'68 Charger at auction

[inot2old]

Hi, I am new here.  I am mainly an e body guy ('73 Cuda and '70 Challenger), but I also like Chargers.  I found a '68 project car thats going to be sold at auction tomorrow and was wondering if someone could give me an idea of what I should bid.  The car is pretty rough.  No fenders, grille or front bumper.  The passengers quarter is dented and very rusty the drivers side quarter is just rusty.  The floor pans and frame rails look okay from what I could see. The interior looks complete, although the carpet and headliner are shot and the drivers seat needs to be recovered.  The engine is a 318 and  supposedly runs, it is a auto on the column.  I am looking for a project to do with my daughter.
Here are some pics.

[Troy]

The interior looks to be the strong point. Honestly, I wouldn't pay any more than $1000 and that's only if it runs and drives under its own power AND has a legit title. It's hard to tell without seeing the underside and the extent of the rust though. Both rear quarters are shot - along with probably the wheelwells, trunk, trunk extensions, rear valence, rear crossmember, and corner caps (easily $1100+ in replacement sheetmetal before labor costs). The dent/crease on the passenger quarter goes over the top body line and the repro quarters don't go up that high so that will take some creativity. The fenders, bumper, bumper brackets, grill, grill frame, headlight pods, and vacuum lines/can are not reproduced and can get expensive in a hurry (easily $600-1500 for just the grill assembly and $400-800 each for fenders). The front valence isn't so hard to find and the parking lights can be found repro as well if you have the cash. Plus, it's a low option car - 318, manual brakes, no A/C so the resale value isn't so hot in case you need to bail out. With current prices it's worth more as parts. That interior would go a long way to increasing your budget for a nicer car. Of course, I have a couple in slightly better shape than that and I wouldn't consider parting them at this point so who knows. I can tell you that turning that car into a safe driver will take a lot of time, effort, and money and will only be worthwhile if you can do most all of the work yourself. After further review, I could really use most of that interior so I might go as high as $1500 if it were easy to get home.

Weren't you at Carlisle this last weekend? How close are you to Ohio?

Troy

[inot2old]

Thanks, Troy.  I was at Carlisle, I never got to meet you as I spent most of my time in the swap meet.  I did keep hearing people in the parking lot Friday night and at Grandpa's on Sat night asking where Troy was. lol
I live in central VA.  There was just a note on the car saying it would run, but no battery.  It also doesn't come with a title.  I guess I should probably just keep looking.
Like you said, the best part of the car was the interior.  The dash (except the pad) looked great, I think it still had the original thumbwheel radio.

[Silver R/T]

if you really want it, I wouldnt go over 1k for that.

[Troy]

It seems that many projects come without an interior so maybe you could use this one as a start to complete another car. If it's cheap enough and you have the space to store it then I wouldn't pass on it too easily. It has the delete plate in the dash and the emblem between the gauges so that would put you $40-150 ahead right there. If the upper door pads are uncracked you just saved $500-700 too. Headliner bows, door handles, window cranks, window regulators, vents, wiring, and switches all seem to get lost too easily so it never hurts to have spares. That radio bezel sure would be handy to have too...

Troy

[69charger2002]

i'm gonna throw out a guess of 1500-2000 running or not.. the sum of it's interior parts alone put that car at 1k(cluster $150 seats $400 a pair with good tracks, dash pads $150 or so)..not starting on trim... i will say this like troy did. the back end of that car will be rougher than it looks. for it having a motor, the rear end seems to sag quite a bit. i'd check for frame rail rust if you go spend over 1500 on it.. any less i'd take it as is, and decide later what to do with it
good luck let us know what it goes for and if you get it
trav

[4cruzin]

Looks like an interesting project!!   

[bull]

Boy, I don't know if I'd mess with that one. Without a title, fenders, a grille, and all that rust, etc., it's going to be a pain in the you-know-what to restore. If it goes for more that $1k I'd be real surprised. If you could get it for a song you might end up parting her out, maybe triple your money in parts if what's left is in good shape. It's on the bubble as to whether you restore it or part it IMO. Getting a title might push it toward the restoration side but then it's a 318 car. I don't know, the question is too hard to answer. .

It seems that many projects come without an interior so maybe you could use this one as a start to complete another car. If it's cheap enough and you have the space to store it then I wouldn't pass on it too easily. It has the delete plate in the dash and the emblem between the gauges so that would put you $40-150 ahead right there. If the upper door pads are uncracked you just saved $500-700 too. Headliner bows, door handles, window cranks, window regulators, vents, wiring, and switches all seem to get lost too easily so it never hurts to have spares. That radio bezel sure would be handy to have too...

Troy

I'll just second Troy's posting here, how's that? I'd be real tempted to grab it as a parts car if it's less than $1k. Hopefully a lot less.

[Charger Aficionado]

Titles:  http://www.its-titles.com/

I've used it twice and it worked like a CHARM.  AND it's CHEAP.

[ChargerRob]

I'm not one of the experts here, (no pun intended) but $1000.00 would be the max
and that's only because you could get that money back if you part out the car. The
car looks too far gone to save. 

P.S.  If you do buy it and part it out. I'm interested in all the glass. 

[dodgecharger-fan]

I'd say about $1000 and take it for parts towards another project car. As much as I'd hate to see another Charger get parted out, sometimes that's really the only thing that makes sense.

[Blown70]

Well If the frame is good you have a starting point.  To me that is what matters.  CHECK the torsion bar mount or cross frame.  IF that is good it is a good project to me.

I know where there is a set of 68 fenders and grille if you really need them but they are in ND, and well the guy is not always cheap.

Tom

[topduarte]

That is not a project, that is a headache!!!

[rt green]

did you get it? if not, what did it go for?

[greenpigs]

Since this is a long term project I would go for it and collect parts while waiting for the title.

A little late now but I would go about $1500 but not much higher.

[Blakcharger440]

Since this is a long term project I would go for it and collect parts while waiting for the title.

A little late now but I would go about $1500 but not much higher.

I am with Green on this one. If the frame and torsion bar cross member are solid then this
would be a doable car over a period of time.

[inot2old]

The car ended up going for $2100.  A guy I know bought it, so I will get to see if it gets restored or not.  He says he is going to restore it, but he has a bunch of project cars just sitting already.  Thanks for everyones help.

[69charger2002]

2100. i think that is about right.. 1000 would have been a steal, restorable or not.. all you guys that said $1000, do you realize the parts that were on that car? i could come up with $2500 worth on ebay in 1 minute.. of course if the rails were solid, it's restorable, and worth a little more. if it had been withing driving distance for me, i would have paid $2100 for it in a heartbeat
sadly, it's not 1988 anymore and parts are not cheap
trav

[greenpigs]

It is more of what you want from the car.

If turning a buck was the motive then it would be a good deal, but not a great one.

A project is questionable as it has no title and needs some work to be sure, for me the no title is a black flag and I would have passed anyways.

For a professional stripper like yourself 2002 it may be more doable to strip or piece back together than the "average" Charger enthusiast.

[69charger2002]

professional stripper? come on now, just cause i have a lot doesn't mean i'm a stripper.. i've had 104 chargers, and i think i've stripped 3.. don't drink that hatorade.. i just check ebay quite often and i tend to think i am very familiar with charger parts and their values.. that's all

[greenpigs]

professional stripper? ..... i tend to think i am very familiar with charger parts and their values.. that's all

Thats all I meant by it.

You buy and sell alot so you should know values better than most, not everything I say is a slam.

[69charger2002]

aight chief i'm gonna let you slide this time   

[bull]

I wouldn't have paid $2,100 for it. Maybe 10 years from now I'd be singing a different tune about the same car but I think I'd rather pay $5k for one that's all there and has a big block. But that's just me.

[rt green]

we have a few pro strippers around here, but they usally dont start work untill 9:00. sorry just couldnt resist!!!!

[BigBlockSam]

$2100 is a little on the high end. Rene