“It’s time,” says Black Ghost owner ahead of historic auction

Greg Qualls, a cinematographer and vice-president of a Detroit-based film company, drives a widebody 2021 Dodge Challenger with a shaker hood, a six-speed manual transmission, the Scat Pack package with the 392-cubic-inch Hemi V-8. And like his father’s famous car, it’s painted black.

“But with a red interior,” Qualls says. “That’s my personal touch.”

Godfrey Qualls’ 1970 Challenger R/T SE, the legendary Detroit street racer known as the Black Ghost, has houndstooth upholstery.

If you aren’t familiar with the story of the Black Ghost, it would show up, in the early 1970s, for the occasional street race at night in Detroit. After terrorizing the competition it would disappear, often for weeks at a time. The unknown driver didn’t stick around to hang out with the other hot rodders, and he didn’t mix at malt shops or mall parking lots. The car would show up, race, win, and disappear.

There was a reason for keeping a low profile. Godfrey Qualls was a Detroit police officer, specifically a motor jock (shorthand for a motorcycle patrolman). Getting caught could mean the end of his law enforcement career. So rather than socialize, he vanished—thus the nickname, the Black Ghost. (Read Kirk Seaman’s definitive account here.)

When Godfrey died in 2015, he gave up the Ghost to son Greg, who had no idea of car’s one-time notoriety as a Woodward Avenue terror. He—and the rest of the world—definitely know now. 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. Now, the mystery-laden muscle car is going up for sale at Mecum’s Indianapolis auction in May.

Mecum broke news of the consignment at the auction house’s Kissimmee auction, going on now, including the Ghost in a special. Parked next to the 1970 Challenger is the “new” Black Ghost, a 300-unit tribute model Dodge is building as part of its “Last Call” promotions marking the current Challenger and Charger’s final model year. The 807-horsepower 2023 “Black Ghost” even has the alligator-hide-like vinyl roof that Godfrey Qualls didn’t particularly like, but settled for, when he bought the Mopar new.

As it sits now, the 1970 Black Ghost isn’t in perfect shape. A nick here, a scratch there—the patina being part of the story, many would argue. “It’s an original unrestored survivor, and it’s in driving condition,” Greg says. “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.”

Greg took the Challenger to a car show for the first time in 2017, knowing nothing of its true lore. Before long, the stories started rolling in. “I began finding out about my dad doing the street racing and stuff. It surprised me. It surprised me a lot. I was like, ‘Why didn’t my dad tell me?’”

Many, including Greg himself, thought he would keep the Black Ghost forever. “The main reason is it’s a chance to help my family, to give them opportunities they may not have otherwise,” he tells Hagerty. “And the timing is right, as it seems like we’re transitioning out of gas cars.

“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.”

So what does Greg think the Black Ghost will bring when it crosses the block in May?

“I don’t know,” he says, “That’s a question I just can’t answer.”

John Kraman, on-air analyst for the Mecum Auctions television broadcasts, can perhaps offer an answer. Mecum is known as a muscle-car specialist, and with Kraman in the midst of the 4200-car Kissimmee sale, we’d say he’s pretty well-versed on the subject.

“Number one,” Kraman says, “It’s been a family-owned car since new. It’s not one of those cars that has been messed around with, and who knows what sheet metal or powertrain components have been changed. It’s original.

“Number two: It was ordered brand-new by Godfrey Qualls and he decided to make it really special with the color, a four-speed manual, 4:10 gears with the Track Pack, plus he ordered it as an SE, something seldom seen on a Hemi car. So it’s an R/T SE, so it has the deluxe interior and the smaller back window, and he added power windows and an AM/FM stereo. It’s a high-option Hemi car in black, certainly the only one like it—there were only a couple dozen R/T SE Hemis built. The car is rare in itself. It’s in all-original condition—the paint, the interior, the engine, and it’s got the story. It’s an urban legend.

“In 1975, he put the car away, stuck it in the garage. And that was it. He went back into the military—he had already served as a paratrooper—took another tour, ended up with a Purple Heart, came back, finished out his career as a police officer, retired. And right before he passed away he signed the title over to Greg.

“There’s a lot of great cars we see,” Kraman explains, “but we don’t know the story. And those stories add so much. But this car is so much more than a story; the hardware is A-list in the muscle car world.”

Even if the survivor Challenger never made its name as the Black Ghost, it would still bring big dollars, the Mecum broadcaster says: “I would think the car, on its own merit, would bring in the million-dollar range.”

Hagerty valuation specialist John Wiley offers more perspective. “Unrestored, culturally iconic muscle cars such as the 1968 Bullitt Mustang sell for well over seven figures, and it’s not unreasonable to expect the Black Ghost might do the same,” Wiley says.

Regardless of the final figure, it’s safe to say that Greg Qualls and his family aren’t taking this step lightly. Their hope is that they will be much better off thanks to Godfrey’s comparatively modest investment in a new Dodge, more than fifty years ago. “I’ll be sad to see it go,” Greg says. “But it’s time.”

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