With A War In His Country This Enthusiast Did What Any Of Us Would Do And Built His Dream Car

Ukraine Chally Ts
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Daydreaming is common among car enthusiasts. For all that we do with our vehicles, we’re always thinking far ahead. When we get the time, when we get the money, we’ll go ahead and get that dream car and turn it into the ride we’ve always wanted to build. The problem is that if you dream too long, you’ll watch years go by before you ever turn a wrench. Sometimes, it takes extraordinary circumstances to snap you out of it and remind you that life is for living today.

Enter Yevhen. He’s a gearhead through and through, and he’s spent the better part of this year putting together a Dodge Challenger with a slick retro vibe. It’s been more challenging for him than you might expect. He’s been building the car as his country struggles against foreign invaders inside its own borders.

“War time is not a good time to buy cars,” Yevhen tells me from his home in Ukraine. “On the other hand, you have to do something not to lose the sense of life.”

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A mechanic by trade, Yevhen runs his own shop. “Besides my family, cars are the sense of my life,” he says. ” I service, maintain, repair and wrap cars. I paint them, I write about them, I build them, I raced them and hold the events, I talk about them with my friends and… I love them.” It was that passion that led him to the Challenger. “When I saw this barge with a manual transmission and a Hemi, I couldn’t resist,” he tells me. “War makes our decisions faster, cause you clearly understand that you may not have another chance to make your dream come true.” It’s a dramatic statement, but not an untrue one. “Daily rocket attacks make you realize that every day can be your last day,” he explains.

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His car didn’t come to him brand new. Instead, the 2016 model was auctioned and sold into Ukraine a while ago. “Odesa is a former ‘JDM Culture’ city that transformed to a Copart/IAAI city without any culture this time, unfortunately,” he explains. Yes, that’s right—big US auction companies do business shipping American cars to the continent on the regular.
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Given the completeness of the transformation, you might be surprised to learn how long he’s had the car. “I bought it 6 months ago,” he says, but he’s still demure on his progress. “It’s hard to do everything here now… missile attacks, air alerts, permanent shutdowns, import was literally stopped for a period of time, lack of money, lack of time, lack of mood…” He notes the build is unfinished, though my experience says he’s a quick worker. In the days since I first made contact, he’d already made further upgrades to the vehicle including a new rear wing.
Fundamentally, building a car in Ukraine isn’t like building one in California. “Each part ordered from US is shipped within a month, but sometimes it takes twice as long,” he says.
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Drive around the US, and you’ll see tacky modern muscle cars everywhere you go. Anyone can go to Autozone and buy a bunch of fake chrome trim and badges and ruin a modern Challenger, Camaro, or Mustang. But somehow, Yevhen managed to make his retro tribute work, and work well. You might expect that he’d spent years working on American muscle, growing familiar with the aesthetic and values. And yet!

“I’ve never seen any American classic in person,” he says. “But being a journalist also with a couple of my own historical blogs and groups, I know something about cars.” He paid fine attention to detail on his build, which helped him achieve a factory-like appearance. “I try to represent as many features of a 1971 R/T on my modern boat, while avoiding breaking the borders of common sense,” he explains. If a badge or a detail wasn’t on the real thing, he won’t slap it on his car. “My car should become a tribute to the OG Challenger, and [become] kind of a blast from the past for me personally,” he says.

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Perhaps the classiest mod is in the interior. Yevhen had a gorgeous woodgrain finish applied to all the dash pieces. It’s a beautiful throwback to the 1970s, the era of veneer. He achieved this by having the parts hydrodipped. It’s a process where the plastic pieces are lowered into a liquid bath with woodgrain-patterned pigment floating on top. In this case, the dark woodgrain effect pairs perfectly with the rest of the black interior. It’s custom, and it looks good, which is more than we can say of most modified interiors we see.

Externally, he’s given the Challenger a set of American Racing VN501 wheels, wrapped in Petlas Explero rubber. For the proper vintage look, he shaved the sidewalls and threw on ’71-style tire lettering which looks the business. A set of Eibach Pro-Kit lowering springs helps set the stance. Exhaust-wise, he switched the factory X-pipe for an H-pipe setup, threw on Flowmaster mufflers, and deleted the resonators for a throatier tone. There’s also a lovely Hellcat-style air catcher up front for a properly mean look.

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The rest of it comes down to decals, badging, and detail pieces. It might sound trivial, but getting all this right is why the car looks so well put together. He’s got the ’71 style emblems in the appropriate spots on the body, a chrome fuel door, and Pentastar badges on the fenders. He’s also got amber fog light covers that he modified from Harley Davidson turn signals, headlight bezels, and a high-quality R/T vinyl on the side of the body. Other nice touches include the hood pins, the imitation vinyl top, and the Go-Wing on the rear trunk lid.

Throw a couple of these pieces on wrong, and it’d look like a mess. It doesn’t take much chrome trim or vinyl to turn a stock car into a laughing stock. But Yevhen did the job right, and the results speak for themselves.

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His story is perhaps a lesson for any car fan that is feeling disconnected from their passion. Obviously, feeding and clothing yourself comes first in life, as does shelter and all the rest. Nevertheless, sometimes you have go after something if it’s important to you. None of us know how much time we have left, and we most often regret the things we didn’t do.

Yevhen saw his opportunity and went for it. He’s built himself an American beast on his own terms. The car is a credit to him and his craft, and it stands as a shining example for us all.

Bottom line? Don’t wait to start living. Get after it now.

Image credits: Yevhen Kovalchuk

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100 thoughts on “With A War In His Country This Enthusiast Did What Any Of Us Would Do And Built His Dream Car

  1. Whoa…the care that has gone into this build would be impressive anywhere, but knowing the circumstances makes it especially awesome. I really love the wood veneer effect on the interior trim! Outstanding work, Yevhen!

  2. Whoa…the care that has gone into this build would be impressive anywhere, but knowing the circumstances makes it especially awesome. I really love the wood veneer effect on the interior trim! Outstanding work, Yevhen!

  3. Wow, was not expecting that this morning.

    Having grown up in Ukraine and seeing what the war has done, I find this absolutely incredible. He’s done so much in the midst of such difficult circumstances. Heck, this build would have been difficult to pull off pre-2014.

    Yevhen, congratulations on making this happen. Stay safe brother.

  4. Wow, was not expecting that this morning.

    Having grown up in Ukraine and seeing what the war has done, I find this absolutely incredible. He’s done so much in the midst of such difficult circumstances. Heck, this build would have been difficult to pull off pre-2014.

    Yevhen, congratulations on making this happen. Stay safe brother.

  5. For what he was going after, job well done. Honestly, if he takes it much further it would ruin it. The original muscle cars were simple, this looks like a lightly modified muscle car, job well done for his intended purpose.

    1. I find 71 model a bit overdone in comparison to sleek 70, if you ask me. But I’ve chosen this route and will follow it. So, not much further, but a couple of exterior mods are to be done.

  6. For what he was going after, job well done. Honestly, if he takes it much further it would ruin it. The original muscle cars were simple, this looks like a lightly modified muscle car, job well done for his intended purpose.

    1. I find 71 model a bit overdone in comparison to sleek 70, if you ask me. But I’ve chosen this route and will follow it. So, not much further, but a couple of exterior mods are to be done.

  7. This looks fantastic! Very well done, I like the thoughtful touches and the woodgrain looks way better than I’d have thought.

    I hope the owner remains safe and un-conscripted.

  8. This looks fantastic! Very well done, I like the thoughtful touches and the woodgrain looks way better than I’d have thought.

    I hope the owner remains safe and un-conscripted.

  9. Never underestimate the passion of a true car nut. Yevhen has created the retro Challenger that Stellantis missed with it’s last call series; just your ordinary vinyl-topped RT Challenger with all of the correct details, like it’s 1970 all over again. And to accomplish all of this while that awful war rages in his homeland? Never underestimate the heart inside a Ukrainian.

    1. Only those who are on a battlefield now, are worth all honor and gratitude. I just try to keep my heart beating and get the most from the moment.

  10. Never underestimate the passion of a true car nut. Yevhen has created the retro Challenger that Stellantis missed with it’s last call series; just your ordinary vinyl-topped RT Challenger with all of the correct details, like it’s 1970 all over again. And to accomplish all of this while that awful war rages in his homeland? Never underestimate the heart inside a Ukrainian.

    1. Only those who are on a battlefield now, are worth all honor and gratitude. I just try to keep my heart beating and get the most from the moment.

    1. If one told me 3 years ago that I would get this car in this very shape, I’d laugh with sadness. If one told me that after massive russian invasion, I’ll tell him he was crazy. But a bunch of unexpected events have occured, and finally it is what it is, not matter if it’s right or wrong. I’m happy with appreciation, it mentally helps to keep up.

      1. That’s great to hear you’re maintaining a healthy mental state! I have no frame of reference to the reality of the hell you’re having to go through over there, but keep doing what you’re doing – from this vantagepoint it seems to be working remarkably well.

    1. If one told me 3 years ago that I would get this car in this very shape, I’d laugh with sadness. If one told me that after massive russian invasion, I’ll tell him he was crazy. But a bunch of unexpected events have occured, and finally it is what it is, not matter if it’s right or wrong. I’m happy with appreciation, it mentally helps to keep up.

      1. That’s great to hear you’re maintaining a healthy mental state! I have no frame of reference to the reality of the hell you’re having to go through over there, but keep doing what you’re doing – from this vantagepoint it seems to be working remarkably well.

  11. “The Challenger, with its coupe body style and 354 cubic-inch V8”
    The numbers are transposed, it’s a 345 as shown in an image of the emblem on the hood.

  12. “The Challenger, with its coupe body style and 354 cubic-inch V8”
    The numbers are transposed, it’s a 345 as shown in an image of the emblem on the hood.

  13. Had a 70’s Challenger and he has completely captured the vibe. Kudos to him! Ukrainians are as a group a hard working, creative people who have had to live through centuries of adversity and opression. I have had the pleasure of growing up with, working with and helping to settle those fleeing the war.

  14. Had a 70’s Challenger and he has completely captured the vibe. Kudos to him! Ukrainians are as a group a hard working, creative people who have had to live through centuries of adversity and opression. I have had the pleasure of growing up with, working with and helping to settle those fleeing the war.

  15. Now this is a retro throwback I’d actually buy, because it’s so easy to mess this kind of build up but it’s so meticulously thought out but not over the top

    1. There was some stuff that I tried in the process and finally got rid of. Not to make it overdone, while it still looks so in someone’s eye.

  16. Now this is a retro throwback I’d actually buy, because it’s so easy to mess this kind of build up but it’s so meticulously thought out but not over the top

    1. There was some stuff that I tried in the process and finally got rid of. Not to make it overdone, while it still looks so in someone’s eye.

  17. This guy is magic. That car is really excellent looking, and probably the best recreation I have ever seen. Just a fantastic rendering done here. (wouldn’t change a thing)

    I hope he and his family are able to stay safe. War sucks. But am actually amazed that the country has been this resilient against the Russian turds. Fuck off Putin…

  18. This guy is magic. That car is really excellent looking, and probably the best recreation I have ever seen. Just a fantastic rendering done here. (wouldn’t change a thing)

    I hope he and his family are able to stay safe. War sucks. But am actually amazed that the country has been this resilient against the Russian turds. Fuck off Putin…

  19. This car looks incredible. The details are perfect. I normally don’t go for this type of car but man this is cool. The vinyl roof is SO COOL!! Well done. The wood trim on the interior is a fantastic touch, and I think if Stellantis were to build a “retro” package for this car, this is exactly what the factory would have turned out.

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