need advise on my 4door. worth keeping or part it out.

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rigrunner

rigrunner

rigrunner
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got a 73 valiant 4 door factory 318 auto disc brakes air. i had the heads rebuilt put in a small cam and 4bbl dual exh. the car runs awesome but it needs paint, the front seat recovered rear springs and an entire front end rebuild. ac has been removed. dont get to drive it far for the suspension needs too much work. is a 4 door worth the cash it will cost me to fix all thats needed? im also working on a 70 d100 short ute that needs and engine. its in overall better shape was thinking of swapping the drive train and just part out the valiant. love the car just cant decide if its worth fixing. thanks for listening and any opiions welcome. its the one in my avitar. looks pretty much the same ecept i have removed the cloth top.
 
You could always sell the car whole and use the cash to buy another motor/trans for the truck.
 
make a list of parts needed for the ute--- scrounge as much off the valiant as you can then part the rest.
Lawrence
 
I think it depends on what you like. These days there is nothing wrong with restoring an old 4 door if you like that type of car. We are seeing more and more 4 door cars showing up at the shows as the supply of restorable 2 door cars dries up. In general a like, built 2 door will always be worth more but you can still have fun with a 4 door. This Valiant was at this spring's big show in Myrtle Beach. A real beauty inside and out. The red 62' is my money pit.

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if you are worried about what it is worth then you are in the wrong hobby
the only good reason to fix up a car is because you like it and want to do it
are four doors ever going to have the same value as two doors? nope never
will you have fun fixing up your valiant? and will you enjoy driving it around? definitely!
 
thanks all. not worried really about what its worth ive had it for 4 years or so and love driving it. just have a hard time deciding if i want to keep putting money into it. gets frustrating sometimes i want to finish and sometimes im fed up. thanks again its a love hate relationship lol.
 
I think this hobby cost more than what its worth. When you think how you could buy a 7 to 10 year old car and put $1,500 of new parts in it and drive it everyday and get 20 plus mpg, its like ugh.

I brought my brother a 1998 Buick 3 years ago for $3,500 and put about $300 of new parts, hoses, a belt, new wires, plugs and then he got new tires for it. Now he has 50,000 miles more on it, has 155,000 miles and all he had done was a new water pump and a battery.

But its a pos on acceleration and I know darn well my 78 Magnum in a collision would cream that Buick. These newer cars scare me cause I know how weak they are, just try to kick it and you see the panel flex. Who ever hears of people not getting seriously injured in a high speed wreck now of days. Watch those old CHIP shows, those were real cars driven by stunt drivers just wearing a helmet and safety gear. Today car movie wrecks are done by computer software video.

Air bags are a lie, if they worked so well how come NASCAR doesn't use them but has roll bars instead? Not like NASCAR can not afford the best of everything.

I think a mid 70's Gran Fury would be stronger in a wreck but if I had my choice I still rather be strap in that 73 valiant over my brothers Buick in any accident.

So what would i do, I keep that old car if its rust free and forget what other people think..I would not go crazy thou and sink a bunch of money in to it..let the rick folks have their $4,000 paint jobs and $1,500 chrome wheels.
 
Oh by the way back in 1988 I was in a 4 door 1987 Olds Cutlass going around 50 mph and didn't noticed a stop sign in a 55 mph zone, was a 4 way stop and some pick up truck stop for their stop sign but then just pulled right out in front of my car..I had the radio blasting and was like wow when I seen the side of the truck caving in and my hood lifting up. I was knockout--no seat belt but woke right up when a officer placed his hand on me...my knee hurt and I was dazed but I was able to sign a form refusing hospital treatment and roded with the officer to the station to get my disobeying stop sign ticket and ride home--my old man was pissed, it was his car, lol..guess what, that Olds had a full frame and no air bags but then GM stop making them (sad face)..he got a front wheel drive Olds 88 and loved it, I hated it, ha ha..he got 280,000 miles in 12 years with it thou..insurance totaled that car and sent a $8,500 check for it, very cool..ah the good old days
 
just an update if anyones interested. ive had the car for sale a while now for 2000. had absolutely no interest from anyone and after lots of begging from my 9 year old son im keeping the car. even the wife wants me to keep and fix it so. getting quotes on the front end rebuild and paint. get my taxes back around feb and have a 2000 dollar budget to work with. one day he will have the car so gonna keep it and drive it. thanks
 
from your mouth not mine
had it for 4 years or so and love driving it
so keep the car
 
yeah running wise its in great shape other than the front end. i figure for 2 grand i can take care of that and get a decent paint job on it.
 
while 4 doors are gaining popularity as the 2 doors dry up, as previously stated, most see them only as parts cars especially original V8 cars because of the equipment they come with. most people are just not going to pay a lot for them. personally, i would not pump any kind of real money into a 4 door mopar, thats not to say that they cant be fast cool cars,its just a matter of preference. i once owned a 70 coronet 4 door that i bought for a parts car for my 70 Bee, and i drove it around for almost a year,and i really liked the 383/727 ,bench seat that it had when i got it,but it is not accepted as a muscle car, because of the extra 2 doors and the badging and options even though it had the exact same power train and metal as the super bee. i have seen people trying to get upwards of 5000 bucks (for example) an original 318/904 73 dart custom 4 door that was dented up and had 110,000 miles. long story short,if you like the car and plan on keeping it, throw money at it, if you have another project that you like even more that you are REALLY going to keep, part it out, use what you can and sell the rest. if you dont really want what you have, sell it all to fund something you really want.if you cant decide,keep driving it and wait for a good deal to come along, because if you are looking, a good deal WILL come along on something you really want. my $0.02
 
If you do work on the 4 door remember you can always swap the stuff over to a 2 door in the future.

Many people might not like 4 doors but they are the perfect candidate for a sleeper.:thumrigh:
 
I say save it! Screw the parts route,there's enough parts in the market. Save it!!
 
its saved. and roadrunnerh i mean the 2k is my budget for the car. the front end needs around 900 i figure 1100 sould get me a decent paint job and a few extras. im getting second wind of excitement now. just need my money lol
 
well its been almost a year and still no progress. i still have the car and keep it drivable and am still planning on mild resto soon. lost my good paying job early in the year. shut the doors with no notice so money got really tight and my car buget was gone to bills. working again now but not as good pay as before but all could find. so shooting for first of year to get started again.
 
Anything that's not rusty is worth saving. Glad you are trying to hold on to it.
I'm with you on the "No car budget" as mine went away 4 years ago. I still have 2 cars (both 4 door). I hope to be able to keep them as long as I can.
Keep us posted.Any other photos? Sure looks good in your avatar. I sure wouldn't mind having a car with factory air even if it's not hooked up.
 
no current pics. doesnt look as good as it did when i took the pic in my avitar. have removed the vinyl top and fixed some of the rust issues. still drive it regularly just ready to get it more roady worthy. and pretty it up a bit.
 
You can save yourself a ton of money and rebuild the front end yourself. There is plenty of how too threads on front end rebuilding here on FABO.
 
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