Need some advice on 71 Challenger purchase

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Slick

Slick

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Hi I realize this is the wrong place for this question but I'm not a member over on the E body forum yet. I have some questions and I do value all of your opinions and knowledge a great deal.

I'm going to look at a 71 Challenger tomorrow. I spoke with the guy and have found out that it was an original 318 car that now has a 440 in it. The 440 came from a motorhome (didn't get the year). He claims the engine was rebuilt before he bought the car and now has approximately 8000 miles on it.

I have little experience with these engines other than a little bit of research over at allpar. I don't know what has been done performance wise but I'm assuming that a motorhome engine wouldn't be a stellar performer as is. What kind of things should I be looking for? What questions should I be asking the guy in regards to performance mods? If it is a late 70's engine does that mean the HP will be negatively affected to due smog regulations etc? If so can it be upgraded semi-cheap?

I'm more of a cruiser-type guy than an all-out racer so I'm not too concerned about super high performance. However it is a Challenger and I would like something that kicks a little ***. :)

The car seems to be in decent shape from the pics and was also painted prior to his purchase. He claims that he went over the entire vehicle with a magnet and there is no bondo and underneath looks exceptional.

I'll post a link to his ad. Let me know what you think about the car and the price?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

http://nanaimo.en.craigslist.ca/cto/1452705183.html
 
Slick said:
Hi I realize this is the wrong place for this question but I'm not a member over on the E body forum yet. I have some questions and I do value all of your opinions and knowledge a great deal.

I'm going to look at a 71 Challenger tomorrow. I spoke with the guy and have found out that it was an original 318 car that now has a 440 in it. The 440 came from a motorhome (didn't get the year). He claims the engine was rebuilt before he bought the car and now has approximately 8000 miles on it.

I have little experience with these engines other than a little bit of research over at allpar. I don't know what has been done performance wise but I'm assuming that a motorhome engine wouldn't be a stellar performer as is. What kind of things should I be looking for? What questions should I be asking the guy in regards to performance mods? If it is a late 70's engine does that mean the HP will be negatively affected to due smog regulations etc? If so can it be upgraded semi-cheap?

I'm more of a cruiser-type guy than an all-out racer so I'm not too concerned about super high performance. However it is a Challenger and I would like something that kicks a little ***. :)

The car seems to be in decent shape from the pics and was also painted prior to his purchase. He claims that he went over the entire vehicle with a magnet and there is no bondo and underneath looks exceptional.

I'll post a link to his ad. Let me know what you think about the car and the price?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

http://nanaimo.en.craigslist.ca/cto/1452705183.html
Click to expand...
That car looks just like one a member from Cuda-Challenger.com sold a few weeks ago,he was asking $18000 or BO.
 
Thanks moparclown that IS the car.

Now I'm really curious as to why the new owner is selling so soon??? Hmmm....
 
Well first off if the 440 is a stock motor home engine it'll be low compression, 8 to 1 or so and will probably have the cast crank in it. At the front of the engine, on top drivers side, across from the distributor hold down clamp you'll find a 2"x1" flat pad cast into the block. Stamped into the pad will be a letter (eg. M = 1976) followed by 440. If the engine runs good they are good engines just not a fire breather and with the right amount of cash can be turned into one. I'll post a link that can tell you what crank is in it just by looking at the crank balancer. If the car doesn't show any obvious cancer be sure to check for bondo on the body just below the rear window in the corners and pull the spare tire and check the wheel well for rust along with the complete underside. Next the rear end, I've heard over the years that the 318 Challengers might come from the factory with 8 1/4" rear ends which that 440 even stock ain't going to like. I'll put a link in that you can tell what it is from the picture either 8 1/4 or 8 3/4". Lastly unless the body has had a recent paint job and the underside is mint no rust I think he's asking about 4K to much after all it is a 318 car.

http://www.moparts.org/Tech/Archive/bb/50.html

http://www.moparts.org/Tech/Archive/axle/6.html


Terry
 
Get it up on a lift, check it thoroughly, don't rush into anything. That's a lot of money. You don't want to make an expensive mistake. Good luck!
 
First thing that jumps out to me is that he put "All Stock" in his ad....That's evidently not the case. Deception always makes me weary. And second, he states he's selling it because he has "Too Many Toys"....If it is a fact that he just purchased it a few weeks ago, why would he have bought it if he had "Too Many Toys"

I may be looking into the wording a little too close, but I'm very cautious. I'm in Construction Management and contract wording is something I review on a daily basis. Little indicators jump out at me.
 
SassyGrassScamp said:
First thing that jumps out to me is that he put "All Stock" in his ad....That's evidently not the case. Deception always makes me weary. And second, he states he's selling it because he has "Too Many Toys"....If it is a fact that he just purchased it a few weeks ago, why would he have bought it if he had "Too Many Toys"

I may be looking into the wording a little too close, but I'm very cautious. I'm in Construction Management and contract wording is something I review on a daily basis. Little indicators jump out at me.
Click to expand...

I agree with you on that. I was kind of laughing when I read the all stock comment as well.

I am a little skeptical at this point which is why I'm concerned about the 440 motorhome engine. Demonseed does bring up a good point with the rear end possibly being a problem.

If he was totally happy with the car I don't know why he'd be selling it so soon. Kind of makes me wonder if there is some underlying problem with the set-up or it's a rust bucket underneath.

I definitely won't be jumping into this one with out a good look.
 
You are correct. The 8 3/4 is a banjo type axle where the carrier is a single unit and removed from the front of the case.
 
Well finally got a chance to go view this car and it was a weird experience indeed. First off the car WAS the same one from Cuda-Challenger.com which apparently sold in late September. Thanks again moparclown.

The owner had the car listed on Craigslist but only had it listed in a city that is about an hour and a half away. Why wouldn't he list it locally?

The guy who was selling it was apparently home but sent his young son out to show us the car which seemed kind of odd. Do you really send a young kid out to sell a $19000 car?

The car was outside in front of the shop but the door to the shop was closed.

I played dumb to the fact that I knew the car was purchased just a few weeks earlier. I asked the kid how long they had it and he said they purchased it in February. When I asked why they were selling he said they had too many toys. Quads, motorbikes, etc. So give up a classic car for a motorbike?

The father told me the car had a 440 motorhome engine in it. The kid said no it wasn't a motor home engine at all. They did have the motorhome engine, but it was in the shop for rebuilding. The kid didn't know much about the engine in the car except it ran good.

The father told me the car had been painted by the previous owner but it was very obvious that the paint was super fresh. Sitting inside you could actually smell the fresh paint. Also the car was originally red something the father never revealed. Looking closely at the body it did look pretty good. My buddy said he thought he could see where there was some bondo on one of the rear quarters and there might have been a few other areas barely perceptible. If it was a bondo car they did a pretty good job hiding it. At least to my eyes. :)

The kid fired up the engine and it did sound pretty decent. He said "they drove it around a fair bit this summer and it ran good. Didn't overheat or anything." ??? He also mentioned that it gets pretty hot inside the car due to the heat of the engine coming through the firewall. Hmm....?

While the engine was running I was looking underneath and listening. I went around the back to listen to the exhaust and the kid had already closed the hood and shut the engine off! He only let it run for about a minute or two tops. Hmm......???

He showed us the inside of the trunk which didn't look too bad but there was some obvious bondo in the upper corners where the rubber trunk seals go. The trunk wouldn't close so the kid just left it resting a little bit open.

The interior was really clean but the headliner looked like it wasn't installed correctly at all.

The passenger window wouldn't close and it seemed like there was some trim missing too. The rear window trim didn't seem like it was installed correctly either.

The car also looked like it was recently undercoated. The father told me specifically that the car didn't have undercoating and it was only painted underneath.

So anyway it was obvious that there were some mixed up stories going on here. I don't why people think they can pull fast ones like this? I don't care how great a car is, if the guy selling it tells me a lie I'm not buying it.

Once again thank you all for your advice!!

P.S. As we were driving away we watched the kid open the door to the shop and it looked a lot like a paint booth inside. Hmmm.... :-D
 
As far as the trunklid goes, it usually takes a couple of tries to get the lid to close, I have even seen this happen on B-J. Plus being a 71 it only has one trunk torsion bar so the trunklid will always be off. If your looking at getting a Challenger then I would lean more towards a 70. The 71 has way too many rare, expensive, and hard to find one year only parts.
 
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