Thoughts on this potential project

[99ss]

http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/cto/3326241944.html

Just looking around found this... thoughts?

I'm looking for a 71 GTX or Roadrunner for my next project possibly..LOL

 

[Bruzilla]

Assuming the ad is honest, I would pass on this car. My big worry is that he's had the car for close to a year, and the car is in a project status but is registered. I don't know what the laws are in Washington, but why register a car until you need to? I suspect he bought the car thinking it was about ready to get on the road, did a tune up, then found something seriously wrong and now he wants to get out from underneath it. I am very suspicious of guys with cars that are tagged and still need a lot of work. Guys with cars like this either have weird priorities or they've hit a brick wall and want to bail out.

The car is not very desirable, the engine is not very desirable, which means he's selling to a very small market of interested buyers. I suspect this ad will be on CL for a long time.

 

[carsnguitars]

Not so sure about the he had it registered comment.
I talked to someone that told me you should get the car registered before doing any work. You could spend money and time, and if not registered to you, it could come back to haunt you. Plus you get it registed in your name, no issues. Too much money in parts and labor to take any chance.

So personally, I would not worry about it being registered for a year.

 

[RustyRatRod]

In Georgia, you cannot register a car unless it's insured. You can title it in your name, but that's not registration. Two different animals.

 

[Montclaire]

It looks good but crusty at the same time. Check it over good, esp the cowl. Could be a killer project.

 

[Ron 73]

That car is a members here unless he sold it and the one that has it now is using the original picture.. I don't remember the name but i seen the pictures when he bought it, Maybe if he sees this he will be able to tell you some things about it.. Looked like a decent car when it was on here after he bought it, but sorry, cant remember anything he said about it.. Looks like a good project but yes you always should check everything, very pricy bring one back to it was when new.

 

[detmatt1]

I think that out and out saying these cars are not very desirable is not a fair statement for someone to say. There is a big and growing market for these mid '60s B-bodies and that one looks like it could be a decent project. They all cost a lot of money to restore and this one will be no different.
I will say you should hold out for what you really want, or a '71 Super Bee project that I have for sale! Lol

 

[YY1]

Looks like the c pillar might have some rust.

Cowls on these cars can be a killer.

 

[Bruzilla]

Not so sure about the he had it registered comment.
I talked to someone that told me you should get the car registered before doing any work. You could spend money and time, and if not registered to you, it could come back to haunt you. Plus you get it registed in your name, no issues. Too much money in parts and labor to take any chance.

So personally, I would not worry about it being registered for a year.

You should get your car titled before doing anything to it. That is a definite as until you have the car titled to you, it still belongs to the previous owner. Registration is a separate function and does not need to be done until the car is ready to be driven somewhere.

In order to register a car, you have to have it insured in every state I know of, so why would you start paying insurance and registration fees on a car you can't drive? What I've found is if someone is selling a project car that's been fully registered, one of two things has happened. Either they were ignorant and for some reason decided to start paying out insurance and registration bucks on a car that doesn't move, either because someone told them (wrongly) that you must register the car at the time you title it (which you don't), or because their sense of priorities were messed up and they got the car registered and tagged before they even knew if it was driveable. The other reason is they thought the car was driveable, got their insurance and registration, then found some major problem that made them decide to dump the car rather than spend the money to fix it.

When I go out to look at a car, if it's currently registered, I expect to see a daily driver-level car. If it's currently registered and I hear it's a father/son project that went nowhere, I get suspicious. What I expect to see in the case of a project car that's gone by the wayside is one who's owner has title in hand but is not currently registered.

Bottom line is any car that's currently registered was most likely driveable, and if it isn't now, you need to find out why... and they why usually affects the price.

 

[moparmarks]

It hard telling why some people do what they do. Seen people buy the tires first only to have the car SIT on them for the 6 years it took them to get the car on the road.
Looks better than my 65 Sat. As for any car your looking to buy, take as much time as needed to check as much as you can.

 

[Bruzilla]

I think that out and out saying these cars are not very desirable is not a fair statement for someone to say. There is a big and growing market for these mid '60s B-bodies and that one looks like it could be a decent project. They all cost a lot of money to restore and this one will be no different.
I will say you should hold out for what you really want, or a '71 Super Bee project that I have for sale! Lol

The car in this post isn't totally undesirable, but you have to consider that in this market, you need to find a buyer who lives in the area, wants an old car, is allowed to get a project car, wants a Plymouth, wants a mid-60s car, wants a Belvedere, and (most importantly) has the disposable cash to meet your price and be able to fix/restore the car. While there may be a large market of buyers in general, once you start drilling down into specific buyer definitions, the number of available buyers who make up that segment of the population is pretty damn slim. You need to price your car accordingly, or hope for an opportunistic sale, i.e., some ignorant guy who thinks he's found a pot-o-gold and pays your price).

I'm fairly certain there isn't a line of guys waiting for their chance to buy this car, so it's going to sit on CL until he gets the price low enough to get a buyer to pull the trigger, and I suspect on that car it'll be between $1,000 and $1,500.

 

[Montclaire]

It's hard to say without seeing the car, but I thought the price could be reasonable. They stopped making these a long time ago. It's a two door and mostly there, doesn't look too bad but I'm guessing there is some hidden rot, no different than any other make or model out there. Don't be so quick to dismiss this car, there is a lot of mopar there. $1000 would be the deal of the century.

 

[moparmarks]

If it has a solid body then thats a very fair price. If it needs metal work, floor, cowl, ect then no. I've been following the 62-65's and mainly the 65 Plymouths for a while now. Most want 2500 for one needing floors and such.

 

[WP29440SE]

In Georgia, you cannot register a car unless it's insured. You can title it in your name, but that's not registration. Two different animals.

here in Colorado, we get a title and registration , but we cant get plates without proof of insurance.

my charger sat for 8 years without a current registration , only a title. a trip to the DMV and i got a title and registration. with one phone call to my insurance company with a VIN , make , model and year, they sent me an insurance card. back to the dmv and they charged me 188.00 for plates only because it hadnt been plated in so long. easy and painless. we have no inspection or emissions here.

i think for the money , that would be a cool project if it isnt rotted out.

 

[99ss]

Lot of good comments thank you guys,, it interested me a bit due to the price but I am going to hold our for the car I want though... 68 charger or 71 RR or GTX

Still waiting to get my 70 SS back from the exhaust shop