Are A bodies more popular than B bodies?

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'Cuda_ragtop said:
It was Mecum Seattle where it sold for $3.5M
I remember when the same care sold at auction for $300k in 95' or 96'
I still have this Newspaper Clipping that I saved. Everett WA Police auctioned it after seizing it from a Drug Dealer they had busted a year or two earlier. The police knew about the car but it took them a year or two to track it down.

Says one of a kind but it is actually 1 of 2 1971 Hemicuda 4-speed convertibles built for US sales

$300k sounds like a bargain now huh...
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Was on the front page of the Everett Herald
Wish I had saved the whole newspaper...
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Oh yeah you're right, Everett was 30 minutes from where I used to hate to live lol, still pissed at Barrett Jackson though for the televised auctions making people think everything is a 10 pound gold nugget
 
If you really want to start ****? Explain that A and/or E-bodies are not Muscle cars. Of any year. In the "Purist sense?" Neither are Camaros or Mustangs. They are all pony cars. That do deserve respect in their own right. But a few B-bodies are actually "Muscle cars" And only between the years 64-71. Now let the arguments begin? (For the record? It's REALLY tough explaining that a 63 Savoy Max Wedge car is not a Muscle car? It's a family car with performance package?) They look at you like you kicked their dog!
 
^^^ Only reason that 1963 Savoy MW is not considered a so-called "muscle Car" is because it never had a snappy name, ie GTO, GTX etc etc.
 
Mostly repeating what others have said already, has more to do with prices of B-bodies being too high for reasonably-minded people on a budget to afford.

I originally wanted a 68-70 RR but "settled" on my '70 Duster. Being a function-over-form type of guy I found I like this car better anyway. It's just easier to make them fast and handle well because they're smaller and lighter. B-bodies are super sexy, I've come to really love the 71-74 Plymouth B-bodies but they're LARGE. And really I think the 69-73 fuselage C-bodies are just as beautiful if not more so, so if I want a "big" Mopar I'll probably get a C-body.

At the end of the day once you get past the exterior sheetmetal they're all the same car just with different lengths and widths. In reality C-bodies are the most unique design and engineering-wise since at the time they had the highest volume of sales and brought in the most profits for the company. A good number of parts are shared between A, B, E-bodies but C-bodies use a lot of unique stuff.

After I manage to sell my truck and get a comfy modern daily driver (looking at 2004-08 Acura TL) my next old Mopar project will probably either be a C-body wagon or a mid/late-70s B-body like a Cordoba or Magnum. I want to screw around with a big-block car but I can't justify spending thousands of dollars more just because something looks 'cool' and says "Charger" or "Road Runner" on the side. I'd imagine there would be less flak from the purist crowd also if I happen to swap a Mercedes OM606 straight-6 turbodiesel into a C-body wagon lol.
 
Coming up to 3 years ago. I bought my GTX way up near the Canadian border for a little over $21k. The car is not numbers matching. But does have period correct 440 and 4-speed. This was very similar to my GTX I had to sell long ago. I searched more than 2 years to find what I wanted at the price I could live with. At the time one is always concerned about "Paying too much." But what prices has done since? It would be steal today. Quick walk around vid.

 
Chargers have gone even more nuts. I have a friend with a base model 383 '69 Charger. W/auto trans. The car also is not numbers matching. But in very similar driver quality condition. (I would say a 3.2 on a scale 0-5)

I believe my GTX is a better car. Higher optioned. And build quality. But there is every indication that he could get 10%-15% more than GTX for his Charger. They are still in hot demand.
 
cojohnso said:
Chargers have gone even more nuts. I have a friend with a base model 383 '69 Charger. W/auto trans. The car also is not numbers matching. But in very similar driver quality condition. (I would say a 3.2 on a scale 0-5)

I believe my GTX is a better car. Higher optioned. And build quality. But there is every indication that he could get 10%-15% more than GTX for his Charger. They are still in hot demand.
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A GTX or Charger 4 spped car is super rare really as is one without AC, as you know.
Funny story. I have a Mopar bud from way back, in the 80's hard core guy, never sells anything. Well he had a 68 GTX roller original 4 speed , non AC car. I traded him a 70 V code (440-6) Cuda roller, plus I got $2000 boot. This was like about '92 or 3 maybe. Just wait, I had 4 or 5 other V code E body projects. He said later on.he had no idea how rare that 4 speed X was. I had enough of E bodies at that time and I was off them and on to the 68-70 B bodies anyway. I liked them way better. It later sold done to a guy in Ca. along with a 69 X Hemi project.
 
I just have expensive taste. Though I like almost any classic mopar, I always had a liking for the '68-70 B-bodies. It's just the market kept me in my A-bodies. Looking back 30 years, those prices seem super cheap, but I didn't have it then. Guess what? I'm still in A-bodies 'cuz I don't see me shelling out 35K
 
I worked with a guy in 77 who had a beautiful 70 Imperial
I would gladly trade my 70 Dart for that car
 
barbee6043 said:
A GTX or Charger 4 spped car is super rare really as is one without AC, as you know.
Funny story. I have a Mopar bud from way back, in the 80's hard core guy, never sells anything. Well he had a 68 GTX roller original 4 speed , non AC car. I traded him a 70 V code (440-6) Cuda roller, plus I got $2000 boot. This was like about '92 or 3 maybe. Just wait, I had 4 or 5 other V code E body projects. He said later on.he had no idea how rare that 4 speed X was. I had enough of E bodies at that time and I was off them and on to the 68-70 B bodies anyway. I liked them way better. It later sold done to a guy in Ca. along with a 69 X Hemi project.
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For me? I really believe one loses a bit of the experience of classic car ownership with an automatic?
 
I love A B and C bodies if I could have anything it'd be a 71 340 4 speed demon or a 68 Chrysler town and country wagon!

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Thanks I'll trade it for either of my wishes above lol older restoration but still wins tons of cars shows every summer. Call her the cardinal sin.. has a 340 in it
 
barbee6043 said:
IF you asked 100 A body owners IF they would like to own a B body, or specifically a 68-70 B, I bet 97.3% will answer yes. I did not say how many could or would pay the $$$ for such!
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About the only real reason I`d like one , would be the extra room while working on/restoring it .
 
cojohnso said:
For me? I really believe one loses a bit of the experience of classic car ownership with an automatic?
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I love banging gears, but I live in the sticks. Decades ago I had a bunch of TAs and AARs, only one I picked up had a AT. I asked myself why wold anyone by such a type car with an Auto! Guess they lived in the city?
 
One is no better than the other. Having owned a RR or 2 I like them more and less than a dang Duster lol..... Now if we are talking about an investment I would say that's a no brainer. However you should have put your money in Gamestop (lol) and not an old car if you want to make money....

A body's are actually more popular than most think. My generation had parents who bought them because of the right reason and more so there is a group out there who had them in the early days because they were more affordable.... To each his own and there is really no clear cut answer to the question...

JW
 
Yes I would say the B-hold a small popularity advantage in most circles. But that advantage seems to be becoming less as time goes on, of course some b-body owners will always have their nose up in the air just like anyone who loves popularity and achieves some, seldom a good thing. top level a bodys can definitely hold their own in looks and performance! I am very happy with mine and have no desire to move to a B-body platform nope.

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Josh owen said:
I agree like said i own one of each and I love the A body more than any of them
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Smaller, more agile, just an easier automobile all around. A little power can go a long ways.... And for the performance guys (definitely strait line) it is a tried and true platform so you can always start researching for answers or ideas.

I have said it many times and my dad will also until they throw dirt on him that when he first drove a 340 A body in the 60's he was hooked. And further more when someone showed up with one at the street scene there was about to be a disappointed owner in the other lane in more cases than not.....

JW
 
Exactly!! Everything i have has a 340 but even a warmed over 318 in a dart or duster with a 4 speed I tell ya manual brakes and manual steering it will give you a rush everytime you lay into it
 
Josh owen said:
Exactly!! Everything i have has a 340 but even a warmed over 318 in a dart or duster with a 4 speed I tell ya manual brakes and manual steering it will give you a rush everytime you lay into it
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When the Norton's were on the bike scene they were a beast. Power to weight.... Same deal.... That's how my dad figured it out real quick. He had a Norton also. Bad machine in the day but that's for another discussion....

JW
 
cojohnso said:
Coming up to 3 years ago. I bought my GTX way up near the Canadian border for a little over $21k. The car is not numbers matching. But does have period correct 440 and 4-speed. This was very similar to my GTX I had to sell long ago. I searched more than 2 years to find what I wanted at the price I could live with. At the time one is always concerned about "Paying too much." But what prices has done since? It would be steal today. Quick walk around vid.

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That’s a beautiful GTX.

Who’s Beetle is in the background?

It looks like a ‘65 or ‘66.
 
A-bodies draw a lot of attention in my area because we seem to see a lot fewer of them than B-bodies. However, just given that if I go to a show, I will likely see far more B-bodies than A-bodies, I would say that the B-bodies remain more popular. Many A-bodies also had the wheels driven off of them and were subsequently rolled into the junkyards years ago.

All that being said, cool Mopars in general attract a great deal of attention at many shows because there are 10 times as many classic Fords and Chevys. I know of the same half a dozen old Mopars in our area that frequent shows. I even know of more E-bodies than A-bodies.
 
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