70 vert A66 4 speed car for sale

[303 Mopar]

Nice car-would be a real nice car when done. You would probably need to put in $25,000 or more though to bring it back up to show quality. What do you think --am I low or high on the cost of resto ?
JS27

This may be one of those cars where the more you start digging the more problems pop up.  I'm thinking $40k minimum for show quality.  Although, I would just clean it up and get it running/stopping good and enjoy it as is for $10k.

[anlauto]

Nice car-would be a real nice car when done. You would probably need to put in $25,000 or more though to bring it back up to show quality. What do you think --am I low or high on the cost of resto ?
JS27

I would really like to live in your part of the world...Around here $25K CDN will barely cover the cost of a "show quality" paint job alone and that's WITHOUT any metal work.

To bring this car up to the usual "Alan Gallant" type resto ..You're looking at $60K USD easy, likely more once you get it media blasted.

How do you rebuild a motor, rebuild a transmission, rebuild a rear axle, all new fuel system, all new brake system, cooling system, new electrical wiring, tires, new complete interior, new convertible top, and oh yea...fix all the rust and paint the car for $25K ?


I would stick to the clean it up and drive it idea

[70 Challenger Lover]

I think it comes down to rust. If it remains mostly rust free and you did a lot of stuff yourself, $25k would get you a pretty nice car including a decent paint job. If that car needed metal work though, it would be hard to stay in that budget.

When I hear the words show quality though, I think of a car that really won't see the street again and that level of quality gets super expensive real fast. Show quality paint alone in So. Cal. will set you back 20k alone with very minimal body work. I talked to one painter who got $50k for paint on a car that went to SEMA.

[RUNCHARGER]

That's a really neat car. I don't see throwing $25k at it will do it justice. Not even at that place in Mexico.

[js27]

WOW--I guess I am still living back in the 90's.
True I haven't restored a car since then and by the sound of the prices I won't be restoring any more.. How do you justify paying 40,000 for a car and then putting 60,000 more to restore it for a car that is worth $75,000 when done?
JS27

[RUNCHARGER]

That's where the problem is. I went onto that site and looked at most of the photos and the car really does look great but even so I would expect to find some hidden rust. Both my last restos were somewhat complete and had painted body shells. I still spent $20k on misc. parts on each of them. Exhaust, radiator recore, tires, blasting it all adds up.

[E74cuda]

WOW--I guess I am still living back in the 90's.
True I haven't restored a car since then and by the sound of the prices I won't be restoring any more.. How do you justify paying 40,000 for a car and then putting 60,000 more to restore it for a car that is worth $75,000 when done?
JS27

I like the car also and agree with spending around 10k to get it road worthy. The problem at his price point is that it would probably be worth the 40-45k at that point and it easily could suck up more than 10k to get there. What kind of value do you guys think the car is worth with a correct restoration? I like the A66 cars but they seem to lag a little compared to R/T pricing. I'm thinking 65k because of the color combo, maybe a little more.

[js27]

When I said 25,000 to get it show ready- I meant local shows not OE GOLD Certified. I know there  can be hidden rust but until you take the car apart you don't know what is under that paint or carpet. I was thinking more just replacing the gas and brake system and any rubber hoses or gaskets provided the motor and trans were good and a decent paint job should be able to be done for 25,000. Yes it is just a guess without actually buying the car and doing it. No doubt though I am behind the times.
JS27

[anlauto]

When I said 25,000 to get it show ready- I meant local shows not OE GOLD Certified. I know there  can be hidden rust but until you take the car apart you don't know what is under that paint or carpet. I was thinking more just replacing the gas and brake system and any rubber hoses or gaskets provided the motor and trans were good and a decent paint job should be able to be done for 25,000. Yes it is just a guess without actually buying the car and doing it. No doubt though I am behind the times.
JS27

Curious, what does a paint job cost in SC and when was the last time you had a classic car painted ?

I'm thinking I need to send my cars down there to get painted.

[js27]

When I said 25,000 to get it show ready- I meant local shows not OE GOLD Certified. I know there  can be hidden rust but until you take the car apart you don't know what is under that paint or carpet. I was thinking more just replacing the gas and brake system and any rubber hoses or gaskets provided the motor and trans were good and a decent paint job should be able to be done for 25,000. Yes it is just a guess without actually buying the car and doing it. No doubt though I am behind the times.
JS27

Curious, what does a paint job cost in SC and when was the last time you had a classic car painted ?

I'm thinking I need to send my cars down there to get painted.

Summerville SC--Send them down I will paint them myself and give you a great deal--all work guaranteed for 1 mile or 1 day which ever comes first.  As I said my last resto job was my 70 R/T Vert around 2000-2001. I actually use to paint for a living but not cars-forklifts and large industrial equip. I did paint one 1983 Dodge full size truck for a guy I worked with. I painted the underneath of my Challenger in my driveway laying on my back after the car was already painted ( Scary) but that is the extent of my paint skills. I honestly will check around and see what people are paying from paint jobs these days. Iam sure I will be in shock when I find out though.-LOL
JS27

[70 Challenger Lover]

When I said 25,000 to get it show ready- I meant local shows not OE GOLD Certified. I know there  can be hidden rust but until you take the car apart you don't know what is under that paint or carpet. I was thinking more just replacing the gas and brake system and any rubber hoses or gaskets provided the motor and trans were good and a decent paint job should be able to be done for 25,000. Yes it is just a guess without actually buying the car and doing it. No doubt though I am behind the times.
JS27

I think you could turn that car into a really nice car for 25k IF you did most of the work yourself. Not gold standard but nice by local cruise night standard. High end driver is more my term. That would be if there was no hidden rust. If there was rust, to stay in your 25k budget, you would need to be willing to do the work yourself. It's really not that hard.

I've done several cars now and the only time I've ever broken that limit is when I start hiring out work. Labor is a killer of budgets. You have to be willing to learn and do the lousy jobs that most will pay to do.

I bought a professional sand blaster because I was unwilling to pay 2500 bucks to do what I could do for a few $8 bags of media. Along with the $700 blaster, I also bought a $100 full face mask and I wore disposable tyvex suits because I understand the health risks. It's a one time expense and even if it was used only once, that's still less than a third and I could always sell the equipment and recover more. I disassemble my seats and sand blast the frames, rebuild the cores using quality materials from fabric shops. I look for sales on seat covers. I even had a pro show me how to stretch the new covers on properly so I could start doing it myself. On my current car, I'll be installing my own vinyl top and headliner. Materials can be pricey enough. Pay someone $100 an hour to do the installation and it's no wonder people spend 40k on a restoration. On paint, there are a lot of places that will do a really nice job for 3-5k. 10-20k or more gets you into the high end category. You have to talk to people and shop around. You must give them a nice car that needs only light body work. If it needs more, you have to be willing to get dirty and watch YouTube videos to teach yourself how. And it helps to talk to local auto paint stores to be sure you are using quality materials.

I have two projects going now (it's a long story) but the full restoration project with lots of metal work will definitely be under 25k.

I don't knock restorers who get paid that kind of money or owners who don't want to do the work themselves. I simply say that there is another doable option for those of us who want to enjoy the hobby without taking out loans. It's not really fair to say a car is worth only what the end value is minus professional restoration costs. If that were the case, this guy would have to give his car away. People restore trucks and cars that were trashed knowing they will put more into it than it's worth. Some do the work themselves and some just don't care because the cost is spread out over years.

[anlauto]

When you guys do your "under $25K RESTORATIONS" are you including the following, if so how much does it cost in your area ?

-rebuild an engine
-rebuild a transmission
-new clutch
-rebuild rear axle assembly
-all new brakes
-all new fuel system
-recore rad
-engine detail items
-rechrome bumpers
-new exterior trim, door handles, etc...
-new seat covers
-new carpet
-new dash pad
-new electrical wiring
-new tires
etc...
etc...
etc...
etc...

Forget the labour, do EVERYTHING yourself and you'll still spend more then $25K in parts alone


If you're not doing half the things on the above list, then stop calling it a "RESTORATION"  maybe call it a fix up job or something...

[70 Challenger Lover]

When you guys do your "under $25K RESTORATIONS" are you including the following, if so how much does it cost in your area ?

-rebuild an engine
-rebuild a transmission
-new clutch
-rebuild rear axle assembly
-all new brakes
-all new fuel system
-recore rad
-engine detail items
-rechrome bumpers
-new exterior trim, door handles, etc...
-new seat covers
-new carpet
-new dash pad
-new electrical wiring
-new tires
etc...
etc...
etc...
etc...

Forget the labour, do EVERYTHING yourself and you'll still spend more then $25K in parts alone

Agreed all this gets really expensive but I don't always have to do all these things because I can settle for a few compromises that your customers wouldn't or shouldn't settle for.

I have a shop that can do all engine machine works plus decent quality parts for under 2k and I assemble it myself. Since I'm not building 600hp engines, the costs don't have to be extreme. I don't always have a rear end gone through. I'll disassemble and clean myself and often times I don't need any work. I've reused dash wiring lots of times when it's in great shape, maybe I've been lucky but it usually has been. I don't send bumpers out for chrome because while the result may be better, it's just not worth 2-3 times the price of a repo piece to me.

I am not in a hurry so I look for sales. I always keep a list of what I need and cash on hand so when a deal pops up, I can pull the trigger. Last year, I got a set of beautiful new Legendary covers for $250 because the guy decided to go a different route. I clean up my old parts and when a better one comes up on eBay at a killer price, I grab it and sell my old one for the same price so essentially I'm trading stuff up with zero cost. I did this on my rallye gauges three times and now my set looks and works like new. I actually came out ahead in the end.

Point is, a decent budget build can be had by us garage restorers. I'm not comparing the end result to yours. I get that my build is a 8 or 9 out of 10 compared to a true 10 out of 10 car but it's a price I can live with and I'm done trying to impress strangers at fancy car shows. For folks who really want a 100 point car, they should go to guys like you.

Looking at the posts in these forums over the years, a common theme is "I'll never be able to afford getting back into one of these cars" but I don't think it has to be that way. There are in between options for people willing to compromise just a little.


If you're not doing half the things on the above list, then stop calling it a "RESTORATION"  maybe call it a fix up job or something...

[RUNCHARGER]

It's a shame the hood got punched on this car. If it wasn't for the hood I could see primping up the paint and getting it driving. That hood though pretty much has to be changed and that starts it down a different road.

[70 Challenger Lover]

That's a really good point. Being the leading edge with all the bracing, you'd play hell trying to straighten that out.

I think this car is very interesting at 30k but 40k just seems high to me unless it truly turns out to be rust free (which is unlikely)