69 Charger project

[bjcharger]

I am new to the forum and new to the Charger world. I own a body shop and tow and storage company in Sacramento Ca. For the past 15 years we have stored a 69 Charger on our property. I have recently been informed that we have the "go ahead" to take on the restoration as a speculation project (at this point don't have an interrested buyer). As far as I have determined it is a 383 4bbl, AT, AC car that has never been modified. All of the original drivetrain is intact. Although it has been sitting outside, it has very little rust through. It looks very complete with minimal previous body repairs. I am looking for input on direction to take this restoration (factory vs mild custom, keep 383 or go hemi, factory color or custom). With the body and paint shop at my disposal I believe it's just a matter of making some sound decisions here in the beginning. You cannot offend me; be honest. Just lookiing for input.

Thanks

[Indygenerallee]

Depends on how deep your pockets are! 

[Ghoste]

Stock is usually safest in my opinion.  Its always tempting to start modifying but you limit the customer base.  If you can get a Hemi cheaply enough that might make you a little money but it isnt as easy to make your money back on a simple Hemi swap as it was in 2007.

[33yeartoy]

  i would decode vin plate and see what you really have before you start. might be  a special car or rare spec'd car.

[bjcharger]

I have decoded the VIN and find that there does not seem to be anything extraordinary with this car in options.  383 335Hp motor, 727 trans, max cooling system, factory AC, vinyl top, bucket seats and interior and exterior light package.  Other than that the only real nice thing is it's overall condition and completeness.  I am interrested in having it be a fun project for the shop to get on board with and to make as much money as possible.  We have done some body and paint work on some high-end show cars and am confident the body and paint work can be spectacular.

[33yeartoy]

  any employees car nuts. can get them involved maybe,input.  sense of their project too.

[bjcharger]

Yea I have an old Mopar racer and another guy that has built a copuple of mopars as well.  They are all very excited and all have different thoughts on colors etc.  My thought would be to keep it pretty stock with the 383 ( as long as the block is good) to help keep the out of pocket cost down.  If a bigger or different motor would produce more bang for the buck then I could spend the money.  However, I just want to be efficient with my cash.

[PocketThunder]

What is the original color?  Interior color?

[bjcharger]

Exterior Gold, Interior black

[twodko]

BJ,

Thats a great color combo! My advice...stay true to the VIN, the car will be worth more to a larger group of buyers than a modified car. If it's on the VIN it's on the car. Try not to scrimp on anything, it'll be a glaring red flag to us Mopar soldiers. Also, we need progress pics or they may withhold your secret decoder ring.

[33yeartoy]

   can you send pics before and after shots. 

[bjcharger]

Definitely gonna photo document whole project.  Will attach "now" photos soon.  Thanks for the input.  Keep it coming.

[Troy]

I kind of disagree with the above. It's not exactly a rare car and the only reason you could make good money off it in "as purchased" configuration is if it were a "survivor" - at which point you'd be doing as little work as necessary. The people who can afford to pay big money for a correct restoration are generally looking for something a bit rarer. If you're going to to go through it from the ground up and want to maximize profit then go ahead and change the color and drop a 440 in it. Assuming it is actually "gold" (not one of the darker bronzes) then you're better off painting it black or red. The earth tones were cool in the disco days but now most people want colors that were rare back then. Assuming you have to rebuild the 383, it will cost the same as a 440 (except the cost to purchase a core of course). The Mopar faithful may cringe at pulling the original engine and changing the color but your prospective buyer may not be one of those people. Lots of regular people want a 69 Charger and only care that it's cool and the performance matches the looks/legend. You can always include the 383 in the sale. That's safer any way in case someone blows up the 383. There are so many Hemi specific parts that - even though it's way cooler - it can cost as much for the swap as it does for the car. I think it would be hard to make as much profit even though the final selling price would be much higher.

You could always make it into a General Lee and sell it to someone with more money than brains.

Troy

[Ghoste]

I agree with Troy on a color change but unless you can get a 440 cheap I'd leave the 383 in it.

And as for that GL idea.

[Indygenerallee]

Leave it stock thats good color combo, not outrageous but not a granny color either!! I would stay with the 383!! 

[Troy]

I agree with Troy on a color change but unless you can get a 440 cheap I'd leave the 383 in it.

And as for that GL idea.

Bah! I have 4 extra 440s taking up space in the garage. They aren't hard to find around here - maybe not so easy in California where the cars last longer. The guy who built a few engines for me has 10-12 at any given time just sitting on the shelf.

Troy

[Ghoste]

You should consider yourself blessed then.

[Troy]

Been trying to sell at least 2 of them for more than 2 years with no interest. I managed to sell another that was completely rebuilt already (machine work is cheap here too... at least cheaper than either coast as far as I can tell). It went to California. Shipping a finished motor makes more financial sense than shipping a "core" but, in the end, it costs about the same - and if you can do some work yourself you can save doing it that way.

Troy

[Vainglory, Esq.]

If you do swap out the engine, keep the original with the car. It's probably worth something to the original owner if not much to anyone else. At the very least, it might make it easier to sell.

[Joshua]

If ya wanna MAKE as much $$ as possible....then ya don't restore it....costs to much. Ya throw a "quickie" paint job on it and some seat covers on 'er and sell it....
It's not what most guys here are going to wanna hear....but it's the truth...Ya gotta think like a used car salesman....
There is a car lot close by me....they always have musclecars there....some Mopars....look good from 50 ft.....but are a little "rough" for my tastes (at their asking prices anyway)...yet they sell like hotcakes. Why? Because most people don't know what to look for......

[Kern Dog]

  any employees car nuts. can get them involved maybe,input.  sense of their project too.

W H A T

[surmanajaja]

 
.. and to make as much money as possible ..

if thats your goal then just sell the thing on ebay without doing anything to it. the market for a car like that is not so strong that building it will make any money, you will just lose money on it. if you want to do it, its ok, but dont expect to break the bank with it.

[1974dodgecharger]

Been trying to sell at least 2 of them for more than 2 years with no interest. I managed to sell another that was completely rebuilt already (machine work is cheap here too... at least cheaper than either coast as far as I can tell). It went to California. Shipping a finished motor makes more financial sense than shipping a "core" but, in the end, it costs about the same - and if you can do some work yourself you can save doing it that way.

Troy

damn troy might have to visit you sometimes or get you to build me a 440 etc..with blower and get it installed.....will have to get with you on price etc..in future if thats something you might consider.

[Troy]

Been trying to sell at least 2 of them for more than 2 years with no interest. I managed to sell another that was completely rebuilt already (machine work is cheap here too... at least cheaper than either coast as far as I can tell). It went to California. Shipping a finished motor makes more financial sense than shipping a "core" but, in the end, it costs about the same - and if you can do some work yourself you can save doing it that way.

Troy

damn troy might have to visit you sometimes or get you to build me a 440 etc..with blower and get it installed.....will have to get with you on price etc..in future if thats something you might consider.

Uh, *I* don't build anything. I mostly just store stuff until someone else finds a use for it.

Troy

[Dino]

You're more likely to lose money on this car than make any.  Clean it up nicely and make it a good reliable driver, then put it up for sale as is so you will attract the highest number of potential buyers.  You'll never get a high enough number for that car if you restore it.

Or you can advertise it as an a la carte resto so people with deep pockets can order anything they want and you build it.