This Car is Not Made of Sugar

Benny Älvenstrand originally bought this Challenger with the intent to sell it shortly afterward. Then came regret – and a little over a year later, he bought it back. Why all the indecision, only to end up owning the same 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T SE from 2003 until today? Benny doesn’t really have a good answer.
But he does have a lot of other stories to tell. A whole lot of them.

“I can ramble on about anything, in any way, for as long as you like,” Älvenstrand says with a laugh.

He’s certainly not the quiet, introverted type who prefers to be alone in the garage with his Mopar_® vehicles.

On the contrary, both Benny and his wife Kicki are warm, generous souls who serve up homemade treats, memorable real-life anecdotes and deep knowledge of the Chrysler Corporation’s golden years. If you’re a regular DodgeGarage reader, you may recognize them from two features published just over a year ago (1970 ’Cuda and 2022 SRT^® Hellcat).

To be completely honest, it’s not quite true that Benny has no explanation for why he hesitated, then committed, and has since owned, maintained and worked on this 1970 Dodge Challenger.

His answer is indirect.

Just take a look at the enormous binder, his “genealogy research,” as Benny calls it – filled with documentation he’s collected over the years. Tax receipts, registration stickers and a wealth of photos tracing the Challenger’s journey from 1974 to the present. It includes a complete record of all previous owners, what each of them paid and other details.

This is not how someone acts if they don’t care about a car. This is the behavior of someone who might even love it.

One particularly fun story told through those old photos is that the Challenger has gone through three distinct phases. Three rebuilds, three transformations.

The first phase was the original car, painted in “Go Mango” (orange), with skinny tires mounted on 14-inch Road Wheels. Then came the bold muscle-car look of the late ’70s and early ’80s: wide meats out back, slot mags, chrome everywhere and all the attitude you could want. Finally, today’s restored look – still true to original form, but now dressed in sleek, confident black.

“The car came home to me on 2001-01-01. I bought it from Peter Ohlsson in Kalmar, a town in southern Sweden. He had started restoring it back in 1987 or ’88 and saw it through to completion. But after the maiden voyage, the engine started sounding like a diesel. Peter tore down the 440 and found excessive piston-to-wall clearance at the bottom of the cylinders. That’s what made it rattle. So he bored it out to oversize and replaced the pistons. He reassembled the engine and dropped it back in, but then the car sat for 12 years. Still, Peter did an absolutely stellar job with the bodywork – the panel fitment is excellent,” Älvenstrand says.

He adds that, despite some cracks in the leather and a few cosmetic flaws, he was happy with the car. He and Kicki turned the key and drove it to the American Car Show in Norrtälje.

Once there, they took a walk around the park.

When they returned to their car, a man was standing next to it, gesturing wildly and proclaiming loudly, “A car like this is what I need! Look at those lines!”

When he realized it belonged to Benny and Kicki Älvenstrand, he said, “Call me if you ever want to sell it.” Benny replied, “You’ll have to call me if you’re interested, but bring a fat wallet.”

“A little while later, Urban – that’s his name – called. I gave him a high price, really laid it on thick. I also said the money had to be in my account by 11:00 the next morning, or no deal,” Älvenstrand says with a grin.

Then he forgot all about it, assuming that was the end of the conversation.

It wasn’t.

“At 10:00 the next morning, Urban called to say the money was in my account,” Älvenstrand says.

Caught off guard, Benny hadn’t expected Urban to go through with it, especially without ever driving the car. Urban hadn’t even heard the engine rumble. But a deal’s a deal, and he handed over the Challenger. The one condition: if Urban ever sold the car, he’d have to offer it to Benny first.

“He called me a little over a year later. I guess he never got around to realizing his plans for the car. So I bought it back,” Älvenstrand says.

Urban and his buddies had done some tinkering – braided steel lines, chrome air cleaner and other touches. “Nothing wrong with that, just not my style,” Älvenstrand notes. The engine wasn’t running quite right either, so Älvenstrand had to dig in and sort it out.

He’s kept the car ever since. Researched, repaired, maintained, improved.

“I’ve replaced the fuel lines, brake lines, front discs, rebuilt the calipers and the steering column, swapped out the wheel bearings, the interior and parts of the electrical system. It also had a B-body rear axle, which I replaced with the correct E-body one. That really quieted down the ride – but that might also have something to do with ditching the 295s out back,” he says with a smile.

He goes on to explain that the Challenger is something of a rarity. It’s a U-code (440-cubic-inch) R/T SE loaded with factory options. That includes leather interior, the small rear window, overhead console, carpeted lower door panels, window trim moldings, A/C, eight-track stereo, power windows, cruise control – you name it.

“It might even be a pre-production car. I have no proof of that, though. But it was built in August 1969 and has almost all the correct parts – except the shaker hood,” Älvenstrand says.

Whether or not it’s a pre-production car, or numbers matching, doesn’t really matter to Benny. He drives it and he cares for it. A bit of rain during the photo shoot doesn’t bother him in the slightest.

“My car’s not made of sugar. It can handle a little water. And yeah, sometimes I lay down a little rubber,” he says.

He’s broad-minded too. For him, car passion is what matters most.

“All respect to those who chase date codes – and all respect to those who drive the hell out of their cars,” Älvenstrand says.

His Mopar history is impressive. He’s owned three Chargers, a 1966 Dart GT, a white ’72 Duster, a 1970 Super Bee, a convertible Road Runner from the same year, a Challenger T/A and several other Challengers – including the star of this story. And a few ’Cudas.

But the Challenger remains his favorite.

“I’ve always liked the Dodge Challenger. I’m not sure when the interest first sparked, but I think it was when I bought that T/A from a guy named Tord ‘Totte’ Sundström. I worked with him at the Swedish Telecom Agency when I was a switchgear installer. He kept going on and on about Challengers until the idea stuck. Though, of course, Corvettes are badass too. But they only have two seats. Nah, pony cars are where it’s at,” Älvenstrand says.