69 Charger on Counting Cars

[Budnicks]

69 Charger R/T on Counting Cars

Watching Counting Cars last evening, there was a 69 Charger R/T on Counting Cars last night, they saw some guy driving on the Hwy & got him to pull over, negotiated & paid a pretty high price for the condition of the car in todays market, $20k for a really rough driver seemed to be high, they ended up rebuilding it & sold it to a guy for $73k, he had purchased the car knowing he had a very good $$$$$ paying customer already, that gave him an $80k budget, to find, buy & build him a 69 Charger, car looked pretty nice except the Eagle they painted/airbrushed on the hood, it was done tastefully, but just not my style, it had a nice 440ci w/EFI & 727tf, Gold paint w/tan vinyl top & interior, w/billet 17's & 18's Magnum 500's....

 

[Inspector71]

Budniks, I have agreed with everything you said. We must have the same tastes. I saw that show too. I am working (sort of) on a 68 Charger in really rough shape and that show (excpet the costs) inspires me to keep at it. I really liked the 69 R/T, could have passed on the wheels, and I was thinking if I bought the car, how hard would it be to get the hood repainted without the eagle. Couldn't help it. They did similar stuff to a Camaro and a Firebird. But 73K?

 

[Budnicks]

Yeah $73k was a little steep, but He came in under an $80k budget...LOL.. the $20k purchase for the original car, was high too IMHFO, it cost $50k to have a car redone body, custom paint, dash, gauges, full interior, engine w/EFI, exhaust, trans, brakes, suspension & rear end, now-a-days, especially when you pay someone else to do it for you, to specific taste...

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I liked the 69 Firebird, the 67 Camaro was just OK, needed different wheels

 

[Inspector71]

I guess what scares me is that my Charger needs a trunck floor pan, valance below the rear tail light section, right quarter and probably sail panel, left quarter and both front fenders. I am doing the engine bay and most of that is good. I can buy the replacement fenders and put them on myself. That leaves interior (drivers seat is ripped the rest is good), carpet, headliner, and some front floor board patching. Oh yeah, the engine and tranny. If I had to go to a place like the counts, I could never afford it. I just hope I can finish this project.

 

[Budnicks]

That's why I learned how to do all this stuff myself... I refuse to pay someone to do something, that I can either learn to do &/or buy a tool & do it myself, small investment if done over time really, it saves a ton of cash in the long run & gives you more pride in your project, that's if you have the aptitude, mechanical ability & the proper tools to take on such tasks {that's very important}, I've been doing these cars for near 40 years now, going on over 60 cars between 26 race cars & many brands of streetcar/4x4 Pick-ups or Tow Rigs/trucks, my step father got me started at a young age, I was fortunate in that regard, with learning most the, suspension, mechanical, body work basics & welding, allot of the rest, I learned by doing, allot of costly mistakes, allot of wasted $$$$, with all the trial & error along the way, I was somewhat stubborn when young {there's a shocker...LOL..}, refused to listen to people, that knew what they were talking about sometimes, I though I could muddle thru & I had to learn the hard way... Now I make sure to have an outline/budget or plan/vision of what I ultimately want & try to stick to it, as close as possible "Always", don't redo a bunch of stuff over mid stream, in the build/project, if need be just save a little more $$$$ & get what you want in the 1st place, done settle for something you will regret, just be more patient {I still struggle with that one}, 1st & foremost don't go cheapo either, it bites you in the a$$ every time.... In the world of cars you generally get what you pay for, there are very few shortcuts or the rare, "too good to be true", deals out there....

 

[Inspector71]

Budniks: I agree 100% but admit I am intimidated by the project. If I don't know what I'm doing, how can I teach myself is the attitude that has kept me on the sidelines. But, little by little I am pushing myself to just jump in. Realizing if I had to pay someone to do this work, I'd never have the car got me started. And yes, the pride in bringing one of these cars back from the boneyard is priceless. In about two weeks, I'll have the time to get going on my Charger again. I'm looking forward to it. Like you said, paying someone a boatload of cash to do something we can learn to do makes no sense. Keep up this attitude because it is helping me too.

 

[ChargerRTguy]

Glad to see another '68 Charger being brought "back to life".......

 

[Inspector71]

ChargerRTGuy: Thanks. I love them and I am learning as I go. Back when I was young, I farmed out as much work as I could afford. Now I can't afford it so much and I want to learn for myself. I love your quote at the bottom by Samuel Adams. I've been a high school history teacher for 20 years. I taught goverment from the Founding Father's perspective and due to an uprising by my "colleagues" who disagree, I'm no longer allowed to teach government. There is more but it involves spying, telling stories about me that were not true, backstabbing, and all the rest. I don't regret standing up for the truth. Working on these cars is a great stress reliever.

 

[Budnicks]

ChargerRTGuy: Thanks. I love them and I am learning as I go. Back when I was young, I farmed out as much work as I could afford. Now I can't afford it so much and I want to learn for myself. I love your quote at the bottom by Samuel Adams. I've been a high school history teacher for 20 years. I taught goverment from the Founding Father's perspective and due to an uprising by my "colleagues" who disagree, I'm no longer allowed to teach government. There is more but it involves spying, telling stories about me that were not true, backstabbing, and all the rest. I don't regret standing up for the truth. Working on these cars is a great stress reliever.

good for you stand up for what you believe & don't just follow the heard/crowd... your right these car can be stress relief they can also add a bit of stress too...LOL...