I am thinking of buying a 71 challenger i found close to me in arizona. The guy wants $4700 for it. It has an un-origional 440 and 4speed in it. I could pull those and try to fund the origional 360 and 4speed tranny, but a 440 is just too much fun. He said it ran about 2 years ago, but it has just sat there ever since. He hasn't even tried to start it and the inteorior is shot. Is it worth it?

 

The price all depends on condition of the car and since you didn't mention much about condition its hard to say. It sounds sort of rough to me. If the interior is shot no telling what else needs replaced. That arizona sun will eat up almost everything if it sits outs very long. If its an original arizona car the body probably isn't too bad but that's just a guess. In 1971 they didn't make a 360 as original equipment in a Challenger so I would leave the 440 in it as long as it was driveable. The 360 didn't show up until 1974. I will say $4700 for an mopar these days is a bargain so depending on the condition it would be worth at least looking at. Other then that we would need alot more info and some pics to really help you determine its value and the best way of coarse is to see it in person which we can't do. Good Luck!!!![sm=smiley20.gif]

 

If you really need to ask, check this one out and see what it sold for......

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...RK%3AMEDW%3AIT

Granted, it IS a Cuda, and not a Challenger, and they tend to bring more $$$$, especially for the '71's, but if the one your looking at is complete and solid, it's easily worth the asking price. As Chris said, the 360 wasn't original to the Challenger until '74, so check the VIN to see what engine it had originally. It's the 5th character; codes are as follows-

B or C- slant six
G- 318
H- 340
N- 383
R- 426
U- 440 Magnum
V- 440 6-pack

Anything H or above, grab it and don't even ask questions- you just scored! You will easily be able to resell it for more than the 4700 asking price. If you can get the fender tag info, that would be even more helpful in determining a value.

 

Amazing!!!! And its a 340 car to boot... Great Link as an example. I guess when the Hemi and Six Pak cars get so expensive the masses flock to the ones that are left and they begin to climb in price just from the demand.
Great post by the way. Lots of great advise!!!

Chris

 

No its a challenger, and the body is in alot better shape than that. It has an un-origional r/t hood and some other things, but i am not looking for origional, i want the car. The inteorior is just as bad if not worse than that cuda, but i am not worried about that. I would have to look at the car first, but i am pretty sure it is worth it, the only thing is i have to convince the bank its worth that.

 

I just checked on the car again today and the guy has dropped the price to $4,000 now. I guess there arent that many people interested in the car. I dont know how to get a loan for a car like that though, because the bank is gonna look at the year and condition, and they probably wont think the car is worth $4,000. I know it is worth it, but they wont listen to me.

 

I hope you don't mind me asking but if you need to take a loan out for that car, where are you going to get the money to fix it up?[sm=dontgetit.gif]

 

I dont have $4,000 lying around, i am an Airman First Class in the Air Force, i dont have the money right now, and i just found the car so its kind of hard to buy it without a loan. I can fix it a little bit at a time, i am not doing a 100% resto. I want a challenger that runs and drives for now, and i will restore it later. I am not going to use the car as a daily driver, i have my truck for that. I just want a challenger, i have wanted one for as long as i can remember, and now i have the chance. The longer i wait the harder it will be to find ones like this that i can rebuild. I just saw a convertable challenger on line thats worth $275,000 thats insane. Most of the running ones with only a 318 go for at least $8,000 and heres one with a 440 for $4,000.

 

I hear ya!!! I was an Airman First Class once stationed at Nellis AFB in the early 80's. I had a 1969 Road Runner at the time that I drove from PA to NV. That was a long drive. I sold that Road Runner and bought a 1970 GTX( not the present one). I drove it back to Pa when I got out of the service. They were both my daily drivers. I'm not going to give you much advise other then pick your cars wisely. You may have to go overseas at some point and have to store or sell you mopar if you get one. Remember whatever you buy needs to be good enough to sell also. I doudt if any loan company will give you money for a car thats not running and in need of alot of work. They don't want it if you can't manage it yourself. You are probably young and looking for a cool ride. You also have lots of time to find a nice car. These cars will be around for awhile. Heck I sold my GTX I bought in the Air Force in 1985 and didn't buy another mopar until 2000. That's 15 years of searching. All I will say is think about all the aspects of a purchase and don't get into a situation you can't get out of. You will find something you like sooner or later. My big mistake was borrowing $6500.00 in 1982 for a slightly run down Hemi Cuda. It had a sweet engine but was in need of some cosmetic work. Like you I was in the Air Force and didn't have any money. I think we made $600.oo per month. I bought it and had it 6 weeks when one day I was out messing around in Vegas, left the car to go into a casino and cam out 1 hour later and it was gone. I had no comprehensive on the car, just liability. So I was stuck with a $6500.00 loan and no car. I guess you learn from you own or other peoples mistakes. That one cost me. Be patient, save some money, enjoy yourself and someday that Challenger you want will fall into your lap. Good Luck with your search!!!

Chris[sm=usa.gif]

 

That sucks, Chris. Imagine what that one would be worth today...... Anyway, not to hijack the thread, Dodge4life, I'm afraid what you'll find is that the banks will only give a loan for a 'classic' that's pretty much turn key, and that you can get an appraisal for to show a value equal or greater than the price you're paying. They will, after all, place a lien on the car's title to guarantee the loan. You may want to check with whatever financial institution you're dealing with to see what the rules & regs are on that type of a loan.... you might not be totally dead in the water yet, but as Chris pointed out, you may have a car with a loan payment that keeps you broke and unable to make it a driveable, roadworthy vehicle also. That's the reality when you want to venture into the E-body waters these days- you need a decent bankroll to get in the game!