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Max amount of money would you put into a 68 coronet

Jim Liddle

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Location
Lebanon TN.
While reading in threads about
The more rare b bodies it has been mentioned that base model coronets are plentiful.
So if that is the case what is the
Max amount of Money that should be invested in restoring one? I quess my 68 coronet
Would fall into the base model
Catagory. I am doing all the work on the car myself but,I still Don't want to invest more than It would be worth. I did not buy It to resale but, I would not want to take a big loss if I decided to sell it. I would like to know if I need to make adjustments to what I plan to do with it.
Jim
 
If it's your dream ride, money/value doesn't matter....Base model anything is getting hard to find..If the car doesn't need 1/4's, rails, t-bar cross, floors, trunk, aprons, inner/outer wheelhouses, rockers, roof, cowl, rear window surgery, etc, CONSIDER IT RARE AND WORTH FIXING!!
 
No more than you can afford to because you usually never recoup your investment in a car restoration. I just recently finished with mine - once it was apart it was well I need to this and I need to that. Then I was in so deep I had to finish it right to be happy with it. I know I'll never get the money out of it but I've also owned it for 46 years so I had a lot of sentiment built up with it. If I had it to do over again there's probably at least $10k I could have cut out and still been happy. They can get away from you pretty quickly. Post above is correct - what do you want to do with it and what's it like now. Pics would help.
 
I love Coronets all of em! Like Fran and GTX said you'll never build one to your liking and sell it for a profit.
Coronets rarely make a $35k plus type of car unless it was a Hemi car. ( there is a beautiful example for $55k listed) and even then it would not compare favorably to a Charger, Super Bee of similar build quality.
Set a budget that makes you comfortable and figure another 25%, if you're worried about how much you are sinking into it, it might not be the right car for you. You are a bit more lucky than those of us who own 67 and older models as repop parts are a little more available to you.
Good luck and post some pics!
 
Ive got maybe 25k in mine and I'm happy with it. Its a street/strip/pro touring car. I just like the fact that 90% of the people I run across dont even know what it is! haha

I'd ask 20-25k for mine in a heart beat. The parts are all there. I got super lucky with the paint/interior as it was already done when I got the car, so I had more money for the upgraded goodies.

And my car is a base model too. The D bag at the track always reminds me of that. He drives a Savoy and thinks he's the best thing since sliced bread.
 
I have had the car for a year now it was a 95% complete car but had been taken apart except the sheet metal. It's a 68 Coronet 440 318,auto,bench seats and hard top. I have always liked the 68-70 B bodies
And this one came up for sale local and I bought it.
I had the outside of the car blasted, replaced the trunk pan ,extensions and quarter skins with AMD sheet metal.
The rest of the car is decent.
Frame rails are good, I still have a small hole in the floor pan on both sides to fix and a few other small holes here and there to fix. Then just normal body work.
I am going Back with a 383/727 not the 318.
I am not concerned about it being original. I am already up to about $8000 from buying the car and parts and I have about $1500-2000 left to go on the drivetrain. So I am thinking about $12000-15000 total would put it at the minimum level I would like to be at.
This would be reusing as many parts as possible and that would be driver quality which I am fine with. If 68 coronet's restored to this level are valued
in the 12-15 thousand range then I would stop there. I could
Do less that that but, I don't like the ratty car look.

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I don't think your hurting yourself at that level. Best bang for the buck is putting a big block in it!
Just enjoy it!
 
If your doing it for profit buy it and sit on it and hope the market goes up. If your doing it cause you like them spend what you want but 15-20k done is high end for a base model. Build it and enjoy it. That is what they are for!
 
You're right, all of these base model cars have very defined ceilings - they won't draw the money a Charger / Bee / GTX / Roadrunner will, So restoring one of these is generally a losing proposition because the restoration costs are about the same, other than some of the rare / pricey pieces that tend to be on the high end cars.

A lot of us just work out a monthly / yearly budget and forget the rest, because in the end this is a hobby, not so much an investment, and hobbies generally tend to cost money not make money.

For instance, if I ever sell my 69 belvedere, I'd just look at the loss, divide it by the amount of years I enjoyed it and say, hey that's not too bad a cost of enjoyment.
 
I think you would be safe at $15k as your ceiling today.
 
I wonder if we would all think the same way if the OP was asking about a 68 318 charger? ??:steering:
 
I would spend every single dollar I could afford to on it. Just like I'm doing with my Sport Satellite that will never be worth much more than about $25k max. I sure have a lot of fun driving it around though. Put a couple hundred miles on it this weekend, it's money well spent!
I don't really agree that base model coronets are plentiful anymore either. I've only seen a base model coronet in my area once or twice. I see a heck of a lot more Super Bee's.
It's really about how much you're comfortable spending on it. Like some of the other people posting here have said, think of it as a hobby and try not to worry about ever getting your money back out of it.
 
If you really like your '68 Coronet I'd say do it up right and don't be overly concerned about resale value. Do it up right, then enjoy it.
Use good judgement, good taste, do quality work, and I think you might be surprised at what you may be offered for it without even putting a For Sale sign it it. At least that's been the case with my '68 Coronet Deluxe.
 
Well, pick your poison and pick your options . . . my "drop in the engine and drive it" turned into a complete ground up overhaul and re-build ( as a result of seeing some of the fine rides and workmanship that you can find on this site ) . . . If you have a budget, set it and stick to it . . . or you build the car the way YOU want it this time, take it one day at a time, and don't worry about what it costs ( within limits ) and have the car you've "always wanted" and have been waiting all these years to own ! ! !

That's my plan . . . good luck, welcome to the madness, dig in, get 'er done, and most importantly . . . Have Fun ! ! !
 
Just make sure the bodywork is done proper. You can piecemeal the brakes, engine wheels interior as you get money. But you need to do the bodywork right the first time.
If throw 80%+ budget into the body to start with. Even if that meant driving it with the 318 for a year or two
 
My goal is a reliable muscle time machine. That's what it is. I don't give a fiddler what it is worth on the market, or what it costs to keep it running.
 
I've never been one to care about rarity or numbers. One of these days I'm sure I'll change my mind. But, I just bought 2 '68 Coronets (within my state). One a 440 model barely running, and a 500 sitting since the 80's. The 440 had a rear collision repair done decades ago. I paid $4K for it and I have about $8K in the drivetrain already (505 Stroker/727), and plan to sink another $4K+ in the body/interior. Once done, it'll be driver quality.

I don't know why I bought the 500, maybe I just like the tail panel trim. I paid $3K (and I think I paid at least about 1K too much) for it and it has had a drivers side collision (a telephone pole hit it) and it's rusty from the rear floors back (hood too). It's been sitting since the early 80's. It's originally a 383 2 barrel (now 4 Barrel dual exhaust). It came with an unsigned title, so that's another hassle. I'm sure I'll be upside down real quick on it and I'm already upside down on the 440.

Looking back, I should've taken that money + a little more and bought a good quality restored/restified one.....but it's hard to nail down a good quality car without spending $$$$$ flying to different locations inspecting cars.

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Well, ya know, you can go buy a new car and be upside down as soon as you drive it off the lot. Spend the money and enjoy the car.

It's the dollars per smile that counts!
 
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