What would you pay?

[torquerestorations]

Hey everyone. New to the forums. My name is Dave and I run a restoration shop in Massillon, Ohio. We do all manners of restorations and customizations from frame offs on down. Enough about me, I have a question for the gurus.

What would you pay for a 1971 Satellite? Before you answer, let me fill you in. The car is complete, but disassembled. It was an original 318 car with a 727 and A/C. Currently, the car is rock *** solid with new quarters, new floors, and overall rock solid no-filler. Also included is a complete interior minus headliner and carpet. Dash has been redone with new half pad. All wiring for the car, front disc conversion, a 400 and 727 are included with the car. A b-body center console from a Challenger is also included.

What do you think would be a fair price on this car? Keep in mind, when I say solid, I mean solid. Just needs a little bodywork, paint, and assembly and she would be done. Let me know what you thinks. Thanks in advance!

 

[flypaper]

what would i pay?
maybe 2500ish depending how complete and condition of the parts.
it might be worth more to someone else but
at the end of the day no matter what you throw into/at it
it's still a plain satellite....
the ceiling is low on them.

 

[69Coronetrt]

Welcome Dave.

A b-body center console from a Challenger

Can you explain this? Is it from a B body or a Challenger?

Just needs a little bodywork, paint, and assembly and she would be done.

Sorry...these are red flag words. HPLG advertises cars that need 'a little' body work and we know how that turns out. Specifically, what's 'a little'?

Something that is disassembled needs more than 'a little'.

What's 'a little paint'? Does the whole car need painted? Is it in primer?

If you are a restoration shop and it only needs 'a little....and she would be done', why not finish the car and sell it? If a restoration shop can't or won't do 'a little' to assemble it, it makes me wonder how big of project this car really is.

Is the 400 rebuilt? Specs? Is the transmission rebuilt?

We'd love to help with the question but we need all the data. What you've discribed is a pile of parts and a lot of work.

 

[detmatt1]

I think the center consoles are the same `71 to `74, aren't they?
Questions like this are nearly impossible to answer without more info and pics.
That being said, from your explanation I would say somewhere between that $2500 that Flypaper mentioned and $5,000 at the btter end of the spectrum. SO many variables that cost big money to be right and you still have a 318 Satellite in the end. Not that that's a bad thing, `72 Satellite was the first car I ever drove.

 

[motorparts92]

Although it would be a pretty good sized project, there is still plenty of demand for 71 b bodys. I would say between 2000-3000 would be fair, but im just a kid....dont have much moolah anyway so thats a lot to me. And from personal experience, you would probably sell it for more if you KEPT the 400 LOL. Almost can't give them away sadly.

 

[Bruzilla]

Hi Dave! Welcome to the forum. in my experience the term "disassembled" should strike fear into the heart of any owner because that always means lots of stuff is missing. Something may look complete until you start putting it together and you suddenly find there's a lot of small stuff missing and you're suddenly in the middle of an expensive scavenger hunt. Proceed with extreme caution!

As for price, the guys here are right about the price for a Satellite. You didn't mention if you were looking for a price to buy it at, sell it at, or both. I wouldn't pay more than $2,500 for the car mainly because it is disassembled and you're going to be laying out some cash for stuff that's missing along with the resto costs. As for selling, I would say forget restoring it as a Satellite and make it a Roadrunner clone. You'll pay extra for some parts (hood, grill, etc), but it's easier to find a buyer for a RR clone, and you can get a better price, probably $8,000 and up. Lot's of suckers on ebay who'll pay more than what the car is worth.

 

[torquerestorations]

Sorry for not clarifying better on the post.

The car is torn down, but after inventorying everything, all the parts are there for the car. It has a GTX hood. It needs a paint job and less than 20 hours worth of bodywork. There is no rust on the body, just a few small dents and dings in a few of the panels.

I would love to finish the car up, but the owner doesn't know if he wants to invest in paint and so forth. It is such a rock solid project. It would make an amazing roadrunner clone. We did the metalwork on the car but the guy just doesn't know if he wants to move forward. The only thing with primer on it is the roof, the rest is bare metal. This is the not as good side of the car too.

 

[flypaper]

those pics do not sway me anywhere,its about what i imagined.
is the eng for it just a core?
trans any good?
does it have a 83/4 rear?
what kind of cluster?
it adds up fast not even mentioning nickle and dime stuff.

i know the cost of materials and parts to put it together and
they will add up way past what it would ever sell for very fast
and that is with free labor thrown in.
you go any higher then what i said
then you are in real rr territory.
there are plenty of interesting rr projects out there in the 3 to 5k range

 

[Ron 73]

Welcome to the site Dave, Did your shop start this resto or did the owner, im curious if this was a resto or just a quick paint job?

 

[Bruzilla]

Sorry for not clarifying better on the post.

The car is torn down, but after inventorying everything, all the parts are there for the car. It has a GTX hood. It needs a paint job and less than 20 hours worth of bodywork. There is no rust on the body, just a few small dents and dings in a few of the panels.

I would love to finish the car up, but the owner doesn't know if he wants to invest in paint and so forth. It is such a rock solid project. It would make an amazing roadrunner clone. We did the metalwork on the car but the guy just doesn't know if he wants to move forward. The only thing with primer on it is the roof, the rest is bare metal. This is the not as good side of the car too.

Not to put words in your mouth, but it sounds like what you're really looking for is a price you can pitch to the owner that'll justify his/her paying to finish the project? Do you know how much the owner is into the car already?

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

Not to put words in your mouth, but it sounds like what you're really looking for is a price you can pitch to the owner that'll justify his/her paying to finish the project? Do you know how much the owner is into the car already?

If that's the case let's help out the poor owner and say $1500 should cove it!

Anyway, the b-body console from a chally was pretty funny even though chally centers and 71-74's were the same it's still funny the way he put it.

Honestly if you put a 440 or a hemi in it, then you can charge 25-30k to finish it. With that put in a tremec 6 speed and a suregrip posi. Of course I'm talking outa of my *** I really have no idea.:lurk:

 

[Bruzilla]

If that's the case let's help out the poor owner and say $1500 should cove it!

Anyway, the b-body console from a chally was pretty funny even though chally centers and 71-74's were the same it's still funny the way he put it.

Honestly if you put a 440 or a hemi in it, then you can charge 25-30k to finish it. With that put in a tremec 6 speed and a suregrip posi. Of course I'm talking outa of my *** I really have no idea.:lurk:

I think what he's looking for is something more like "Okay, so you dropped $2,000 on the car, and another $2,000 getting it to this point. I can finish out the resto for another $4,000, and it's worth having me do it because the car will be easilly worth $X when we're finished.", and he needs to know what "$X" is. I think the best way to max out the $X value would be make the car into a red Roadrunner clone, which would put it at about $10,000-$12,000 or so.

 

[YY1]

There was a running driving 440 powered (not original) Sat Sebring Plus down here, with that same hood, nice paint, and nice wheels. the interior was not good (late model import seats)- Asking price was $8k OBO, and "OBO" was the first thing out of the owner's mouth.

If there's no rust- what metal work did you do?

 

[torquerestorations]

I am admittedly no expert when it comes to Mopars, so please bear with me (especially about the console comment). I am not trying to justify the owner spending any more money in my shop. All the metal work is done on the car and he wanted a realistic expectation of what he may be able to sell it for. Divorce can change a man's priorities, hence the possible sale.

Floors have been replaced, lower quarters, trunk patching has been the extent of the metal work we have done. Trunk opening lip as well.

 

[torquerestorations]

Owner is in around $3500 to be completely honest, including the purchase price of the car.

 

[Ron 73]

Wow, He must have got this car dirt cheap or you guys are very reasonable! The only thing you primered was the roof, vinyl top maybe? Most restos ive seen i think would be much more already in it with all your stating hear.. Id post up some pics of the undercarriage frame rails and such, The places most would be concerned about, new floors, trunk panels, lower quarters.. all places to maybe make someone worry about the underneath, just a suggestion but with you trying to get a price, you really need to post more info and pictures. Would help get a better figure on a price...

 

[Sweet5ltr]

I believe the bottom line is going to be that the owner will never get the amount he places into the car, out of it. When it costs, $7,500 to build a nice performing 400 engine with aluminum heads and a aesthetically pleasing engine bay, $1,500 in a 727, $500 in the fuel system, $500 in a differential, etc. etc. The price can blow someones budget out of the water VERY quick. If your car isn't top quality, as in a clone, then most buyers will stray away. If all the metal work is done and it's straight (rust free as well) then I would attempt to either buy a SB crate engine and a rebuilt transmission and get it back on the road. You can buy a 408 stroker for $5,000 from blue print engines with a warranty that produces 375HP/460ft lbs of torque. $1,000 can get you a nice rebuilt 727, and another $450 will get you a converter. At the minimum, he is going to have $10,000 more into it to even get the drive train handled. I don't believe he could get as much money as he is going to put into it, back out. If ANY second thoughts are coming up this early in the build; the owner needs to sell the project and purchase a running and restored car. You can find extremely nice resto mods for sale, with twenty thousand more dollars into the car than the owner is asking. It truly is a buyers market, their is no question about that.

 

[YY1]

If you have a proven running drivetrain to swap in, that will save a bunch.
Paint on the other hand will be at least a thousand if DIY and closer to 4K if done professionally.

There's your 8K for a shiny car with a used drivetrain and still no interior or suspension/brake work, that may be driveable but still needs some final assembly.

 

[BuckNeccid]

About 2 years ago I sold my 72 cloned into a 71 GTX for $14K. It was cloned right, if a GTX had it from the factory, it went on the car and then some. Didn't worry about numbers, just performance and looks. 440 source heads, headers, Weiand intake and 2800 stall with a Lunati cam. Hope this helps you make up your mind some. BTW, the car needed nothing done to it. It was a true fly in, drive it home, but it left on a trailer, and I've had a couple of thank you e-mails since.

 

[Bruzilla]

I am admittedly no expert when it comes to Mopars, so please bear with me (especially about the console comment). I am not trying to justify the owner spending any more money in my shop. All the metal work is done on the car and he wanted a realistic expectation of what he may be able to sell it for. Divorce can change a man's priorities, hence the possible sale.

Floors have been replaced, lower quarters, trunk patching has been the extent of the metal work we have done. Trunk opening lip as well.

That's a totally reasonable request, and I figured the owner was wanting to know what it could sell for. In my view, there are three markets for Mopar vehicles. The Top Shelf market is for fully restored, numbers matching, select year/option, cars, and there's quite a few folks in this market on this forum. These folks are not going to be excited by anything less than an ariginal big block car with a perfect resto, so they're probably out for your car.

The second market is the driver guys. These are the folks who aren't interested in perfect restos, matching numbers, and all the other fluff the Top Shelf crowd focuses on. These guys want a Mopar for driving, and shop by year, model, power train, usually in that order, and are looking for the best price they can get. They don't much care how a car started out, just how it is now, so they snap up clones, cars with non-original drivetrains, etc.

The third market is the low-buck guys who are looking for entry-level project cars they can get into and build the car to a driver level or do a full-up resto.

Your owner can forget the top shelf crowd as they aren't going to be interested in even a perfect 318 Satellite, so he would definately be throwing his money away trying to get the car to their level.

I think his best bet would be with the driver crowd, and like I said before, I would put a red paint job on it and make it into a Roadrunner clone. That should get him into the best price zone of about $7,000 to $12,000, with the variance being based on what drivetrain he ends up putting in. A 440 will draw more than a 400.

His other option would be to just sell the car as is to one of the low-buck project cars guys. He can probably get his $3,500 back out of it, but may end up just getting $2,000-$2,500 unless the car is reassembled.

I would tell him to make it a clone, put a 440 in it, and enjoy it. It'll be a great car to drive, and if he does decide to sell due to a divorice, he may put another $2,000 or $3,000, but he'll definately get his money back plus some more.