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A somewhat philosophical question regarding severely rusted lower trim level cars.

dasol7172

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Hi, just joined. I too suffer from 71-72 b body collection syndrome :) I have a 1972 SSP that has extensive minor to severe rust issues (surface - moderate to a rotted out frame rail) Is it dumb to want to restore it? At least to an amount that it wont continue to rot away. Of course a satellite will not be worth a RR or GTX but 20 years ago hardly anyone wanted those cars at all and now these same cars restored are in the 30k range. who is to say when there are not many of the SSP's left that they wont increase in value by a bit.

The car is an original factory 400cu with 8.75 sure grip slapstick auto and everything else works besides a heater fan being wonky. It's not my first 71-72 B Body so it has no emotional attachment besides loving this design and not wanting to just give up on it. I guess I'm stuck between two places.. one thinks its a loss and to just let it go and avoid the hassle the other is that these aren't made anymore and while I wont make big money in value gains immediately there is a chance that years from now it will be at least worth what was put into it. Not to mention the biggest reason.. I want to drive the thing!!

Additionally I have to add that I live in an apartment at the moment and will do for the next year so I don't have the room to start the work on it, I would have to take it somewhere and I have done that.. and they quoted 9k to just fix the rotted frame rails, torsion cross-member, shock towers and front floor pan. That would still leave me with 25 year old paint over rusted body panels.. My estimate is that doing the labor of break down myself (remove engine, interior), the blasting and body work along with those other repairs will probably cost me in the +15k range. I bought the car for 4k (which was dumb.. heh.. cant help my disease though.) So im looking at 20k for a car that if it was perfect would be worth 22k maybe.

Does this simply boil down too. Rescue this car and have patience? Patience to wait for things to work out while doing them cheap as possible? Or do I pull the rear-end and just let her go? Admittedly I do not think i would have this struggle if it were a original 318 car with column shift in this condition.

Here is a picture to show what condition I am talking about. This is the LH frame rail.
IMG_20160325_141910 (Large).jpg
 
sounds like to me you are a somewhat younger guy. you answer most of your own questions.

seldom do we do ALL our own work and have a car worth more $$$ than we put in it!!????

you need your own place, a place to live where you don't pay rent, have your won garage, tools, and learn to do work that either you can't afford to pay someone to do, or work that costs more to do than is rational to pay for any car that doesn't warrant such $$ spent on it???/

these old 71 up b bodies are out there and most people don't consider them highly desirable. me I would find a beter example to spend $$ on... or store it and when you have your won place and tools, learn to change out frasme rails>>>>>>> and all the other skills it takes to put a rusted out olf car back on the road!????
 
My advice would be to find a better example. I bought a rusty driver at the age of 15, loved it, still have it 18 years later, so I know where you are at, and what you are facing. I bought it for $900, have close to $18K in it after frame rails, quarters, fenders, floor pans, air grabber swap, paint and an engine, trans and rear end swap. The thing is, it took 18 years, doing it the cheapest, hardest way and its not perfect by any stretch. I have above market value in it and actually bought a MUCH better donor car that had little rust and was a higher optioned and more desirable car for pretty much the same initial investment. However, it is almost exactly what I want, love it and it was my first car.
 
welcome to the site , I'd find a better example . but.... you could always talk to us car tool about their body in white programme :eusa_think:
 
I think you are over your head with this example you have given ...be honest. As one who has started several "builds'' over the last 30 years, they can soon become overwhelming and a black hole where your time and what little money you have is dumped into them simply because you get overwhelmed. Unless you have the commitment due to sentimental reasons (first car/dream car/handed down) these projects seem to just end up being a regret that gets passed on to someone else with you holding the bag. I would suggest you find a better example and one that you already have most of the talents to tackle and restore to the point of being fun and a driver. You will learn a lot along that way and have a car with some value that you can either pass on OR upgrade with what you have learned. There is nothing wrong with starting out and learning on simpler projects until you find the car you can't live without...much like women. How many did you date and learn with until you found the one you had to have...a bunch I will bet if you are like most guys. There is one member here who posts at the bottom of his comments to "Fill your library before you fill your garage" (or something to that effect). I read that and realized there is a tremendous amount of good sense in that statement. I have been doing that for 40 years without realizing it and NOW feel I can tackle most any project with full expectations of completing it. The past projects (the 56 Chevy, 68 Super Bee, 55Chevy truck, 67 Chevelle, the gorgeous head Cheerleader!,.....) were all beyond my financial means and level of skill. As stated by some of the members above, recognize your capabilities, current situation, what you will have at the end of game and be honest with yourself. Good luck with whatever direction you choose and know that the members in this forum always seem to help with most any problem thrown at them.
 
Thanks. All of you have good points. I do have a place I can store her and I guess in the mean time i can pull the rear and put that in my 71 Satellite so at least I can have that to drive. I suppose I could look at it that I spent quite a bit extra on an original factory sure grip 8.75 rear/slapstick drive-train. I just hate to see these cars get trashed and scrapped because they are so unique to that time period.
 
Not having a garage is probably your biggest issue. Sometimes you can find storage or a guy that has some garage space for rent. As far a being worth it , it never is. I don't think I took on any project thinking about what I wanted to get out of it. For me its about creating my vision with what capital and tools I have available. You have to have incredible patience to build a project as a hobby and the thrill kinda goes away upon completion. Also only work on one project at a time there will be others still available when its done.
 
I am not completely against putting some money into her, but 9k to just fix 3 things is a bit much hah. I was really hoping and praying that shop was going to come back with a quote in the 4k range that i could work with, but 9k took my breath away! I have the intention of buying a place down here and its going to have a bit barn/garage for this type of thing, so looks like I just need patience.
 
I'm kind of in the same boat on my 72 Charger.

The unibody is solid, even most of the cowl.

Problem is nearly every weld on body panel needs replaced- roof, both quarters and Dutchman.

It's just a 72 SE, but it's a 400 4 barrel car with factory sway bars and 2.23 sure grip plus hidden headlights, A/C and a rallye/clock cluster. Has buckets but is column shift. Kinda odd considering the other options.

Grrrrrrr-------
 
I'm one of the weird guys that can do all the work myself ( I have an associates degree in Body and Mechanics , worked at a
Dodge dealer ) and I have 2 - 73 Chargers I got myself into so I have to do double the work , and buy the same parts twice .
I even get overwhelmed sometimes . It's a labor of love for me and when I have the extra cash and energy they get worked on . If not , they sit . I'm not into the hobby for the investment , I'm into it for the fun . As far as an SSP goes , that car is optioned like a RR so , what's in a name ? I bet the built less SSP's than RR's or GeTX's . Keep it , do a little at a time , learn how to do the work yourself .
 
Welcome to the site. This car needs to become a parts car. Why? Values are not going to go up. The majority of buyers who love these cars are dying off and not being replaced in large enough numbers to maintain the collectibility of all but a few select cars. We who love them really love them, but there are fewer and fewer of us everyday and there are more cars that buyers more and more.

I've seen some really nice SSPs listed in the $20k range... for months and months and months. They're just not selling at that price point. I don't see them move until they get below $10k unless the seller finds that one person who just has to have that car. Most likely, you're never going to get that car back on the road, so part it out and maybe you can get some other cars in better condition back out there.
 
yep parts car.

if ya stay in the hobby, learn to do all the work and to YOUR standards. YOUR standards!!!

NO< extremely unlikely you will buy a project, and YOU do most of the work, and ever sell it at a profit. this is a hobby.


make a profit????? learn to do the work and find someone with $$$ and let them pay YOU to do the work on their car!!?????
 
Welcome to the site. This car needs to become a parts car. Why? Values are not going to go up. The majority of buyers who love these cars are dying off and not being replaced in large enough numbers to maintain the collectibility of all but a few select cars. We who love them really love them, but there are fewer and fewer of us everyday and there are more cars that buyers more and more.

I've seen some really nice SSPs listed in the $20k range... for months and months and months. They're just not selling at that price point. I don't see them move until they get below $10k unless the seller finds that one person who just has to have that car. Most likely, you're never going to get that car back on the road, so part it out and maybe you can get some other cars in better condition back out there.

That's heavy. I've decided that it will need to go back to my storage barn and the rear will jump into a 71. I've got some leads on folks willing to do the work for much less than I was initially quoted. Hoping they work out hah.
 
Mocajava: Great reply. You've got a knack for giving good advice without getting sidetracked...
 
Thanks for all the input. It has got me thinking... How likely am I to find a no rust or very little rust 72 SSP body that I could swap over too? Is that a unicorn or do I just need to look hard and be patient? A rolling chassis of a equivalent optioned 400ci car would be perfect I think.
 
Another member just bought a nice 72 400 4 speed SSP for 17K.
 
I was imagining one of those project cars that never got finished type of deals.
 
I'd finish it. But only if you plan on keeping it for the long run. I would rather have a lower "value" car that I can modify and customize without feeling bad about it. These lower trim cars are great for tinkering with stuff, like engine and tranny swaps, interior upgrades, and maybe painting the car whichever color suites you. Personally, I have 3 vehicles. My 1973 Charger SE that I'm inheriting from my granddad, which is going to be kept original for sentimental purposes; my 1973 Charger Hardtop, (low optioned) which is a car that I don't feel bad about improving/customizing. My last vehicle is my 1982 Ram D350 which is my "parts getter".
 
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