what to buy for my wife

[moparmat2000]

i have my 67 barracuda coupe (basket case) i would love for my wife to have a vintage car as well. she has talked about owning a 69 camaro. these are nice cars, and i wouldent mind restoring one for her, however they are cost prohibitive. i am afraid the prices will just get higher and higher.

i'm thinking a nice A body mopar would be better since i think they are easier to find, cool looking, and way cheaper than a 69 camaro. she does like the barracuda, but so far the cost of putting mine back together especcially the hard to find trim parts is outtasight.

i was thinking of showing her pix of darts 67 to 72, dusters, scamps, demons thru 72. maybe she would like one of those as a cool vintage car. and instead of the LS swap in a camaro, i would do a late model hemi in a dart or demon. this way she can have the reliability and ease of starting that F.I. offers. plus maybe an overdrive automatic to get good mileage when she drives it.

anybody got some pix to post to this thread of any darts, demons, or dusters, scamps of these years. she can look at. i like the formal look of a vinyl topped dart swinger myself.

 

[MuuMuu101]

Here's my Dart (while it was running)...

 

[R4Sedan]

Are you thinking of building one ground up? Remember They all cost about the same to build. However, What does she like the most you should consider, also.

 

[Captain Canuck]

Here is a few pictures of our 71 Duster. I have to say "our Duster" because my wife loves it as much or more than I do. I think running a fuel injected powerplant with an overdrive transmission is a great idea and I know some members on here have gone that route with their cars, but ours is strictly old school.

 

[inkjunkie]

This is going to be HER car, correct?

 

[CudaChick1968]

Just my personal opinion, but building any Chevy is way cheaper these days than most any Mopar. Have you priced parts??? You could build 3 sbc's for the price of one sbm. Just in availability, Chevys outnumber the Mopars several times over.

I've had my Cuda for over 21 years. There's probably $40K in it (I won't add up my receipts) ... and it still isn't 'done.'

View attachment August 19, 2010 - 1000 x 768.jpg

Good luck with your decision! Hope she loves it regardless of what you both decide.

 

[inkjunkie]

Just my personal opinion, but building any Chevy is way cheaper these days than most any Mopar. Have you priced parts??? You could build 3 sbc's for the price of one sbm. Just in availability, Chevys outnumber the Mopars several times over.

I've had my Cuda for over 21 years. There's probably $40K in it (I won't add up my receipts) ... and it still isn't 'done.'

View attachment 1714559633

Good luck with your decision! Hope she loves it regardless of what you both decide.

Not to mention that damn near EVERYTHING is available for several of the Chebbies.....

 

[cosgig]

I know it isn't a Dart, Duster, Demon or Scamp, but here is a pic of my wife's car. She absolutely loves this car, and did a bunch of the work on it herself!! She recently started asking about me doing a convertible for her, so I am cloning this car in convertible form for her, and pulling HER motor from the FB and putting it in the convertible.

The early A bodies are perfect for the ladies, small, easy to handle, just enough power in stock form, and real attention getters!! Many's the person who has asked her about her "husbands" car, only to be put straight from a very proud lady Mopar owner!!

I would recommend considering a nice early A also, or at least showing her a couple!! Good luck, and remember, a happy wife is a happy life!! Geof

 

[CudaChick1968]

... The early A bodies are perfect for the ladies, small, easy to handle, just enough power in stock form, and real attention getters!! Many's the person who has asked her about her "husbands" car, only to be put straight from a very proud lady Mopar owner!! ...

I know we're supposed to be 'the weaker sex' Geof, but geez. Perhaps it's a little-known leadfoot lady's secret, but one of the best ways to keep the twins in tip top shape is to not have power steering. :-D

Your story reminds me of a scruffy looking weirdo who showed up at the shop a few years back. As usual, Billy was in the house.

"Hi. Is your husband here?"

LJ: "I don't have a husband. Can I help you with something?"

"Uhhhhhhhhhh, Larry Farrell [the high school shop teacher] told me the guy who lives here has a Cuda."

LJ: "A guy lives here but he has a '67 Camaro. The Cuda's MINE."

He just stared at me for a minute. "Can I see it? Larry said it was really cool."

LJ: "Sorry, I'm working right now and have a deadline. I need to get back to it."

Needless to say, he did not pass the test to gain admittance to the Garage Mahal, especially without my 6'5" Enforcer nearby. I just didn't like the looks of him, nor the fact that a guy I barely knew was sending people to my house.

Okay, back to my usual Saturday domestic BS and back to our regularly scheduled programming ............. :-D Sorry about the minor hijack. My best to Mrs. G the motorhead. The more I get to know about these FABO wives, the more I love 'em all.

 

[Princess Valiant]

I know we're supposed to be 'the weaker sex' Geof, but geez. Perhaps it's a little-known leadfoot lady's secret, but one of the best ways to keep the twins in tip top shape is to not have power steering. :-D

oh this is great ....i never thought of it as help for the twins ...and i need all the help i can get with that LOL .....i have never had power steering on an A-body .....my B-bodys yes ....but those are way bigger cars too.

i appriciate the idea of efficency with EFI and all that jazz but i keep mine all old school and i drive it everyday....i did upgrade to 73+ electronic ignition.

if you or her learn to tune it properly you should not have any reliability problems ....they worked in the old days ....no reason they shouldnt work now.......its a skill very worth learning

i keep mine tuned and it starts on cold snowy mornings....and when im under the hood guys wonder what im doing in there......but truth is i have given some of my neigbor guys jump starts on cold mornings .......its really funny to see the reaction LOL

but its all about tuning ....properly tuned an original mopar should rarely get sick and call off the day

 

[moparmat2000]

oh this is great ....i never thought of it as help for the twins ...and i need all the help i can get with that LOL .....i have never had power steering on an A-body .....my B-bodys yes ....but those are way bigger cars too.

i appriciate the idea of efficency with EFI and all that jazz but i keep mine all old school and i drive it everyday....i did upgrade to 73+ electronic ignition.

if you or her learn to tune it properly you should not have any reliability problems ....they worked in the old days ....no reason they shouldnt work now.......its a skill very worth learning

i keep mine tuned and it starts on cold snowy mornings....and when im under the hood guys wonder what im doing in there......but truth is i have given some of my neigbor guys jump starts on cold mornings .......its really funny to see the reaction LOL

but its all about tuning ....properly tuned an original mopar should rarely get sick and call off the day

i am good with tuning point and carbureted engines, been messing with this stuff close to 30 years but for my wife its easier for her to have something to twist the key and go, not have to pump the gas to set the choke, let it warm up etc etc.

she is really not liking the darts, demons, dusters etc. would prefer a charger, road runner, chevelle or camaro. when we get to the point of buying her a car that she wants these ones will prob be so outtasight in price, but i will keep on looking, mebbe we will get lucky but with 4 kids to raise, the youngest being 9 weeks old it will probably be a long time before we get her ride.

thanks for the pix, but she likes the chebbies, and mopar B bodies better. if a B body was more affordable right now than my little A body im doing i would have jumped for a B body. i used to have a 69 charger R/T 440 4 speed and a 68 charger 383. gone now. sold em years ago as complete running cars. had a 68 bcuda fastback in the late 1980s too. this is why i gravitated towards the 67 coupe i have now. it was available, cool looking and cheap to buy.

if i can find a 1970 to 1972 6 cylinder chevelle malibu hardtop in ok shape, i can make a chevelle SS clone, and maybe put an LS EFI engine swap with an overdrive automatic in it for her. she gets the old school looks she wants, and the modern mechanicals that make it a dream for her to drive.

thanks for taking time to send the pix for her to look at.
i think all your A body mopars are great

matt

 

[cosgig]

Matt, you'd be surprised at just how cheap B-bodies are right now!! I was informed of a 68 GTX in the next town over that had just come out of hiding after 27 years in a barn. 48,000 original miles, green on green on green on... anyway, the owner had pulled the motor, rebuilt it and had it on a stand. He had the doors and front fenders off and had started sanding on them, but nothing else had been touched. I asked him how much...$4500, and it was on craigslist!! When I went by the next day it was gone!! I asked the owner if it sold and he told me he was already tired of deadbeat callers offering 2K, that he decided to mothball it again. I left my number as I didn't think he was ready to sell anyway and told him to call me.

Next time I went by there in my GTX, I stopped and asked him if he still had the car, and he told me he fell on hard times and had to let it go. I asked him how much and his face went red....under 2K!!! I asked him why he hadn't called me and he told me he couldn't find my number. I pointed to where I wrote it on the garage wall and he turned white!! Good deals are still out there!!

Heres my 67 GTX, it's for sale to the right buyer, and mighty reasonable I think!! Geof

 

[kielbasavw]

Take her out to a local car show, let her see first hand. Don't rule out an early vw as well

 

[Dart_Doctor]

Im sorry i read the title worng . [want to buy my wife] is what i seen at 1st lol

 

[bkbond12]

I bought my wife a 75' Trans Am and long story short....she fell in love with Geof's Black Barracuda he had for sale....so I bought her that one and am going to sell the Trans Am in the spring.


From This to This.....I think she made the right choice. LOL.