This is what 40k gets you up north

[HeavyFuel]

https://www.bismanonline.com/1970_dodge_charger_383_4_speed_carnumbers_matching

[hemi-hampton]

$4Ok sounds like alot for a non R/T car needing a total Restoration. Just my opinion, I'm sure others will vary  

[b5blue]

UGH! 

[tan top]

https://www.bismanonline.com/1970_dodge_charger_383_4_speed_carnumbers_matching

 

[tan top]

 

[DD]

The broadcast sheet does not belong to that car. Belongs to a XH29 Base model.

[Mytur Binsdirti]

$4Ok sounds like alot for a non R/T car needing a total Restoration. Just my opinion, I'm sure others will vary  

Agreed, to properly restore that car back to stock is financial suicide. The only way you could make it financially worthwhile would be to restomod it with a 392 or Hellcat engine along with all the usual modern upgrades. However, you'll be into it for well over a hundred grand.

[hemi-hampton]

$4Ok sounds like alot for a non R/T car needing a total Restoration. Just my opinion, I'm sure others will vary  

Agreed, to properly restore that car back to stock is financial suicide. The only way you could make it financially worthwhile would be to restomod it with a 392 or Hellcat engine along with all the usual modern upgrades. However, you'll be into it for well over a hundred grand.

If somebody gave you the car for free you'd still have more into restoring it then what it would be worth

[Mytur Binsdirti]

$4Ok sounds like alot for a non R/T car needing a total Restoration. Just my opinion, I'm sure others will vary  

Agreed, to properly restore that car back to stock is financial suicide. The only way you could make it financially worthwhile would be to restomod it with a 392 or Hellcat engine along with all the usual modern upgrades. However, you'll be into it for well over a hundred grand.

If somebody gave you the car for free you'd still have more into restoring it then what it would be worth

That is certainly a true fact. A quality paint job will set you back 30-40 grand today depending how much metal work & panel replacement is needed.

What I was getting at is that going the restomod route makes the car more valuable than a restored 383 4-speed, although you'd wind up having as much money into it as you could sell it for.

[hemi-hampton]

Not sure thats true, that other guy in here was complaining he's got $over $100k into his resto mod & not done needing like another $50k to finish will have over $150 into it never get that out of it?

[Mytur Binsdirti]

If you farm out the whole project, I can see 200K, but I won't have anywhere near that in mine. I'm doing everything but bodywork.

[Kern Dog]

I have under $10,000 into this car INCLUDING the $5000 purchase price.



I rebuilt the original 383.
The 727 was from another car I had. The differential was a 3.91 SG I had here. The front brakes were in the parts shed out back. I bought a used 2 1/2"" exhaust set. The radiator was a leftover along with The front seats and carpet that came from the red car:



"Jigsaw" runs and drives great. I made frame connectors and torque boxes for it. The wiring was repaired from stuff I already had here. I replaced the trunk floor.

I don't see how a car would cost that much to fix up unless your goal was to recreate a new factory appearance in every way. Out here on the west coast, they don't usually rust and go to crap so after the soft parts are replaced, the rest of the car can usually be cleaned and put back into service.
I'm serious...I have $5000 into the purchase price, about $3000 into the engine and about $2000 into misc other tidbits.
Yeah, having a stash of parts around helps.

[Kern Dog]

Jigsaw will remain as a ratty car for awhile. There will come the day where I will take it apart for a full body and paint job but I'll probably do it all myself which saves a LOT of money.

[b5blue]

Why did you name your car after a power tool? 

[Kern Dog]

"Leroy looked like a Jigsaw puzzle with a couple of pieces gone..."
Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown.
That is a classic song that brings back memories. For me, it inspired the name that I gave the Charger. To me, it looks like a car that was assembled using pieces from several boxes of Jigsaw puzzles and many parts do not match.
It has a Burnt Orange body with reddish primer areas, a green left door, blackish primer left fender, green hood, red right fender, primered roof, yellow front structure from a 1970 Belvedere and a front valance that is two pieces welded together. One is brown, the other green-ish.
Look, I get the appeal of a properly restored car where every aspect looks and functions like new. I just don't have the interest in that for myself. I can have a lot of fun in a car that functions as well or better than stock regardless of the appearance of it. I never went hungry but never had money falling out of my pockets either. Money does factor in with what I drive. I want my late model cars to be presentable and comfortable. They don't have to be fast. I have a different standard for the classics though.

[b5blue]

Okay yea, my Charger is repaired not restored. (So I get your vibe.)

[hemi-hampton]

If you farm out the whole project, I can see 200K, but I won't have anywhere near that in mine. I'm doing everything but bodywork.

So you did the paint work? did it need any metal replacement?

[Mytur Binsdirti]

If you farm out the whole project, I can see 200K, but I won't have anywhere near that in mine. I'm doing everything but bodywork.

So you did the paint work? did it need any metal replacement?

I don't do bodywork & leave that to the pro. That car needed a left side inner fender, roof skin, passenger's floor pan, dutchman panel & understructure, trunk floor pan & minor rust repair on the bottoms of the quarters behind the wheel openings.

[marshallfry01]

If it's running/driving and no subframe rot, it's not too far out of line for prices I see these days. I personally think it's about 10k too high but a lot of people love that ratty look. Put a new interior in it and drive it as is with the patina paint.

[Mike DC]

Is a resto sensible if you spend $30k more than it's worth, but stupid if you go $60k over? 

That's just arbitrary rationalizing. 

In real life virtually all restos are money-losers.  If you are being financially "smart" in this hobby then you are flipping expensive VIN cars at auctions.  You aren't restoring (or driving) any of them. 

[Mytur Binsdirti]

In real life virtually all restos are money-losers.

I'll agree with you up to a point because most people get carried away with too much high dollar customization. It also depends on the car and in the Mopar world, 68-70 Chargers & 70-71 E Bodies are the most desirable & valuable (not including wing cars) & it's not uncommon to see primo priced well over a hundred grand today.

I think that there's a good portion of people in this hobby who like the idea of putting a modern drivetrain & suspension upgrades in an old car while keeping a stock appearance, which is what I'm doing. This aspect may also be the key that keeps younger people interested in these old cars of ours. Does it make financial sense to do this to a 64 Fury? Most definitely not, but it does make a little more financial sense in a car that's more desirable and valuable, which the 68-70 Chargers are.

More and more magazine articles showcase such conversions, so there must be something to it. The latest Hemmings Muscle Machines magazine features a 68 Charger with a modern 392 & 6-speed on the cover .....

The November 2024 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines will cover the topic of non-invasive coilovers and the benefits of updating muscle cars with modern suspension, steering, and braking systems. The article will highlight how these upgrades can improve ride and handling, and increase stopping capability. It will also mention that these upgrades can even save weight in some cases, and that they can make a noticeable difference in real-world driving.

[Mike DC]

I'll agree with you up to a point because most people get carried away with too much high dollar customization. It also depends on the car and in the Mopar world, 68-70 Chargers & 70-71 E Bodies are the most desirable & valuable (not including wing cars) & it's not uncommon to see primo priced well over a hundred grand today.

If you restored a 2nd-gen Charger or Chally/Cuda to primo condition for less than $100k (in recent years) then you must have done a lot of hours of free labor on it.     

Restoring cars is a money-losing operation when it's done correctly.  The profitable cases are the anomalies.
 

Restomods . . . I see those as a different category from stock & near-stock & clones.  That world has more fluctuations and price trends.  Right now, yeah, some of the well-done modern drivetrain swaps are selling for more than they cost to build. 

But even with those, I think people's mental appraisals tend to be low-balled.  A $60k classic car with a $30k Hellcat drivetrain is not a $90k car.   You couldn't get a shop to build you that car for only $90k.  Skilled labor costs money.