Are A bodies more popular than B bodies?

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Trickle down economics. The high price of e bodies brought up the cost of b bodies, which in return is raising the price and interest in a bodies. There are the loyalists that have always been faithful to the a bodies, but due the high price of the others, is bring up the interests in the a's
 
I always loved B bodies and never really lusted hard for an a body until:

B body prices became super stupid

We built a sweet 66 fastback mustang at the shop I worked at, it gave me an appreciation for the smaller cars.
 
I still want a factory 383 4 speed 4.10 68 Road Runner. Never happen.
 
There's a whale of a difference between what is "popular" and what costs a lot of money and therefore some would say "more valuable". I think A bodies are actually more popular - that is liked and more interesting to more people, because they are relatively less expensive, more fun to drive, more successful at the drag strip. You still see a big following for 63-5 B-bodies by the straight line performance minded, but starting in 67 the A body was closer in size and weight to the older B-bodies so that's where many of the racers went.
 
In my book, it kind of depends what your car will be used for. The bigger the car, the better the road car. I'll be the first to say-Give me a HP 440 powered C Body for Interstate driving any day. B Body 2nd and A Body last. I have all three and like them all!
 
rumblefish360 said:
I say yes due to price.
Also low on the snobbery owners list.
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If the popularity is increasing, it may be because the Buy-in for a Charger, Satellite or E body has gone up to where people just can't afford them.
In late 2019 I bought THIS Charger for $5000. It was wrecked in 1995 and sat for 24 years. It is a low line 1970 XH model but did come with the original 383.
I had to change the entire front structure since the original rails and aprons were tweaked too much. I replaced the trunk floor and repaired the rusted sections around the rear window.

XH 31 A.jpg
Repair 61.jpg
Repair 69.jpg
2 XH B.jpg
AMD 3.jpg
Trunk 2.jpg
Trunk 95.jpg


I rebuilt the 383 and am getting ready to install it. Running and driving, this car could sell for $20,000 or more within 1 week. People go gaga over the 68-70 Chargers.
Can you imagine buying a wrecked low level Duster or Dart and paying $5000 for it?
Me neither. The A body cars are still relatively affordable so they appeal to more people with thinner wallets....Like most of us!
 
I always was told by my "Racing Mentor" that anything a "B" could do, an "A" could do better/faster!!
 
My attraction to Mopars began with The Dukes Of Hazzard. I wanted a Charger but in the early 80s, affordable ones needed work that I didn't know how to do yet. The nice ones were too much money. I bought a '69 2 door 318 Dart for $400. I still love the 68-70 Charger styling. It has nothing to do with being a B body, I just like that body style a lot. I've had several Dusters, Darts and Valiants too.
 
It just depends who you ask. These is a market for all of them. Some buy whatever they like, some buy whatever they can afford.
 
I always had A bodies in the past, but they were daily drivers, or flippers. I had 1 E body, 1970 barracuda. Looked nice in yellow, but i thought it was dreadful the way it drove. I was a B body nut. 68-69 chargers were my thing. Restored a 68, sold it, missed it. Almost immediately i bought a 69, restored it. Sold it in 1994. Got on with life as s young man. Finally had a house of my own, built a shop in the back yard, had some cash and time. Went looking, found basket case charger shells (basically someone's completely raped parts car) with title were going for $3K. I s as I'd **** a whole lot of that. My local salvage yard guy is a mopar guy, I asked what he had in the way of a project. He had a 72 V8 dart swinger that was rotted around the back window from a vinyl top, and a 67 slant sux 3 on the tree barracuda notchback that was solid but dented up. I went for the barracuda because to me it reminded me of a 68-69 road runner in miniature. He also turned me on to the best online resource ever, FABO. The rest is history.
 
When I was looking for a bracket car, the decent B & E bodies were just too expensive to do what I wanted to do. When I found my Demon, I got a great deal on it as a roller race car. I've watched the base model A body prices slowly rise over the past 10 to 12 years. They are slowly being priced out of the beginners price range, not to mention the higher end cars being way too expensive for someone trying to get into the Mopar hobby.
 
I've always wanted a GTX . I still have my eye on two around me . One is Black on black on black with non macthing 440 in it (not for sale yet) . Survivor paint very minimal rust on lower quarters . The other is 80% complete #'s matching 440 but has a cracked block . He wants 15K
 
The prices of A's are increasing. Rightfully so. Are they more popular than say B or E not necessarily. One it is a matter of taste and also
a matter of affordability. I myself have owned all the platforms. I own a E right know, But my favorite is B-body. I also don't consider
myself a SNOB. But, some of the B's you have to becareful the parts for them are real expensive. They are not being Made. For example
'70 Charger fenders. '70 Coronet front valence and Fenders and so on.
I would like to have another '70 Charger or '69 RR. Possibly I'm on the Hunt. I haven't lost the Faith.
 
moparmat2000 said:
Rusty, I noticed your avatar is the "heat miser" from the old stop motion year without a Santa Claus movie. I loved the heat miser and Cold miser.
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He's too much.
 
RammerJammer75 said:
I don't think they are. The problem is most B bodies are either not for sale or they're so expensive most people can't afford to buy and complete them. I've seen shells of '69 Chargers sold for 12k and they're completely rotted out. I think most people just want a cool old Mopar and are at a point to they don't care what it is, just so long as they can afford to do what they want with it. But I do agree, many A body owners aren't as "particular" as B body guys.
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This ^^^^^^is very true!!!
 
72bluNblu said:
My '72 Challenger is smaller than a modern Challenger, so, I don't know about the size thing.
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When I was looking at building my garage I wanted to layout how my cars would fit in it depending on the size I built. So I looked up the published specs for my Duster and my 2015 Challenger. They were much closer in size than I expected.

1974 Duster 71.9" wide x 194.1" long (without bumper guards) or 196.9" (with them)
2015 Challenger 75.7" wide x 197.9" long

Note that the Challenger width is without mirrors, those add another 10.1". But the mirrors (in my mind) aren't the issue and the Duster width doesn't include them either, so more of an apples to apples.

Yes, almost 4" wider and over 3" longer, unless the Duster has bumper guards (mine doesn't) and then it is only an inch. But not a foot longer like I expected.

A quick google search shows a 1972 Challenger being 76.3" wide x 191.3" long. So a Challenger is actually shorter than a Duster? Ah, I bet the 5 mph bumpers on a 1974 Duster add to the length.

So, looks like an E-Body is about the same length as a '73 or earlier Duster, but 5" wider, and a current generation Challenger is only an inch wider than an E-Body and 6.6" longer.

For reference, looks like a '72 Roadrunner is 79.1" wide x 212.4" long. Definitely much bigger than an A-Body and even significantly bigger than a new Challenger. Not even going to look up a '72 Charger. :D
 
Well as much as I like the A bodies for cost and weight, and cost is changing all the time, if someone offered up a 70-74 Barracuda, or 68/69 Coronet, I'd probably trade my 69 Dart GT vert in a heartbeat. I doubt it will happen but hey, I can dream. :)
 
I really like A bodies, my first car was a 69 GTS 383 Auto.
I have owned A's B's and E Bodies.
I currently own (just purchased) a 70 RT Challenger U code 4 speed.

I have been looking for a nice 69 340 4 Speed GTS or Swinger for quite a while. I can't find a nice original example.

I have noticed the prices for these cars has really gone up the last few years. I mean some stupid prices, of course these cars just sit for sale and don't sell.

A friend of mine recently bought a very nice Swinger 340 auto. It did not have the matching numbers engine in the car, but it came with it. Fresh paint on all original panels, very nice body in a great color. Great running solid car. He paid 27K for it.
I think that was a pretty good buy for what it was.

If I could find one at what I consider a reasonable price I would buy it. I might even over pay for a really good car.
Know of any available......LOL
 
I have had just about every A, B, and E model. Some many of each over the decades.
Just like when the muscle car craze started way back, the more rare and expensive models bring up the value of the lesser models.
Many people love the size of the A body, me included.
The style of the early A reminds me of some of my favorite models the early B body. Just cheaper and easier too find.
Most people will buy a B body compared to an A body, dollar for dollar. I am not saying a '69 M code 440 Cuda will be cheaper to buy than a 318 '68 Satellite.
Many people get tired of the cost of B body stuff, the idiot costs of 2 nd gen Chargers, and 68-70 B bodies, even the 73-4 B bodies are getting stupid high. Decent projects are crazy and yes there are people that are still buying them (B body). But there are more decent A body projects out there than good B body projects, and the A's are hands down cheap compared.
It was not that many years ago, OK so maybe 20, 340 Dusters were not very sought after. Why? Too many good 68-70 Runners, Chargers, Bees could be had so darn cheap. By cheap lets say $5000-8000-for a restored 383 Runner. Been there done that.
 
Not only has the price of an "A" body gone up, the value certainly has as well.
My insurance company came out and appraised both of my cars last October.
I got the appraisals a couple weeks ago.
Keep in mind insurance appraisals are generally higher.
My 74 Duster /6 car that really could stand new paint, appraised at $10,450.00
My 75 Dart true survivor 4dr 318 appraised at $16,500.00
That last one shocked the hell out of me. I figured maybe $10K at the high end and only because of what it is.
The Duster appraisal is also pretty dang high. I thought it would be in the $7K to $8K range.
I have mixed feelings about these. On one hand, it a good thing for me, on the other, it distances an entry level car to someone wanting to get into the hobby.
 
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