Value of an original paint 70 Charger R/T

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I attended a general car show this weekend with my original paint AAR Cuda. I had a lot of interest in the car. It got me to thinking, so I'll ask a question. First, a little background about my Charger.  I bought it from the original owners son in Dallas, Texas. It was garaged all its life, except when in use. It sat with the carb off from 1980, so the motor was stuck and I had to rebuild it. It's white with a green top and interior. It is a matching numbered  440 motor and  auto trans and has the fender tag, build sheet and all body numbers. All of the car has the original parts(including sheet metal) and dated properly. I had to replace the carpet and the front seat covers. Other than that, everything is immaculate. The body has no rust anywhere. It does have some nicks and scratches here and there. The battery had leaked and caused lots of surface rust in the engine compartment. I knew would that would  eat at the body so I blasted  and painted it. My plans have always been to NOT paint the car but enjoy driving it. Make a few shows and drive to the grocery store once in awhile. I like driving my cars. I've been doing this for a long time and enjoy my cars.
One thing I have learned through the years that these cars are not only enjoyable, they are investments. Like it or not. You can make them a money pit and spend way too much on the wrong car or you can buy it right and, in time, you will make money when you sell. With the cost of paint jobs now days and the fact that these cars had very poor  rust prevention, I think a good paint job needs the front and rear glass out to prepare the window channels and all the old paint off to get some good epoxy rust inhibiting priming down. I could have it done right for a reasonable cost, if I did some of the prep work. Then I would not be able to drive it as soon. I would also be in the same state of mind all my buddies were at the car show this weekend. They has to guard their paint jobs like a prison warden. The general public has not clue about others show cars and how easily they are damaged by kids and or negligence on their part. As it sits now a minor accidental scratch would not be a catastrophe.  My way of thinking as a buyer, I would rather buy a car that I can see the original flaws than be surprised down the road when the body filler falls off on a bump.  So. what do you guys think? Should I not paint the car and do you think an original paint car has some added value? I'll try and post a picture.        

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Hope this works.

[Mike DC]

                                             
Year One does not carry original 45yo factory paintjobs.  

And here's the kicker - they never will.


Preserve that paintjob as it is.  Imperfect is not the same thing as neglected.



BTW - I would urge you to take those super-wide rear wheels/tires off before they bang the rear wheelwells any worse on bumps.  If you want to keep the look then you could hunt up a 15x8.5" set of old Vectors that fit better.

[myk]

"What should I do" questions will always beget the same answers from most of us: "what do you want to do with the car?"  Put the thoughts of dollar signs aside and just concentrate on what you WANT...

[JR]

That's a really interesting car.

I'd leave it alone, doing nothing outside the necessary preservation to prevent further rust.

I would throw those rear wheels in the nearest dumpster, however. On this car, some repro steelies or Rallye's would work really well.

[b5blue]

It's only original one time! Just patching and repairing my 70 I learned that there is sooooo much more involved that you may not be thinking of now!    I'd just stay on top of what you have by halting any issues ASAP. Clean, treat rust and protect as is. 

[tan top]

   try to leave it original !!  as whats been said , only original once  

would love to see  more pictures , sometime  

[1970Moparmann]

They're only original once.  I would keep it asis!

[surmanajaja]

painting it WILL hurt the value. I would always rather buy original paint car than shiny bondo -special. if you dont have to change body panels, dont paint it. original cars are more rare every day...

I dont know about value and  I hate white cars...

[Alaskan_TA]

I would rather see one car like that than 100 restored cars. 

[fastmark]

Don't worry, everyone. The big tires and air shocks were the first things to go! I never drove it at all, so rubbing on the rear 1/4 were never a problem. He had installed headers, a Edelbrock intake and Holley carb, a flex fan, and 12.5 CR pistons. He saved all the OEM parts thankfully. With the proper kick down, the tranny was on the way out. I'll resize a few more pics.

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As you can see, I had to fix this.

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I left this in the car. Can you say factory run!

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This looks better to me.

[hemi-hampton]

Did you repaint engine compartment. I have a original paint & rust free Charger. At one time when I was trying to sell it I found out 95% of the people could care less about original paint & most people just want shiny new paint. LEON.

[fastmark]

Yes, I had to paint the engine compartment because of the battery spill. The rust would not stop.

[Daytona R/T SE]

Yes, I had to paint the engine compartment because of the battery spill. The rust would not stop.

You may as well go ahead and paint the whole car then.

Just my opinion...

For what it's worth.

[F8-4life]

Leave it original.
Or worry about fresh paint.
Up to you.

[BananaDan]

Nice car!  Have you stopped by the 1970 Charger Registry?

[73rallye440magnum]

Absolutely do not paint it! Preserve the original finish.

[Ghoste]

Yes, do whats needed to preserve whats there and do it for the value of things like that factory run not because of worrying which way can get a few more dollars if you sell it.  You've already painted the engine bay (right decision too btw) so it doesn't really qualify as a survivor per se.  With the words survivor and all original being thrown around like confetti nowadays and a guy trying hard to legitimize a phony 70 Six Pack Charger with a/c, preserve it and love it for what it is.

[hemi68charger]

Having owned an original paint survivor, I vote for keeping it original as much as you can. I know it is a challenge sometimes, but there are few people who can claim "original paint car"......

PS: like you mentioned, keep the drips...... 

[hemi-hampton]

I would just take A rubbing wheel to it & rub & Polish & glaze original paint to a shine. LEON.

[DAY CLONA]

For me "original paint" would have to be flawless or reparable at minimum to be flawless, and in the color I desire, otherwise, repaint time, in this case Black would be awesome on this 70 Charger, and the "original paint" just becomes that much less I would have to remove for a repaint if it was my car

[bill440rt]

Is that really a green longitudinal stripe?    
Man, that is a cool color combo.

Like others, if the body & paint is in nice original condition I would try to buff & detail what you have. Obviously you've done the right thing already by repairing the apron rust. Rust will never get better, only worse, so it's good that you took care of it.

More pics, please! 

[fc7_plumcrazy]

Having owned an original paint survivor, I vote for keeping it original as much as you can. I know it is a challenge sometimes, but there are few people who can claim "original paint car"......

PS: like you mentioned, keep the drips...... 

I agree 100%
You can paint a car 5 times a year but it is only once original

Carsten