Good price for 68-70 project?

[h76]

How much should somebody expect to pay for a 68-70 project car?

[Ghoste]

It depends on how much project you want to take on.  A better place to start might be how much do you have available and someone can likely give you an idea of how much car you'll find for that.

[DanishDude]

Well, what would be a likely car for $10K in a 383/727 center console automatic(!) NMN '68 be then, please? Hunk o' rust? Rolling chassis? Driving? I obviously don't mind a larger engine, but trying to be realistic as well, since I am unable to tour the countryside in the US to look for that elusive R/T survivor. 

Hope this isn't considered threadjacking, but I am tring to figure out how much I need to come up with for a nearly rust free car with all cosmetic parts in place in serviceable condition. Importing spares from the US would be expen$ive in shipping alone, so I believe it makes sense to pay more up front in order to get a more solid body/interior. Engine and trans is less of a concern, we can fix or find those over here. 

Frank.

[Rack]

IMO if you're looking for a nearly rust free car then you aren't looking for a project car. 2nd Gen chargers are nearly 40 years old, the only ones that are rust free or "nearly" rust free are the ones that have already been restored.


JMO

[bull]

If you could find one rust free (and I seriously doubt there are any that haven't been restored once) I would expect to pay more than $10k for a 318-383 and more than $12k for an R/T 440. Most people cannot even touch a Hemi. If I could find a rust free Charger that was complete but needed an interior, restored gauge set, dash plastic, paint, engine and trans rebuild, new top, grill resto, etc., I'd still pay $12k for it. If it needs rust repair cut that price by $4k or $5k. 

[JimShine]

Yeah, as said above a survivor in solid shape is not a project car. You will have to pay dearly for something along those lines.

[h76]

What do you get for $5000-$7000?

[autodynamics]

YOU CAN GET A SHELL......

[bull]

What do you get for $5000-$7000?

If you look around locally for unadvertised Chargers that may or may not be for sale you might find one worth buying in that price range. I would be very surprised to find one without rust, however.

[JimShine]

For $5-7K I would say you should be able to get something that requires some sheetmetal work (quarters, trunk pan, maybe floors), very worn or incomplete interior and a 318 or non numbers matching 383.

[Charger_69]

  I just sold a 69 tub/shell with door frames and decklid for $1600 needed trunk floor,rust repair in rear 1/4s and around rear window , i tried selling it 95% complete for $6 K, all i got was just tire and email kicks.

[h76]

Not much out there for under $5000 that won't require lots of work?

[Chad L. Magee]

You might luck out, but that requires you to be actively searching all of the possible resorces to find the car, including going out to the backwoods areas and asking around for old cars from the locals.  The main problem that you are facing is that the parts values well exceed the price range you are looking in for a really nice, rust free driver charger.  69 Griilles go for between $500 to 2000 depending upon condition, fenders are $500 to 1000 apiece for really nice ones, and the list goes on and on.  You are in a delima as most of the Chargers that you want have become targets for parting out due to the value of the individual parts.  My advice is to save up as much money that you can and buy the best Charger that you can find.  If you start with a rough project, it can cost you more than the car would be worth overall.......

[JimShine]

Not much out there for under $5000 that won't require lots of work?

They are not many out there under $12K that do not require lots of work.These cars are 37 years old. To find something ready to go means someone has been working on it, buying parts and most likely seeing what they are worth.

I agree, save up and buy the best car you can. You do not want to have to buy the non-reproduced parts for these cars, so buy as complete and decent as possible or it will cost you more money in the end. My goal was to buy the best body I could find with mechanicals being secondary. I felt I could transplant an engine and solve alot of problems for little money compared to buying something that ran great, but had a rough front clip.

[greenpigs]

For $5-7K I would say you should be able to get something that requires some sheetmetal work (quarters, trunk pan, maybe floors), very worn or incomplete interior and a 318 or non numbers matching 383.

\



It should run if it is a 318 for 5K.

[h76]

I am considering a 68 that is solid (complete body that has some filler in it-solid frame,floors and trunk pans good).Complete black interior(not ripped up),good glass,grille,tailights,bumpers,etc. Missing motor, tranny,and radiator.But this car would run and drive if it had a drivetrain stuck in it.Big block,column auto car.What would you pay?

[JimShine]

Yeah, but try finding a 318 car complete and roadworthy for $5K. That is a bargain price even for a small block car if you can drive it home.

[h76]

Sounds like anything below the 5000 range is treading in basketcase territory.Is it better to go after a 68-70 needing mechanicals rather than one that is complete but needing extensive body and frame work?

[69charger2002]

personally, i'd rather pay 7500 for a nice REALLY clean 68-70 BODY with no motor or tranny, than one that runs and drives, but needs tons of sheetmetal work, for 7500, regardless of motor. mechanicals are much less of a headache than body work, unless you are one of the rare few who can do that yourself. assuming you're not, the body on these cars is by far the most important part of what you will pay. good bodies have become as scarce as hemi cars, and most people that have them know what they have

[Bandit4142]

I paid over $12k for my '69, but it came with a great body, new glass, new interior and 3 parts cars.   Unfortunately, out of the 4 motors I received with the car, none of them are worth the time to install....   

They are most certainly getting harder, and harder to find........ especially at an affordable price.    Good luck with your search. 

[DanishDude]

Very interesting comments, seems I am not completely out in the woods here.

First a slight correction: When I said 'nearly rust free' I didn't mean spotless, far from it. Here in Denmark the climate is a bit like on the US east coast, and saying you don't mind rust usually means you get cars offered, which has been parked in a field for 20 year. Read: The paint is what keeps it together.

Our little group of four gearheads are currently (and slowly) working our way through a '66 Buick Skylark, an original Danish car. Parts of the chassis has been patched with plates to a degree, where one is unsure where one patch starts and the next overlaps. No problem, that is solid work and quite serviceable, and the rest of about 10 areas or so, which needs new metal, will be fixed as well. On this body we counted at least 7 (seven) different coats of paint and primer (14 layers) before stripping!

So it is not that we mind restoring previous restorations or repairs. Only that I am wary about 'body filler plus paint' restorations of which my friends have seen a fair number. To that end I prefer having to weld in some new metal, assuming I wouldn't be looking for complete fenders, frame rails etc. Also somebody else's failed and boxed up project might be problematic both due to transport difficulties and due to never knowing if all the parts are there.

personally, I'd rather pay 7500 for a nice REALLY clean 68-70 BODY with no motor or tranny, than one that runs and drives, but needs tons of sheetmetal work, for 7500, regardless of motor.

That is what I am talking about. Also remember that I will have to pay through the nose for having the thing shipped across the Atlantic, with import taxes added in the end.

There is a level of disrepair below which I suspect it simply might not make any sense for me to buy a given car, due to the added base costs.

Additionally I am not in a good bargaining position, since 'tire kicking' is not really an option, unless I am fairly certain I want a particular car. So I might want to figure out when I am offering a seller a really good price, and when I should start to back off. 

It sounds like $10K isn't far off for a reasonable project car sans engine and transmission.

Frank.