In life, it’s often said to give people the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they’re having a bad day or are suffering from a case of the blues; either way, almost every contemporary proverb on manners dictates we don’t judge by first impressions alone. Well, I’m struggling with the golden rule as I view this 1969 Dodge Charger here on eBay that the seller claims is a “workable project.”
It’s not my job to rip listings apart, so I’d rather be educated. The seller points out that those with a “good eye” will be able to spot this “diamond in the rough.” The original seats and motor are still attached, but barely; the seller says the only missing glass is on the driver’s side, but don’t forget the windshield, which I’m sure has done a fine job of allowing the elements inside for decades. Notice I haven’t even mentioned the rust at this point.
Now, while finding original seats may be a score for the Mopar enthusiast, what do you do with these, exactly? The driver’s seat looks plain rotten and I wouldn’t be surprised to find rust coating the seat frame. Perhaps original Charger seats are in short supply and enthusiasts will work with anything they can get their hands on, but these look well past saving to me (along with the rest of the interior!)
Now, I am not naive: I have laid eyes on some German project cars and seen endless potential where others saw ruin. But I don’t think – even in my most delusional state – I could look at a car in this condition and call it “uncommon” (seller’s words, not mine) to find a vehicle in such usable shape. For our Mopar enthusiasts reading, are there enough potential parts here to justify the $2,500 starting bid?
Obviously this thing is scrap. But the passenger side front fender looks ok, and really is it any more asinine then the $6000 ’79 Caprice?
I don’t think there is enough metal there to even take it to a scrapper…
Don’t ship it on an open transport or you’ll likely find a lot less on delivery than what’s shown in the pics. The rest will be scattered along the shoulder of the road.
I guess the back bumper doesn’t look too bad.
Good advice!
Might be some glass worth saving… For a budget replacement on an actual car Wirth saving…
Joke?
Not a funny one…..
I missed the punchline, got some rust dust in my eyes.
I think I have this figured out: those industrial buildings in the background are an indoor dope farm. The owners bought the property with all the junk cars in rural Oregon. One evening they were sitting around, passing the bong back and forth, and came up with a cunning plan….
…. and went for a ride….
Unless it’s a Charger 500 or a rare edition R/T, pretty much scrap I hate to say. The way the car leans suggests to me structural damage from rust. It’s just too far gone to save.
good title to use on a stolen charger maybe?
Only thing worth anything on this hulk is the VIN tag providing the title is available. Somebody with a nice Charger will be a victim.
I think some of the glass, the center console, drivers front fender, bumper or bumpers might be saved.
The console has a massive hole knocked in the back of it. Maybe the trim off the console, but that’s pot metal and is probably pitted to death.
#Nope
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Delusional newbie to ebay with (0) feedback
Not delusional, they know exactly what they’re doing.
Horses have been put down for less than this.
Well, he does give his phone number so you can ask if it is a slant six or a venerable 383 or maybe the barn burning 318 and ‘Whatchu been smokin’ boy?’
The most valuable thing he mentioned is the clean title, so you are buying a serial number.
Let it go a few cycles on ebay and when he finally puts a buy it now price with a make offer, you can tender your local scrap price as long as you are heading to ‘Graveyard Cars’ to see if they want to tackle it or give it ‘Last Rites’.
Last rites
Seat cores alone are work 1K , Giving that they make absolutely every piece now for the car, its worth probably 3-3.5K. I’ve seen worse restore but they were more rare. This one can be resurrected.
No, I really don’t think it can. Some things are not feasible and therefore just don’t make sense. Yes, you can get all the parts for it, but why? Virtually EVERYTHING needs to be replaced. If you’re going to resurrect something, you must begin with something to resurrect. It’s just too far gone. Unless, of course, you have bottomless pockets. This comment given with the requisite “IMHO”.
I watched an episode of Graveyard Carz where a guy brought his car in to be restored sitting in the back of a box truck.. The car was partially wrecked and in pieces. If you have enough money and will power, any car can be brought back from the crusher.
As mentioned above, the seller is on that funny stuff and you never know, there’s an ass for every seat. It will sell..
I suppose one could buy it for the windshield and put it in a better car you just happen to have w/o one. What a pile of rust and rot.
You can buy new windshields with factory marks and any date code you need, can’t tell them from original.
Wow, with 2 days to go, no bids….paraphrasing Harry Doyle, “how can anybody lay off a car this good”.
Looks like this car was ran and ran and ran til it wouldn’t either steer or move on it’s own, the whole time being haphazardly patched up over and over through the years. The only thing that looks decent is the primered black fender.
“Clem, go take some pitchers of that Charger & put it up on ebay fer $3,500.”
“Ok, boss!”
(2 days later…) “Not the blue one, you dumbs***! The rusty one with the white hood and the red fender!”
“Clem” …
He he……
It just needs to be put out of it’s misery at this point.
Last night, I tossed and turned thinking about how awful I’ve been lately, and decided to turn over a new leaf.
This Charger is a wonderful example of an easy, low buck restoration, something the whole family can enjoy. Dad can make the few minor adjustments under the hood, check the tires, mom can just do a little vacuuming, it’s already pretty clean and still smells like a new car, and the kids can playfully give it a quick wash with the hose and,,,,,,aw ding dong diddly darn, I can’t do it. This is pure nonsense and you’ve got to agree with me on that. It just shows how some folks think and to post this on an international site. I’d be embarrassed to do this.
Still, I just want to say, BF’s is still the best site out here. It shows us both extremes of the hobby, knowledgeable people( whether I agree with them or not) and not many sites do that ( plus, they’re gracious enough not to give me the heave-ho) Thanks Jessie and Josh for a great site! I’ll behave. Maybe.
I’ve seen worse go for more. It’s a Mopar so someone will buy it and spend $35k at AMT to fix it up
29 comments and counting….wow. I didn’t even think it was worth the data being used on the www. What an absolute waste. I’ve seen better cars being scrapped without hesitation.
If I had a $100,000.00 and 30 more years of life left (I’m 68) Maybe I could Get it Done??
In the words of the Dobbie Brothers “What a Fool Believes”.
Like they say here in East T.N. He must be proud of his stuff! Bruce.
If it was a horse they would shoot it
There might be a few good parts on this car, but $2500 worth!!! Not for me.
While I am a Mopar guy I have to say I seen worse for more $$ when the time and money are not a issue then they are all ‘fixable’ this example of a junk car that someone with more money the sense will say “I can fix it’ and it will sit 5 10 more years and eventually end up in a wrecking yard waiting to be crushed
Sorry but to me it is a lost cause and I hate saying that
In the words of Frank Barone……”Holy Crap!”
It’s not even a half decent donor car!
Not the stuff dreams are made of!
Shun the non-believers?
Ah, but now, it has a bid.
And it will go higher.
Uncommon to find such a workable project….what planet is this guy from
But as they say…if you believe it …it’s not a lie
I’d give him $500.00 for the seats and interior door/1/4 caps, I’ve rebuilt way worse than those over the last 30 years.
theres no way in hell I would fix it BUT someone out there will and theyll be proud of it when its done because of all of the extra work it needed to be saved.
Ive seen a maverick in worse shape than this get fixed within a years time working on it every day after work and all weekend long.
the high bidder may not be in america. cars like this are a gold mine in cuba and other countries
K, this guy must be blind in one eye and can’t see out of the other..
3 bids, winner, or loser in my opinion paid $2,800.
I live in the Eugene Oregon area where that car is located,,, he’s had it on the local Craigslist & eBay,, and no offense to him, but he doesn’t seem to realize it has very little if any value,,, no real usable parts, and as the other people seem to point out,, is pretty much scrap..