Hello, I need some advice and opinions please.

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Leowulf

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Hello, I’m looking to get advice on possible purchasing a 1968 Barracuda. It’s a 2-d sports hardtop with a 318. They want 18,500 for it. It’s been lowered and comes with 3 sets of wheels. They said it has a few no do bumps you can see in the paint, some of the wiring needs to be redone, like the fuel gauge doesn’t work and the taillights are iffy sometimes and there is a main shutoff switch mounted under the ignition. He said the glass is good and only has a little surface rust near the trunk.

I haven’t looked at it yet and that will be tomorrow. But I’m curious of everyone’s opinions and whether it sounds like a good deal or not. I’ve owned classic cars before but never a mopar so I feel a little lost on cost to have like the electrical redone and things like that. Any advice on what to look for would be appreciated. Thank you.

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it's about 6500 too much for what it is... Looks like (not a Mopar Guy) did the work.
Nothing's Stock... Chinese Radiator, blah, blah
 
Leowulf said:
Can you be more specific? I don’t necessarily disagree with you for certain things but I’m more curious if it’s a good deal.
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It's a rippoff for that price. Specific enough? It looks like a Earl Schieb paint job at best, the tires and wheels SUCK and the interior looks like it's on the rag. It's horrible. I think it's about 10K over priced.
 
Is that a mailbox on the hood? Hideous.
 
RustyRatRod said:
It's a rippoff for that price. Specific enough? It looks like a Earl Schieb paint job at best, the tires and wheels SUCK and the interior looks like it's on the rag. It's horrible. I think it's about 10K over priced.
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I also feel it’s a bit high for the work that would need to go back into it.
 
Leowulf said:
I also feel it’s a bit high for the work that would need to go back into it.
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You already say they admit to electrical maladies. You must assume as a buyer that's it's deeper than they let on. Also "a little surface rust". Trust me bud. That car's got more body filler than a cheap Hollywood **** star. I wouldn't give 6K for it.

If you're lookin at cars in the 18K plus range, keep lookin. You can find something VERY nice for that kinda money.
 
RustyRatRod said:
You already say they admit to electrical maladies. You must assume as a buyer that's it's deeper than they let on. Also "a little surface rust". Trust me bud. That car's got more body filler than a cheap Hollywood **** star. I wouldn't give 6K for it.

If you're lookin at cars in the 18K plus range, keep lookin. You can find something VERY nice for that kinda money.
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I appreciate the info!
 
Leowulf said:
I appreciate the info!
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Sho nuff. Last thing we want around here is for somebody to get taken on something. There are plenty of nice cars for the money out there. I don't think that's one of them.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Sho nuff. Last thing we want around here is for somebody to get taken on something. There are plenty of nice cars for the money out there. I don't think that's one of them.
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What else should I know about barracuda’s is the 318 not a good engine for them? Prone to anything in terms of rust spots?
 
eekvonzipper said:
it's about 6500 too much for what it is... Looks like (not a Mopar Guy) did the work.
Nothing's Stock... Chinese Radiator, blah, blah
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Aside from it being not stock what other things should I look for on these types of cars. Barracuda’s I mean.
 
Leowulf said:
What else should I know about barracuda’s is the 318 not a good engine for them? Prone to anything in terms of rust spots?
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ANY small block is an excellent foundation. IMO though, you could find a numbers 68 340 car for probably close to the same money. That is, IF you're interested in that kinda thing. That's just to give you an idea. I wouldn't pay 18500 for that POS no time no where no how. lol
 
The car looks like it's in a car yard - you would be much better off both financially and in terms of the integrity of the car if you bought privately from an owner. Car yards have their margins on top and they'll tell you anything to get a sale.
Keep looking as there are nice cars out there. The Barracuda should have a nice vinyl interior, not a furry velour interior like that one. Check everywhere for rust. These cars are 50+ years old. Check the cowl as drains can block with debris, mouse nests etc. Check around the back window. Check floor pans, especially in footwells as blocked cowl drains or leaking wiper seals let water in and soak the carpet.
All the engines and transmissions are reliable with no inherent faults.
The 7.25 rear end is not that strong but mine survived fine behind my 318. The larger diffs are strong though e.g. 8.75".
4 spd cars will be worth more than autos, console autos worth more than column shift. Fastbacks are probably more desirable than notchbacks.
The 340 engine is the pick of the small blocks, but a 383 big block is attractive too. There was a 440 factory option in 1969 but they are big dollars. 318's are reliable and can be made to boogie with a few easy mods.
I had a '69 318 fastback, column shift similar to the photo below. Loved that car, should never have sold it. Good luck in your quest.
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Thank you for the detailed response. It’s from a private owner but he said he bought it from a dealership ( I suspect he works there) and stated he didn’t have time to work on it with his other projects. I don’t mind restomods.my biggest concerns are I don’t know how to price it fairly and I don’t know what original or important things to look for are. What really peaked my interest is I don’t see barracudas pop up often in my area (North Idaho/ Eastern Wa). Thank you for more info!
 
Thanks Joey, yeah if I was to purchase that car, i would scrutinize it extremely well. Listed as 69? It has lots of 68 stuff on it(grills, hood, tail lights). While those are mainly cosmetic changes, there is still a reason why they were changed? Also instead of restoring the chrome, they painted it? It actually doesnt look bad, but again there is a reason they did that.
Elec issues could be HUGE. You could be into new harnesses, a new dash harness is an easy $600. One common rust area is the rail right by the lower control arms. No way I would purchase something that's been "dropped". You never know how it was done or the quality of it.
That car will give you fits in my opinion. Altho I dont mind the looks of it, the quality of work to get it "there" could be very suspect. If you got $18k to spend I would keep looking. Looking to keep or flip?
 
4spdragtop said:
Thanks Joey, yeah if I was to purchase that car, i would scrutinize it extremely well. Listed as 69? It has lots of 68 stuff on it(grills, hood, tail lights). While those are mainly cosmetic changes, there is still a reason why they were changed? Also instead of restoring the chrome, they painted it? It actually doesnt look bad, but again there is a reason they did that.
Elec issues could be HUGE. You could be into new harnesses, a new dash harness is an easy $600. One common rust area is the rail right by the lower control arms. No way I would purchase something that's been "dropped". You never know how it was done or the quality of it.
That car will give you fits in my opinion. Altho I dont mind the looks of it, the quality of work to get it "there" could be very suspect. If you got $18k to spend I would keep looking. Looking to keep or flip?
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Listed as a 68. I don’t necessarily want to spend 18k as I don’t think it’s worth that IMO. I would be looking to keep. Just looking for a fun classic care to enjoy periodically that I can put some money into, but not break the bank for the most part.
 
Run , run far away from that car.
I love the Hillbilly hood scoop!
 
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