How do you build your car
- Thread starter amzchad
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slantscamp
Well-Known Member
well since most people look at me like im crazy when i tell them what im building. i guess the only thing i could do to help resale is turn it into a camaro or mustang. so i build it how i want it. who else will have a slant six powered station wagon with cheater slicks and a sparkly blue steering wheel. soooo build it how you want it.
A68DART360
Well-Known Member
New to this board so first off I say HELLO to everyone. you should start with a basic car first and not some rare car thats worth alot of money. Then what ever you change on the car try and keep all the parts you took off incase you decide to sell the car. Some people may want to change it back. Me I made the mistake and cut up my 1964 Doge Polara 500 with 383 eng A/C bucket seat and console shift, to make a big tire street/race car out of. I did that about 14 years ago and still have the car but never finished it yet and regret it all the time because back then cars were not worth alot of money. I only paid 1,200.00 for it then I seen the car values go through the roof. So if you are going to keep car for along time then do it for yourself.
SCredneck
LARGE member
First and foremost, it's YOUR car and YOUR money. Build it however the hell YOU want to build it. Second, might consider what your starting platform is. If, for example, you're like me working on a '76 Charger SE, forget about a matching-number restoration. It wouldn't be worth it as an investment. The cost would FAR outweigh what the finished product would be worth on the market.
InTheDart
Member
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Just signed up as a member last week, so you're not the only new kid on the block. I think we all have some crazy version of what we want our ride to look like. I took on a 74 Swinger rolling carcass project with my 17 yo son and the very next day saw a 72 Swinger with a 360 cop motor in it for $500. A Mopar friend of mine said I would be crazy to pass it up. I'll tell you that some days you will feel crazy for doing it, but whatevere you do, do it your way. I've read this forum for several months becasue everyone has a dream! That's where I get my inspiration!
Build it the way you want it. But...
Mopars and some of the other muscle cars are a little different because of some of the factory oddballs and options. I would obviously recommend NOT cutting up a '71 hemi 'Cuda. :toothy10: But a '74 with a 318/904? Game on.
Don't cut up stuff just to do it. Its amazing how much work can be done on these cars by just bolting things on. After all, a big block can go into a /6 car with bolt on engine mounts, a bolt in transmission, a bolt in rear end, and some bolt in headers (ok there's a little more to it, but it all bolts on :-D). If someone really wanted to put a /6 back in it, they could, and with very little "damage" to undo if any. Especially if you held on to the original parts (if they're #'s matching, otherwise don't bother). There's a lot of things you can do with factory parts, even if they weren't factory for your car.
If you use a little "common sense", you can do a lot to make a car yours without doing anything permanent. My Challenger was already a non-matching numbers car when I got it, and it was a 318/904 grocery getter to start with. It already has all new suspension- larger torsion bars, tubular UCA's and LCA's, drop spindles, 11.75" rotors, XHD springs and so on (all of which can be unbolted, actually), and will soon have a 400+ hp 340 and 4 speed. But I'm guessing that if I had to sell it for some reason it would be worth more as a 340/4 speed that handles well than a non-numbers matching 318 grocery getter that drives like a boat, so there's a little bit of common sense for you.
My butterscotch '71 Dart GT on the other hand is almost all stock, #'s matching, with buildsheet and fender tag present. It has some options, and for the most part I'm going to keep it original. But since the 318 is worn out, I'm pulling it for another small block. I'm going to hang on to the original block and rebuild at a later date though, so it can stay original. But in the mean time I can drive it. And I may convert to disk brakes, run larger torsion bars, stiffer springs and better shocks. But again, there are a lot of "factory looking" options that just bolt up. I can bolt up a set of '73-76 a-arms, spindles and disks and still look stock. It might not match the buildsheet, but its not a franken-car either. And if someone buys it later and wants to put manual 10" drums back on it, they can. If someone crawls under my car to find out I have 1" torsion bars instead of .88" bars, good for them.
I guess my point is for a street driven car there really isn't a whole lot of stuff you need to do that can't be undone anyway, so do what you want. It really isn't that hard to remove an aftermarket radio and put a stocker back in, its not like you're going to weld it in. Especially if you give a little thought to how you wire the new one. If you're going to back-half the thing, weld in a cage, and strip its guts, it probably makes better financial sense not to start with a rare model/option car. But other than that, have fun! Cars can be repainted, big blocks can be removed, and if you don't just slash and burn your way through the car its easy enough to do.
Mopars and some of the other muscle cars are a little different because of some of the factory oddballs and options. I would obviously recommend NOT cutting up a '71 hemi 'Cuda. :toothy10: But a '74 with a 318/904? Game on.
Don't cut up stuff just to do it. Its amazing how much work can be done on these cars by just bolting things on. After all, a big block can go into a /6 car with bolt on engine mounts, a bolt in transmission, a bolt in rear end, and some bolt in headers (ok there's a little more to it, but it all bolts on :-D). If someone really wanted to put a /6 back in it, they could, and with very little "damage" to undo if any. Especially if you held on to the original parts (if they're #'s matching, otherwise don't bother). There's a lot of things you can do with factory parts, even if they weren't factory for your car.
If you use a little "common sense", you can do a lot to make a car yours without doing anything permanent. My Challenger was already a non-matching numbers car when I got it, and it was a 318/904 grocery getter to start with. It already has all new suspension- larger torsion bars, tubular UCA's and LCA's, drop spindles, 11.75" rotors, XHD springs and so on (all of which can be unbolted, actually), and will soon have a 400+ hp 340 and 4 speed. But I'm guessing that if I had to sell it for some reason it would be worth more as a 340/4 speed that handles well than a non-numbers matching 318 grocery getter that drives like a boat, so there's a little bit of common sense for you.
My butterscotch '71 Dart GT on the other hand is almost all stock, #'s matching, with buildsheet and fender tag present. It has some options, and for the most part I'm going to keep it original. But since the 318 is worn out, I'm pulling it for another small block. I'm going to hang on to the original block and rebuild at a later date though, so it can stay original. But in the mean time I can drive it. And I may convert to disk brakes, run larger torsion bars, stiffer springs and better shocks. But again, there are a lot of "factory looking" options that just bolt up. I can bolt up a set of '73-76 a-arms, spindles and disks and still look stock. It might not match the buildsheet, but its not a franken-car either. And if someone buys it later and wants to put manual 10" drums back on it, they can. If someone crawls under my car to find out I have 1" torsion bars instead of .88" bars, good for them.
I guess my point is for a street driven car there really isn't a whole lot of stuff you need to do that can't be undone anyway, so do what you want. It really isn't that hard to remove an aftermarket radio and put a stocker back in, its not like you're going to weld it in. Especially if you give a little thought to how you wire the new one. If you're going to back-half the thing, weld in a cage, and strip its guts, it probably makes better financial sense not to start with a rare model/option car. But other than that, have fun! Cars can be repainted, big blocks can be removed, and if you don't just slash and burn your way through the car its easy enough to do.
spikekid999
MOPAR OR NO CAR!!!
my 74 dart sport is all original numbers matching 318 with only like 49xxx miles on it, i changes out the rearend for a 8.25, and i plan on puttin hydros in it and building an old school lowrider
Snake
Mopar Nut
there are 2 car buyers out there.Ones that like it ones that dont,take your pick.
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