On the afternoon of May 19, a legendary 1970 Dodge Challenger RT/SE rolled onto Mecum’s auction block in Indianapolis and sold for $975,000, just shy of the predicted $1 million.
With Mecum’s 10 percent buyer’s premium, the final figure amounts to at least $1,072,500.
The car is equipped with a 426-cubic-inch V-8, a four-barrel carburetor, and a four-speed manual transmission.
According to Hagerty in Traverse City, years ago the car would appear at night on Detroit’s Woodward Avenue, a strip famous for impromptu (and illegal) drag races. The Challenger took on all comers, rarely losing. Then the car would disappear.
The owner and his car never stopped by the local hamburger stand or any other street-racing gathering spots. Days could pass, and the car wouldn’t show. It was considered a ghost — a black ghost with an alligator vinyl roof and unassuming hubcaps.
In the late 1970s, the Black Ghost disappeared seemingly for good. It was sitting in the garage of the house owned by Godfrey Qualls, however, a Detroit police officer who likely would have lost his job had his bosses known he was the pilot of the treacherous Black Ghost. Hence, the disappearing act.
When Godfrey Qualls died in 2015, he left the Ghost to son, Greg, who had no idea of the car’s one-time notoriety as a Woodward Avenue legend. Thanks in part to the Hagerty Drivers Foundation, the Black Ghost’s story was circulated widely in 2020, culminating with its induction into the National Historic Vehicle Register in the Library of Congress.
Over time, Qualls got his father’s car running, making a point of leaving it absolutely stock, complete with nicks and parking-lot dents.
“It’s an original, unrestored survivor, and it’s in driving condition,” says Qualls. “All I did was work on it in my dad’s garage to make it drivable and safe, because I wanted to drive my dad’s car.”
When Qualls, a cinematographer by trade, began to take the car to shows, he heard stories and more stories about his father’s exploits.
Until then, “I had no idea,” he said.
When it came time to put the Black Ghost on the auction block, Qualls and his family appeared, and he spoke briefly about the car’s history. Qualls’ son then dropped the gavel when the reserve was met. Many, including Qualls himself, thought he would keep the Black Ghost forever.
“The main reason (I sold it) is it’s a chance to help my family, to give them opportunities they may not have otherwise,” says Qualls. “And the timing is right, as it seems like we’re transitioning out of gas cars.”
Godfrey Qualls paid $5,272.40, including the destination charge of $17. The car arrived on Dec. 5, 1969; experts believe it is the only 1970 Challenger to exist with all the options the car has.
“I’ll be sad to see it go,” says Greg Qualls. “But it’s time. Family, that’s the key to all this. And it’s something I think my dad would be OK with. But I think it’s shocking a lot of people. It was a hard decision to make. My dad didn’t say don’t sell the car, he said just don’t give it away.”
