New and a bit rusty

[BackWoodsRanger]

Hello my name is Anthony and 18 years old

I am hell set on getting a muscle car and when I figured if I am going to spend all my money on fixing a car I love might as well do it one one of my favorites. I have been looking for the right charger or a challenger for quite a while and just went to go look at a few. I drove about 50 miles to see these cars. I live in an rural area so it is pretty slim pickings. The guy I talked to didn't know his head from a whole in the ground. He didn't know what engines they had, he didn't know all of them were missing radiators, all he cared about was that you can buy replacement panels online. He claims to have bought 4 of these online for $15,000 and paid to have them shipped to oregon. These cars are in bad shape the floor pans are almost gone, every quarter panel has a rust hole, and the trunk floor has got a hole big enough to fit a basketball through. The rust is so bad on the rear quarter panels you can't really tell the shape of the wheel well.

http://images.craigslist.org/00A0A_2Q88IbaXS7O_600x450.jpg

But at the same time I fell in love with one of these cars. I was so excited driving over there. There is one car that caught my eye, a 68 it was pretty much just a rusty shell, it did have what looked like a 318 block and an auto trans there was no radiator, or any wiring. There was however all the glass and a decent grill with all 4 headlights and all the taillight panel trim. The interior was gone no console no seats, in fact he had three fenders inside the car. he had lots of extra parts for these cars, but a lot if the parts were rusty. He was asking $3600each for three, and $8000 for one with less rust.

I was able to talk the guy down to $2,000 I can tell he is really money hungry. I might be able to negotiate him down to $1500. I decoded the vin and the car is just a plain old charger. I have all the time in the world and am willing to drop every penny I make into something I love while living with my parents. I am pretty mechanically savoy, I did a K5 blazer with my dad and uncle. For $2,000 It is by far the cheapest charger I have seen, I plan to swap in the engine and trans from a donor car most likely a 70s ram truck, and do most of the work myself. I was just looking for some feed back from true charger guys, I don't think these cars will receive the love they need to be back on the road anytime soon, and the only person willing to invest this much time and money on a 318 charger is me. But if you guys think the rust is too much on these cars is too much or someone fixing a charger should be more experienced let me know. I could always start with a duster and work my way up to a charger. This is my biggest dilemma defy all the odds and go for this bad ass charger, or buy better condition duster and be less cool???

Any advice helps

[BackWoodsRanger]

Also that picture is of another 69 he had. The 68 wasn't quite as bad but still really rusty

[Mopar Nut]

Welcome aboard Anthony!

[ht4spd307]

save your coin and go for something that still has a body attached

[Mytur Binsdirti]

Any advice helps

What that pictures shows is a worthless, worn out, rusted out 318 car that was picked apart and relieved of everything that has value. Cars that were junked 30 years ago are being dug out junk yards, fields & woods and because 68-70 Chargers are hotter than ever and because of the repro parts (some of which are inferior) now being produced. Now these once-worthless cars are now being advertised for thousands and youngsters, with visions of grandeur, like you are tempted to buy them not knowing the mess that they are would be getting themselves into. There's a reason that they were junked back then and these additional 30 years have made them even worse.

You are 18 and I would venture to guess that your tools, skills and bank account are limited. Should you be foolish enough to buy that heap, or one like it, you will soon discover that it is will require far more work and money than you had anticipated and you will have far more into it than it will ever be worth. Even if you have 30 grand to spend to have the body work done professionally, what you will always have is a patched together 318 car that will have a value (today) of no more than the mid-20s.


So here's my advice; don't even consider a piece of crap like that.  

[Daytona R/T SE]

I have personally stripped and scrapped better Chargers than this guy is selling.

Run away.

Run away fast.

[tan top]

 Hello & welcome  BWR      

sorry man , this is not the answer your looking for  , !  its what the other guys say !
this is not the car your looking for ..... walk away  better yet run  

BUT having said this , if you can do everything your self to restore a car , properly and I mean properly ! & have the work shop to do it in etc  & your only paying for parts  etc ( prolly going to cost 30-40 k in parts & materials alone  )  , &  you can get the car for next to noting , plus  don't  mind spending  5  plus years of every second of your  free / spare time  working on it ...... go to it !  BUT ,  IMO its only worth doing the resto on such a basket case of a charger , if it was/is a rare optioned & or color combo or a  XP29 G /H four speed , XS29  ,  XX29 ,  J code , or for 1970  R & V codes,  
  you don't need this  pile of shrapnel that was once  a basic XP29  318 charger , no matter  how cheap  , when there are better XP 318 chargers out there ....

no offence  meant XP29F guys  

[BackWoodsRanger]

Thanks for the welcome and the advice.

I guess the only thing that seemed of any value was having a clean title and a being a real charger.

[72Charger72]

I agree with everyone here but that being said can anyone help this kid find a project car that might be worth his time and money. Sounds like he is motivated and we shouldn't kill that motivation and love of MOPARS? My 

[70 sublime]

Welcome to the Charger adventure

Buying one of these cheap Chargers might be a good idea
Everyone needs to learn by doing and this might be the cheapest way to learn to what to look for in your next Charger

The internet was not around when I first started to play with Chargers
Live and learn
I ended up using parts from my first one on the second one I bought

You will not drive one of these cheap chargers on the road

Buy it , learn from it and move on to the next one
It is a proud day when you can say you own a Charger  

I would rather see you learn on a $2000 car then buying a $10 000 - $15 000 full of body filler
Not a single member here can deny that fact

[tan top]

I would rather see you learn on a $2000 car then buying a $10 000 - $15 000 full of body filler
Not a single member here can deny that fact

yeah that's true     

[tan top]

Hello my name is Anthony and 18 years old

I am hell set on getting a muscle car and when I figured if I am going to spend all my money on fixing a car I love might as well do it one one of my favorites. I have been looking for the right charger or a challenger for quite a while and just went to go look at a few. I drove about 50 miles to see these cars. I live in an rural area so it is pretty slim pickings. The guy I talked to didn't know his head from a whole in the ground. He didn't know what engines they had, he didn't know all of them were missing radiators, all he cared about was that you can buy replacement panels online. He claims to have bought 4 of these online for $15,000 and paid to have them shipped to oregon. These cars are in bad shape the floor pans are almost gone, every quarter panel has a rust hole, and the trunk floor has got a hole big enough to fit a basketball through. The rust is so bad on the rear quarter panels you can't really tell the shape of the wheel well.

http://images.craigslist.org/00A0A_2Q88IbaXS7O_600x450.jpg

But at the same time I fell in love with one of these cars. I was so excited driving over there. There is one car that caught my eye, a 68 it was pretty much just a rusty shell, it did have what looked like a 318 block and an auto trans there was no radiator, or any wiring. There was however all the glass and a decent grill with all 4 headlights and all the taillight panel trim. The interior was gone no console no seats, in fact he had three fenders inside the car. he had lots of extra parts for these cars, but a lot if the parts were rusty. He was asking $3600each for three, and $8000 for one with less rust.

I was able to talk the guy down to $2,000 I can tell he is really money hungry. I might be able to negotiate him down to $1500. I decoded the vin and the car is just a plain old charger. I have all the time in the world and am willing to drop every penny I make into something I love while living with my parents. I am pretty mechanically savoy, I did a K5 blazer with my dad and uncle. For $2,000 It is by far the cheapest charger I have seen, I plan to swap in the engine and trans from a donor car most likely a 70s ram truck, and do most of the work myself. I was just looking for some feed back from true charger guys, I don't think these cars will receive the love they need to be back on the road anytime soon, and the only person willing to invest this much time and money on a 318 charger is me. But if you guys think the rust is too much on these cars is too much or someone fixing a charger should be more experienced let me know. I could always start with a duster and work my way up to a charger. This is my biggest dilemma defy all the odds and go for this bad ass charger, or buy better condition duster and be less cool???

Any advice helps

cars on ebay too

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dodge-Charger-/182251020421?forcerrptr=true&hash=item2a6f01e085:g:yhcAAOSwRgJXkF8d&item=182251020421

[tan top]

 

[tan top]

 

[tan top]

 

[lukedukem]

i was once in your position (20yrs old). I took an old mans advice and i decided to save up to buy a better car. i saved for 10 years, worked overtime, made smart money decisions, and kept my eye on the prize. i was able to buy the car i have now. all while going to night classes at the local college and pulling 60hr weeks. it was difficult, and i had the opportunity to buy other mopars, but passed. this is the car i wanted, then with college done and me having a good job the real save was on. when all my friends where buying lifted trucks and such, i had beaters that ran and got me places. i was also on my own when i was 17, so i had rent and all that. be patient and save for something better. sorry about the life story.

Luke

[Lennard]

Welcome to the forum Anthony.
I agree with the other guys, you're still young... save money for a while and buy a better starting point that needs less work.  Don't buy a Duster or anything else if a Charger is your dream car, you will regret that you didn't spent all those $$ on what you really want.

[cbrestorations]

2000...I'll take it lol

[tan top]

2000...I'll take it lol

  , seen this one ! real R/T SE    .....


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dodge-Charger-/272348964952?forcerrptr=true&hash=item3f69436858:g:3eMAAOSwMtxXujPF&item=272348964952

[hemi-hampton]

Why not try to buy his nicer charger he wants $8,000 for. But offer him $5k. Might be a better start. Unless your good at body work buy a solid Charger. LEON.

[BackWoodsRanger]

I guess another helpful piece of information is my goal for the car. I might make some people mad, but I didn't intend to make it like a show car, I just wanted something to get running and driving, I don't care about interior at all. Dont get me wrong the charger interior is legendary. It is just pretty expensive and really not needed. I just need a seat and some gauges, to be completely honest the windshield is the only glass I really need. I was planning on buying one of these, getting a pretty large order from AMD and then putting my welding kills to the test. I figured I wouldn't be restoring a R/T so I don't really have anything to screw up or make worse. I want the bare minimum charger body lines and a loud big block, for now

[red72chrgr]

Are you set on a 2nd gen charger or would a 3rd gen be ok? Sometimes you can find a fairly nice driving 3rd gen for 3k or less.

[hemi-hampton]

It don't look like our advise is helping. In that case, buy it, restore it & have fun. 

[68X426]

I guess another helpful piece of information is my goal for the car. I might make some people mad, but I didn't intend to make it like a show car, I just wanted something to get running and driving, I don't care about interior at all. Dont get me wrong the charger interior is legendary. It is just pretty expensive and really not needed. I just need a seat and some gauges, to be completely honest the windshield is the only glass I really need. I was planning on buying one of these, getting a pretty large order from AMD and then putting my welding kills to the test. I figured I wouldn't be restoring a R/T so I don't really have anything to screw up or make worse. I want the bare minimum charger body lines and a loud big block, for now

You've been watching too much Joe Dirt.

IT AIN"T REAL.




Besides, chicks care about the interior even if you're willing to sit on rusty springs. 

[BackWoodsRanger]

Chicks care about interior is about the most truthful thing I have ever read!