Found a 69, what should I do??

[Goodolboy]

Hello all,
Have been looking for a 69 charger for some time now.
Update: Decided to let this one go for something 1. Closer to Ottawa and 2. thats been more of a restored driver. Thanks for everyones input.
Will

[68X426]

Sounds way overpriced to me (first impression).  Could be 210k miles, not 110k miles.

Lots of uncertainties so you better have an ace mechanic and a body man along to inspect.

[Goodolboy]

Lots of views, what I need is some feedback Help me.
Thanks,
Will

[green69rt]

These old cars can be gems or garbage and the only way to tell is though a lot of inspection and even then stuff is missed.  If you don't have experience on what to look for then find someone to help you out.  Having said that then unless the car has been garaged all its life or undergone a previous restoration then here are some things to look for.

Pull up the carpet and look under the drivers feet and passengers feet at the floorpan.
Pull up the trunk liner and look at the trunk floor.
If you can't pull these up then put the car on a lift (don't try by laying on your back, you can't see enough) and look from the underside.
Take a screwdriver and poke around a lot!!!!  on the frames.
Look carefully around the window trim (front and back) to check for bubbling paint (sign the window frames are rusted out.)
From underneath, look between the floor pan and the rocker to see if you can tell the condition of the rocker.

There's much more to be done, this is only a start.  If all this comes up ok then the car may still be priced too high, all depends on what it's worth to you.  Hope this helps.

[NGC414]

I would take a good look at the body and body work. Was the car previosly white? If not ask him why they chose white. White will hide body work better than most colors. I don't think 12.5 is high at all if the car is solid, starts and stops. Does he have any pics of the restoration? I would want to know that the rust was cut out and replced with metal. If it's packed with bondo, aluminum tape and fiber glass floor patches then it's no longer a good deal. If it was me I would inspect the body and structural parts very close. I wouldn't expect a pristine charger for 12.5. If it needs some tlc it's still a good price IMO.

[Goodolboy]

Well, was told it's definally not a rust free car, had a freshen-up body job done to it and had some patch panels put into it but was never restored so to speak. Yes, it was originally white. I guess the best thing is to bite the bullet and take the 8hr drive and will know better then. I now its not a show car, I just want a nice looking cruiser and this could be freshed up a couple years down the road I guess?
Will

[Goodolboy]

BTW, appraisal from last year was $8500. What is that telling me?

[AKcharger]

Buy it

[NGC414]

If it appraised for Only 8500 last year I would imagine it is alot rougher than it looks in the pics.

[Highbanked Hauler]

BTW, appraisal from last year was $8500. What is that telling me?

     I'd say that is a more realistic price BUT I am watching the rust bucket from hell on epay that is over 3K  already and probably needs every panel that AMD makes for it.

[Daytona R/T SE]

In addition to the above, I'd take a floor jack, four jack stands, a large sheet of cardboard to lay on, a large pair of channel lock pliers, and my "pointy" body hammer.

Get that sucker up in the air as high as you can safely get it (As mentioned above-a lift is much better, but sometimes you have to improvise) Then I'd take the channel locks and SQUEEZE the frame with them....ALL OF IT from front to back.

Don't forget the torsion bar cross member.

Don't be afraid to apply some serious pressure, if you hear a crunching noise, or see the frame start to collapse, STOP.

Take the body hammer and give any "suspect areas" a good wack with the pointy end.

If the frame crunches, collapses, or your hammer goes through it...

Pack up your stuff, and go home.

Unless you can get it for WAY cheaper.


It's a northern car, that has been "prettied up"

Chances are very good there is hidden rot, probably structural.

If that's the case, it's gonna take big bucks to fix it.

Before driving eight hours, I'd see if there are any members close by that would be willing to check it out for you.

[vancamp]

In addition to the above, I'd take a floor jack, four jack stands, a large sheet of cardboard to lay on, a large pair of channel lock pliers, and my "pointy" body hammer.

Get that sucker up in the air as high as you can safely get it (As mentioned above-a lift is much better, but sometimes you have to improvise) Then I'd take the channel locks and SQUEEZE the frame with them....ALL OF IT from front to back.

Don't forget the torsion bar cross member.

Don't be afraid to apply some serious pressure, if you hear a crunching noise, or see the frame start to collapse, STOP.

Take the body hammer and give any "suspect areas" a good wack with the pointy end.

If the frame crunches, collapses, or your hammer goes through it...

Pack up your stuff, and go home.

Unless you can get it for WAY cheaper.


It's a northern car, that has been "prettied up"

Chances are very good there is hidden rot, probably structural.

If that's the case, it's gonna take big bucks to fix it.

Before driving eight hours, I'd see if there are any members close by that would be willing to check it out for you.

I agree with above  i saw a mustang that was supposed to have been restored the guy brought in to a shop i was at for an appraisal and they put it on a lift and the frame rails had been filled full of bondo and sprayed with undercoat it ended up needing frame rails and quarters due to hidden rust