Max amount of money would you put into a 68 coronet

OKDart said:

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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I traveled to five states in my search. Lots of very overpriced cars with somewhat dishonest sellers. Even one that the seller had 'forgot' to tell me about the 29K title loan he had on a 14K car. It always easy to think about 'what should have' and not know how a mess that could end up.

It is a base Coronet...like everyone else has said...you will never get the money you put into back when/if you sell!!

So you might as well build it how you want...and just enjoy it...let the family worry about that when you take the dirt nap!!

That's my .02 cents!!

I'm a little bit different because I'm based in Australia and these are rare here either way. But I say dump in it what ever your comfortable with to get the result you want. Mines a 440, that has an RT rear trim/lights (cos I love the look!) other wise debadged. I've gone for a Day 2 look (or maybe a period pro-tour?). I don't hide that its not an RT, but I've been asked maybe twice about it? most people just go 'fwoooaaarr, sweet charger man!' lol.

Yup a number or a name will get you more money than a base even tho they are the same thing (lets be honest here), and if your doing it for cash then you have the wrong car (spec and model). But if your doing it to build a 'sweet car man', then you've got the right car. Nothing makes me smile like stomping the go-fast-pedal and hearing that lumpy fire breather roar!

My advise? your budget is your initial on road budget. Blow it on things that CANNOT be easily changed later -IE body work (including clearancing for trans or modern engines etc), then must haves (seat belts etc), then its things that are a PITA to change - glass (and mech's for them), brakes, interior, drive train - kind of in that order.

This will be my second summer driving mine and I'm still tweaking things. couple of things to go on the interior (dash trim is all really), thinking about a borgeson, front bumper could do with a change, GV overdrive potentially then diff ratio to suit...

Then forget what you spent on it (so you don't get depressed! lol) and go for a drive instead and bask in the 'fwooooaaars'!

Ya new guy here... used to be on that other mopar forum a lot but for some reason I can't log in now, I guess I'm not welcome anymore, so some here might recognize my handle... it's been a minute so whatevs, Anyhoo...

Everyone makes good points here & I as well have been losing sleep over this very dilemma.
I'm faced with the heavy decision of whether or not to drop a large sum of $$$ to bring a 70 318 base coronet 440 back to life or to harvest all remaining parts & scrap the rotted husk.
After going thru the amd catalog it's going to cost upwards of $10k for all the metal panels it needs & me supplying the labor.

Some will say "that's insane for a 318 car!"...
The problem here is that I don't have $10-$20k to throw down on something done.
However I do have more time than I do $$$, so I can tackle it as a long term project *but* that requires shop space, tools & a lot of misc materials.

The bottom line for me is that I cannot find a decent 1970 coronet or superbee for less than $10k, contrary to what others have said (if anyone finds one pm me the details), so I guess I'm slowly convincing myself that by spending whatever it takes to make *me* happy is a sound decision regardless of the cost.
I mean I don't smoke, I hardly drink, I don't blow $$$ at the nudie bar, etc... so all that potential spending can go towards an expensive project like this.

My issue is that I used to own a plum crazy 70 superbee 440 4spd car & everytime I see one it makes me regret ever getting rid of it. That damn sentimental element factors in & bam! tunnelvision & I cant see anything but the car I once had.

I'm not thinking about the base model rotbucket as an investment but at the same time I am... It's not like the car is going to be worthless... ever for that matter... cuz someone else will come along after me with that same sparkle in their eye as I did when I first saw my coronet...
I may not get what I spend on it but as others have said "you're basically buying fun!"
So what's a few stacks of "fun coupons?"
You can ALWAYS get more of those but how many coronets did chrysler actually make? How many are still left??? How many can you afford to buy???

So with all that being said I think you'll soon see a thread of quite possibly the biggest nightmare resto, worth the least $$$, ever being tackled... possibly... I'm not 100% set on that decision but the scale is tipping... so stay tuned...

Hope that helps you decide... "Later tater!"

Spend till your wife starts beating you with a fry pan. If you love that car when is it ever enough?

Budget? Is that a thing with these cars? Lol. I quit adding up the receipts.... started to get sick to my stomach.

Don't build a car to sell, you'll rarely make any profit. Build one for yourself, and forget the cost. We're only on this earth for a fraction of time!

They say it's a labor of love for a reason...

Don't ask me, I have way too much into the car than I could sell it for. I likely have over $20,000 into the drivetrain alone with the stroker engine, EFI, serpentine belt drive, 5-speed OD transmission, rebuilt Dana 60, 4-wheel disk brakes.....

451Mopar said:

Don't ask me, I have way too much into the car than I could sell it for. I likely have over $20,000 into the drivetrain alone with the stroker engine, EFI, serpentine belt drive, 5-speed OD transmission, rebuilt Dana 60, 4-wheel disk brakes.....

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Yeah man adds up quick!

drobertson said:

I quit adding up the receipts.... started to get sick to my stomach.

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Same here, D. I keep a notebook and I used to catalog every part / every cost. Now it's just a repair / maintenance notebook and I just toss the receipts in a file and refuse to add anything up.

HT413 said:

Same here, D. I keep a notebook and I used to catalog every part / every cost. Now it's just a repair / maintenance notebook and I just toss the receipts in a file and refuse to add anything up.

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Notebook? I tried that and it got over filled so fast, I have most receipts in a big box. I haven't counted them, but I kept most of them.
I know where were many more that I did not keep, that were related, like tools and misc nuts/bolts, electrical wire and parts and such.

451Mopar said:

Notebook? I tried that and it got over filled so fast, I have most receipts in a big box. I haven't counted them, but I kept most of them.
I know where were many more that I did not keep, that were related, like tools and misc nuts/bolts, electrical wire and parts and such.

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Roger that. Heck most of you guys have super cool cars that you'll at least get decent $$ for. My 69 belvedere has to be the lowest value VIN's on FBBO. I was underwater soon as I spent half a tank of gas to go look at it! FTW!

HT413 said:

Roger that. Heck most of you guys have super cool cars that you'll at least get decent $$ for. My 69 belvedere has to be the lowest value VIN's on FBBO. I was underwater soon as I spent half a tank of gas to go look at it! FTW!

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My thoughts on this subject are spend what your comfortable with .
You will never get the money out of most of the cars you build with exception to the rare ones , and even then you might break even .
Build it your way how you like to enjoy .if your building to sell then your hobby becomes a business .
Buying one completely done is sometimes cheaper and faster depending on what your needs are

Pete Bell68 said:

My thoughts on this subject are spend what your comfortable with .
You will never get the money out of most of the cars you build with exception to the rare ones , and even then you might break even .
Build it your way how you like to enjoy .if your building to sell then your hobby becomes a business .
Buying one completely done is sometimes cheaper and faster depending on what your needs are

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100% agreed. Most times buying one done is the cheapest way to go for sure, especially when the owner can do the work himself. except like you said, some rare cases

Pete Bell68 said:

My thoughts on this subject are spend what your comfortable with .
You will never get the money out of most of the cars you build with exception to the rare ones , and even then you might break even .
Build it your way how you like to enjoy .if your building to sell then your hobby becomes a business .
Buying one completely done is sometimes cheaper and faster depending on what your needs are

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I got most of my money back on the 1968 Dodge Polara 4-door 318 car I had in college, but I only paid $40 for the car (in 1985) and it needed an alternator, rebuilt transmission and muffler. Drove it for 4 years and sold it for $300.

This thread is full of great opinions and advice. The best is "don't build it to sell ". Spend whatever you're comfortable with, and do it the way that makes YOU happy. A 1968 Coronet is in my opinion, the best styled of that line of beautiful cars. Watch people walk by other, more expensive cars, to look at your Coronet (same goes for Satellite).

WileERobby said:

This thread is full of great opinions and advice. The best is "don't build it to sell ". Spend whatever you're comfortable with, and do it the way that makes YOU happy. A 1968 Coronet is in my opinion, the best styled of that line of beautiful cars. Watch people walk by other, more expensive cars, to look at your Coronet (same goes for Satellite).

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My advise is do what makes you happy , that's it plain and simple ..everything isn't about money

I have about $25k in mine including the cost of the car, I did all the work myself except for the engine machine work and 904 rebuild. It is a 100% original small block besides the paint color and wheels. Will I ever get $25k out of it? If I do it is because of the way it looks not because of the 100% original part of it. Most true Mopar folks turn from Lust to Desire after they realize I kept the 318 in it (the EFI whets their appetite a bit though) I have had several people want to buy it at shows if I would give them a price. One guy has calls me every few weeks wanting to discuss a purchase... I think of it as preserving a piece of history.