Newbie - question on a '72 Rallye

[41husk]

I really appreciate all of your input!  Very helpful!  I honestly haven't really found anything out there for sale that is much less, unless it's something that would be a real project.  I don't have the knowledge to do a project car just yet.  It's something I want to get into down the line as I learn more, but I really wanted to buy something that wouldn't take MUCH work from day 1.  I know I'm going to be putting some work into this car, but it seems to be something that hopefully doesn't take too much from the get-go.

Thanks again!  I'll let you know how it all turns out.  If I pull the trigger, I should have it by Friday or Saturday at the latest.

I don't think from the pictures, you will regret buying, if you do.  I hope if you buy it you take it down to Monster Mopar in St.Louis.  I would still suggest you find some one near you to exam-in the car before you pull the trigger.  You said you don't yet have the skill for a full blown project. I have done several cars, and never built one for less than I could have bought it, and there is always something that I had not figured on that a friend may have found.  That being said I would not trade for anything the knowledge I have gained doing those projects or advise from this site, for anything.  Let us know what you decide, and come back rather you buy or pass.  You will find many knowledgeable people  and support here.

[Brock Samson]

 Also note that the thick bumble bee stripe on the back of the '72 in question is not stock. I suspect it's a pretty good paint job looking at the pics and in fair to very good condition,.. But you've seen the car up close right?..
That said my own feeling is I don't like the Color Combo and sure don't like the later Yr. grill and damn that air cleaner is tiny!   but,..  if the price is right for you - and your willing to fix and/or live with it the lack of obvious rust and over all condition is a really good thing.
Have you driven it?.. Does the AC and all the gauges work in an acceptable fashion?..  
Just my 2 cents...
PS it needs center caps for the Ralleys... Just sayin...  

[chadtrease]

I'm going to replace the rally wheels either way.  I'll keep them, but they'll be stored.  The compressor on the A/C is not working right now, and the speedometer isn't working either.  He thinks that's just a cable, and he's going to try to fix it tonight.  The paint job is very good, and I know the rally strip isn't stock, but I really like it.  Of course there are minor imperfections (it's black, so you can see it all), but it looks damn good.  I'm definitely going to change out the air cleaner too.  I know the color combo is something that some people love and others definitely don't, but to me it's what I would paint it myself...

[Rallye]

Let us know how it goes... 

[41husk]

   Best of Luck !!!

[ralley72]

If you want someone to look this car over with you, I would be more than happy to assist you if this car is local to KCMO. I have some knowledge about the 71 thur 74, could be a sounding broad for you. Love the 72 Rallyes No worries about me trying to buy it out from under you, I'm too car poor now.
Let me know with PM or on this thread.

Mike

[E5 Charger]

Good luck with the car, it looks great! Easy to bring it back to a 72. Offer what you are comfortable with and enjoy it.

[Wicked72]

If the car looks as good as the pics close up then please for the love of god buy that car! Its beautiful! If it decodes as a real rallye then I would pay it. Good luck!

[chadtrease]

Thanks for the offer Ralley72.  The car is actually in Iowa, so it won't be in KC until I own it, but perhaps we can meet up at some point so you can check it out.  I'd love to see what you've done with yours as well.  I definitely can't pass up some advice from someone who knows a lot about the 3rd gen's and especially the Rallye.  I'll touch base with you when the car is officially in KC (hopefully Friday or Satuday).

Thanks again!

[71383bee]

I was looking at that car on coyote classics the other night.  

http://coyoteclassics.com/classic-cars-for-sale/vehicle-detail.aspx

For starters I have the following concerns:

It does appear to be a 72 rallye because of the hood, dash, sway bars, louvered taillights and doors, but the fender tag is not posted and as stated it should have A57 in the tag unless its a Lynch Road car...BUT

1.  It has a 73/74 grille and bumpers.
2.  It has incorrect sidemarkers
3.  NONE ever had a white painted power bulge they were organisol from the factory
4.  It is missing the correct strobe stickers in the doors
5.  NO 71-74 chargers EVER had bumblebee stripes
6.  I stand corrected
7.  It is missing most of the chrome trim around the front
8.  The antenna is missing
9.  No trunk lock
10.  The trunk emblems are in the totally wrong side and are wrong for the car too
11.  The interior upper panels are shot from water or saturation
12.  It appears that a cap is on the dash pad
13.  the brake pedal is NOT a 72 piece
14.  I stand corrected
15.  It is missing a lot of the correct upper seat belt hardware
16.  It has an incorrect rear view mirror
17.  I stand corrected
18.  The trunk is obviously spray bombed in rattle can black from the sloppy runs
19.  The plastic coated wiring in the trunk is a definite sign of modification which could easily indicate wiring issues
20.  The engine bay has obviously been givin the krylon touch as EVERYTHING is painted black which to me is always a very BAD sign.
21.  There appears to be rust (or original paint) by the hood hinge mounts

I don't want to rain on your parade here, cause you seem genuinely excited and as a 71/72 lover i fully understand the excitement in finding a true 72 rallye (which I believe it is).  NOW with that being said I think the price is flat out ridiculous for a car that I think will need quite a bit of work to make right.  I hate to say it, but it looks to me like this car received a quickie maaco style restoration with various parts from other cars.  Again it is just my   here, but I would have long list of issues that would need to be addressed here or a serious price reduction before I would spend that kind of $$$ in this economy.  At a minimum before you pull the trigger I would recommend you get the fender tag and decode it to see what it is before negotiating.  

[chadtrease]

i have decoded the fender tag.  it is a true rallye (a57)...factory triple black (tx9).  I know there are some issues, but I feel that it has the bones of the car that I want, a great paint job (even though the rally stripe isn't true to the 3rd generation).  you can view the fender tag on the video shown online.  they zoom in enough to be able to decode it.   I guess many of the issues you listed just aren't major concerns for me, given the rest of what is there.  if it was a perfectly restored, matching number '72 Rallye then it would be worth close to double what I'm paying for it.  I do appreciate your feedback though...don't take my remarks the wrong way.

[Daytona R/T SE]

Back seat is out of a front bench seat car.

The front frame rail looks like it may have been "Doctored"

The vinyl top is bubbling/lifting in a few spots, that means hidden rust.

The passenger side floor board has had a patch welded or glued over a BIG hole.

Black spray bomb paint EVERYWHERE.

WAY too much money for a car that has that many hidden issues...

Proceed with EXTREME caution, and have someone that knows what they're looking at check it out for you...

[71383bee]

Ok just saw the video...it really does it NO justice.  13k for a car with valve tick, the kickdown not connected properly, does not even have all of the studs and lug nuts on the wheels, the right side rocker trim is missing, the vinyl top is bubbling, the dutchman shows signs of rust/water issues, and non functioning taillights to boot seems more than a bit steep.  too me these are WAY more than just few issues for that price.    

Hey man its your $$$ but if your serious about this car I would much rather get it straight from someone.

I take back the TX9 issue and the issue of the buckets, but something just don't look right to see all of that obviously shinny paint and everything else very sub par...this thing has an HLPAG taste all over it...

[chadtrease]

I guess I will hold off and sit on this for a bit.  The vinyl has been fixed since the video was shot.  the tail lights also all work.  as for the engine, they did a compression check, and it came back 123-125 all the way around.  I know it's not gong to be perfect, but I'm starting to think twice.  Thanks for your comments.

[Nacho-RT74]

Where is NACHO ??

bumpers are correct 72 ( only rear bumper with jack slots was in 72 )

grilles are 73/74 SE... due the guards ( 73 ) I guess from a 73 SE donor

bumper guards ar ALL DeLuxe 73, BUT they are reversed... rears are in front, and fronts are in rear

thast on a fast overview

sorry guys I have been busy today

AND WELCOME!

now will get into details on its worth if you want.

[Nacho-RT74]

OH, and AC lines are incorrect too... the one going to condenser from compressor must run at a side of the battery, what makes me think condenser is 73/74 with dryer mounted just right in front of condenser. 71/72 dryer is at passenger side inner fender.

about the moldings... without get into the tag, you could get not belt moldings on any car. but it has missed for sure some ones at the front and rear ( just hood makes not sense )

fancy sidemarkers

bulge hood finish and bumble bee, definitelly custom job... after that, is logical not decals at louvers

true about pedals, they are 73 and lates

and, well.. no trunk cilinders, some emblems missed and wrong located, dash cap, etc... some stuff what will get you into the RESTO world

FUNNY HUH!!!???

[chadtrease]

wow.  Thanks, Nacho.  If you have time, feel free to look at all of the pics of it online and the video.  If you saw all of that in 8 pics, then I'm definitely interested to see what you think with all of the detailed pics and the video.  I'd love to hear your final opinion on where this thing should be priced.  Thanks again.

[Tilar]

Dave I remember your post when purchasing your car and I am sure most 3rd gen guys would agree, you got a heck of a deal on that car.  I feel those deals are out there but most of us will dye waiting for them.

I guess I remember seeing a few really nice 72's with hideaway headlights that people couldn't hardly give away. I remember ixelerate had a real nice 72 for sale for a long time for $6500 and I don't know if he ever did sell his. I don't remember if any of these were Rallye's though. Is there that much value difference between a standard 72 and a rallye?  Hell I have 3 ex wives so yeah I have been wrong before, .... and yes all my ex's live in Texas. 

[chadtrease]

I think there are pretty major price differences between the 72 Rallye's and 72 non-Rallye's, from what I've seen.  There were only about 4000 Rallye's made in '72, and lot's of people seem to consider that car to be the last of the muscle car era.  If there was only 4000 made 38 years ago, who knows how many are still out there today.  I'm far from an expert, but I've read that quite a bit as I've done research on the car.

[Brock Samson]

 I'm no expert - but it seems there must be one hell of a markup between the stock '72 a rallye '72 and the few 440s especially a 440 with a four speed... I do believe I've seen at least one triple black 440 4 Speed SE and that's what I'd want/clone...   got to be at least a $10K price spread between them at least depending on Cond. of course.
  How common were sunroofs on these?  I've seen a couple..  
as a side note i remember in '72 I was 15, and it was quite obvious when the magazines previewed the '72 models that the real Muscle Car era was passed and the '72s were not quite the torque monsters the earlier R/Ts had been.
it was also obvious to me who read all the Mags. that Mopars still fared better then the brand X, FoMoCo and American Motors products. Seems a creative mind with a factory Order Form and a dealer who cooperated could still order a pretty potant muscle car, like the couple Six-Pack Chargers known to exist, any of you 3rd Gen. experts know If any Plymouth GTXs or Road Runners were delivered with Six Barrels?..

Sorry for the side track down memory lane Chad... 

P.S. search the "Kansas Mafia"...

[NHCharger]

Welcome to the site, from another 3rd gen lover 
I have been looking for another 71/72 Charger since last October and have recently given up since I thought everyone was still living in 2005 as far as what they were asking price wise.
My 
I wouldn't even consider buying a car without looking at it.
The under side looks real solid but as mentioned there is a patch in the floor.
A real purty paint job can hide a multitude of sins.
Looks like a spray bomb went off in the trunk, how hard would it have been to remove the wires first.
A lot of parts are not reproduced for these cars (like the grilles)so you will sometimes see cars cobbled together. This car was definitely done by someone that was just trying to put it back together with whatever parts they could find. Since it's not #'s matching I wouldn't have a problem with it except for the ugly 73/74 grill.
Looks like the inside of the doors were dyed or painted. If they used the el cheapo vinyl paint you buy at PEP Boys it will come off the first time you rub a fingernail against it.
Is this car worth 14k, to the right person yes. However, he should have been happy with the 12k offer.

[chadtrease]

Thanks, NHCharger.  I told him this morning that I'm going to hold off for a bit and brought up many of the issues that were recently posted.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do at this point, but I'll definitely take a trip up to Iowa to see it before I pull the trigger (if I pull the trigger).  The price is sitting at $12,700 right now, and based on the recent comments, it still sounds pretty high...Thanks for taking the time to post your 

[NHCharger]

I talked to this guy about his Charger last winter when he wanted 13.5k, now down to 9k. Has 7k into the motor. Only problem is you need to run a mix of 93 and racing fuel so the engine doesn't ping. A board member was going to check if out for me before I decided to pass.


http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/1835482920.html

[Nacho-RT74]

since 72s the diferences are on body and equipment, not anymore about engine. You could get allmost same drivetrain on any model being not a Rallye EXCEPT 340 whta is was available on Rallyes. Doors and hood is what makes them more special, then tail lights and rear sway bar. Rest was optioned on anymodel.

Hideaways were standart on SEs and optioned to R/Ts and Bees on 71s, no more optioned for the rest BUT to 72s was optioned to ANY MODEL, AND STILL standart to SEs. Came out the Topper package with hideaways included ( by 71, Toppers were not with hideaways ) Thats the reason why you'll find lot of cars with 72s hideaways and 71s kind being hard to come by. Shame because I like A LOT MORE the 71 kind.

Yes, after R/Ts abd Bees, Rallyes BUT JUST 72s are very appreciatted. 73/74 rallyes are not the same than 72s although still some valuable. Maybe 72 SEs coul be more valuable than a 73/74 rallye

I already checked the pics and video. mmm... I can't say for sure if worths what he is asking. Maybe it it has a GOOD BODY conditions ( not the paint... you can allways redone the paint ) would worth that.

vinyl top is rebuildable, missed trim is around. Not EASY but it is around... 73/74 front and rear lips trim fits, although they are diff, not visible once mounted. As far I know the corners are available repro by PGclassics and BEAparts. You can live without belt top trim, would need to decode fender tag if was optioned though.

If you go for it, prepare to spend maybe $12K to $15K more, depending on how perfect you want it... if you want it simply more decent and trying to get the right parts, maybe just $5K to $7K... thats if you don't find any hidden problem.

Just my overview calculation. It can be less than that, but doubt it.

Car is not bad and worths, but only once done. If you want to make it worths no matter what, go for it.

[ACUDANUT]

 Husk, I think I owe you a apology. You were talking about your charger, when I thought you were talking about his.