Anyone know the history of U0A175671 Blue auto console?

[Arnie Cunningham]

Greetings all,
I recently received emails from an individual looking at a Superbird that has been repoed by a bank.  It appears to be a B5 automatic on the floor that is in the middle of restoration.  The wing is missing along with the wind deflectors, the rear window trim, the radio, and a number of smaller items.  The resto looks like ok work quality done by someone who doesn't really know Superbirds - nose seals are installed wrong and there is body color around the headlights.  Part of the story of the car is that, supposedly, it at one time had a Hemi in it and now the original 440 is back in place.  I am awaiting photos of the engine and under side.

Does anyone know of this car, who did the resto, where the original parts went, previous owners?  It is currently located in the south central United States.  Was said to come out of Texas as some point.
I will see if I can move the photos from my emails to this thread.

Thanks,
Brennan

[nascarxx29]

I show a old listing from Aug 1979 RM23UOA175671 described as B5 White Interior bucket seats console auto Cathy Wren Mephis Tennesee.And I do recall seeing for sale ads with B5 white superbird from the TX area .Cant say if this is same car

[Arnie Cunningham]

Greetings all,
The photo file sizes are too large for my phone.  I will upload them this weekend when I get back to a computer. 

[Arnie Cunningham]

Greetings All,

As everyone knows, photos help spark the memory.  Does anyone recognize this car?  It is said to have had white interior originally.

[nascarxx29]

Has it been on ebay before looks familar .As being a automatic car .I see it has a tach Reminded me of this bird Troy looked at in TX with white interior
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,71250.0.html

[nascarxx29]

Not sure but I thought this might be same car.It appears to have same or similar tires and rims

[Arnie Cunningham]

I personally looked at the Motorcars of Las Vegas Superbird.  It is one of the vins that does not show up on the Nascar list.  The vin for this car does show up on the list.  There may be more photos coming.  Does anyone remember a B5 440 car that had a Hemi installed for a while?

[nascarxx29]

Does anyone remember a B5 440 car that had a Hemi installed for a while?  Sounds familar

[mlh180]

just looking for an opinion..this car is up for sealed bids today by the repoing bank. missing wing, build sheet, fender tag, radio, rear window trim and orig carb. i was prepared to put in a bid but the rumor circulating around town is the person who has the missing parts is going to get the high bid which in itself reeks of an inside job.
question is, under these circumstances would you place a bid?
thanks

[hemigeno]

The Broadcast Sheet and Fender Tag are specific for the car and their presence/absence would significanly affect its value.  Everything else could be found elsewhere, although the rear window trim would likely prove the most difficult to source.

If someone really does have those parts, I'd expect a phone call to be placed to the highest bidder (if it's not the holder of those items) - when an "offer" will be made to re-unite the lost parts for the right price.  If the car is actually purchased at a bargain-basement amount, you could still afford to pay off this extortionist/con-man.  It'd be a big gamble though, as who's to say the rumor is actually true?  I'd approach the bidding as if those parts didn't exist, and if they show up later on, great.  Otherwise, you would get exactly what you paid for.  If "the fix is in", you won't win anyway.  Do what you can to keep them honest though.

[moparstuart]

just looking for an opinion..this car is up for sealed bids today by the repoing bank. missing wing, build sheet, fender tag, radio, rear window trim and orig carb. i was prepared to put in a bid but the rumor circulating around town is the person who has the missing parts is going to get the high bid which in itself reeks of an inside job.
question is, under these circumstances would you place a bid?
thanks

figure out what you can afford and place the bid  , if nothing else make the inside bastard pay whats its worth .   He may be the one spreading the rumor to scare people off and get it cheap .

[mlh180]

you guys are fantastic! i was originally in touch with brennan cook, who by the way has been very gracious with his time and advice. apparently he is of the same opinion, submit a conservative bid and see what happens. initially a friend and i were going to bed 40k but after doing some research we found the hardest thing to find would be the rear window trim. even if we were fortunate enough to find a set, it make take a year if not longer.
i have til 5pm today to make a bid and am leaning to a conservative 25k.
thank you for your knowledge and advice!

[moparstuart]

you guys are fantastic! i was originally in touch with brennan cook, who by the way has been very gracious with his time and advice. apparently he is of the same opinion, submit a conservative bid and see what happens. initially a friend and i were going to bed 40k but after doing some research we found the hardest thing to find would be the rear window trim. even if we were fortunate enough to find a set, it make take a year if not longer.
i have til 5pm today to make a bid and am leaning to a conservative 25k.
thank you for your knowledge and advice!

[Dave Kanofsky]

The radio looks to be missing too.  Not a big deal, but a piece of the puzzle. 

25K would be a stellar deal if the whole package is as nice as these few pics show.  Heck twice that would still be a great deal.

[mlh180]

after the bank repoed this bird they sent it to the local dodge dealer to see if it could be documented as the real deal and not a clone. i visted with the dealer and his observation was he was 99% convinced this was an authentic bird with matching # engine and tranny.he did however say there was enough of a doubt that would keep him from placing a bid just to have a 100k vehicle on the showroom floor that he had to tell people not to touch. the cars odomoter shows over 100k, with the knowledge that at one time a hemi was placed in it, then removed, i have no idea how many miles are actually on the engine. all little things that add up to prevent this particular bird from being a documented success. and yes the radio is missing.
i know the car is worth more than what i would bid but i've got to consider any additional work to complete the restoration would be 100% contract cuz i sure don't know how to do it.
it's just a fascinating car!

[41husk]

If you can get it for under 30k, I would say you made a great deal and couldn't build a clone for that price.

[FJ5WING]

 

[mlh180]

hello all!
just wanted to update everyone on the sealed bid process on this bird. i submitted a conservative bid of 25k, needless to say i didn't win!
according to the bank the winning bid was just over 40k.
thanks for all your help!

[rob-dirt]

hello all!
just wanted to update everyone on the sealed bid process on this bird. i submitted a conservative bid of 25k, needless to say i didn't win!
according to the bank the winning bid was just over 40k.
thanks for all your help!

WOW is things really that bad  i think that was still a deal   i would have gladly paid that  

[mlh180]

final update on this bird! apparently the person i had contact with at the bank didn't know the accurate figures on the sealed bid process. today i learned the actual winning bid was $62k...and yes the person who had the missing parts was the winning bidder. sounds like a solyndra deal to me!! rumor has it the guy owed over $70k on it, got it repossesed, stripped the important parts, then bought it back under anothers name and saved over $8k. i guess that's the new way to do business.
merry christmas and happy holidays to all.

[Arnie Cunningham]

Update 2023 I have been contacted by a previous owner who would like to reuite the broadcast sheet with the car.  Does anyone know who the current owner is?  Thanks, Brennan R. Cook

[Arnie Cunningham]

It appears that it sold at auction a couple years later in the 130k range.