As with almost any muscle car out there, the modern Dodge Challenger isn’t afraid of a little uneven terrain. However, if you take the big RWD coupe off-roading, you’ll probably get nowhere fast. And with the driver of a Challenger having recently gotten his Mopar stranded over in Utah, famous YouTuber Matthew Wetzel was called to do what his channel says (Matt’s Off-Road Recovery).
The 46-year-old YouTuber has plenty to offer to distressed drivers and audiences alike, not least thanks to the custom off-roading rigs he uses.
What kind of vehicle is Matt’s Morrvair?
For this adventure, Matt turned to the Morrvair, a 1961 Chevrolet Corvair Wagon using a custom truck frame. While the Morrvair name is a work play involving the recovery business’ initials (MORR) and the Corvair, the hardware on the contraption is all so serious.
We’re looking at a 5.3L LS V8 sending its power to all four wheels via a TH400 tranny and NP205 transfer case, manually lockable hubs, along with Dana 60 and 70 axles for the front and rear end, respectively.
The Challenger had no coolant!
After being taken to the location of the stranded Challenger by a couple of Good Samaritans on an ATV, the rescue man had one unpleasant surprise after another, despite the man attempting to obtain all the relevant details before setting off for each rescue.
So, not only had somebody driven the Challeger deep into the sandy territoryโthis was close to Washington, UTโbut the car could barely run.
As Mason, the driver in question, explains in the video below, somebody had stabbed the radiator of the Challenger multiple times, while “gorilla glue” had provided the kind of fix that unsurprisingly failed.
In other words, Matt and his crew could only start the V6 engine of the Dodge for brief intervals (think: one minute) before this would overheat. As such, Matt left some air out of the Morrvair’s tires for extra traction, while reminding us that, as counterintuitive, as it might seem, fresh thread is an enemy when driving on sand.
And, for the best chance to keep the Challenger’s bumper and splitter in place during the rescue, Matt passed the tow hitch-attached strap over and under the rear axle of the Morrvair, so this could offer a better angle.
Once the Dodge reached the main road, the said man reportedly drove off despite the overheating issues. And, as you can imagine, this has led to a wide range of theories in the comments section of the vid (e.g., insurance-related ideas).
After all, when you drive a Dodge Challenger this way (remember, the Charger is the one with optional AWD), you can expect people to ask questions and perhaps even come up with some wacky advice.
After all, some folks love abusing Dodge muscle cars off the road, even though most such shenanigans involve Dukes of Hazzard-style jumpsโYouTuber WhistlinDiesel seems to be preparing this sort of ordeal for his General Lee-tribute 1969 Charger, which now packs 1,600 hp.
Stranded and not running
If you think the said operation was tougher due to the Challenger driver not letting Matt know about the overheating issues, you’d better brace yourself for the second part of the clip.
This sees the rescue expert having to change rigs altogether. And it’s all due to the customer not informing him about the non-running condition of the W121 Mercedes E-Class that had ventured far off the beaten path, on a bumpy, rocky route.
However, until the future brings us autonomous vehicles that get stranded off-roading, this is all part of the trade and we can only applaud Matt’s professional attitude.