Cheap 68-69 Charger. Is there such a thing left anymore.?

[fastmark]

I've talked to several guys lately that have bought really rough project cars for less than 10K. They seem to think they got a great deal, even thought they need all the body panels,trunk pan and one even the rear frame rails. I think both were R/Ts. There are even guys on the board here who have undertaken the same huge task and have the pictures to prove it! From what I've sold and heard of cars sold, things are higher in the last 18 months or so. Is there such a thing as a parts car anymore or is just about anything fixable. I do know where a 68 R/T is that is wrecked hard in the A pillar and door. Then the vandal broke out all the glass. It's not rusty though. With so many want adds for Chargers out there, what is the bottom prices these project cars are selling for?

[charger_fan_4ever]

Paid 5k for my 70 r/t in 07-08. Had a non running 383 in it. Needed it all bodywise except unibody and rails. I had been in the market searching for a couple years pripor and at that point you couldn't touch an r/t in same condition for 10k.

One thing I learned with cars is that we always tend to think "its too expensive not good deal" will wait it out. Then 10 years go by you have no car and the price for the same car same shape has now doubled.

[royo]

Some of the Chargers I have seen you would be lucky to get for $10,000. Maybe I don't know where to look, but I haven't seen any relatively cheap ones.

[Cooter]

There's $1000 68-70 ChArgers out there. Question is, are you willing to dump $50k into one?

[F8-4life]

I'm sure there are still good deals around but just less and less as time goes by.
Also the best cars are not being advertised so you see more of the overpriced stuff online.
Most parts cars seem to be super rough, like falling in half when you move it type of car.
Anything halfway decent would be a fixable car at this point it seems.
I managed to buy two restorable 68-69s since 2010 and I got a great deal on both.
Otherwise I would probably be wrenching on a chevy right now haha.

[myk]

Ain't that the truth. I love my Charger but if I had to do the old-car thing again it'd be with a brand X car.  I've personally inspected built up, plastic cup trophy winning Chevys and Fords that didn't have half the money into them as my Charger does, yet there they are...

[twodko]

'69 4 gear 440 R/T's being the most expensive sought after models.

'O course '69's are the best year to have. 

[kokxville]

'69 4 gear 440 R/T's being the most expensive sought after models.

'O course '69's are the best year to have. 

ain't that the truth 

[Ghoste]

Yep! 

[Davtona]

One thing I learned with cars is that we always tend to think "its too expensive not good deal" will wait it out. Then 10 years go buy you have no car and the price for the same car same shape has now doubled.

Agreed! Cars are always expensive at the time but cheap in retrospect.

[1974dodgecharger]

Ain't that the truth. I love my Charger but if I had to do the old-car thing again it'd be with a brand X car.  I've personally inspected built up, plastic cup trophy winning Chevys and Fords that didn't have half the money into them as my Charger does, yet there they are...

true dat myk....after 6 months ago I found out what I put into my charger I threw away the receipts I didn't need anymore, lol...then realized I could of had 2 built up 454s with blowers chevy chevelles and won many trophies with each car ,but instead I have one good running 68, lmao...

[Mike DC]

 
Take the early 2000s prices and double all the numbers.  Gotta factor inflation in. 

[RGA]

I know of a few, but they are my secret 

[1974dodgecharger]

when I drive thousands of miles this summer im gonna stop in every barn and look for the unicorn of all 1 of 1:

68 charger
HEMI
air conditioning
cruise control
power windows
dana 60
4 speed
late 67 build date with shoulder belts
6 pack

and offer the man 500 dollars......

[Ghoste]

It may not produce the unicorn but it should still be an enjoyably spent summer. 

[UH60L]

I paid $7100.00 for my '69 back in 2004 on e-bay.  It was in drivable condition with a 440 and 727, drove it from Utah to Oregon.  Now, "drivable condition" has many definitions depending on if your the buyer or the seller, hehe.  The closer we got to the end of the auction, the less confident the seller was that it would make it all the way to Oregon...

It had all the seat belts in a box in the trunk, no working turn signals, a tick in the engine, completely broken out aft tranny mounts, fronts seats out of a hyundai, no carpet, no horn, 1 stud missing on the right front, and a single exhaust pipe from the 440 to about the driver's seat with no muffler.

But the frame was good, body mostly straight and the only real rust was in the trunk.  Same week I bought it, there were cars that were basically a rolling rusty chssis going for more than $10,000.00.

I think a barn find where someone just wants it gone is your best bet at finding a cheap one these days.  Sounds like a fun trip, wish I could do that, just drive and look for old Chargers.        

[charger_fan_4ever]

I paid $7100.00 for my '69 back in 2004 on e-bay.  It was in drivable condition with a 440 and 727, drove it from Utah to Oregon.  Now, "drivable condition" has many definitions depending on if your the buyer or the seller, hehe.  The closer we got to the end of the auction, the less confident the seller was that it would make it all the way to Oregon...

It had all the seat belts in a box in the trunk, no working turn signals, a tick in the engine, completely broken out aft tranny mounts, fronts seats out of a hyundai, no carpet, no horn, 1 stud missing on the right front, and a single exhaust pipe from the 440 to about the driver's seat with no muffler.

But the frame was good, body mostly straight and the only real rust was in the trunk.  Same week I bought it, there were cars that were basically a rolling rusty chssis going for more than $10,000.00.

I think a barn find where someone just wants it gone is your best bet at finding a cheap one these days.  Sounds like a fun trip, wish I could do that, just drive and look for old Chargers.        

Must have been a wild ride home lol.

[HeavyFuel]

Ain't that the truth. I love my Charger but if I had to do the old-car thing again it'd be with a brand X car.  I've personally inspected built up, plastic cup trophy winning Chevys and Fords that didn't have half the money into them as my Charger does, yet there they are...

Myk...say it ain't so.

Chevys and Fords grow on trees around my neck of the woods.

When I think about owning a Chevelle instead of my Charger.......oops......I just threw up a little.....in my pants......out my ass.

[myk]

Ain't that the truth. I love my Charger but if I had to do the old-car thing again it'd be with a brand X car.  I've personally inspected built up, plastic cup trophy winning Chevys and Fords that didn't have half the money into them as my Charger does, yet there they are...

Myk...say it ain't so.

Chevys and Fords grow on trees around my neck of the woods.

When I think about owning a Chevelle instead of my Charger.......oops......I just threw up a little.....in my pants......out my ass.

Lol.  I wouldn't do the old car thing again PERIOD.  At this point it's Charger or no car, I just wish I didn't have to pay the premium for owning this thing...

[Challenger340]

No such thing as a cheap one anymore.
Especially when basically "junk" commands these prices ?
no matter....
I can't see spending to "restore" one nowadays anyway ?
Not unless it was absolutely something so special it could justify the expense ?  A unicorn maybe ?

I've seen guys "spend until done"..... and the day they are finished, they are REALLY lucky if they could get back even half of what they have spent at Sale ?
NOT knocking anybody for trying....
just say'in, satisfaction of knowing what you have by doing it yourself, can be a very expensive proposition ? and a poor investment.

[Ghoste]

Although there are likely a lot of guys who enjoy restoring old cars and see the money spent on motorsports as wasted investment they'll never get back.

[myk]

Like they always say, you can't take it with you...

[Troy]

I don't think they were ever "cheap" - at least not in the last 20 years! I bought my first 68 (318 auto) in 1987 when I was 16 for $1,100. Immediately thereafter some chick ran a stop sign and bent the front bumper and bashed in the very front of the fender. There were no replacement panels at Dodge even then and the insurance totaled it out! I kept it and found some junkyard parts for around $400 to fix it. It was a beater, probably hiding rust, and the heat didn't work. I would have spent 5-6 times what I paid just to make it nice.

These days, parts are actually available! That means previous "parts cars" are restorable so obviously the value goes up. I don't believe there are many cars out there worth restoring though (if you assume "worth" means you can sell it for a profit when finished). These parts aren't cheap and any labor you have to pay for will put you way over the top. Buying a "driver" probably isn't any better than a bare shell if you plan on a full restoration. Most of the extra parts you'll get will end up being replaced or restored. I have a couple cars on the back burner that I picked up for a reasonable price before I fully understood what it would take to complete them. Now that I've sort of completed a couple of cars I don't know if I have the stomach for it. Better to break the bank and find one done. It's still cheaper than other grown up toys (diesel pusher RV, Corvette/Viper/911, luxury sedan, and even some Harleys).

Troy

[keith88]

Its true they are getting harder and harder to find, to the point that stuff that used to be junkyard materiel is now restored. I bought mine for $25,000 (Nice looking) last spring not knowing that it needed a transmission brakes and a lot of other little things done to it and thought i got screwed over pretty good but seeing what has sold lately and for how much not sure that is the case even though its a 318 car.

[Dave27]

I bought my 68 Dodge charger R/T 440 a year ago for 5,000. It had sat in his garage for over 20  years. Rebuilt 440,rebuilt trans and came with a mounded over as high as my cab of extra parts.Major downfall was it  had a fiberglass tilt nose on it.By the time i sold all the extra parts that i didnt need i had 4,000 in my pocket but after buying new fenders ,inner fenders,hood from AMD and all the other misc parts and paying my amazing body man to put the front end back to origonal I respent that 4,000.I'm into the car 8,000 or so now . Just need to paint it , and she runs and drives great.

[Mike DC]

I don't think they were ever "cheap" - at least not in the last 20 years!

This.

Popular car-guy memory has this sort of "rolling reset" where everything was cheaper & easier to find until 10-15 years ago.  It's a myth. 

2nd-gens haven't been cheap since the early 1980s.  As muscle-era bodystyles go, they were expensive & hard to find by the 1990s. 

[bill440rt]

I bought my '69 ten years ago as a complete, rusted roller for about $600 bucks.
During the resto, I picked up another '69 parts car which was pretty much a rusted shell, for $400. Both cars were under a 1/2hr drive.

They are out there, just need to hunt. And, be patient and willing to put in some effort.
Or, maybe I'm just lucky. 

[Ghoste]

It isn't just car guys, its everyone Mike.  We all remember that cars, houses, groceries and stamps were so affordable just a hazy memory ago but we can't seem to recall the fact that we made less money then.
Things aren't cheaper or more expensive, we are just dealing in larger increments.

[Evelbist]

in my case this is my first mopar resto. have a dozen smokey bandit cars, a couple of willys pickups, z28s under my belt. but the '69 charger has always been on my bucket list. its just the coolest car (IMO).

i bought a rolling 318 chassis last year - 5K. only needed the trunk pan.

and:

440
727
seats
grille
dash
grille support
all harnesses
all brakes
front suspension redo
rear springs
taillights
steering col
headliner
door panels and pulls
heater box
radiator
all linkages to convert to console shift
console
carpet
glass
window regulators
vinyl top
paint
bumpers

and much more of the little stuff. i'm not complaining. it looks like its going to be a winner. but i'm into it for more than 25K in parts, labor was love.

if i didnt know how to do everything already, i'd have been better off buying a restored car. thats why these cars so expensive. Just my 

[Ghoste]

Do you find its more money than similar condition other cars you've done?

[Evelbist]

much more $$$$.

the scarcity of original parts and of course, the popularity of the car.

supply vs. demand. thats why the car is worth so much. compare it with a 69 firebird (not a TA), and you'll see its popularity gives it the edge in price.