The New Old School

With a Big-block, Four-speed, and Dana 60 in a Pro Touring Wrapper, Tyler Hunkele’s ’70 Charger Is the Ultimate Mix of Old and New.

- Stephen Kim

Great, not another million-dollar Pro Touring car! Where are all the real street machines at? You know, the kind that the average working stiff can afford? We hate to break up the whine party, but you’re looking at it. As the saying goes, appearances can be deceptive, and despite looking the part of a pro-built, mega-buck Mopar, Tyler Hunkele’s ’70 Dodge Charger isn’t the product of checkbook engineering. To the contrary, it’s the culmination of 10 painstaking years of pulling off savvy trades, swindling family friends, and getting down and dirty in the garage. The no-cost mentoring and advice of a very well-known yet generous car builder didn’t hurt, either. Evidently, building a car that looks like a million bucks doesn’t always require a million bucks.

Beyond the Charger’s stunning good looks is a surprisingly back-to-the-basics parts combination that belies what its Pro Touring persona suggests. While purists may take issue with the dropped stance and big rollers, the B-Body retains its torsion bars, stick axle, and leaf springs. No fancy-schmancy independent rear suspension here. Under the hood is a good old-fashioned big-block and a four-speed manual, too. Gen III Hemis and overdrives needn’t apply. Likewise, the sheet metal is 100 percent stock, and Tyler even kept the vinyl top. Interestingly, a car that looks full-tilt Pro Touring on the outside is deceptively old-school on the inside.