whats the dumbest mopar deal you have ever made?

[twilt]

As the author of this thread, i guess  i get to publicly admit to a couple of dumb deals.

back around 1994 i traded a running/driving solid 73 charger with  440 for a Hyundai .  At the time i had 5 or 6 chargers and the now ex wife needed a new daily driver.

around 1990, while stationed at Seymor Johnson AFB in Goldsboro NC,  i turned down a solid running/driving (missing original  hood)  71 super bee with a 440 for $900. The guy had more than $2k in engine reciepts. Instead, i bought a 70 charger ( i had always wanted a 70)  with a locked up 318 out of a junkyard for $1500. that car turned out to be a royal peice of crap. The rear 1/2 of the car was 80% body filler. i ended up parting it out and getting about 60-70% of my money back.
whats your story?

[Nupe]

Missed out on a few Mopar steals, but the one that hurts was a '70 'cuda.   340 pistol grip, black interior, ralles that everybody passed on because it LOOKED like a bondo buggy.   Turned out the nasty looking paint was faded original inviolet.     Guy had my friend and I look at how solid it was underneath and the purple was still shiny.

Original except for not numbers motor.   Not hacked in any way.   Only rust was a little on the rear wheel lips and the lower driver's fender.   Came with a NOS fender for that and NOS lower gilled rocker panels.     Not a complete steal, but I should have known thses cars wouldn't get any easier/cheaper to find in '98.   Sold for $4,000.  

[Lowprofile]

Around 1982, a friend of mine had a cousin who was looking to sell his "hot rod". Seems a irate girlfriend took a hammer to his car because of issues with infidelity. Anyway, I took a ride over his house after work. Remember now, I was 20 years old. Sitting in the driveway was a 1971 GTX. Black, with white interior, 440-6pak, 4-speed, Dana 60 and all the other good options. The girlfriend had dented just about every body panel, the drivers side glass and windshield were shattered, and it was all keyed up. He told me he just had a new clutch installed and the carbs rebuilt. I asked him how much for the car. He said he couldn't bear to look at the car anymore......."I'll take $1200 for it" 3 Weeks before, I had just spent all my savings on a 68 Charger, 318, auto, a/c, etc... $1500!

I had to pass.

BTW, He sold it 2 weeks later for $750.  I hate him.

[Ghoste]

Where to start?  Had an AAR and a 71 Chally 340 'vert, both of which I sold.  Even though that was back in the 80's, I still should have kept them just because they were cool cars.  I passed on a 70 Challenger RT/SE in the 80's because the owner and I were 50 bucks apart.  The car was immaculate and were twice what he was asking but I was too young and stupid to let him "win".  Similar story on a 70 Challenger RT convertible.  We were a long ways apat on that deal but the car was worth every cent he was asking and more but he wasn't moving from his price so I wasn't either.
The dumbest move by far on a personal level was selling the Charger that I had in the late 80's

[TruckDriver]

I bought this '74 Rallye for $700. in '92 the way you see it. It was a 360 4spd car, sure-grip rear. And except for a few small spots, still solid. But when I got it, it had a 318 and a automatic installed. But it still had the clutch peddles. The guy who sold it to me said the original 360 was put into a pickup. But the guy who had the motor, still had the original 4spd & pistol grip shifter that I could buy for a price. It had the Rallye dash with a tach delete (just a blank pod), and a dealer installed hood tach. Since I joined this group about a year and a half ago, I learned there was only 92 of these 360 4spd cars made Anyway, I sold it about 6 month later for $700. then bought a black/silver '86 Shelby Charger

In '99, I paid $1000. for the '69 Charger which was a original T-5 Copper/white top/tan interiour 383 4spd car(had a 413 when I got it). This car still need floors and 1 frame rail, but was restorable. I sold it cause my now EX-wife didn't want me to keep it and not be able to drive it

[Plumcrazy]

Was going to trade my Charger in on a 70 Superbird.   Superbird was $2100, I was getting $1400 trade in on my Charger.
There wasn't an insurance company on this planet that would insure an 18 year old kid with a Superbird.

Did get to test drive it though

[71440bee]

I remember standing in a guys dirveway (early 80's) with my buddy looking at this 70 Hemi Challenger saying no way man. 4,500 is way to much! We were buying 900 mopars at the time so it seemed ridiculous. 

[472 R/T SE]

Around '87, I passed up a deal trading straight across my 68 Coronet RT for a 70 cuda with multi carbs with Jerry Junemann.   I know he knew better, but he was wanting my car.

That same 68 I sold to a guy, he gave me a Honda Civic and $3500.  I still cringe every time I think about that one.

[41husk]

I sold my 70 superbee in 1984 for 2k and thought I had made a great deal! I also gave a guy a 74 challenger that only needed freeze plugs to run ( it would run just needed to stop every mile or so and add water) to help me tear down my 70 Challenger. I also sold a 67 plum crazy Barracuda 273 good daily driver for 2K because my son diddnt want it.  Thats enough I am getting depressed

[Ctcharger]

Selling my 71 Challenger (1st car) for $1400.  That was in 1990.  Then selling my 69 Charger 383 4speed car for $300 minus the engine.

Live and learn.

CT

[jmanscharger]

I sold a 70 Charger to a kid to help him get into Chargers for $500 , saw it on ebay for $3000 several months later. I didn't lose anything on the car, no big deal.
It's the deals I turned down that bug me. Not buying the only four speed car I have seen for sale (back in 2002), a 1969 4 speed 383 Charger for $2500. The car needed quarters, but just no four speeds around here. Also 69 RT/SE driver for $7000...
Recently I could have bought 2 68 projects for $5000 (they were nasty and apart!) I turned them down and watched them both sell on ebay for $5000 each.

[Old Moparz]

Maybe the dumbest deal I ever made was not making the actual deal. Around 1984 I decided my '69 Charger SE was too rusty to bother with. There was no aftermarket sheet metal being made back then, & most body shops would literally laugh when you'd tell them you would get a pair of clean used quarters for them. I hunted for a clean Charger body for a few months, but turned up zip. I then started to open up to other B-Bodies so I could at least use all the mechanical parts & drive train from my Charger.

One car I called about was a '69 4-speed, Road Runner missing it's motor & trans. It had no price in the ad, but you never know. The guy on the phone told me it still had the original paint from when it was a race car. (Red White & Blue) The motor was long gone, but it was still a solid , rust free roller. (Factory Hemi car) After talking a while about Mopars, he said he wanted $3000 for it.

I thought that was high for just a roller when you could still get nice drivers for that money. I got directions to go see it anyway, but then called him back after deciding I didn't want to spend that much for a car that I still needed to find a transmission for. Besides, the automatic trans I had in the Charger was new, so I didn't want to spend money twice. A couple of years later, I saw the car at the Mopars at Englishtown show. It was restored with a Hemi & the (Red White & Blue) paint job. They even put the lettering back on too.

"Sox & Martin"   

[Ghoste]

Ouch.  That one hurt just reading about it.

[ChargerST]

Bought a 68 Charger 318 (my first car) back in 2001. Was a running and driving car only needing quarters and rear valance. I had plans to export it to Europe and restore it. Unfortunately a lack of money forced me to sell the Charger only 4 months later (lost couple hundreds $$$).

Was a red/black Washington car. A friend sold the Charger to someone in BC - don't know where it is right now (I'm looking to buy it back).

If anyone knows something about the Charger (red with black vinyl top, black interior, 318, Washington car, sold 2001 in Langley, BC) please tell me! Have pics and VIN.

Steve

[MoparMotel]

around 1998 my dad passed on a PERFECTLY restored 1970 Dodge Charger R/T 440 Six pack pistol grip console 4 speed numbers matching yellow with black interior absolutly PERFECT for $10,000.


He says that one still hurts today!

[Old Moparz]

Ouch.   That one hurt just reading about it.

It wouldn't hurt as bad if I told you what I would have done to the car if I bought it.      

1)   Strip "old" paint.
2)   Put 383 magnum into original Hemi car.
3)   Pick a new color.
4)   Install '69 SE interior for comfort.
5)   Make it a daily driver in the New Jersey/New York City metro area.

Some things are best if they just don't happen.   

[4forty]

Sold my '70 AAR 'Cuda  /Black Inter/ Pistol 4-spd/340 to pay for a '79 Black Trans Am. Still hunting for it today!

[69fuchs]

Passed up a white with red interior 69 hemi charger 500. Numbers matching block was in the trunk, had a running 440 with the numbers matching 4 speed in it. Driving car no rust issues-1980.   $4500.00   I was only 9 years old, my dad told him he was nuts!!! To much money!!! God, I wish I could have been a few years older......

[my73charger]

I sold my solid good running 70 Challenger to my nephew for $400 in 1985.  The only bad part of that car was that it needed new interior.  Man I am still kicking myself.

[hemigeno]

I passed on an opportunity to buy Phil Painter's 1970 freshly restored HemiCuda in 1996.   B5/black interior, console 4-speed, well-optioned, perfectly restored - it took 2nd place in the 1996 Mopar Nat's.   He wanted to move the car, and offered it to me for $55,000.   That seems like a lot, and it was - but think about what it would be worth today.

Worst thing was, my wife told me to buy it...     

[SirNik73]

when i was in high school i passed on a 1972 Dart Swinger for $400. it was no super car... but it was a Dogde and it had a 318 and when your in high school that is what you want.... i had to fix my toyota!!!!! so no money to buy the Dart  it took me 2 more years til i was able to get my Charger. but my Charger is better then that Dart in every way.

[TruckDriver]

I passed on an opportunity to buy Phil Painter's 1970 freshly restored HemiCuda in 1996.  

WHO???

[hemigeno]

I passed on an opportunity to buy Phil Painter's 1970 freshly restored HemiCuda in 1996.  

WHO???

Phil is from Las Vegas, and is the promoter of the "Mopars At The Strip" show there in 'Vegas.  He also has "created" a couple of cool supercharged cars that have been in Hot Rod magazine and a few other places.

I didn't figure everyone would know his name, but a few on this board probably do.

Here is the front & back side of the postcard he sent me about 4 months later, giving me a SECOND chance at the proverbial Gift Horse.  I torture myself every now and then by looking at this postcard.  Shoulda listened to my wife...   

Oh, and I was one year off...  my chance to buy the car was in 1997 not '96 (not that it really matters)

[41husk]

Geno, I would love to help you make some real bad deals Maybe the vintage truck, the daytona, or maybe the Hemi charger

[hemigeno]

Hopefully I've learned my lesson!  Thanks for the offer (I think...)

[253862656971]

The one bad deal I've made in my short mopar life was a set of pistons for my 383.  I bought them off ebay for about $200.  They were brand new but the problem that I didn't take into account was that the lowest compression ratio I could get out them was 14:1.  That's with big combustion chambers and extra head gaskets.  They got put on the shelf and I haven't looked at them since.

[694spdRT]

I got a few that I should have made.

Passed on an original blue with black top 1969 Charger 383 4 speed with 55,000 miles for $3,500 in 1992.  

Missed a complete #'s matching red, white top, white interior, white stripe 1970 Charger R/T 440 4 speed project car 10 miles from me for $1,000 two years ago. The same year passed on a package deal 1968 Charger R/T, 1968 Charger 383HP, and a 1968 Charger 383 2 bbl for an asking price of $4000. Worst case on those would have been Ebay or even parting them out for a killing. The cars were complete but needing restos.

[twilt]

For chits and grins i will include a bad deal that i did a few years ago that isnt looking so bad anymore because of increases in parts prices.
I used Buy it Now feature (EBAY)  on a 73 or 74 Charger  located  in Maryland, north of Baltimore. the price was $800 or thereabouts. The pics of the car
wer poor , so i didnt really know how good or bad it would be. It did have a power bulge hood, tuff wheel, am/fm and was a power window car, so i figured that i couldnt go wrong, even if i just parted it out.
I had recently bought my pick-up, a 93 F-150  6 cylinder with 5 speed manual. I had my doubts as to whether it would be a good choice to tow the Charger with. Based on bad advice from a guy i work with (the same person i bought the truck from)I installed a receiver on the truck andi rented a tow dolly and my wife and i set off for Baltimore. " It will pull it no problem"
It took us around 15-16 hours to get there as the traffic around Wash Dc and Baltimore was awful. I had only slept 2-3 hours before hitting the road and was exhausted. The car (it did run/drive) was stuck in mud in the guys backyard. it took about 2-3 hours to get it out of his backyard and on the dolly.
I decided to recheck the dolly lights before leaving and they were now completely inop. i decided to drive down the road to a shopping plaza i had seen and try to fix them there.  while driving there, i was completely terrified with how poorly my truck pulled the car and how much the dolly and car pushed my truck around when stopping. while i wouldnt  have minded pulling it  10-15 miles like this, there was no way in hell i was going to pull it 600-700 miles. i was able to get one light fixed, the other side was blown and the light was a sealed assy. At that point it was getting dark and cold. My wife had the bright idea to call a wrecker service and see if they would take it off of our hands. she called one and they agreed to pick it up the next morning. she went into the grocery store , talked to the owner, explained our situation, and they were agreeable that we could just leave the car in the parking lot. i unloaded it, pulled the power bulge hood off of it and put it in the bed of my truck, grabbed the am/fm off the floor and got the hell out of Dodge.  22 hours after leaving GA, we checked into a hotel in Virginia for a liitle much needed rest. all in all, i spent about $1000 for a hood and radio which was a pretty bad deal. However, it looks a litle better now since  prices on the bulge hoods has steadily increased. as far as the car, it turned out to be a very very rusty POS.
while i would have liked the opportuniy to get more parts off of it, i would have unquestionably stripped/crushed it.   

[73dodge]

Bought a 71 Road Runner 383 4spd with the elastometric bumpers and bench seats from the orginal owner for 2500 in 1990. She had all the paperwork including all the shop manuals made for the car. Even had every receipt from anytime she ever had any work done to it.

Sold it 2 years later for double what I paid for it.

Wish I had it back 

[chrisII]

in the summer of 91 i had my first charger, and had blown up the 318 i had in it. it was a nice lookin car  that drove nice, but a bondo bucket. while looking for a new engine i came across a guy in town who had a 73 with a 400, in much nicer shape and an "se broahm" with "leather" interior and a slap stick for the measley price of $300 cash..i messed around trying to wheel and deal so he took it up north an sold it on the indian reservation for $400      i learned alot from that one, im not thrilled by 400s but it still was a kool car

[ChargerSG]

Dumbest Mopardeal i ever made was my 71 Challenger, bought it throu a brokar(living in Sweden you dont have soo many choise, but i learn my lesson and now i do it myself), thought i buoght a car in showclass but that $17100 was just a regular driver in bad shape, had to put 4k just get it driveble and then allot of work with everything from electricalstuff and bodywork. Carbrokers is not poular in my point of veiw...

[Charger Aficionado]

Deal NOT made (but should have done different)...
  Been trying to get a Q5 '69 R/T SE trac pac car for 12 yrs.     Guy finally agrees to sell for only 3,400!!! (His recommendation on price).   I drove down with cash and a rented trailer, but guy was too tired to get up (sick dude)...     Someone happened to stroll by a few days later and offer him a TON (10k) for it a few days before I got to pick it up as promised.  

[ChargerHound69]

That sounds about right.  I don't even keep track of the number of people that say I will give you $10,000 right now if you want to sell it.  I tell them NO and they just keep comming.

The deal I let get away was not buying me a Hemi car of the lot, but who knew they would be worth so much today.
The other deal was Palm Springs Realestate, don't even get me started on what that was going for..

[blackcharger]

When I was in High School, I had a 'POS '74 Torino I was turning into a S&H car. The 351 blew up right after I bought it. A buddy's Uncle had a rusted out '69 Mustang I bought for the engine. A guy from school had a '67 six cyl mustang that he wanted my parts Mustang for the V8. He also just bought a local '69 Coronet R/T. Solid body, just needed some lower 1/4 work. Even had a nice interior. I was out working on the Torino, and here he comes walking up the road. Ask for my help. The Coronet broke down about a mile away. I ended up towing him home. The fuel pump quit. I asked him about the car a couple days later. He TOOK IT TO THE LOCAL JUNKYARD BECAUSE HE DIDN"T WANT TO CHANGE THE PUMP. I shoulda offered to sweap the parts Mustang for the R/T. Why didn't I? Because the Coronet had a column shift 727, and I HAD to have the four speed in the Ford. Oh, as soon as school got out, I went directly to the junk yard........crushed it the day before. This was in 1980.   
That one still pisses me off.

Dave

[RT DAVE]

Not buying 66Charger's 70 V-Code 4 speed car last fall...

[LeeBoy]

In 1988 I was seventeen and had a chance to buy a 1974 360 4 speed Cuda for $1,400. It need a motor so my dad said no. I found out a few years ago there were only a little over 250 made.
In 1990 my uncle traded a rust free 23,000 mile 1973 318 Duster for a POS rusted out Datsun pick up that died a week later

[calchargerRT]

sold a 1970 Coronet RT, 440- six pack (real V code), 4 speed, dana rear, console/buckets, nice shape, for $2,300 in 1985 for college funds. I almost cried watching it roll down the road behind the tow truck, was my first car.

Ian

[DonC]

Selling my 69 B5 blue rt/se sunroof daytona clone in the mid 90's to a fellow in northern BC, Canada,
who then painted it red and have since lost track of it...anybody know of it?

[Dodge Don]

Selling my 70 Charger R/T SE.....FY1 Top Banana hardtop, with tan leather SE interior, V21 hood option......If I'd known then how rare it was I'd have kept it until I had the $$ to restore it. It was restored by the buyer and I saw it at a few shows.....it was drop dead gorgeous. It "disappeared" several years ago. Possibly in the NY state area now.

[itchyballs]

i would have to say the  deal that i would consider the dumbest thing that i idin't do was buying a complete and the guy was driving it too 69 R/T charger. it needed a little quarter work and a trunk pan but the rest was pretty nice on it. i could have bought it for $2,500 and that was last year!!! i already have 2 69 chargers and 1 68 charger but that one i could have e-bayed and made a killing!! oh well...

[71charger_fan]

Selling a 70 Barracuda Gran Coupe with Go Wing for $250 after I had fixed the rust outs. I needed to make room in the garage for the Charger and got tired of hearing that "something has to go."