Next Hot Mopar Collectible?

[440 PHIXX]

The way I heard it, not being able to pass emissions killed the B/RB.
...and the V10 was the replacement.

I agree, Dodge commercial trucks have been criminally underrepresented for a long, long time.

However, they were serious trucks if you saw or used them prior to the late 70's.

That changed (wait for it, it's kinda sad) with the Sterling thing.
I started seeing all sorts of heavier Dodge and Sterling trucks.
Tow trucks, roll-backs, ambulances, etc.

Then the Sterling blunder that also killed the successful ex-ford, Louisville line.

However, I still see a fair share of 3500 and larger Dodge work cabs on the road.
MUCH more than before the Sterling debacle.

The Cummins came out in ‘89. Dodge finally had a truck that could tow. But some people don’t want or can’t afford the up charge for a diesel. I don’t think the V10 appeared til the 90’s.

 

[YY1]

...and speaking of the competition...and trucks...

I wonder why gm has not gotten into the "ugly van" market.

Dodge/Fiat, ford, mercedes/freightliner (grrr) and new entry nissan now dominate the work van market, all with potential "high top", dually, and "stretch" versions.

Where is gm? Still offering a non-configurable traditional van.
It's not typical of gm to ignore a market like that.
In fact they have been guilty of over saturating and competing with themselves a LOT.

 

[Budnicks]

although most are cheap right now, I think they will be more $$
in due time, a v8 4x4 midsize pick up 2nd gen Dakota 4x4s SLTs & Sports especially
over the gen 1 Dakota, even the Shelby's didn't sell
& 'usually' anything with Shelby on it sold, in the Malaise era

almost all the Ramchargers & Traildusters, should see a spike

the Older 72-80 W100-150 espec. short bed feetsides 4x4 Power Wagons,
specialty models & special offered paint packages, like muscle trucks
seems like they should get a bump too, long time with lil' to no respect
for great trucks

 

[Cranky]

Killing the big block was a serious blunder. I worked body shops and hit the junkyards throughout the 80’s. I never saw a Dodge rollback. And when I went to the track, guys would trailer their Mopars with Chevy and Ford dualies. With 454 and 460 power.

The Cummins came out in ‘89. Dodger finally has a truck that could tow. But some people don’t want or can’t afford the up charge for a diesel. I don’t think the V10 appeared til the 90’s.

A lot of people walked away from ChryCo in those days except for the K car crowd. Basically, that thing saved ChryCo. I mean, what do you do with a company that's bleeding? You cut the fat and give something to the people that they can use and will buy back then and economy cars were the big ticket. Light duty Dodge trucks weren't selling all that well at the time. Think about how many years that the truck was built in the same old body style with just a few styling changes to the interior and exterior. IIRC, the same windshield from a 72 would fit a 93! I hear that only thing that changed with the glass was the thickness. That's a cost cutter, right?

The E cars didn't sell worth a crap either after the 70 cars came out so why keep a bunch of parts that's doing nothing but sitting in a warehouse. Sales of the E cars did nothing from drop from their inception but Viet Nam had something to do with that as those cars were somewhat geared for the younger buyer. I hate that too because I'm also an E body guy and owned lots of them but I understand it from a business point of view.

 

[Budnicks]

I see the Lil' Red & Black or Green Lil' Expresses'
going up in value

1980 Rod Hall edition Power Wagon

78 Macho Edition

the Warlocks in green or black

Ramchargers in any year, should spike
]

 

[Budnicks]

I don't see any years of the Aspens
or RR badged Volare's ever really being worth much

I wonder if the fwd Omni/Chargers or GLH Chargers
will ever get the respect

I had a 82 Omni/Charger F/C,
I quickly swapped it out for a 23T Ford Altered roadster body

I always liked them Chargers in their P/S state, not the fwd cars
I never could warm up to them, never been a fwd guy, turbo'd or not
I know a lot that love them, I'm just not one

 

[YY1]

I see the Lil' Red & Black or Green Lil' Expresses'
going up in value

View attachment 1848510
View attachment 1848508
View attachment 1848513
1980 Rod Hall edition Power Wagon
View attachment 1848514
78 Macho Edition
View attachment 1848515
the Warlocks in green or black
View attachment 1848519

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Ramchargers in any year, should spike
]View attachment 1848518

Those have already gone up in value.
Quite a bit.
Retail is 30-40K.

 

[YY1]

High end (read numbered Shelby cars) like GLHS and turbo II or VNT cars are already somewhat pricey.

 

[Budnicks]

Very little after 1972 that appeals to me,
Chrysler was really dead for many years cars wise,
the fwd era, Iaconio marketing & the Chrysler Mini Vans saved the company
not many if any of the malaise era fwd cars did, may have any effects or saved them,
the K cars were junk, cheap square fugly-*** junk, but I didn't like the cheap look & ride,
drive at all...

Except for the Trucks/4x4s Power Wagons after 1972, none of the cars
I had a crapload of Power Wagons (or Ramchargers & Trail Dusters) 1972-74 thru 1998
the cars were dead to me, pretty much until the fwd malaise era ended,
Until the early 2000's when the, LE platform (Chrysler-Benz) concepts
started popping up...

2008 Challenger R/T's (5.7ltr) came out, that was a gamechanger, for Dodge
& the Hemi in the 2wd & 4wd Ram & Power 'Ram' trucks a lil' earlier later 90's,
or the 'Magnums Wagons' (2005 ---) were just plain cool dad mobiles,
far better than any Mini Van, no matter how good the Mini Vans were...
Then the Charger albeit a 4 dr sport sedan, when it 1st came back,
was pretty cool, quick & nimble too
so was the 300c or 300s, especially when the SRT-8 brand started...

I've always like Jeeps, even Jeep had a malaise era too
not as bad as their cars from any of the 3 major brands in Chrysler Corp.
Plymouth, Dodge & Chrysler
The Prowler was pretty damn cool, just underpowered
when Plymouth was killed off, it became a Chrysler that was the end...
The Viper let Dodge hold it's head up, from like 1992, a pure sportscar
it will be a collectors car for damn sure, the days of picking up
an older Viper for $50k is long over now...

The reg. cars were pretty-much dead to me prior, all the way back to 1972,
1972 was the last respectable rwd car, maybe E-body to 74, Chargers to 74
that wasn't some 20' long tank/turd, gas guzzling lack of power, grampas car

Pretty much only thing I thought about buying from Chrysler Corp.
after 72, was trucks, 4x4's specifically too, great rigs, sort of cheap for a time
got a bad rep.

There were a few early Magnum (the late 70's cars),
or the GTs with the 400cid, last BB & the 360s rear wheel drive 2 drs
Mirada's almost, were pretty cool, all of which, but just too big
to be a sporty car, for it's being so underpowered/smog laden turds...

 

[440 PHIXX]

A lot of people walked away from ChryCo in those days except for the K car crowd. Basically, that thing saved ChryCo. I mean, what do you do with a company that's bleeding? You cut the fat and give something to the people that they can use and will buy back then and economy cars were the big ticket. Light duty Dodge trucks weren't selling all that well at the time. Think about how many years that the truck was built in the same old body style with just a few styling changes to the interior and exterior. IIRC, the same windshield from a 72 would fit a 93! I hear that only thing that changed with the glass was the thickness. That's a cost cutter, right?

The E cars didn't sell worth a crap either after the 70 cars came out so why keep a bunch of parts that's doing nothing but sitting in a warehouse. Sales of the E cars did nothing from drop from their inception but Viet Nam had something to do with that as those cars were somewhat geared for the younger buyer. I hate that too because I'm also an E body guy and owned lots of them but I understand it from a business point of view.

Th Chevy Square body went from ‘73 to ‘91 if you include the Blazer, Suburban. But like Ford they were smart enough to keep the big block V8 for towing/HD. The 1 ton trucks didn’t have as stringent emissions standards as the lower payload trucks, so the Mopar big block would have been fine. Like I said earlier, Lee called it the new Chrysler Corporation when he took over. I’ve never owned anything from the new company. And GM stocked ‘69 Camaro quarter panels until the early 00’s. Obviously many more of them produced than E bodies.

 

[Cranky]

Th Chevy Square body went from ‘73 to ‘91 if you include the Blazer, Suburban. But like Ford they were smart enough to keep the big block V8 for towing/HD. The 1 ton trucks didn’t have as stringent emissions standards as the lower payload trucks, so the Mopar big block would have been fine. Like I said earlier, Lee called it the new Chrysler Corporation when he took over. I’ve never owned anything from the new company. And GM stocked ‘69 Camaro quarter panels until the early 00’s. Obviously many more of them produced than E bodies.

Yup, LOTS more Camaros produced and that alone was a determining factor and right, the 3/4 and 1 ton trucks had lower standards.....at first. Even the '5/8ths' ton truck had lower standards but that didn't last for very long at all....think maybe that lasted for 2 years?

 

[68BabyBlue]

A lot of people walked away from ChryCo in those days except for the K car crowd. Basically, that thing saved ChryCo. I mean, what do you do with a company that's bleeding? You cut the fat and give something to the people that they can use and will buy back then and economy cars were the big ticket. Light duty Dodge trucks weren't selling all that well at the time. Think about how many years that the truck was built in the same old body style with just a few styling changes to the interior and exterior. IIRC, the same windshield from a 72 would fit a 93! I hear that only thing that changed with the glass was the thickness. That's a cost cutter, right?

The E cars didn't sell worth a crap either after the 70 cars came out so why keep a bunch of parts that's doing nothing but sitting in a warehouse. Sales of the E cars did nothing from drop from their inception but Viet Nam had something to do with that as those cars were somewhat geared for the younger buyer. I hate that too because I'm also an E body guy and owned lots of them but I understand it from a business point of view.

I've heard the story from two generations of the family that owned the dealership in my town. They struggled to stay afloat. The K car crowd, who had previously been A body folks, kept them going. They kept my dad as a customer by putting him in the Mitsubishi based Plymouth Sapporo, and later the Plymouth mini vans.

My dad was an accurate predictor of a Mopar's future collector value. None he owned or liked ever generated any collector interest. On the other hand, cars he never cared for, like my 1960 Chrysler 300F, or the Hemi Road Runner that sat in the showroom for two years, did extremely well.

 

[1973dodger]

The viper 1500s seem to be gathering steam.

It maybe too late to get a decent deal for those trucks, but certainly is a no-brainer for it's collectability.

 

[1973dodger]

I've had a Plymouth Conquest and a Dodge Stealth, but both of those were Mitsubishi-made cars. Both were fun for what they were, but were not big blocks. I think the point of this exercise is to predict what the next generation of collectors would consider collectables, which are usually cars that someone desired to have in their youth. Cars which either they owned and wished they never sold them or cars they wished they could have owned but couldn't afford them. In my case, it was the first car I owned and didn't have the funds to fix it up like I would have liked too.

 

[YY1]

You just have to deal with being the underdog, even treated like a step child from the factory being a Mopar guy.

That's just the way it is.

I read somewhere that chevy built 8,000 big block novas in one year, 1970.

That's more than all the big block A body production for the entire three year span.

 

[YY1]

...and J body cars (Mirada/Cordoba) are smaller than 68-79 B body cars.