WIW - 1973 Plymouth Gran Fury

[68gtxman]

OK, I just got back from checking out the car. It was not a survivor. It had a Maaco paint job over the whole car and one partial new quarter panel with rust in the other. Rust on the trunk floor (just a few small holes visible). Windows great! Power windows, locks, steering, and seats; AC, AM/FM.

The 2 bbl carb was newer and there was a box of three other old 2 bbls there too. A couple pieces of trim were popped off, but may be there in a pile of spare trim. Vinyl top was in great condition. Interior was in original condition and looked very good (one or two very small rips). Trunk lock was punched out and some damage around the lock hole. Dead battery and no keys, but it does have the title. The car had a 2015 insurance card in it so it hasn't been sitting for that long. The odometer did say 66,000 and from the condition of the seats, I believe it is correct. Dash looked great! It looked like it had bias ply tires on it but they are all still holding air. The underside (sorry, no photos) was pretty good. It was an undercoated car and there were no visible rust holes in it. There were no obvious signs of recent repairs with new undercoating. The one rocker that I could see had a rust bubble forming where the quarter panel meets it. It had an 8.25" rear, the 360-2 engine of course, but it was fairly clean and dry. The oil looked clean and the radiator was still filled with the green stuff. The color is dark gray.

I tried to pick the ignition lock and though I failed, the switch seemed to be really tight and in great condition, owing to the low mileage I'm sure.

We looked around for a Hide-A-Key, but struck out.

I offered him $1,000 for it and he said that it was too early in his quest to sell it to accept this low offer. I offered to tell all of you guys (hence this update) so if you wanted to make another offer to him, I will give you his cell phone number and you can make arrangements directly with him. He seemed like a really nice guy and it was fun checking out the car with my friend Fratzoglover. The seller even enjoyed learning more about this car. His father used to own an 8 acre car yard but he never liked the older cars.

The car is in Trenton NJ and the neighborhood wasn't too bad. Anyway, that's the update!

 

[BeatersRus]

wish i could give you a thanks,like and agree all in one shot.
Cheers!

 

[Bladecutter]

View attachment 420479 View attachment 420480 View attachment 420481 View attachment 420482 View attachment 420483 View attachment 420484 View attachment 420485 View attachment 420486 View attachment 420487 View attachment 420488
OK, I just got back from checking out the car. It was not a survivor. It had a Maaco paint job over the whole car and one partial new quarter panel with rust in the other. Rust on the trunk floor (just a few small holes visible). Windows great! Power windows, locks, steering, and seats; AC, AM/FM.

The 2 bbl carb was newer and there was a box of three other old 2 bbls there too. A couple pieces of trim were popped off, but may be there in a pile of spare trim. Vinyl top was in great condition. Interior was in original condition and looked very good (one or two very small rips). Trunk lock was punched out and some damage around the lock hole. Dead battery and no keys, but it does have the title. The car had a 2015 insurance card in it so it hasn't been sitting for that long. The odometer did say 66,000 and from the condition of the seats, I believe it is correct. Dash looked great! It looked like it had bias ply tires on it but they are all still holding air. The underside (sorry, no photos) was pretty good. It was an undercoated car and there were no visible rust holes in it. There were no obvious signs of recent repairs with new undercoating. The one rocker that I could see had a rust bubble forming where the quarter panel meets it. It had an 8.25" rear, the 360-2 engine of course, but it was fairly clean and dry. The oil looked clean and the radiator was still filled with the green stuff. The color is dark gray.

I tried to pick the ignition lock and though I failed, the switch seemed to be really tight and in great condition, owing to the low mileage I'm sure.

We looked around for a Hide-A-Key, but struck out.

I offered him $1,000 for it and he said that it was too early in his quest to sell it to accept this low offer. I offered to tell all of you guys (hence this update) so if you wanted to make another offer to him, I will give you his cell phone number and you can make arrangements directly with him. He seemed like a really nice guy and it was fun checking out the car with my friend Fratzoglover. The seller even enjoyed learning more about this car. His father used to own an 8 acre car yard but he never liked the older cars.

The car is in Trenton NJ and the neighborhood wasn't too bad. Anyway, that's the update!

One thing i always do to get a feel for true mileage is to check slop in left lower door hinge....open door just beyond jamb, grab the lower rear corner & lift up. How many times that door has been opened & shut is a good indication of mileage. If this one is tight w/o slop, that works in favor of the 66K mile odometer reading.

 

[BeatersRus]

if you think the car itself is mostly original,
the pedals are a really good indicator as well.
always check out the wear patterns on the pads.

the last car i bought,i looked inside,
looked down at the pedals and immediately asked what the mileage was.
there was barely a fade on either pedal.
it turned out to be 39k original.

 

[68gtxman]

View attachment 420479 View attachment 420480 View attachment 420481 View attachment 420482 View attachment 420483 View attachment 420484 View attachment 420485 View attachment 420486 View attachment 420487 View attachment 420488
OK, I just got back from checking out the car. It was not a survivor. It had a Maaco paint job over the whole car and one partial new quarter panel with rust in the other. Rust on the trunk floor (just a few small holes visible). Windows great! Power windows, locks, steering, and seats; AC, AM/FM.

The 2 bbl carb was newer and there was a box of three other old 2 bbls there too. A couple pieces of trim were popped off, but may be there in a pile of spare trim. Vinyl top was in great condition. Interior was in original condition and looked very good (one or two very small rips). Trunk lock was punched out and some damage around the lock hole. Dead battery and no keys, but it does have the title. The car had a 2015 insurance card in it so it hasn't been sitting for that long. The odometer did say 66,000 and from the condition of the seats, I believe it is correct. Dash looked great! It looked like it had bias ply tires on it but they are all still holding air. The underside (sorry, no photos) was pretty good. It was an undercoated car and there were no visible rust holes in it. There were no obvious signs of recent repairs with new undercoating. The one rocker that I could see had a rust bubble forming where the quarter panel meets it. It had an 8.25" rear, the 360-2 engine of course, but it was fairly clean and dry. The oil looked clean and the radiator was still filled with the green stuff. The color is dark gray.

I tried to pick the ignition lock and though I failed, the switch seemed to be really tight and in great condition, owing to the low mileage I'm sure.

We looked around for a Hide-A-Key, but struck out.

I offered him $1,000 for it and he said that it was too early in his quest to sell it to accept this low offer. I offered to tell all of you guys (hence this update) so if you wanted to make another offer to him, I will give you his cell phone number and you can make arrangements directly with him. He seemed like a really nice guy and it was fun checking out the car with my friend Fratzoglover. The seller even enjoyed learning more about this car. His father used to own an 8 acre car yard but he never liked the older cars.

The car is in Trenton NJ and the neighborhood wasn't too bad. Anyway, that's the update!

What looks like a crease in the right quarter panel is only a reflection of the ladders hanging on the wall. Other than a little bondo here and there, there were no apparent imperfections in the body panels that I noticed.

 

[Bruzilla]

This is what I've been calling "Widow Cars" lately. Some older guy buys a car new in the 70s, drives it for a few years and drops over dead, then his widow leaves it in the garage for decades and then moves into a retirement community or passes and now the car is coming up for sale. 99% of the time it's a C body, low miles, and in great shape. When I was looking for a drivetrain, I saw nine or ten of these cars, and they would make great doners, but I just don't have the heart to scrap out a really nice survivor. The downside is not very many people want these cars. They like them, they appreciate them, but when it comes time to open their wallets and shell out some yankee greenbacks... they start finding reasons to say no.

The first shop I took my Roadrunner to for an engine swap had just gotten in a 360 Fury III coupe. Had about 27k miles and looked frigging new inside and out. Had been sitting in a garage since its owner passed in 1982, then the widow passed in 2012 and she left the car to a neighbor. The 360 was frozen solid, and the neighbor wanted the 360 out of my car to put in his. He ended up buying a crate motor and having the shop install that. I saw the car when it was finished and it was gorgeous. Then the new owner put it up for sale. He got the car for free, dropped about $3,000 into it, had it for sale for close to a year and ended up selling it for $1,700. There's a gorgeous, damn near mint, 440 TNT New Yorker down here that's been for sale for three years at $5,000, and will likely still be for sale two years from now at that price.

As for keys, I paid a locksmith to make me a key in the field once. They take a key blank, clamp it in some vice grips, shine it up with some steel wool, stick it in the lock, and then give it a couple of hard twists with the vice grips. The lock pins make little marks where they strike the key blank, and the locksmith takes a small file and files away all the places where he sees marks. Start to finish about 10 minutes. That was the last time I ever called a locksmith. The next time I lost keys, I went to Home Depot, got a set of file bits for my Dremel and a key blank, and did the same thing. I got in under five minutes with the Dremel tool.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I offered him $1,000 for it

You made him the "right" offer.

 

[PeteBell68]

This is what I've been calling "Widow Cars" lately. Some older guy buys a car new in the 70s, drives it for a few years and drops over dead, then his widow leaves it in the garage for decades and then moves into a retirement community or passes and now the car is coming up for sale. 99% of the time it's a C body, low miles, and in great shape. When I was looking for a drivetrain, I saw nine or ten of these cars, and they would make great doners, but I just don't have the heart to scrap out a really nice survivor. The downside is not very many people want these cars. They like them, they appreciate them, but when it comes time to open their wallets and shell out some yankee greenbacks... they start finding reasons to say no.

The first shop I took my Roadrunner to for an engine swap had just gotten in a 360 Fury III coupe. Had about 27k miles and looked frigging new inside and out. Had been sitting in a garage since its owner passed in 1982, then the widow passed in 2012 and she left the car to a neighbor. The 360 was frozen solid, and the neighbor wanted the 360 out of my car to put in his. He ended up buying a crate motor and having the shop install that. I saw the car when it was finished and it was gorgeous. Then the new owner put it up for sale. He got the car for free, dropped about $3,000 into it, had it for sale for close to a year and ended up selling it for $1,700. There's a gorgeous, damn near mint, 440 TNT New Yorker down here that's been for sale for three years at $5,000, and will likely still be for sale two years from now at that price.

As for keys, I paid a locksmith to make me a key in the field once. They take a key blank, clamp it in some vice grips, shine it up with some steel wool, stick it in the lock, and then give it a couple of hard twists with the vice grips. The lock pins make little marks where they strike the key blank, and the locksmith takes a small file and files away all the places where he sees marks. Start to finish about 10 minutes. That was the last time I ever called a locksmith. The next time I lost keys, I went to Home Depot, got a set of file bits for my Dremel and a key blank, and did the same thing. I got in under five minutes with the Dremel tool.

My mother had the same car it was a light yellow 440 4 door and could move pretty quick for a boat .
Is the story true about the lock I don't have a door key that's working so was just about to order anew lock/key set .