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If I have a car that’s a survivor

Mopar Hunter

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If I replaced the front bumper, the rear quarter panel and the front fender with the same vintage part, would it still be considered a survivor?
 
If I replaced the front bumper, the rear quarter panel and the front fender with the same vintage part, would it still be considered a survivor?

bumper......no one would know

fender........ a bit tougher to pull it off

quarter panel........total deal breaker

imho :D
 
A survivor to me is 100% original sheet metal and paint. A bumper wouldn't be noticed overall. But generally when sheetmetal is changed its not a survivor anymore imo.
 
A very, very interesting topic of debate. What constitutes a "survivor" ? According to "whom" ? Is there a differentiation between a "pure" survivor, or a scarred survivor ? Is there a "number" of replaced parts that disqualifies ? What about "repaired" parts ? Will be interesting to see opinions on this.
 
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A survivor to me is 100% original sheet metal and paint. A bumper wouldn't be noticed overall. But generally when sheetmetal is changed its not a survivor anymore imo.
So... if my car had a dent in the fender 35 years ago, and I repaired and painted the fender, it disqualifies survivor status ?
 
bumper......no one would know

fender........ a bit tougher to pull it off

quarter panel........total deal breaker

imho :D
So, your differentiation is a "bolt-on" part vs. a welded part ? What if a lower tie bar was replaced due to an undercarriage impact, would that also be a disqualifier ?
 
So, your differentiation is a "bolt-on" part vs. a welded part ? What if a lower tie bar was replaced due to an undercarriage impact, would that also be a disqualifier ?

yup...... no cutting on a survivor

and replacing the fender is a disqualifier unless it's matching original paint and no one knows........good luck with that
 
yup...... no cutting on a survivor

and replacing the fender is a disqualifier unless it's matching original paint and no one knows........good luck with that
What about repairs ? Example: fender dent repair & refinish. A) dent repaired years ago with centauri enamel paint. B) dent repaired recently with either single-stage or bc/cc.
 
I can see consumable items, like tires, brakes, hoses and anything that needs maintenance not hurting the title of survivor.
 
I can see consumable items, like tires, brakes, hoses and anything that needs maintenance not hurting the title of survivor.
Title?
Is this about a show car class?
 
I would still consider a mostly original car with partial repair paint a survivor as long as the paint wasn't going beyond maybe 20% of the car..
 
I can see consumable items, like tires, brakes, hoses and anything that needs maintenance not hurting the title of survivor.
I agree. Even expanded to exhaust, alternator, power steering, brakes ect.

Intake and heads never removed. No sheet metal/paint work.
 
Over the years, I have owned five low mileage "survivor" cars & still own three. Out of the five, there was only one that didn't have any paint work. The rest have had a panel, or a portion of a panel painted somewhere along the line.
 
I was at a show in Ontario CA a few years ago. There was a car there that was "recreated" to look like a survivor. The lower quarters had been replaced but the paint had been done with a faded finish to look seasoned.
Chris Birdsong did the work. The owner was not trying to fool anyone, he openly admitted that it had work done.
 
I would think that the amount of 50+ year old muscle car survivors is relatively small seeing that so many lived such a rough life.
 
I always thought of my cars as survivors. They had multiple owners who beat the living **** out of them and had a blast I’m sure… and are still here. But no. They were out they were on the streets making noise and leaving impressions of old Mopars and not squirreled away in a garage during the heyday. Oh well.
 
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