Am I dreaming??

[PrisonHack]

 Just got some financial stuff squared away and am able to begin saving hard for a car, talked it over with the wife and have come up with the time frame of two years to put back money and the green light to go ahead on it for a budget of 25K max. I really want a driver quality 1968 car  , even a 318 car would be fine. I want something drivable that doesn't need a ton of body work, I'm fine with less than perfect paint as long as the panels are solid. Am I delusional for thinking I can find one on a 25K budget?

[F8-4life]

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,114578.0.html

This one recently sold here.

[PrisonHack]

That's what I'm talking about, well the back half anyway  . Not that I'm a GL hater it's what made me fall in love with Chargers in the first place, but I don't think I want the extra attention the GL uniform brings and I have become more partial to the '68 tail panel.

[Dino]

I think your budget is reasonable.  It should get you a decent driver that you can tinker on to make it better.   

Don't settle though, there's still plenty of them out there.

[69wannabe]

You should be able to find a pretty nice one for that price I would think. I have seen some very nice cars go for around that price range. Atleast you are thinking in the right money range anyway. Some still think you can pick up a nice running charger for $10,000. I hate to say but you ain't gonna get much these days unless you can kick out about $20,000.

[best-laid-plans]

I need one of those in a 69 version. W/O the General stuff though.

[PrisonHack]

You should be able to find a pretty nice one for that price I would think. I have seen some very nice cars go for around that price range. Atleast you are thinking in the right money range anyway. Some still think you can pick up a nice running charger for $10,000. I hate to say but you ain't gonna get much these days unless you can kick out about $20,000.

Yeah the only cars I've seen in the 10-15K range have been a lot more project than I can handle. I'm a decent shade tree mechanic I've rebuilt a few small block fords back when I had a mustang habit in my 20's, but body work is a skill I don't have. At the moment a ton of spare time  is also a skill I don't have so I don't need a learn body work as you go project either, I'm saving that for when I retire.

[Ghoste]

Drivetrain choice will obviously have a big impact on that initial price too.  If you have to have a big block then the up front fee to join the club is more, some patience and a willingness to drive a 318 car might get you a decent running one in the 10-15 range.  I stress the "might" though.  You are smart to set your budget sights where they are.  Good luck.

[PrisonHack]

Drivetrain choice will obviously have a big impact on that initial price too.  If you have to have a big block then the up front fee to join the club is more, some patience and a willingness to drive a 318 car might get you a decent running one in the 10-15 range.  I stress the "might" though.  You are smart to set your budget sights where they are.  Good luck.

A nice running 318 car would be fine for me, I'm just looking to cruise with my son and drive it to work on the occasional perfect weather days. Not looking for tire roasting HP right now. My plan is a decent driver I can enjoy, and then who knows 5-10 years down the road I may decide it needs to be torn down and turned into a fire breathing R/T clone.

[Mytur Binsdirti]

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,114578.0.html

This one recently sold here.

Sorry, that paint job is just plain horrible.

[Homerr]

It's the worst of both worlds really.

[Kern Dog]

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,114578.0.html

This one recently sold here.

Sorry, that paint job is just plain horrible.

Yeah... Pick a color and stick with it. It looks as if the guy had 2 quarts of orange and a quart of black...."Well, I'll  just make it a two-tone scheme.....

[1974dodgecharger]

The car itself was not bad, but the two tone paint is the hard seller,  you have to question, why?

Overall car looked great....I would of offered 15k then he would of came back at 17.5 and then I think about it.....

[Cooter]

I think it's a great paint job statement. You can paint it black, but deep down, peel away that and all Chargers wanna be General Lees.

[Homerr]

I'm all for GL's being a vinyl wrap that can be peeled off.     

[TUFCAT]

Hmm, its creative but reminds me of what a redneck would do with money. LOL   It's the paint job equivalent to "hey, watch this....!"  - which usually doesn't end good.  

[Mike DC]

If you find a running whole car for $20k then some factor is probably holding down the price. 

A 318/auto can be the cheapening factor.  But cheap solid 318s have been sought-after for 20+ years now and a ton of them have already been restored into $30+ cars with big-block swaps.  These days it seems a lot easier to find 318 VINs with swapped-in 383s/440s, and the cheapening factor is major sheetmetal problems.  The "cheap solid 318 car" is still out there but IMO they aren't nearly as common as people think anymore.

[6spd68]

Not to mention they're hardly "Cheap" by any standard

[68pplcharger]

Nevermind... 

same car was listed at Vanguard for 54,000 so I deleted the link I'm sure the 17,000 was a typo