1966 Belvedere 1 cars in general

[barbee6043]

I admit I spend most of my Mopar time over on FABO, and I have owned scattered over the decades, many 68-9 RoadRunnners, Bees, but I am priced out of that market, and have built several or so 66 Bel 1 cars. Love em, and I just found a Tx. roller to go see, typical Tx, rust, and complete right down to a slant! As usual no title but thats just a Tx. bonded title thing, some PIA and $400 odd $! Actually priced as it should be unless some unusual issues pop up when I go to see it. Funny how 98% of the Tx. projects on FB are way over priced and 95% never sell!

But I digress, I admit I love the build even better than keeping it on to drive, and so since I admit to being old, about aged out of the hobby, I have to keep in mind when it finds a new home, that I can break even. Yea, I still do all my body/paint and just materials which is enough! But before everyone tells me I can never break even with a build, really?? my general question is to the actually pulse of the 66 Bel 1 market for such build, (big block clone as the end goal) and that is rusty repair, body/paint. I have done over the decades half a dozen of these, always ended up pulling the slant, doing the brakes, lately just adding some SmittyBilt buckets, carpet, and then evaluating IF I wanted to find a BB for it before going further.

In general, I see the classic car market as soft, non driving projects soft, and last similar car I sold about 3 years ago, was a 64 Savoy, in same condition, body/paint, brakes, that type interior done. Paid $1000 for it, and sold it for $10,000 withj a A833, and some parts. These cars always sell better to people 4-5 states away but seems few people want to travel anymore or pay a transport.

It has always seemed to me that 66-7 Bels and Coronets are always a soft market. I love that model myself.

Thoughts??

 

[R413]

Good use of your time, Bad investment. Hard to find parts, limited reproduction parts. 1966's are a soft market, few like the 66-67 post car. Limited tire clearance so drag racers avoid them also. So many questions on the forums, "whats the bigger tire that will fit on *** car"

Don't do anything that isn't stock or the resale is tanked. When I see them for sale they are listed a long time and the price keeps dropping.

 

[barbee6043]

Good use of your time, Bad investment. Hard to find parts, limited reproduction parts. 1966's are a soft market, few like the 66-67 post car. Limited tire clearance so drag racers avoid them also. So many questions on the forums, "whats the bigger tire that will fit on *** car"

Don't do anything that isn't stock or the resale is tanked. When I see them for sale they are listed a long time and the price keeps dropping.

I do agree. All so true.

66-7 B bodies have always been soft, and maybe even softer today. I have always felt the early b bodies were strong, but we are aging out of those somewhat, 68-70 B bodies are a (sorta) rich man's toy today. There are reasons the A body segment grows stronger every day. Complete, and desirable A bodies, like everything, gets slimmer all the time.

I have been in the Mopar hobby since early 80s. Back then, a few hemi cars (not my bag, I am no racer or $ guy), many 6 pack E bodies, o6-7 AAR sand TAs, tons of 383 RR and Bees, some 71-3 B bodies, then I got off the E body thing and went straight B bodies, then off to all kinds of A bodies, some of everything. Never wanted to work for the public, and could not afford to keep them and sit on them! My problem is I have always bought projects because I lkike that model and not thinking about the day I sell it!

Back about 93-4? maybe, I was at Mopar Nats. and I saw a build that a "kid" made out of a 64 Savor post car, (Yes a hardtop would have been "prettier"), he simply pulled the slant, changed out the K and T bars, added a 440/A833 ,some under dash gauges and tach, some Bostrum buckets and pulled out the back seat. Some gauges, a MX scoop, not a race car, just a fun cruiser/steet car. I went home and sold all my 69 RR builders and bought 2 complete 64 Savoys for $500 each and did the same. So simple, so inexpensive and so fun! Built one and parted the other to pay its way. Should hjave kept them both!




I have always liked the post cars, so solid. Not the prettiest! Niche market I guess. Sorta like the early Mustang people, the fastback guys look down thne the coupe guys!

B bodies need big blcoks, not slants! Bit funny as it seems, the car show guys, which I am not, will get 100 times more looks with a slant than the common v8 car.

 

[Runcharger]

Cool cars. I think it all works out. A 68 Buy-in is probably $8k more expensive and the end results if similiar would yield $8k more in value. An E-body would be $15k more for buy-in and yield $15k more in end value. Rough figures I know but you get the idea. Just do what you enjoy. I'm in a similiar situation, I don't want to spend $10k and up for a project so I might do an A-body notchback next. Not that I love them it's just I can find one for cheap and to me it just isn't worth tying up $10k for a beat, bottom line, more popular project anymore.
As always the key is only buying something complete so you don't have to pay the big bucks to buy and ship missing parts to you to finish it up. The other key is not spending money on stuff that the next buyer might not value, but I'm sure you're aware of that.
I miss the days of just plain making sacrifices to buy and build what I love, but the overall personal value isn't there to me anymore having $100k and up tied up into something you very rarely use.

 

[Cranky]

I admit I spend most of my Mopar time over on FABO, and I have owned scattered over the decades, many 68-9 RoadRunnners, Bees, but I am priced out of that market, and have built several or so 66 Bel 1 cars. Love em, and I just found a Tx. roller to go see, typical Tx, rust, and complete right down to a slant! As usual no title but thats just a Tx. bonded title thing, some PIA and $400 odd $! Actually priced as it should be unless some unusual issues pop up when I go to see it. Funny how 98% of the Tx. projects on FB are way over priced and 95% never sell!

But I digress, I admit I love the build even better than keeping it on to drive, and so since I admit to being old, about aged out of the hobby, I have to keep in mind when it finds a new home, that I can break even. Yea, I still do all my body/paint and just materials which is enough! But before everyone tells me I can never break even with a build, really?? my general question is to the actually pulse of the 66 Bel 1 market for such build, (big block clone as the end goal) and that is rusty repair, body/paint. I have done over the decades half a dozen of these, always ended up pulling the slant, doing the brakes, lately just adding some SmittyBilt buckets, carpet, and then evaluating IF I wanted to find a BB for it before going further.

In general, I see the classic car market as soft, non driving projects soft, and last similar car I sold about 3 years ago, was a 64 Savoy, in same condition, body/paint, brakes, that type interior done. Paid $1000 for it, and sold it for $10,000 withj a A833, and some parts. These cars always sell better to people 4-5 states away but seems few people want to travel anymore or pay a transport.

It has always seemed to me that 66-7 Bels and Coronets are always a soft market. I love that model myself.

Thoughts??

PM Sent.....

 

[barbee6043]

^^^^^So very true!!!

The average hobby-ist looks for value per $ spent. The high end $$ Mecum/BJ guy has $ to toss out there for a toy he rarely uses because he also considers it an investment. The low $ guy can hardly afford inflation and groceries, much less a hobby car! The middle $ guy gets hit by everything from inflation to price of diapers to the $60,000 new pickup (that breaks down)! People talk about the classic car hobby declining, I agree, from people aging out, to the price of any and all parts, materials, needed labor, shipping, poor quality and overpriced less desirable projects available in general. But it is a hobby and hobbys cost $$!

Too many hobby guys have spent a lot of $$$ either at their garage or paying someone, only to find they have an expensive car they now rarely drive. Many first owner guys make many mistakes and such cost time and $. Then we all hear "you can buy one done cheaper than you can build one". So the guy wanting a pretty much "done" car, only wants one that someone else put lets say $40,000 in a car he can buy for $20,000. (How did the guy get that much in said car? Because his "baby" gets only the very best and most expensive. Good for a buyer, but kills a lot of incentive for anyone to build a car., UNLESS you can and will do it yourself and reasonable quality build.

I was reading a thread on here about the guy that bought a nice car with a nice paint job, only to find in a few short years bubbling. He sent it to a shop to strip it to bare metal only to find pinholes, untreated surface rust, no epoxy primer, filler over bare metal, lap weld spotted ion, etc etc. That is just new of many things that kills our hobby. A lot of $ paid for lipstick on a sows ear. One thing to pay a few $ to have a better looking driver maybe.

The hobby needs to be about smiles per mile and $ spent.

 

[R413]

Yes you have more money tied up in a 68-70 or an ebody. But, when it's time to sell you have way more potential buyers, and they sell fast.