Should I Buy A 65 Charger ?

-
thesnafu72

thesnafu72

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2010
Messages
265
Reaction score
5
Location
California
I found this car and it seems too good to be true. Car is complete, minus motor and trans.. The interior is new, front end is rebuilt, and all lights and components work. Comes with a 383 on the side... only $3500 ! Is that a deal or not.. What should I do???
 

Attachments

  • Picture 2.jpg
    22.2 KB · Views: 444
I would get it but take something to protect yourself (if you know what i mean) cause i was yold by a friend about a local bad deal on CL were someone had bought a car and then the sellers robbed them and took the car !
 
And plus that's not a 65 Charger in the pics so i'd be skeptical
 
They built a 65 Charger but it was called a Dart Charger maybe the expert on them will post later and tell you more about them
 
the 66 charger did not have chrome running across the top of the fenders and quarters. it looks to me like there is chrome on this one making it a 67. if they are calling this a 65, they need to put the pipe down. as kegan stated, the 65 was a dart charger model only. 66 was the first year of the charger as a model all its own. 3500 for a big block 66-67 charger in this condition is a steal. the parts alone are very desirable to people restoring these cars
 
73AbodEE said:
the 66 charger did not have chrome running across the top of the fenders and quarters. it looks to me like there is chrome on this one making it a 67. if they are calling this a 65, they need to put the pipe down. as kegan stated, the 65 was a dart charger model only. 66 was the first year of the charger as a model all its own. 3500 for a big block 66-67 charger in this condition is a steal. the parts alone are very desirable to people restoring these cars
Click to expand...
you are correct in that the '66 did not have chrome on top of the fenders,,,,,,,,,,but,it does have stainless steel trim there. the '66 and '67 share all of their outside trim,as well as most of the interior
 
Have you seen the vin off it or any other body codes ?
 
To clear things up the ad says it is a 66. I made a typo and wrote 65. There was no 65 Charger. Just a 65 Dart Charger. I have not seen the VIN or the car in person. It seems to good to be true
 
thesnafu72 said:
To clear things up the ad says it is a 66. I made a typo and wrote 65. There was no 65 Charger. Just a 65 Dart Charger. I have not seen the VIN or the car in person. It seems to good to be true
Click to expand...

just to clarify, when i said "if they are calling it a 65" i wasnt referring to you, it was to the people selling it. and 3500 is a helluva deal. i know of a 67 charger, 383 car, B5 blue, white interior, in pieces, needing a complete restoration, that just sold for $4K.
 
Damn this is too tempting. I could really turn a buck on this.. Aaaaand 66 is my favorite year charger.
 
73AbodEE said:
the 66 charger did not have chrome running across the top of the fenders and quarters. it looks to me like there is chrome on this one making it a 67. if they are calling this a 65, they need to put the pipe down. as kegan stated, the 65 was a dart charger model only. 66 was the first year of the charger as a model all its own. 3500 for a big block 66-67 charger in this condition is a steal. the parts alone are very desirable to people restoring these cars
Click to expand...

Yes they did...and it isn't chrome, its aluminum.

What the '66's didn't have was the fender-mounted turn signal indicators....'67's did...similar to the Dart's.
 
65Val said:
Yes they did...and it isn't chrome, its aluminum.

What the '66's didn't have was the fender-mounted turn signal indicators....'67's did...similar to the Dart's.
Click to expand...

yep......chrome/aluminum, whatever, must have been the signals i was thinking of, but thank you for the clarification, my bad
 
A rebuilt front end is worth probably $800 installed. The wheels look worth at least $500, more if the tires are good. I don't know Chargers but the dash looks like maybe for a performance model, as does the shifter. It appears to be sitting high without the engine so maybe the torsion bars are new or at least good. See if you can turn over the engine by hand. If seized it might be a boat anchor. If the crank is good, it may be worth $100 if the earlier forged one. 20 hours away is like >1000 miles from CA. Does that get you into the rust belt?
 
That is a standard dash for the 66 Charger. Mine had a 361 big block with a factory tach and V8 badge on the fender. The performance models were the 383 4bbl and the 426 Hemi with corresponding badging. I believe the console shifter was common if not standard. No fender turn signals on the 66 but present on the 67.
 
thesnafu72 said:
I found this car and it seems too good to be true. Car is complete, minus motor and trans.. The interior is new, front end is rebuilt, and all lights and components work. Comes with a 383 on the side... only $3500 ! Is that a deal or not.. What should I do???
Click to expand...

Having owned 3 of these in a previous life, here's a couple things to check...

Dash lights...these are not your standard variety little incandescent bulbs...it is an electroluminesent (neon) system...has AC powerpack under the dash, almost directly over the console....they are expensive and rare to find working, so if it's blown....! The instruments commonly short out and blow the pack.

Do the headlights rotate in and out when the headlight switch is activated? If not, again, expensive to fix or find working.

As always, check out the sheet metal condition...if rusty and full of bondo, walk away.

These are also heavy cars, so if you're looking for a street killer, I'd think again.

Just some food for thought......
 
Okay guys. I am renting a car and driving up there this coming weekend.. I talked to the owner and the backstory on this car is that this is one of his son's cars and his girlfriend has been studying abroad in France all semester and he wants to go visit her... so he's trying to scrape together some cash to buy a ticket and have some extra to toodle about out there with her.

The car was daily-driver up until a year ago when they pulled the "500 cubic inch" motor out of it and put it into his brother's Dart. He went through it and got all the lights and accessories working, redid the interior, replaced all the front end and brake parts. It seems like this family has a pretty large collection of Mopars.. and if this is what they are selling, I'd love to see what they are keeping!

My plan is to rent a car (hybrid if possible) and drive up to Washington and check it out. If it is as nice as it seems, I will be going to the local Uhaul and renting a 14' moving truck as well as a 4 wheeled trailer. Apparently he has a couple hoods, a couple fenders, extra stainless/aluminum/chrome pieces, and a few more goodies that he and his son have collected over the years for this vehicle. I estimate that a 14' would be more suitable for this over a 10' Uhaul.. with all the parts in consideration as well as the potential of sleeping in that truck if I get too tired.

My question to you all is how can I tell if there is any bondo? Apparently the only rust is on the lower rear quarters and just above the rear windshield, and he has the sheet metal to repair it. I would reeeeeeeally like to be coming home with this puppy but I want to know 100% that what I am buying is legit, and worth all this time, effort, and money that i will be putting in to getting it home. My first Dodge took me to Downey, CA (30 miles away) to get it; my 2nd too me to Gilroy, CA (340 miles), and my potentially 3rd one to Washington (1210 miles away).. It seems that my love for these things just keeps growing, and growing, and growing...
 
Here's some better quality pics..
 

Attachments

  • 5Id5H15J83K23M73Hfc3h5718653425261a41.jpg
    12.7 KB · Views: 200
  • 5N35O55Ga3k93L73F9c3ob23d744c271a17c4.jpg
    53.4 KB · Views: 187
  • 5Nf5L85H73G13M13Ncc3hb29c132a06541de2.jpg
    15.3 KB · Views: 186
Take a magnet!!! The magnet will stick to the metal and not the bondo portion. Also if it was done shaddy then you can get close to it and see dimples in the bondo.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top