Back in late 2021, we reported about a rare Mr. Norm’s 1971 Dodge Charger R/T that was discovered in a junkyard in Utah. The muscle car was dragged out of its resting place and the guy who found it began looking for an owner that would restore it.
More than a month later, we can see that the Mopar is in the same shape as it was back in December. But there’s a reason why it’s spending time out in the freezing cold, with its hood, roof, and trunk lid covered in ice. YouTube’s “Shade Tree Vintage Auto” finally found a customer that will take care of it, but the transport company who was supposed to haul it canceled the deal as the driver couldn’t figure out how to winch the car in his enclosed trailer.
A rather unfortunate moment for a rare muscle car that’s very close to getting some much-needed work done. But fortunately enough, the buyer is still determined to have the car shipped to him and, according to the seller, he already purchased parts to start the restoration. So spending a few hours out in the cold might not be that bad for this Mr. Norm’s muscle car in the long run.
So why is this car more important than other classics spending their retirement years in junkyards? Well, Mr. Norm’s cars were sold through the Grand Spaulding Dodge dealership in Chicago. Established in 1962 and co-owned by Norm Kraus, Grand Spaulding became the biggest Dodge dealership in the U.S., thanks to Norm’s focus on high performance.
Much like Yenko did for Chevrolet, Mr. Norm rolled out specially prepped Mopars with dealer-installed upgrades. The dealership focused mainly on Chargers, Challengers, and Super Bees, but it’s also famous for the Dart GSS, which came with the massive 440-cubic-inch (7.2-liter) RB V8 under the hood.
This 1971 Charger was fitted with the same engine, but it also comes with goodies like a Dana rear end and a four-speed manual gearbox. And based on the quarter window sticker, it’s a dyno-tuned car. Another sticker suggests that the Mopar was raced extensively at the drag strip.
What’s more, it comes with a massive amount of documentation, which is downright impressive for a car that was abandoned in a junkyard. Hopefully, we will see it back on the road soon.
