70 Barracuda value, all 10 VINS car BS23H

[ramiron]

Needing info today if possible.

I think this car has all 10 VIN numbers, with a HIGH degree of certainty.
It has 340 4bbl, auto
ALL numbers matching in all likelyhood from what I am hearing and have seen in pixs.
Dealer order sheet (seen pix copy)
Window sticker (seen pix copy)
Broadcast sheet (not seen yet, but told it exist)
One owner & all maintenance records
rust through in lower rear quarters (doesn't appear to be through inner fender, but may be)
rust in passenger front fender.  Left appears good, but may have some rust.
rust in trunk floor pan, assuming in need of replacement.
Runs, but does have an oil leak (guessing rear main seal)
3 spoke wood steering wheel
power steering
disc brakes 11 inch
console
rallye instruments pack
magnum wheels
vinyl top, in great shape   (update, turns out not quite as good as appeared in pic.)
original interior in great shape, no hole tears etc., all but driver look new.

I have  someone that will be putting eyes on this car for me today and placing an offer.
I am looking to knowledgeable opinions for a value, with my time constraint of noon today.
Thanks everyone

[anlauto]

I would say around $25K-$35K 

[70 Challenger Lover]

I really like that car! Good color, 340 is a great motor and I like the disc brakes and lower rocker moldings.

So it obviously needs rear quarter patches, front fender patch, and a new trunk lid (or fix the holes in this one but might be cheaper to just replace). The trunk floor might be repairable but you might need to replace (not a deal killer). Also, expect the channels around the front and rear glass to need patching. Those area are probably rusted out which is likely how the water got in the trunk. Be sure to remove kick panels and look in the crevices behind. If water leaked through the bottom of the windshield, it can rust the door hinge pillar area out.

Assume the motor and trans will need a rebuild. Even if it runs and drives, unless it has been rebuilt, it will need it eventually. Unless this is a low mileage car then maybe not.

It's hard to gauge value without more photos but since you have a trusty person inspecting it, I'll take a guess based on what I'm seeing. The automatic hurts value but not a lot. The Rallye gauges, console, and original owner docs help value a lot in my opinion.

Personally, I put the car at a solid 25k all day long if there are no other surprises and the rest of it is as nice as the one side shot.

[Rich G.]

My guess would be high teens low twenty's. You got to consider you will put an easy 30-40K more into it to restore it.

[6pack]

Most people buy a project like this because they can't afford a nice car.  If you can afford a nice car I suggest you get one.  You will quickly be over your head on this.  The time to finish is extreme.  The pain in the ass is real.  Trying to schedule each person to do their part never meshes in your favor.  Even a finished car needs finishing.  Also, you will be paying insurance on a car that is always all apart.  Good luck!

[anlauto]

My guess would be high teens low twenty's.

I don't think you'll find a fairly rust free documented numbers matching 70 Cuda in the "high teens" anymore. 

You could get the car for free and with the cost of a proper restoration from the ground up...you'll still be over the resale value.

[E74cuda]

I'll say 20-25 value as is. The potential value of a restored 70 cuda 340 auto is around 50k. The math doesn't work out.

[nsmall]

Could you post more pics?  Better advice could be given with more pics (interior, trunk, engine bay, underside).

[70 Challenger Lover]

I'll say 20-25 value as is. The potential value of a restored 70 cuda 340 auto is around 50k. The math doesn't work out.

The math never really works out unless you're pretty handy. I could give you a free mostly rust free car that would be worth 30k once finished and the cost of a simple restoration would eventually exceed the value once finished.

But it is possible to do a lot of nice work yourself to keep costs under control. I think if a person did a car themselves (hiring out paint and body) you could get the car done for 20k. Obviously you don't get show quality paint but there are nice shops who do decent work in the 5k range. For 5k, you'd have to have metal work already done of course.

[RUNCHARGER]

Around here if you give a good painter a good shell with nice metalwork that doesn't need to be redone but coated from bare metal you're looking at $20k and up for labour and materials.

[anlauto]

Around here if you give a good painter a good shell with nice metalwork that doesn't need to be redone but coated from bare metal you're looking at $20k and up for labour and materials.

I agree with Sheldon....around here....Paint shops charge almost $5K for JUST THE materials to paint a car....I can't believe that there are shops in California that will do the whole job for $5K range..... I thought California was expensive ?

[70 Challenger Lover]

There are quite a few of those shops in my area too. Metal work always seems to be the killer. But if it's just simple body work with a decent paint job and very little panel fitment, I think you can get it under 10k. You won't win awards at the car shows with it but it would be a really nice driver afterward. I guess it depends on your expectations.

There is a guy at work who really loved his older Infinity but the clear on the paint was peeling up. Base was fine and it had only a couple minor dings. He took it to a collision shop in Los Angeles that came well recommended. They sanded off the clear, masked the car and did the paint for just under 2k. I gave it a close inspection expecting to point out all the awful mistakes but the thing was beautiful. I couldn't believe you could get anything in that price range. It's been a year and it still looks like new. Will it look great five years from now? Probably not but it got me thinking that labor is the biggest part of the bill. Would a shop like that spray high end paint for an adjusted price? Since then, I've been talking to guys at car shows and I'm finding lots of guys with nice cars (not show cars) that have 5k paint jobs.

The paint on my Barracuda is gorgeous and I got the invoice from the shop that restored the car in Connecticut. Granted it was done in 2007 but the price breakdown showed the paint job itself was only $3k. And 12 years later it still looks like it just came out of the booth. Adjusting for inflation, maybe that shop would want 6k now?

[anlauto]

I'm just amazed that's all ...nothing like that around here....and I'm not talking any metal work either...

[70 Challenger Lover]

I don't get it either. Don't misunderstand though, you have to hunt and ask around to find those guys but they are around. I assume it's just heavy competition in the Southern California area that forces some guys to do this. Could also be that these kind of jobs are being done on the weekend by the painters using the bosses shop. I've heard of that kind of stuff happening a lot.

Definitely metal work throws all this out the window. If I ran a shop and I had a customers car taking up precious space for months on end, I'd go broke doing work for that kind of money. I think these lower priced jobs are accepted when the shop is hurting to make payroll and they know it's just a few days to bang it all out. Years back, I had my SuperBee at a shop and got to know the owner who was also the sole employee. There were times I'd go visit my car and see him squirting a car that wasn't there days earlier. After this happened a few times over a years time, I got on his case and he admitted that at times, he needed to take on a budget job just to pay the rent.

[RUNCHARGER]

Wow: I just don't know how that's possible. Materials are at least $5k.