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1968 Plymouth GTX 440 4-speed Dana $2,500.00 ...... Numbered project car w/fender tag

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Sorry to hear that Dan. Don't know if your wanting to but you can try 2nd chance offer to your next highest bidder if he's bid high enough? Damn E-Bayers.
 
Daniel, Sorry to hear the deal fell through. There must be some sort of curse on that car.
She must really like you Arnie Cunningham!.
I would also try offering it to the next highest bidder.
The annual "CEMA" car show is at the WPC Museum this weekend, I''l see if I can drum up some interest there.
I'll touch base with you later this week.
Matt
 
That car isn't cursed anything like the car I just picked up, UGH!
I had an extremely long weekend!



Sorry I have been so light on the details but I finally got some sleep last night so here is the entire story.

This past Thursday evening I had two auctions that ended. One was for the GTX and the other was for my 1996 Honda CBR 600 F3 sport bike.

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I had worked out a deal on another Mopar but the seller said I needed to pick it up the following day by 4:00pm central time because he works from 4:00pm until wee hours of the morning and he had another guy coming to pick it up around noon. I live in eastern time zone so I gain an hour going down that way to pick it up so that will help a little. I figure I will have to leave around 4:00am to make it there “in time”. I found an air compressor on craigslist about a week ago down in Racine, WI area that bought and the guy was leaving it sit until I could pick it up. I called him and said I would be down Friday afternoon (on my way back home) to pick it up.
If I picked up the air compressor Friday afternoon I could head over to LaCrosse, WI and visit my brother and go to the Coulee Region Mopars ‘all Mopar car show’ on Saturday and attend his daughters’ high school graduation party on Sunday and come home on Monday. Wow all the stars were aligning up for a change. The car show was from 8:00am-4:00pm so if I made it there around 11:00am it would give me enough time to walk the car show, scout the swap meet, and talk to some people there.

Both of my auctions ended and I did pretty well on the GTX so I was happy to finally find a buyer who was willing to pay what I was asking for it (more in this case) and more importantly was going to actually restore it.
The buyer (Mark) lived in Wausau, WI (~5 hours from here) and I told him to contact me a.s.a.p. that evening because I could deliver it and all the extra parts for $250.00 the very next morning since I was heading south already and it would only put me about 4 hours off my original course. Mark called me and agreed (we talked for 2 hours!) and it was now around 10:00pm eastern time. Everything had fallen into place suddenly, but it was working out awesome! Although this means I probably would be cutting it close for the car show on Saturday (or would at least require another 5:00am wake-up call depending on how far I made it Friday evening).
I loaded up the GTX, all the extra B-body parts I could find, a 4-speed transmission that the buyer wanted (and was paying extra for), the ramps for the trailer, and I had to remove my tonneau cover from my truck to fit the extra roof in the bed. By the time I was ready to roll it was 2:00am Friday morning.
I got my 2 hours of shut eye, woke up Dayton (my 6 year old son) ate a quick breakfast and we were on the road at 5:00am eastern time. About 20 minutes into the trip Dayton looks at me strange and his cheeks were bulged out like a squirrel. He had a sore throat so I gave him a cough drop when we left home, however instead of swallowing the saliva and drop juice he let it build up until it started “leaking” out he coughed or something and it went all over him. No biggie. We pulled over got a new shirt, he finished spitting the rest out, washed his face at the fuel station, and headed on our way again with a lesson learned.
We made pretty good time on the way to Wausau considering it is 2 lane roads the entire way down. We arrived at the delivery point (his mothers’ house) around 9:30am central time. He was still about 30 minutes away so I start unloading everything. I just finished unloading it when he shows up (go figure). He checks the car over well and likes what he sees except for there is some poor welding on rear frame rails that I never noticed because it is tucked up above where the rear axle is. Apparently when the previous owners put the “back end” on the car they put the entire rear clip on it! He seemed overly concerned about it and I explained to him that I honestly had no idea it was like that and he understood. Because this information was not disclosed in the auction I said I would not hold him accountable for his bid if he wanted to pass on the car. I already had another buyer lined up so I wasn’t concerned with a technically like who was going to pay for the car so long as I got the money for it. The other bidder called after the auction ended and told me he that he kept bidding but when he bid his final time the auction had already ended. He stated he would buy the car a.s.a.p. if the high bidder backs out or gives me any grief about it. I could tell he wasn’t going to take the car so I started loading it back up. He asked if I’d give him a better deal on the car so I wouldn’t have to drag it back home. I said I’m open to offers, and he offered $1,500.00. I wasn’t going to give it away so I finished loading it up and had to back track all the way home! Of course this puts me about 13 hours behind schedule (~11 hours drive time and ~2 hours loading/B.S.’ing time).
I returned home around 5:00pm eastern time Friday afternoon and dropped the GTX off at my dads shop as well as unloaded the extra doors & roof that were in the truck bed. I drive home (it’s on the way out of town) and my son and I stopped home for about 15 minutes to eat. While there I called the guy with the car and the guy with the air compressor and explain my misfortunes and make sure both will be available/around the next day (Saturday). We eat and refill the water bottles and are off again. I take the first left corner about 100 feet from my driveway and I notice my trailer tire wobbling all around. I pull over immediately hop out and notice my wheel is complete black (suppose to be white). I grab the tire and it’s still hard (uh, oh!) and I look at the spindle and the outer cone bearing is sitting on the end of the spindle. How I didn’t lose then entire wheel & hub assembly I will never know. SON OF A B*TCH!!!! I go around the block and back the trailer into my driveway, unhook it, and hook up to my new trailer (thankfully I have two trailers). The problem is I have my Super Bee on it and nowhere to put the Bee. I drive out to my parents’ house and drop the Bee off there and finally start heading down to Indiana at around 6:30pm eastern time.
The trip down is going uneventful (I am now really starting to appreciate when things are uneventful!), however I am getting tired and it’s now 9:30 central time. My son loves to swim at the motels so I usually get a room in the late evenings so he can swim before they close the pool. Not too mention I need to be in Valparaiso, IN loaded and leaving by 12:00pm (noon) central time so it’s going to be an early wake-up call. We stayed in Manitowoc, WI. It’s early Saturday morning and the Motel has a free hot breakfast bar, but it doesn’t start until 7:00am central time so we showered and packed everything up and loaded the truck prior to breakfast. Then we took advantage of the Golden Malted waffle maker and other goodies they had. We got back on the road at 8:00am central time.

(continued in next post...)
 
...I pulled into Bills driveway (where the car I was buying is) around 11:00am central time and we started loading it up right away. It’s only been about 15 (maybe 30?) minutes, however I got it all strapped down already and the other potential buyer pulls in (thankfully I beat him there; enter bid dramatic scene with a few curse being exchanged). The other buyer threatens with a lawsuit, gets his $300.00 deposit refunded and leaves. I load up the forged crank, a set of heads, an extra pair of doors, and then we head out around 1:00pm central time. I drive the 6 miles of 45 mph country/farm roads and make my way back onto a divided highway. About a half mile down the road there was a traffic signal that was red when I got to it so I stopped. The light turned green and I went to go and the truck just groaned and jerked a few times, and then nothing. The engine was running and would rev, however the transmission was just flaring up. I barely got the now loaded truck & trailer through the intersection and onto the shoulder of the highway. Nothing, the transmission was junk. More nothing. Hmmmm…now what? I let it sit for a bit and I could start it and move it about 100 feet and then the filter would plug up (transmission acts like it’s in neutral). I would let it sit for 10 minutes and drive it another 100 feet. I did that for about am mile and over a big hill, which shortened my distance considerably. GRRRR!!! A few curse words & panic thoughts go through my mind as we are now in north Merrillville/Gary, Indiana. For those not in the know, it’s not the nicest neighborhood with some of the highest major crime rates in the U.S. I get to another intersection and do not know what to do. It will take me about 30 minutes to cross it (if the transmission doesn’t grenade completely before then) and there is nothing on the other side of it. I am just looking for a parking lot to leave it sit and go get a motel to figure things out. Finally a younger guy (Mopar guy of course) pulled up with a standard cab Ford Ranger 5-speed 2wd and a tow rope and towed me through the intersection and across the divided highway into a truck stop/fuel station. It’s now around 3:30pm eastern time and I tell the truck stop manager my situation and I’ll get it out of there Saturday night. He tells me it has to be gone then or it’s getting towed. UGH. One of the municipal workers gives Dayton and I (and our bags) a ride to the Comfort Suites in Merrillville, IN which is about 3 miles from my truck & trailer. I call the guy with the air compressor and explain (yet again) I can’t pick it up for another day or two. He said that’s fine and he’s retired so he’s always home so whenever I get everything worked out just come and get it. Of course it’s the darned weekend and all the motels have their weekend price hikes and the Comfort Suites wanted $129.99 per night. It was a very nice place with a nice pool area for Dayton, and a breakfast bar that would save me about $20.00 per day so that was worth something. I hashed it out with the manager for a bit (William Shatner would have been proud) and I got the room for $89.99 which is still more then I cared to spend not knowing how long I was going to be stuck down there. Although the room was like a business suite with a computer hutch, high back leather office chair two big beds, a large screen flat panel TV, good size fridge, microwave, coffee pot, and a bathroom that rivals the one in my house. It’s now about 6:00pm central time and I get a hold of my father who is on vacation down at my brothers’ house for Gingers’ graduation no less) and devise an evil plan…errr… hatch a please come and save me plan which consists of this: My dad immediately left and drove the 8 hours back home getting back here very late Saturday night. First thing Sunday morning he removed the topper off the Dakota and went to my house and hooked to the trailer and pulled it into town to fix the bearings (and maybe spindles/hubs?; of course he removed the loose hub/wheel assembly). Thankfully it just needed new inner/outer bearings/races (on both sides; yes the races were heat welded to the spindle). A few trips to Advance Auto Parts and the trailer has new bearings. Now that the trailer was fixed he pulled it with the Dakota up to Negaunee and got the 1998 turbo diesel Chevy (extended cab, long box) from my grandfathers’ house. He hooked the trailer to the Chevy and loaded the Dakota onto the trailer. Now our plan was in action! He drove back to his house called me for directions and headed out (~6:00pm eastern time).
Meanwhile Dayton and I walked over to Toys R Us and then the big mall they had. We had some lunch at Panda Express in the food court and dinner at Chipotle’ YUM! Then come evening we just hung out in the room and watched movies and did a lot of swimming.
My father showed up around 1:30am central time early Monday morning and was overly tired so he went to bed and I unloaded the Dakota and went to get the trailer & car off of the Dodge Ram and hook it to the Dakota. I was very nervous wondering if they were even going to be there still. I couldn’t find the phone number to the truck stop to let them know we were a few hours late but I was still coming to get my truck & trailer out of there that night, and I surely wasn’t walking there with Dayton. I got there around 2:30am central time and unhooked the trailer & car from my Ram and hooked it to the Dakota and pulled it back to the motel. It was 70 degrees out (still!!) and I was awake still so I decided to take the diesel truck and go back and load up my Ram. That took a little doing, but I got it. I got back to the motel room just after 4:00am central time. And crashed. I woke up at 7:00am and we went down and had breakfast and chilled for a few minutes. We went out and extra safety chained everything and loaded our bags and headed towards home. The Dakota (even with the 3.9L) has plenty of power for towing, however it doesn’t stop the extra weight (~4,500 lbs; trailer & car) very well. Once we were on I-80 heading west we passed (opposite direction) a lot of the NHRA pro drag racing teams (the race was in Chicago this past weekend, GRRR!!!) which was cool and then going north on I-94 from Chicago, Il. all the way to Racine, WI we past (opposite direction) the Hot Rod Power Tour 2009, which was absolutely awesome to watch go by.
I finally picked up the air compressor and we headed to Green Bay for dinner at the Texas Roadhouse. While we were finishing up dinner getting ready to leave my sister text messaged me (I had my wife’s’ cell phone) and said her and my mom were at Fleet Farm in Green Bay, WI. Kind of odd, and in a couple minutes we passed them on the interstate and we all traveled home together safely. We got home at around 9:30pm eastern time. I got Dayton in bed because his last day of school was the next day and he already missed Friday (activity/field day) & Monday (school picnic).
At 10:30 my phone rings and it is the guy that was the highest bidder on my GTX saying he thought it over and he’ll take. I told him he has to pay for gas (again; obviously) and I am not hauling the extra roof down again. He also wanted my near NOS 23-spline 4-speed transmission, but I told him it wasn’t for sale anymore. I explained I have a lot of 4-speeds and would sell him one I know is good for $350.00 and he agreed to that. I still have his $300.00 deposit from the eBay auction so I guess everything worked out OK. Just took a long round about way to get there. We agreed on $2,150.00 for the GTX body, $350.00 for the transmission, and $150.00 for the delivery. The delivery will be a wash because it will cost me almost that much in fuel/food/time.
I could probably get more for it with the other interested party, however I still have the original buyers deposit, and he has already visually looked the car over and knows everything about it.
 
Well I'm happy to report that the GTX finally went to a good home where it is getting restored!

After all the screwing around the original winning bidder and I struck a deal ($2,150.00 + a second delivery fee, and he bought a 23-spline A-883 4-speed transmission I wanted to get rid of) so it worked out in the end.

The owner has a nice 1970 GTX that is finished and a 1971 GTX air grabber project car. The 1968 is the one he has always wanted and now finally owns.

Thanks for everyone that has helped try to sell this car.
I really appreciate it.
I am surprised/baffled it took so long to find a buyer.
The important thing is I got what I needed from the car, got the money I wanted out of it, and the buyer got the car he wanted at a great price. It was a win~win and both parties were satisfied!
 
dang, you should write a book, and puplish it with the money you made on the gtx. I congradulate you on the sale, and also own a 68 440 4speed gtx in similar condition, i wouldnt sell it for under 4000 tho, i have more parts and its in better shape, but still ppl are crazy, i would have given you 3000 for that thing in a heart beat....if you lived in new hampshire. Im glad its going to a good home!
 
Is this car still for sale? I just joined this site. I can't see the pics but it sounds good. I will have to check to see if I can see the pics on my home computer.
John
 
I guess I didn't read far enough down.
Congrats on the sale! I guess I missed out on a great deal.
 
You finally unburry yourself from the last blizzard? Sharpen your shovel, looks like another foot is on its way just in time for Christmas....God I love this time of year!
 
holy crap that was one heck of a deal, man i wished i were around when you were selling that, i would have driven from Canada to bring it back home, at 2500 how can you not buy it????
 
man i cannot believe how hard of a time you had selling that thing, no matter what the economy was like, i sure would have liked to have had a big block 4 speed GTX, what a beautiful car!!
 
man i cannot believe how hard of a time you had selling that thing, no matter what the economy was like, i sure would have liked to have had a big block 4 speed GTX, what a beautiful car!!

Looking for a big block, 4spd GTX convertible by any chance ? :grin:
 
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