What is the cheapest running classic car that you have bought?

[Kern Dog]

It could have been a slant six or even a 318 model. What classic car have you bought that ran and drove that was cheap enough to buy for what amounts to less than a week's wages today? (or less)
I've never owned a classic car that was a performance model.
In all of my 70+ vehicles that I've owned, I have never owned a 340 car, no 383 Magnums, no R/Ts, nothing like that. I've always bought the cheaper models and fixed them up with the bigger engines and such.
My first car was a Dodge, I bought it in 1982 for $400. It was a 69 Dart with a 318.
My first Charger was also a 318 model, bought in 2000 for $1700. I've spent a bit on it and now it has a 440 based 495....

I'd love to hear of a Super Bee that you bought for $1,000 and that you drove it for years. Maybe it was a 71 Slant six Valiant?

 

[Richard Cranium]

1966 Coronet: 75 bucks back in the early 80's.

 

[chargervert]

I used to buy running driving Chargers for under $100. I paid $75 for a 69 318 Charger,drove it for a year and sold it for $250 in 1983. I bought a 68 318 Charger for $80,it was my daily driver for years. I paid $50 for a 68 Charger with a blown 318. I put a 383 in it. They were that cheap in the early 80s.

 

[moparedtn]

First car I ever owned was a '64 Olds F85. Paid $95 for it. "Classic"? Naw...
EDIT: That was 1977.

 

[turbine68rt]

'72 SSP with 56k miles for $400 in '85.

 

[3sloppydogs]

I'm too cheap to buy something running. All my stuff needs something.
But that's part of the fun.

 

[68BabyBlue]

My ‘62 Imperial. Found it in Mopar Collectors Guide, paid $1700 in 1992. Drove it four years for work, with a generous company mileage reimbursement. I made money on every mile. My 1970 GTX was $1500 in 1977, a bit higher priced, if you consider inflation.

 

[gooser]

in 1973 i needed another car i did not want to drive my 69 charger rt in the winter so i found this 68 roadrunner in trading times for $550 i still have it today along with my 69 charger rt

 

[terrywalker]

The best deal I ever got was when I paid $1950 for my 71 Challenger Shaker 340 Convertible in June 1972. The next best deal for a running car was my 74 Charger Rallye for $1200 in 1987. I still have both. The Challenger had a dented fender which cost me $100 to get repaired in 1972.
Terry W.

 

[junior340]

I bought a beautiful blue`68 Charger 318 car for $400 1980 and drove it across US with only a coil wire and one flat tire.
Many others under $500 came and went.
Paid $100 for a 1968 Hemi Road Runner from a coworker so his wife can't get it in a divorce, then sold back to him after that.
$1,000 for a cherry `61 Imperial 2 door, what a fine car.
Paid $1,350 for my R/T in 1982 and still have it. Race it, drive it to work, just have fun with it.

I do not remember any under $100 like you guys, that is amazing, they really were all over the place, just drive down a back road and pick one out. LOL

 

[terrywalker]

The best deal I ever got was when I paid $1950 for my 71 Challenger Shaker 340 Convertible in June 1972. The next best deal for a running car was my 74 Charger Rallye for $1200 in 1987. I still have both. The Challenger had a dented fender which cost me $100 to get repaired in 1972. I just remembered I bought a 72 Challenger 318 car for $1500 in 1981 and a 1970 Challenger SE 383 car for $1200 in 1984. Both cars ran great and were in excellent shape.
Terry W.

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I just remember a few other cars I got for cheap that were drivable. One was a 1936 Chevy Standard sedan for $100. I drove it for a few months in 1970. Another was a 1966 Chevy Impala with a 283 for $1200 that I drove for a year before selling it for what I paid for it in order to buy the 71 convertible. I also bought a 65 Malibu for $600 with a 6 cyl in 1973 when I was in the Navy. Sold it a year later for what I bought it for.
Terry W.

 

[eldubb440]

50 bucks for a 69 Buick Skylark..........I was 15 and got into a lot of trouble that night

 

[69hemibeep]

69 GTO 400 4 spd for $75 back in 73. It was actually a good looking rust free car good interior that used lots of oil.

 

[Triplegreen500]

Coworker came up to me one day around 2005, "hey man I need a car out of my parking lot, my HOA is on my case. It's a Mopar, you need it ". I don't need another car. "Sure you do. How much cash is in your wallet right now?" $42. DONE.

Got me a 28k mile 78 volare sedan, /6 factory air, zero rust, 34 degree vent temps at idle in 90 degree weather. Buffed it out, put cop steelies on it, got a battery for it, put a muffler and tailpipe on it, drove it for a couple years till a guy "had to have it" for his teen son. $3500. I should have kept it.

$50 for a running inline six 49 coronet sedan with gyromatic semiautomatic trans. Yard sale.

Got a 71 SSP for $850 around 1998. 318, non working AC, solid. Sold to a friend when she needed wheels and her folks wouldn't help her out (she was 22 and on her own).

Paid $500 for my 72 satellite wagon in '95 - 318, 904, 8.75 3.23 SG. Still have it.

Got a bronze '72 crew (yes, four doors) cab long bed D200 for a grand right around 1999. Another pickup was a white '85 D350 SRW crew, 8' bed, traded a box of motorcycle parts for it. Both trucks were 360/727 2wd.

Then, there are dozens of sub-$1000 turbo and Shelby dodges. Got em cheap, modded the turbos, modded the fuel systems, ran 10s and 11s at the track with them, popped headgaskets (10 second fuses lol) so frequently I could change one in the pits with hand tools between rounds...fun times.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Not the "Cheapest" but I bought a 4spd 71 Hemi Challenger for $400 in 1980....
Yes it was rusty & rough... But, it had a Hemi, A Hemi 4spd & a 4:10 Dana..

 

[1KoolBee]

Bought my uncle’s 67 gtx in 1975 for $150. Got it running on 7-1/2 cylinders ( burnt valve in #6) cleaned it up, put a clutch in it, painted it Omaha orange (cheapest I could find, $25 a gallon), only to have my heart broken. Insurance man said: “ I won’t insure a 16 year old in a Datsun with a 4-speed, let alone that thing!” I was crushed, my dad made me sell it back to my uncle for $150. I remember driving her back with tears in my eyes, did a couple burnouts which made me feel a little better. My uncle traded it to one of my **** for brains cousins for a ford pickup, and my cousin wrecked the X. Silver lining, 2 months later I found my Bee in the local green sheet for $450, we offered $400, owner accepted. She’s been mine ever since. Last time I saw the X, it was sitting in front of a house across the street from University Tire in Davis, CA. Motor out and the front clip from a B-5 blue car was on it.

 

[Coelacanth]

I had a 4-door 1970 Dodge Monaco for a winter beater for a few years, had a 383 2-bbl. I paid $200 for it. Is that considered a classic? I really miss that beast.

I bought my 1970 Charger 500, 383 Magnum, for $2200 in 1986. That would be considered cheap nowadays but was a chunk of change back then.

 

[gtx6970]

summer of 1977 - 1969 Roadrunner , 383 auto. $150 and drove it home
All the following were sometime in the 80s time frame , dont remember exactly when or the order
1971 Duster slant six auto - $250 and drove it for a couple years before it finally gave up
1970 Coronet 500 conv. I think I gave $150 for it. Drove it a couple years as my daily driver.
1972 Fury 2 door hardtop. I think I gave $100 for it , had a cracked block. I dumped a bottle of bars leak in it and drove it 3 or 4 years. Sold it to a buddy of mine and he drove it a couple more years, Don't remember what ever happened to it. That car ran like a top and not once ever let me down. Never had much of a heater in it though, go figure. But the AC would freeze you out of it in the summer time.
I had a lot of fun IN that car ' hint hint ' Gotta love big bench seats I cannot lie


GOOD cars
These were all late 70s and very early 80s
1970 Roadrunner, 440 six barrel 4spd, $1200 , needed a fork in the trans as it was stuck in 3rd gear. The guy I bought it from is actually a member here. Drove that car for several years.
1970 Roadrunner, hemi 4spd, $1500 for a rolling body no engine or trans.
1969 Roadrunner body, original A12 , 4spd body only $250 , sold it a year later for $1500 I think
1969 Roadrunner Hemi 4spd, Best I remember I pd $5500 ,,,,,,,I REALLY wish I had kept this one

 

[j-c-c-62]

1992 I bought my 1972 318 running Barracuda with zero rust that a grandmother actually owned for $600.
I sold later the pristine White interior for $600.
It will be my final and greatest mopar project.

 

[Vaanth]

The cheapest that I have bought and immediately drove is $500 for my 79 Newport in 1990. It was then my daily driver for 12 years before assigning to hobby status. Next cheapest was my Challenger T/A for $600 in 1976. It was my daily driver for about 5 years (dual duty with my 70 Duster) then became a hobby car. My 77 Fury was cheaper at $400 in 1985, running, but was towed home. It then became a daily driver after correcting some issues. I've paid less for parts cars. Not counting a few free cars, I paid $25 for a 70 Charger minus its 318/904 in the 80s. We had no paper to write on, so the Bill of Sale was written on the cardboard liner from a Dolly Madison cupcake twin pack. I still have the running cars, but the Charger was parted out