1970 Dodge Challenger restored to Panther Pink in time for Winnipeg's World of Wheels car show
Miss Centennial Manitoba, Darlene Williams, replicates photo from 53 years ago
One of the rarest high-performance Chrysler muscle car models ever sold in Canada was originally coated in custom hues, such as Plum Crazy Purple, Go Mango Orange and Sublime Green.
But of the 54 sold, it's believed there was only one 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T convertible manufactured in Panther Pink.
Fifty-three years after arriving at the then-Penner Dodge dealership in Winnipeg, that same car was on display at the 46th annual World of Wheels showcase at the RBC Convention on Saturday — shining brightly and chock full of Manitoba-themed stories.
Darlene Williams was 18 years old in 1970, and had just recently been crowned Miss Centennial Manitoba. She had the opportunity to ride around in several cars at parades throughout Manitoba that summer.
But the Dominion Day Parade in Lac Du Bonnet is one that she'll always remember, and not only because she had lunch on Canada's birthday with then-Prince Charles. She also rode in the Panther Pink convertible.
"It makes me feel like I'm 18 again," Williams said Saturday. "I'm just flabbergasted to be back and enjoying it."
Ed Funk worked at Penner Dodge in 1970, and he was given the convertible as a dealership demo that summer. His wife Evelyn Funk was at World of Wheels on Saturday to see the car she used to ride around in returned to a version of its former self.
Ed proposed to Evelyn in the Challenger, and it holds oodles of special memories for her.
"I think it's a spectacular job," Evelyn said of Pat Kaniuga's restoration efforts. "It gives the car humanity. It's wonderful what he was able to accomplish and how he was able to track down original parts. The story itself is fascinating."
Williams and her family made the drive to Winnipeg from Rocanville, Sask., on Friday at Kaniuga's request. She was floored by the reception she received at the show.
"I am surprised that there's so many people here and so many pictures being taken. I feel like a celebrity," Williams said.
Williams recreated her memorable 1970 photo on Saturday — in the same dress she made and wore — and Kaniuga was thrilled to be able to provide her with that memory.
"[It] has been amazing seeing the interest that people had about the history of this car and the fact it's got a specific Winnipeg and Manitoba history," Kaniuga said. "I'm ecstatic with the way people responded to it."
The autumn after Williams' original ride, the convertible was sold to Tom Cooper, but on the condition it was painted orange. Cooper would eventually change the convertible's interior to a red velour before it appeared at World of Wheels in 1979.
Cooper painted the muscle car Black Cherry and it sported a beige leather interior at the World of Wheels in 1988 — the first time Kaniuga saw the convertible.
As a 20-year-old, Kaniuga was not swooning over the convertible at first sight.
"I remember thinking it was one of the ugliest 1970 Dodge Challengers I've ever seen," he said.
Kaniuga, a longtime CBC radio producer, purchased the car in September 2019 along with his car partner, Edmontonian Dan Rasmussen. Kaniuga spent about 1,500 hours and more than three years restoring it inside his garage in Lockport, Man.
Last year, Sam Sanders, now the master mechanic at Canadian Super Shop in the St. James neighbourhood, rebuilt the 350-horsepower engine. He was an apprentice mechanic in 1988, the first time he worked on the convertible.
At one point the engine was a bright yellow colour.
"It's so cool that [Kaniuga] approached me and said that he'd found the car and that he wanted to restore it to the original pink," Sanders said.
Erwin Rempel, who worked at the dealership in 1970, painted the Challenger its original Panther Pink two years ago.
Kaniuga recently put the finishing touches on assembling the classic car, and after all of his hard work, he admits a break is needed.
"I'm putting this car in the garage and not looking at it for about a month because I'm really exhausted from working on it," he said.
WATCH / 1970 Dodge Challenger restored to Panther Pink in time for Winnipeg's World of Wheels car show:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Walther Bernal