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I want this Challenger convertible at Mecum!

Started by JH27N0B, September 25, 2024, 10:53:45 AM

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JH27N0B

Quote from: RzeroB on September 27, 2024, 08:53:10 AM
Quote from: mtull on September 26, 2024, 08:04:08 AMHypothetical Question:  Assuming the V5X and rocker moldings are listed on the fender tag,  would you be disappointed if said options were deleted during restoration?  What if it were a 383 car, same question? 

On a Cuda the M25 rocker molding was standard while on the Challenger it was optional and had to be selected on the order for it to be installed. In my observation it is not a very common option - you'll see a lot more Challengers without it than you will with it. IMO I think it looks great. I would definitely put them back on ... if I could find a decent set.
It certainly works for me on my convertible!

JH27N0B

Quote from: RzeroB on September 27, 2024, 08:40:29 AM
Quote from: JH27N0B on September 25, 2024, 10:53:45 AMAfter 45 years of owning E bodies, it takes a lot for a car to really get my blood flowing as one I'd love to own.
And this one at Mecum Kissimmee is one that gets my attention!
Of course, I already don't have space for the cars I have, and it would take a lot of doing to scrape up enough change to buy a car of this caliber.
But I can still dream...
What is this car worth?  I'm going to guesstimate around $225-250K.  Or am I low?

 https://www.mecum.com/lots/1128131/1970-dodge-challenger-r-t-convertible/?aa_id=623128-0

Unless you are one of "The Brothers" you can't own them all. So you have to ask yourself, "am I willing to give up some of what I have so that I can get this"?? If this car really gets you going, would you consider selling some of what you already have to get it?? You already have some really nice rides, that if sold would more than cover the cost of this car. This auction is almost four months away so you have some time to work it if you really want it. You only live once. Good luck Brad!


Around the time I turned 60 a few years back, I saw a financial advisor and his analysis of my retirement investments showed I somehow seem to have accumulated more than I need to support my humble lifestyle. Also, a financial guy I watch on Youtube also says something that hits home with me, he makes a point that regardless of how long you live, you only have a limited amount of "good years" in retirement where you still have the energy and ambition to be active and do things before you just want to hang out on the couch most of the time, I think he says until early/mid 70s typically. Truth be known, most guys I know who are around my age now, I've got very frustrated trying to get anyone interested in heading out of town for a car show, or on a fishing trip, or even to just head out to see a concert in the evening, it's gotten all but impossible.  People are losing their energy and ambition before they even retire maybe?
That actually set off a bit of "late mid life" crisis with me, as I feel the clock ticking to create a bucket list and strive to do those things, while at the same time I feel the clock ticking as I continue to plod along doing mostly the same old same old I've done for decades, living in the same house 35 years, work, enjoy my cars during the fair weather months, and putter around with home chores and such. 
I've wanted a hemi car since I was a teenager, I even was looking for one around 40 years ago in college, but never have managed to own one. I've thought the ultimate Challenger is a V code convertible.  Technically a hemi convertible is the ultimate, but millions to buy one, means it will always be out of the question for me.  A couple hundred grand for a V code is a heavy lift, but seems doable.
Or maybe I'd be better off seeking a late 60s hemi B body convertible, which might be doable for low 6 figures?  67 or 68 should be realistic, 69, not sure, 70 no way.
But I'm already feeling painted in a corner with car storage, I have 3 vintage rides in the garage, one stored that I would like to sell, and 3 late models outside. One, the Scat Pack, I really don't like having to park outside.
There must be a reasonable solution to finding convenient car storage, but I'm not finding it! There is a car condo place in the area and another is in the process of being built, which is intriguing, but these places cost $400,000 and up.  I'm not spending as much as my house is worth for a nice place to park 4 or 5 cars and hang out, that's a bigger tax bracket than mine thing!!!  And I don't see myself fitting in the with the mostly exotic car owner guys that make up most of the ownership in those places!
Gotta figure out storage before I buy anymore damn cars!  :headbang:

70_440-6Cuda

@JH27N0B this really resonates with me.  I will be 53 in December, but feel exactly the same way.  My Dad was one of the most intelligent people I have ever met - he worked until he was 76 as a surgeon; and while that was a passion for him, he didnt make much time for much else.  By the time he was 77 or so his mental state started to decline ever so slightly and he wanted to do less and less - like you said a lot of just wanting to sit around.  Now in his early 80s he does not have the mental capacity to do much.  The decline over the last year was more rapid, hence my ownid life crisis.  That was really the genesis of my buying an e body.  I talked with my wife and told her I was scared sh$#less of waking up at 70 and finding I don't have the physical ability to do any of the things I love to do that are for myself. I work and provide for everyone else and I was always putting what I wanted on the back burner.  When I ame across a V code '70 Cuda for $50k that was a complete running car in driver condition I jumped on it figuring how bad could I really get hurt?  I also always dreamt of owning a hemi car, and sometimes think I might be able to swing it, and as an investment I don't think you can go wrong.  But I also have the exact same problem, I am not Rockefeller, I am the other fella, and have no space for the cars I have now.  I also have the same problem of not fitting in with the super car guys that tend to have the storage space you refer to, especially here in So Cal - it's Lamborghini central around here - you see $300k Lambo SUVs lime they are Camrys. 

For me, the enjoyment has always been in the building, not the owning, of the cars.  But at this point perspective changes with a couple of teens in high school and college coming up fast.  I think more about the long term, and what they will get out of it some day.  In that sense, the Challenger might be the right move - I have always been willing to give up one in the stable to get one on the bucket list. :alan2cents:

Thanks for sharing
You can't buy happiness, but you can buy horsepower and that's kind of the same thing.....


RzeroB

Quote from: JH27N0B on September 27, 2024, 04:33:47 PMAround the time I turned 60 a few years back, I saw a financial advisor and his analysis of my retirement investments showed I somehow seem to have accumulated more than I need to support my humble lifestyle. Also, a financial guy I watch on Youtube also says something that hits home with me, he makes a point that regardless of how long you live, you only have a limited amount of "good years" in retirement where you still have the energy and ambition to be active and do things before you just want to hang out on the couch most of the time, I think he says until early/mid 70s typically. Truth be known, most guys I know who are around my age now, I've got very frustrated trying to get anyone interested in heading out of town for a car show, or on a fishing trip, or even to just head out to see a concert in the evening, it's gotten all but impossible.  People are losing their energy and ambition before they even retire maybe?
That actually set off a bit of "late mid life" crisis with me, as I feel the clock ticking to create a bucket list and strive to do those things, while at the same time I feel the clock ticking as I continue to plod along doing mostly the same old same old I've done for decades, living in the same house 35 years, work, enjoy my cars during the fair weather months, and putter around with home chores and such. 
I've wanted a hemi car since I was a teenager, I even was looking for one around 40 years ago in college, but never have managed to own one. I've thought the ultimate Challenger is a V code convertible.  Technically a hemi convertible is the ultimate, but millions to buy one, means it will always be out of the question for me.  A couple hundred grand for a V code is a heavy lift, but seems doable.
Or maybe I'd be better off seeking a late 60s hemi B body convertible, which might be doable for low 6 figures?  67 or 68 should be realistic, 69, not sure, 70 no way.
But I'm already feeling painted in a corner with car storage, I have 3 vintage rides in the garage, one stored that I would like to sell, and 3 late models outside. One, the Scat Pack, I really don't like having to park outside.
There must be a reasonable solution to finding convenient car storage, but I'm not finding it! There is a car condo place in the area and another is in the process of being built, which is intriguing, but these places cost $400,000 and up.  I'm not spending as much as my house is worth for a nice place to park 4 or 5 cars and hang out, that's a bigger tax bracket than mine thing!!!  And I don't see myself fitting in the with the mostly exotic car owner guys that make up most of the ownership in those places!
Gotta figure out storage before I buy anymore damn cars!  :headbang:


I could say that you are in an enviable position Brad. You're also in a good position to satisfy your desire AND improve your storage problem. Buy the V-code Challenger vert to satisfy your lifelong desire. Divest at least two, if not three of your vintage rides. Divesting yourself of them kills two birds with one stone - frees up capital to acquire the V-code Challenger vert; and frees up garage storage so you can keep two vintage rides and the Scat Pack in the garage. Sounds like a "win-win" situation for you! Like I said, you actually are in quite an enviable position.  :ohyeah:
Cheers!
Tom

Tis' better to have owned classic Mopars and lost than to have never owned at all (apologies to Alfred Lord Tennyson)

JH27N0B

I've been aspiring to move to another state to a place with more room. Have a bigger garage or outbuilding there with room for more cars!  And room for my trailer too.
Hopefully I can get that to the top of my triage list of life soon.
I wish my state hadn't become so hopeless, it'd be so much easier to seek a place in this area but I won't do that in Illinois.
Honestly the only car I'm willing to part with is my 71 V code. The JH27N car and Magnum are how I roll nice evenings to cruises and such. Top always down on the vert and T tops off on the Magnum.  Hard for me to justify the T/A seeing how little I do with it, but since I've had it since I was 16, I don't think it's going anywhere.
I just wish I could hang it on my rec room wall next to my Les Paul I bought when I was in high school though, even though I haven't been motivated to play guitar for years!  :haha:
That brings up another factor in my conundrum. Some cars I love to drive, others I mostly love to look at and drool on.  In my teens and 20s I was actually really indifferent towards convertibles.  Then while laid up recovering from an accident for months when I was 29, I started thinking about my T/A and what would it take in a Challenger to make me like driving it a lot. Power steering a must, exhaust out the back not giving me CO poisoning while stopped at lights another need. How about the poor ventilation and how hot the cabin gets though anytime it's over 75 degree? Aha! A convertible top would do the trick!
One time in my life I figured something out where I ended up hitting it out of the park. Buying my convertible was the best money I ever spent.  :woohoo:
Any future vintage car purchases I make will likely be convertibles.

headejm

Buy it and enjoy it! Super cool car and Peggy Lipton to boot!
 :1place: