Question on a Sebring Plus

[Sputnik]

Buddy just bought a 74 Sebring Plus Sundance Edition. It's original bronze , nice body, really nice funky interior. It has a RR hood, 318 car. He intends to restore as original, or clone to a Roadrunner but not sure which way to go and will most likely sell. We're not sure of the desirability (or rarity) of the Sundance package and would he turn more of a profit with a RR clone - opinions ? Also - I haven't seen Sundance stripes available anyhow ......................

 

[carcrazyguy]

Probably not going to sound right.....

rare does not always equal desirable
Sundance cars have a small following but the fact the car is a 318, and not so desirable color/interior combo probably will not help the value over reach something like a petty blue or black car.
Last, for restoring only for resale....probably not going to get out of the red unless he has parts laying around, free time on his hands and can do the paint and bodywork on his own.

 

[arsinist01]

Sad to say the 71-74 b bodies are not nearly as desirable as the as the 68-70's. Best bet is to either resell it as is and hope for a profit or to break even if his goal is to make money or at least not lose money.

Me personally I would say drive it for a while and get some fun out of it. Make the necessary repairs to keep it running and reliable then sell it later.

 

[jessipup]

Here is a real good read
http://www.hemmings.com/hmn/stories/2011/02/01/hmn_buyers_guide1.html.
I have one and I love it. I would not trade it for all the flat square shoeboxes in the world.
But if you are just in it for the buck? sell it now and let someone appreciate it for what it is and get a 68

 

[Bruzilla]

Please tell me he didn't buy that Sundance that was, depending on when you saw the ads either a Roadrunner or a Sebring Plus, for sale in the Jacksonville/Orange Park area. That car was for sale for a long time.

Carcrazyguy is right about rarity and value. The Sundance is much more rare than the Road Runners, but I've never seen any demand for them. Most folks have never heard of them, or vaguely recall them, and aren't very interested in them when they get educated on them. Plus that interior seems cool at first because it's different, but that novelty wear off fast.

If this car is the one I'm thinking about, it was way overpriced. It was at a high of around $6,500, and I think the last ad I saw was $4,500. I would have put a value of no more than $2,000 on it myself. The interior on it looked decent, but if he's going to restore it he's going to need to clean up or replace it, and being white that can be a challenge. They repop the stripes and logo decals, but I don't know if they repop the seat covers, and those covers are pretty faded.

Going the Road Runner clone route is a little easier, but the car has some drawbacks. First, you'll need to replace the seat covers, door panels, and inner quarter panel panels if you want to get rid of that Sante Fe-look stuff, so that'll be around $500 and up. The second drawback is the car is a bench seat/column shifter model and not a buckets/console which would sell better. And lastly he's got a 318 in there and 318 cars better have lots of tangible cool factor components like a perfect body, bucket/console interior, etc. if they're going to sell.

Lastly, to arsinist01's point, the market for these cars is very soft. I saw a nice 73 road runner selling in Middleburg for almost a year at $5,500, and another down by Ocala that one that was around $7,500, and that car still pops up for sale every now and again. Unless he changes the car to a 340/360 car, or even better a big block, and changes it to a bucket/console car, he's probably looking at the car selling for $5,000-$6,000 provided he invests in a decent paint job.

 

[pabster]

I know next to nothing about the value of this car, but I will say that anyone who thinks they're going to make big bucks on "rare" Mopars is dreaming. From what I've seen, to get a car to a point where it's worth some money requires LOTS of money and time. I don't get the impression that 73-74 Sattys/RRs are valuable in the first place. They're cool, and I like 'em more and more than I used to, but they seem to be in a similar camp as my '74 Charger. Looks great, but other years are much more desirable, and without a big block or anything to set it above the pack, value is pretty flat. Sorry to burst anyone's bubble, but opinions were asked for.

 

[Bruzilla]

I'm pretty sure this is the same Sundance I sent you a link to a few weeks ago so you could see the interior. It was a decent platform for a project car, but not for flipping since the asking price was almost as high as what finished cars are selling for. There's a guy somewhere in the state, YY1 might know exactly where, who's been trying to offload a 400 73 Road Runner project car for $8,000 for over a year now, and doesn't seem to get that the golden days of Mopars are over, especially for 73-74 cars.

Of course, all this is GREAT for guys like me who love these cars. I thought a couple of times about going to check that Sundance out since it was only about 10 miles away, but there were too many red flags. First being the guy tried to pass it off as a Road Runner and then an SSP. Second was the car would be for sale for a few months, then be gone for a few months, then back on sale, and every time it was listed the guy would be talking about how great the car was but he was having to move and needed to sell it because he was moving. Well, that's been one of the longest moves in history. I figured he was just another Old Mopars = $$$$ kind of guy and I don't have much time to waste on them dudes.