While surfing the internet for a new project car, reader Steve P came across a 1968 Plymouth Satellite. The seller had it listed as a 1960 and didn’t provide much information, but Steve thought it was worth contacting the seller about it. After a short conversation, the seller told him if he came and extracted the car he could buy it for just $100! The car was located in Missouri and Steve lives in Wyoming, but for $100 it was well worth the drive.
From Steve P – This car was parked 41 years ago when the original owner died and his daughter got the land, who then rented it to her brother in law. Apparently, nobody in the family is into cars, so they just left it out there. Now they are selling the property next spring so they are trying to clean the place up.
I asked for pictures of how far back it was and discovered how deep into the woods it really was. Once we made the trip over we planned out a path to take after we had cleared some of the brush.
The garage was framed but never finished and inside that sits a ’66 or ’67 GTO on jack stands. Unfortunately, they won’t sell it but hopefully, they decide to let it go sooner than later.
The Satellite was only 9 years old when parked, so at that time it wasn’t worth anything and even now not worth a ton of money as it is just a 318 car with a 3-speed. Growing up my dad’s prized ride was a 1969 Road Runner, so to me, it’s worth restoring this one and making a clone car out of it.
The only thing that I won’t be changing is the patina look. It’s got a lot of work to be restored to a usable condition, but my father and I have some skills at this kinda thing so I figure for $100 I can’t lose.
While this Satellite is definitely a big project, there’s no doubt that it was worth the $100! Steve has it home now and has already started the process of cleaning it up. A good power washing cleaned the engine bay up surprisingly well. The 318 is probably beyond saving, but Steve is going to be installing a 440 in either way. We want to thank Steve for sharing his find with us and hope he has fun fixing it up!
If you have a great barn find story, we would love to see it! Let us know about it via email (mail@barnfinds.com), Facebook or even in the comments section below.
Everyone here at Barn Finds would like to wish each of you a very Happy New Year! May your 2019 be filled with good memories and great barn finds!
Considering the favor that Steve did for the land owner in actually paying to take the car (instead of being paid to do it) I hope he gets first shot at the GTO. That one has also been sitting for quite a while. Yes of course it has a big chunk of value compared to the MoPar, but it needs a lot too.
In any case, nice job on the drag-out, and if we’re lucky there will be some follow-up photos!
Probably no floor pans left in it.
All the best in bringing your newly acquired Mopar back onto the road where it belongs Steve.
At last, a price that’s sensible! There’s hope yet…
An emotional attachment can take one to places where others fear to tread. I’ve been bitten by that bug on more than one occasion. Witness the Austin A40 Devon I bought several years back. Best of luck, Steve in your new adventure. At least for you, parts will be readily available. Not so much the Devon…
Interestting, Bill–are you working on the Austiin? Here’s one that was rescued from the elements–was a gasser drag car that was built in the 60’s with a Pontiac engine with 3 deuces. Ran at the Pocono Drag Lodge in the 60’s and was built in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Cheers
GPC
Another pic of the Austin gasser last year~~
Yep! I’m a bit of an Austin fanatic, but my preferences run toward stock restorations. I’m just now finishing up a 1951 Austin A40 Sports and will soon have my 1947 Austin A40 Dorset in the paint shop. Next will be my 1948 Austin A40 Devon. The car in the photo I posted is a 1951 Austin A40 Devon. Not sure what I’ll do with that car. Possibly a fully stock exterior with engine and drive line from an MGB. Time will tell… Regarding the Dorset, I need the exterior door and quarter panel trim for that car, so if anyone knows where I can find these items, please email me at wilkmanracing@aol.com
Great find! I have always preferred the Satellites over RR’s and GTX’s.
Best of luck to you in this project. I have started from far worse than this and turned it into a show winner. I hope you can post updates in the future. Congrats!!
Good grief! Well done on successfully dragging it out from amongst the trees.
I can now show this to my wife, to demonstrate to her that I’m not nuts.
Well, perhaps not quite alone in my flavour of ‘nuts’ 🐿.
I’m in the process of rescuing a far less powerful and acclaimed car. It had been under a bridge, right next to a creek, for decades.
Been flooded twice. Has had the interior eaten away by kangaroos, wallabies, insects, more marsupials and heaven knows what else.
I paid $250.
For a 1960 Simca 🤣!!
You got a Mopar for $100!
On second thoughts; I really am the most nuts.
Happy new year; please keep us updated on the restoration; huge kudos to you for rescuing this car 🍻 👍
$100 purchase …. $100,000 restoration ?
Try some Color Back on that paint. Should buff right out…
No, Steve is not nuts! I have spent more than 100 $ on a few wild goose chases and came home with nothing. Not so much any more,I’m getting pretty picky about what follows me home at this age. Steve will eventually look back on this adventure and cherish the memories no matter the out come.Good luck man.
Steve, my hat is off to you! I wish I had your abilities. Best of luck with this. I hope you share some pictures with us as you progress.
They say a fool and his money are soon parted. This car, does it have floorboards? You are an ambitious man, Steve, but will you be able to get out of this car what you invest? You see a future car but I just see a money pit.
My hats off to you though, and we hope to see the pics of it when it’s on the road and rolling!
Sounds like a sentimental thing with his Dad, I say Dilly Dilly!
The floor boards on pass side are basically gone I have a welder and floor pans are cheap enough even if I did the whole floor pan and needed to do the trunk that’s $1000 in parts and shipping
I also have a 440 and 727 trans sitting in my grandpa’s old truck were going to use so it’s just a matter of replacing worn out parts and rewiring it.
The body work is going to be on hold for a while we are going to attempt to stop the rust and patch only what we have to.
Aw, it’s only money…
Forget the floors.
The frame will be shot.
Great story though.😁😂🤣
Rails are fine.
Happy New Year Steve and all you armchair quarterbacks quit hatin
68 satellite the best looking year paint it that bronze black interior would be awsome. Good luck with your new toy.
Parked in the woods why
.vandalism by no goods. Great project car I hope you keep us posted on your progress. .
Cool on you Steve ! My 1967 was run some 94,000 miles before it was parked in 1972 for what we see maybe was a 383 engine rebuild ? It’s a 4 speed factory air with a toe hitch on the rear bumper car. Think I’m about the 3rd or 4th owner and have some history work to do to figure it out.
I believe that cars like this one are the reason why some people try to get crazy money for their MOPARS. They get em cheap, put a kings ransom into the restoration/rebuild and then realize they are underwater & drowning.
Honestly i have no plans on selling it. But a true car guy knows you never truly get what you put into it
Your missing the big picture.He got the car to rebuild with his dad .My hats off to you .Happy New Year
Hi guys and happy new year to all! And to
you Steve, Mopar to you! Looks like you
have a great blank canvas here. Bought
one similar to your car in early ’77 off a
car lot for $175. Mine was the same
color of blue with a blue vinyl and brocade interior. Like your car, mine
had a 318 but my engine was mated to
a Torqueflite tranny instead of the 3-speed column shift that your car has.
Think you’re on the right track using
this car to make a Road Runner clone.
If it were mine, I’d make it LOOK like a
’68 Road Runner outside along with a
stock interior. Underneath all that stock
stuff would be a honkin’ 707 HP Hellcat
V-8 mated to a Tremic 6-speed gearbox.
Add an HD rear axle to the mix along
with brute force U-joints and a center loop in the driveshaft tunnel to keep the
driveshaft in place should you happen to
snap one of the U-joints along the way.
Cap it off with HD torsion bars up front
and 4-wheel disc brakes with 6 piston
Wildwood calipers and you’d have one
formidable Road Runner clone. Can’t
wait to see how your car turns out!
And speaking of cars, we finally found a
car that Sis really likes. It’s a 2010 Honda
Accord sedan. We test drove it yesterday
and she really likes the way it runs, drives,
and handles. We hope to close the deal
Wednesday afternoon after she gets off
work. The seller is willing to work with
her and her limited finances. Now if I
could only find a reasonanly priced van
to carry Mom’s scooter, it certainly would
be a great start to the new year! Night all!
Steve P. I believe you actually have a Sport Satellite. The grill & the wood grain on the passenger rear interior upholstery tells me that’s what it is.
Good eye
What does the VIN number tell you about what it was originally? RH23G8xxxxxx?
Here is the vin. The car is original as it sits
I think I can actually see the car smile when it’s getting loaded on the flatbed!! Great job rescuing it and best of luck on getting her back on the road where she belongs!!
Ye who dares wins.
You won Steve. Ignore the tossers and naysayers.
Can’t wait to see you collect the GTO!
Regardless of the haters and naysayers, for $100 I think Steve H. came out good for a whole car when $100 won’t buy tires for a lot of cars let alone a whole car.I wonder will he snag that ’67 GTO when that family is ready to bite?
With the availability of repoduction parts today it shouldn’t be hard to restore the car and get it back on the road. Most of the money will be spent in time and labor but if they can do most of the work themselves I think they got one hell of a deal.
What did it cost to get it back home?
Was already 20miles from the car while out visiting family for the holidays
So only including the cost home.
813 mile trip
$150-$100 = $50 in fuel (subtract $100 which was the cost of going to Missouri without a trailer it would have cost me this to come home anyway)
$375 for uhaul trailer (would have been free had I planned to pick this up and brought my trailer instead)
$100 car
$100 tow truck fee
$625 total cost.
Can’t argue with that. And the adventure you had can’t be measured in dollars or cents
Hey Steve! How did you break the news
to your wife when you bought it? Mine,
God rest her soul, didn’t even fall for my
best line: It followed me home can I keep
it?! Or, did you tell her she’d be driving it
when finished. Whatever you did, good
luck with your new find. Keep us posted
won’t you. That way, we can convince
our wives to let us do what you just did.
That way, we can say “If he can do it, I
can do it.” In my case though, I’d have to
convince my MIL instead!
Told her I was just gonna look at it and see how difficult it was to get out then I showed up several hours later at Christmas eve party shocked at what Santa brought me early
Got some time this weekend and tore into the car removing the all the dirt, and old wheels and beating the drums off so we can get it to roll.
Here are a few photos
Rear drivers side frame rail is pretty gone
Drivers footwell
Drivers rear footwell
Pass footwell
Pass rear footwell
Yoiks!
Yea, I don’t think I’d risk sitting in the driver’s seat, likely what is left of it would be on the ground very quickly. ;-)
Thanks for posting reality photos. Rust never sleeps!
So, looking for a donor frame? Or will you repair what’s left?
Keep the pics coming!
Repair, worse case scenario if we cant save we’ll tube chassis.
Here is what the floor boards look like after cleaning
Pass side
More Air than There, eh, Steve?
Thank you Steve P. Keep them coming. Wish I had your abilities.
Awesome “before” pics. Really interested in seeing if (and how) you can repair that frame damage…
They do have replacement rails so we might go that route but I’ll try to keep this updated.
If you want to follow along on Facebook we started a new page “Steve’s Shed”
https://www.facebook.com/StevesShed1/
I’m not on Facebook. Is there an update?
Steve H,
We cleaned the car out the trunk and floor pans are going to need replacement, currently we have some bad weather so for now we have no updates. Were working on getting parts as of now
Ok thanks for the update and good luck, hope all goes well with the build! 👍