Cheap hemi superbird !!!!!

[440+6]

I agree, back in the late 60's early 70's if you got 100,000 miles out of a car it was almost a miracle.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I agree, back in the late 60's early 70's if you got 100,000 miles out of a car it was almost a miracle.

Very true. Back then, nobody had a car with 100K on it. Most regular cars were junked before they hit 90K and because musclecars were driven harder, most were junked earlier than that.

My dad used to trade cars after 2 years because that's when problems stated to develop.

 

[plymouthman72]

I definitely see both sides of that argument. There sure seems to be a lot more cars with "original" low miles than before now that is what is most desirable for collectors. I think what is funnier than trying to pass an old muscle car off with insanely low miles are the guys out there that call their cars survivors, or absolutely no rust, or low miles on a newer car. I can not count how many times I have seen someone put "survivor" on their listing. I have to believe that if you have repainted the car and have a new interior, the car is not a survivor. when you say no rush and then say with the exception of the 1/4s, floor pan, and trunk, I hate to tell you but your car has rust! And 191k on your 2001 Honda is not "low miles" no matter how bad you want it to be.

 

[super-bee_ski]

That is certainly true, but Hemi cars were special back then and continue to be special today. Hemis were expensive to buy and are also a major pain in the *** with their dual points, dual carbs and solid lifters and I would venture to say that most were not used as daily drivers. Adding the wing car factor doubles the PIA and special factor. While I don't know how many Superbirds are still around, but out of 505 Daytonas built, about 350 Daytonas still survive & that's a pretty good ratio.

I bought my 1st 68 Hemi Charger in 1978 with only 16,000 miles on it. The original owners turned it into a race car around 1970 & then it sat, which explains the low miles. The 2nd owner yanked the engine & transmission & then sold me the body. I probably put on another 30,000 miles in the 14 years that I owned it.

My current 68 Hemi Charger has 25,000 miles on it and I believe that is real. The previous owner (#2) had been trying to buy this car for years because it was sitting in plain sight, but eventually persistence and luck paid off for him. He told me that he only drove the car once & slowly took it apart to attempt a restoration. I came along 18 year later and bought it. Now, you may ask me why I believe that my car has original miles? It's because of condition. Up here, the old iron only lasted about 4 years before cancer struck. At that time, an average 5 year old daily driver with 75,000 miles on it had major rot on every panel.

But then, there are those who simply bought there cars as a toy and drove them sparingly. Today, you can find plenty of low mileage late-70's Trans Am's GNX's, Shelbys, Vipers & Ford GT's that hit the market. The same will hold true for Hellcats in the years to come. Heck, my 5 year old Challenger R/T has only 20,000 miles on it right now.

Of course there are many that have had their odometers rolled back, but I can only vouch for mine.

- - - Updated - - -



That is true. I traced down the original owner of my old 1970 Challenger R/T SE (440-6, 4 speed, Shaker) and he traded the car in back in 1974 (?) because of the escalating gas prices. He told me that got a 318 Charger that got a whopping 3 mpg better.

My 2007 Shelby GT500 has 199 miles on it.
Already going on 10 years old.

My point?
Supporting RCs claims that some owners did intentionally keep mileage off certain cars

 

[Bruzilla]

Yes... some buyers did, just like some buyers are today. But not the majority. And with just about every Hemi car coming on the market being low original miles, the majority would have to have been not driving them and that's not very realistic.

 

[super-bee_ski]

I think with the knowledge these "Master Restoration shops" have, they can turn any old, high mileage car into a NEW and very LOW mileage car....
Possibly huh?

 

[BeatersRus]

Yes... some buyers did, just like some buyers are today. But not the majority. And with just about every Hemi car coming on the market being low original miles, the majority would have to have been not driving them and that's not very realistic.

hes right tho,bitd these were tempermental motors and a lot of people just gave up on them when they would not start or run right.....hence the low miles.

the 440 was advertised as being super easy to maintain wasnt it?
and a lot of people went for the 440 motor because of the reliability.
even when they came out,hemis were known for 2 things..
being king of the street in the Right hands,and running like dogpoop in the wrong ones.

 

[BL1 70 RR]

I would think that all the hemi cars that were daily driven back then are all gone due to rust or accidents. The reason that we only see low mile cars is because they are all that is left. I'm sure that some of the daily driven cars are restored and still around. I'm also sure that some of those cars that have rolled over on the odometer are now being passed off as low mileage cars. Personally if I owned a real hemi car I wouldn't care if it was low mileage or not, I would drive the crap out of it.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I would think that all the hemi cars that were daily driven back then are all gone due to rust or accidents. The reason that we only see low mile cars is because they are all that is left. I'm sure that some of the daily driven cars are restored and still around. I'm also sure that some of those cars that have rolled over on the odometer are now being passed off as low mileage cars. Personally if I owned a real hemi car I wouldn't care if it was low mileage or not, I would drive the crap out of it.

Regarding the hemi Charger that I built & eventually sold last summer; I recently found out through an old friend who had looked at it years ago that the original owner drove it for a year and while racing a Mustang, he missed a shift and over-revved it causing valve float, which bent all the valves. He ended up parking it in a garage back in 1969 and never fixed it. It sat there until the mid 80s (with the 1969 inspection sticker on the windshield) when owner #2 bought it.

 

[Bruzilla]

Maybe it's my past experience in car sales, but I never, ever, believe anyone's stories about a car. Never, ever, ever. If it's not backed up by official documentation, it's just a story... or a legend if you're talking Hemi cars. ;)