiacs, fuel-injected Chevys and J-2-equipped Oldsmobiles in the rearview mirror, for the 1957 D-501, Dodge grabbed leftover 1956 Chrysler 300-B HEMI engines. At 340 horsepower, the D-501 out-powered all competitors. This historically significant – and fun – HEMI-engine-powered Coronet hammered for $82,500.
Beyond the many Dodge passenger cars, Jeep® Brand vehicles and vintage Dodge Power Wagons represent a large segment of every Barrett-Jackson auction. This 1954 Willys Jeep vehicle is something very special. Bearing serial number 0001, it’s a pre-production prototype wearing the never-was integrated pickup truck body style. It shows that Willys wanted a piece of the growing “fleetside” pickup truck market of the late 1950s. Alas, buyers would have to wait until the 1962 arrival of the J-series Gladiator for the Jeep Brand’s first non-step-side pickup bed offering. This unchanged prototype showed a mere 2,122 miles and hammered for $20,900.
