In the 1960s and 1970s, one Dodge dealership stuck out among the rest as the place to make your performance purchase, Mr. Norm’s Grand-Spaulding Dodge in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Norm’s, much like Tasca Ford, built a reputation on fast cars proven at the drag strip. The dealership had a Clayton Chassis Dynamometer and a full-scale high performance parts department making it the place to go to purchase a new Dodge or to have modifications carried out. By 1966 Mr. Norm’s was the largest high performance Dodge dealership in the country. Dodge corporate even took the high performance cue from Mr. Norm’s, creating factory models of the Dart based off cars Grand-Spaulding was special ordering and building, such as the 383 Dart, the 440 Dart GSS, the 340 Six Pack Demon. By 1974 Mr. Norm’s became the largest Dodge dealership in the world. The success was somewhat short lived with a business built on high performance sales the new emissions requirements and the crackdown on the high performance era led Mr. Norm to sell his ownership in Grand-Spaulding Dodge in the mid to late 1970s.

This 1970 Challenger R/T was sold new through the renowned Mr. Norm’s Grand-Spaulding Dodge in Chicago, Illinois, to Eddie Lee Thigpen, a Chicago resident who lived less than a mile from the dealership. It left the factory finished in the High-Impact paint code of FE5 Bright Red, with a white bumble bee stripe and a black vinyl roof. Exterior features included painted driver and passenger side mirrors, hood pins, drip rail moldings, dual exhaust with bright tips, and the performance hood treatment. It left the factory powered by a 400 cu. in. V-8 with three two-barrel carburetors, nicknamed the 440 Six Pack; backed by a three-speed automatic transmission. The Challenger was further quipped with the A32 Super Performance Axle package which included a Sure Grip 4.10:1 ratio 9 3/4 Dana rear end, seven-blade torque drive fan, 26-inch radiator with shroud, Hemi suspension handling package, and power front disc brakes. The interior was completed in black and featured a console with woodgrain, bucket seats, AM radio with 8-track and rear stereo rear speakers, and the A62 Rallye instrument cluster.

While subsequent ownership is not known, today the car presents nicely throughout, benefitting from a full restoration approximately five years ago. Having been sold new through the legendary Mr. Norm’s Grand-Spaulding Dodge, this Challenger is truly a special example, one that would make a wonderful addition to any MOPAR or discerning muscle car collection. The Challenger R/T is accompanied by its Chrysler shipping invoice, and Grand-Spaulding Dodge order form and bill of sale.