cheaper to get a salvage car?

[Ryan.C]

I am really considering doing a 5.7/6.1 swap with a six speed in my '69 charger resto.
My question to you guys that have been there done that is: would it be cheaper to get a complete crash/salvage Challenger to canabilize for all the periferial parts that are nessesary for the swap?

Long time lurker first time post on FBBO, any help is greatly appreiciated guys.

 

[wedge69]

Never did it myself But a doner car I would think is the way to go. You get alot of the little stuff you would end up chaseing down And you can sell of what you don't use !

 

[garrett1308]

I agree with wedge, buying a donor is the best way to go in my opinion. I just bought a 1968 charger for some of its sheetmetal for my 68 roadrunner. Already started selling off what I won't be needing for it.

 

[mr. b]

welcome to the site

 

[usaroadrunner]

I agree with everyone on here but most salvage yards are gonna pull the drive train right away an part it out or sell as a whole. You can get way better deals on the 5.7 over the 6.1. I paid pretty good money for mine. It came out of a wrecked challenger. First thing they did was dropped the motor an trans on the k-member to sell it. Good luck with your build. I am just putting my 6.1 with a 6 speed in my 70.

 

[emore]

Something to remember, don't just look for a challenger, there are plenty of Charger R/t s and Chryslers with the right driveline available

 

[5.7 hemi]

You wont find a charger or a 300 with a 6spd.

 

[Redhorse719]

Welcome to FBBO! Good luck with your project whichever way you decide to go.

 

[747mopar]

I buy totaled cars for our daily drivers, it's not uncommon for these cars to bring $5000-8000 depending on damage. I would look for less desirable cars that have been hit hard to get a better deal, a challenger or charger is probably not your best deal. Good luck

 

[Ryan.C]

I buy totaled cars for our daily drivers, it's not uncommon for these cars to bring $5000-8000 depending on damage. I would look for less desirable cars that have been hit hard to get a better deal, a challenger or charger is probably not your best deal. Good luck

thanks for all the replies so far!

5-8K..... this is not good news haha. where do you get these crash cars 747mopar? And where should I start shopping for an engine trans combo?

 

[conv67bdere]

Picked up my 5.7L Hemi on CL - came with the original NAG1, full wire harness ( which I've been informed I probably won't be able to use ), and drive shaft . . .

Going to put a Tremec TKO 500 5-speed behind it - so I'm not planning on using the NAG1.

Take a look an CL . . . but it is a buyer beware kind of purchase . . .

 

[Darius]

I bought an 07 Charger RT from Coparts. You have to register to buy there and when I did it in 08, you had to have a resale license. Don't know about where you are. Anyway, I paid 6700 for the car and I drove it off the lot. We put everything we could into my 70 GTX and when we THOUGHT we were done with the hulk of the Charger, we STILL went back and forund stuff we could use for various things. You can't getr a 6 speed in a charger but you might fiind a Challenger this way with a 6 speed. I think my charger was a theft recovery type thing.I also sold 2200 worth of parts off the charger I did not need.....body ,interior,suspension, etc. I will take what is left to Parts Planet ad see if they will give me a few hundred for what is left...doors, glass, seats, etc.

 

[kellycom]

For my wife's 70 Coronet(happytoes24) we've used a combination of eBay, Craigslist and this forum.

I found a wrecked 2005 300 on CL for 600 dollars. We bought it just for the interior (front and back seats, center console dash, wiring harness, computers, etc). It was a wrecked car that had the top cut off because the fire dept couldnt get the doors open. The body shop that listed it removed the 5.7 and trans, left the transfer case for the AWD and other parts they didn't want. They sold what parts they could then put it on CL. This was way cheaper than getting bucket seats for a 70 B-Body. The 300 needed wheels since the body shop was going to sell the DUB wheels that came on the car. It's DUB Edition AWD 5.7 300C. So I turned to CL and found Dodge Charger 17" wheels with tires (tires are in no shape to be on a car that is driven) for 150 on CL. Just need them to push the car in and out of the garage.

She wanted a 6.1 and I issued her a challenge. I said she couldn't find a 6.1 for anything less than like 5k. Well she accepted the challenge and beat me by finding one on eBay (http://www.chuckandeddies.com/) for 2500. Complete engine with wiring harness and cores for the alt and A/C compressor.

She doesn't drive cars with automatic transmissions. So thanks to lxmodguy and his ever changing project I bought a 6 speed off of him out of a challenger. Compete with clutch. I forget the exact price, but somewhere between 1500-1800.

Since the plan is put the Coronet over the 300 and since it's getting a 6.1. The stock rear end from the 300 (AWD 5.7) would probably break from the 6.1. I turned to CL again and found a complete IRS (brembo brakes, rotors, shocks, craddle, etc) a guy was selling from a SRT 300 for $1000.

We've got about 6k into this so far. Not including the Coronet (2500). So you can see there is no right or wrong way to go about this. I would recommend you first lay out what you overall goal is. This will help you determine the parts you'll need and the best way to go about it.

Best of luck

 

[Ryan.C]

Hey guys I got this E-Mail today from cleveland pick-a-part
"Hello Ryan and thanks for the message. I actually have a 6.1L manual dropout that just got here yesterday. It is out of a 2009 Challenger with 27k on it. I am selling the dropout as a "turn key" setup for $9,750. The dropout includes the following. Please let me know if your interested in this dropout as it probably wont be here very long."


The price seems really high, comments or thoughts?

 

[usaroadrunner]

Hey guys I got this E-Mail today from cleveland pick-a-part
"Hello Ryan and thanks for the message. I actually have a 6.1L manual dropout that just got here yesterday. It is out of a 2009 Challenger with 27k on it. I am selling the dropout as a "turn key" setup for $9,750. The dropout includes the following. Please let me know if your interested in this dropout as it probably wont be here very long."


The price seems really high, comments or thoughts?

just my opinion i think there is better deals out there. i bought my 6.1 with 4k on it which was 6k a year ago, and then bought a reman 6 speed with a 1 year warranty for $1800 then $600 for a clutch. i got 8400 into it, and i know some people have got alot less invested in these builds.

 

[kb67mopar]

Can somebody tell me why if you want a 6.1 you wouldn't just buy a 5.7 core and build a stroker motor? In the end I think you'd make more power and pay less....but what am I missing?

 

[Modern Muscle]

Can somebody tell me why if you want a 6.1 you wouldn't just buy a 5.7 core and build a stroker motor? In the end I think you'd make more power and pay less....but what am I missing?

You may make more power but by the time you CNC heads add cam and stroke the block you will not be paying less.

 

[kb67mopar]

You may make more power but by the time you CNC heads add cam and stroke the block you will not be paying less.

While I agree, if you are paying the same price or come out close you have a much better package and is all new and rebuilt instead of used.

 

[jlukas]

Hey guys I got this E-Mail today from cleveland pick-a-part
"Hello Ryan and thanks for the message. I actually have a 6.1L manual dropout that just got here yesterday. It is out of a 2009 Challenger with 27k on it. I am selling the dropout as a "turn key" setup for $9,750. The dropout includes the following. Please let me know if your interested in this dropout as it probably wont be here very long."


The price seems really high, comments or thoughts?

I think that price isn't just real high, it is downright outrageous!! I bought my 6.1 from a 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 23k miles for $2550 + shipping off of ebay so there are definitely better deals. Also check out car-part.com to search nationwide salvage yards to get a great overview of the market.

 

[Darius]

i have been thinking about this...
I paid $6700 for a running 07 Charger RT. Here is what I took off of it and installed in my 70 GTX with what I THINK these items would probably cost if bought new.
5.7 Engine $7500 plus efi set up
Nag 1- $???? $750 hell ,lets just say you score one for $300
All 4 disc brakes including master cyl and booster, New Wilwood system....?$4-5000??
ALL computers and wiring harness...?$ 1200+or-
Right there is $14000!!!
I also took the entire HVAC system, dash,console, steering column, shifter,and e-brake system and installed it in the GTX. I have no idea how to price that stuff.

So far, I have sold appx$2200 worth of parts from the charger so I am in it for $4300 or so? I will take the hulk to the recycle and see what I can get...$500 maybe ?

So I have all this cool stuff in my 70 GTX and I have spent a little under $4000. I did spend $2200 on a stand alone Transmission control so I am all in for 6200 not counting any labor or misc materials.

This is not a bad way to do this swap if you have the space and facilities to make it work. It blew me away how many times we walked out to the "hulk" and picked yet another misc part or fastener or looked at how the factory did something to help us figure what we needed to do.