i believe the bubble burst on the prices of some of these cars last year. Some of the hemicuda/boss429/ultrarare cars that were selling for 150-250k two years ago are not selling for that now. The market value of these cars has been cyclical for years now, the prices inflated on them in the late 90s and then the market dropped, it happened again within the past few years. Seems to roughly correlate with stock market. Investors (not collectors) looking at non-traditional investment vehicles that hold their value.....
The blue car is a 69 Kieth Black 426 Hemi Road Runner 4 speed. Check out the car under the cover. It is a cinammonish maroon colored 67 Coronet 440 with two fours and an automatic.
These are my friends cars. He owns the place where I have my car. He has two shop buildings, tire machine, and a lift. All the tools you'll ever need.
He has a 70 Challenger R/T I sold him that is getting done next. His other finished cars are a 70 Coronet Super Bee, 67 Dart GT conv., and a first year GTX (1967). He also has another V-code 70 Super Bee he is going to restore later.
This guy is mazing. I met him at a car show on my Navy base when I had my low miles 73 Duster. He did the same job I do back when he was in Vietnam. We kind of bonded when we found out we both loved Mopars and were both Seabee's.
He let's me have free reign of whatever I want in the shop. Of course I treat everything of his with respect. I get to drive his cars every once in awhile.
1973 Plymouth Duster with a 318 auto and a factory faux snakeskin top. I got it from the original owner who was in her later 70's. 34,000 miles. Sold it for go fast parts for my current project, War Fish.
I had a 73 and a 74 Challenger in H.S. I forgot which this one was but it was the one I modded the most. mild 360 build (380 HP) 4 barrel, rallye hood. The wheels I kept and later put on the Duster above. This pic was scanned. Wish I had a digital back then.
I got into hot rods through my friends just out of high school. Along the way was a 54 Ford 2 door with Buick V8 and Hurst shifter for the fragile Ford tranny. That was a fun sleeper.
I sold that to get a 40 Ford pickup with Olds V8 and beefed hydro from a friend. That truck was a beast by the way it shifted.
I got better jobs and could afford more expensive autos, so I bought a new 62 Buick Skylark 215 cu in V8, 4 speed which I customized into a cruiser with pearl lemon gold body and silver metalflake top.
I traded that in for a year old 63 Vette 340 horse 4 speed coupe which I absolutely loved and eventually went the custom route with it after racing it around for a few years. See a pic and details of it on my personal website Sparky's CyberSpace and click the Fun Stuff. I wish I still had it.
My current "rod" is a 69 Meyers Manx SR kit car with a 110 horse Corvair for motive power. Very rare, so I take it to car shows and the occasional Saturday Caffeine Cruiser meets.
One daily driver is my dear departed dad's totally stock 65 Dodge Dart 4 dr 225 slant six with 3-on-the-tree auto. It's mechanically 98% excellent condition, just needing some body work, paint and straightened bumpers.
The other daily driver is a LeMans Blue 05 Vette coupe Z51 6-speed. Awesome, dependable and fun car! The wife won't drive it. Lucky me.
This is my current project. A balls out budget rat rod project (please, no comments on the wooden body. I'm using it to mock up the controls before the 40's truck cab gors on).
More Mopar fans than I realized here. Besides the collection of '61 and '62 Chryslers, I once had '71 Super Bee and a '73 Charger SE400. The only car I've ever owned that I regret selling is the Super Bee.
I have no old cars anylonger but had a few for sure. I have pics but they would need to be scanned. They were taken back in the day when Digital camera's were not even on Radar just yet. Mid 80's to mid 90's.
5. 73 Monte Carlo.... 400 full roller Small Black,Turbo 400 with a stall and 4.56 gears.
This is the only one I have on Digital. Its a 1970 Olds Cutlass F85. One of 104 made. It came with a 350 SB 4 speed tranny with a scatter shield. No power steering,brakes,radio,armrest's,Rubber floor instead of carpet with no insulation, 90 pound pressure plate in the clutch, It had a 3.90 gear with a W27 aluminum housed rearend. The car was moreless old entry for the small Black race car. It put out 370 hp. It ran the 1/4 with 70 series tires 13.09 with me in driving. I miss this car most.
Cudajohn, saw in your post you were in the seabees. when were you in? what battallions were you in. What was your rate? I was a UT, did some time In NMCB 62 during the early 80's
Bads1 - NICE Cutlass! There was a '70 Cutlass Convertible for sale here a few years ago, really beat up but running and complete, 400 motor and still with it's factory 4-speed, and converted to right-hand-drive years ago by whoever brought it here. I was considering buying it when I found it was sold . Turned out it was bought by a friend of mines Dad I will try and talk it out of him one day!
Values here for muscle cars have started to come back down to ridiculous levels, rather than obscene $$$ they were a few years ago. Ever heard of a 1971 Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III? It was a homologation special built for the Bathurst 500 and for a little while it was the fastest 4-door on the planet. There was a lot of speculation that one would crack the $1 million mark last year, but the highest public sale has been about $750k, and a few haven't reached reserve at auction since.
Personally I'd prefer an E49 Charger Hemi 6-pack )
Buddy of mine has a 70-72 (I can't remember which) W-31 455 Big Block Cutlass Convertible that is pretty sweet. Frame is completely smooth frame up from crap. The only thing that isn't the greatest is the self done hand pin-strip. It's straight, but you can see where he dipped new paint to the brush. I'm not knockin' it, I couldn't do anywhere near as good as his worst.
I am waiting for prices on '67 Chevelle SS to die so I can buy my old one back.
"Hemi 6-pack?" Hehehe... I was wondering if someone would notice...
Chrysler Hemi, Australian style:
A publicity shot from the original brochures for the 6-pack showing the triple webers:
"The E49 was the ultimate Charger, with only 149 built the E49s are still widely considered today as one of the greatest Muscle Cars ever produced.
Road tests of the era recorded quarter mile times of between 14.1 and 14.5 seconds. 0-100 mph (160 kph) in 14.1 seconds was the norm. This compares to times of between 15.2 and 15.6 for the next quickest accelerating Australian muscle car, the mighty XY GTHO Falcon.
The E49 "six-pack" engine came with a baffled sump, tuned length headers, special shot-peened crankshaft, conrods, pistons, rings, cam, valve springs, a twin plate clutch and of course the triple 45mm dual throat Weber carburetors. Chrysler quoted this engine as producing 302 HP which, in a 1372 KG (3000 pound) car, made for rapid acceleration."
Sorry for the thread hijack, please resume normal programming now
1976 Buick 3state, 455, 2:32 in the pumpkin, 16 mpg @ 50 or 100, a cross country night flyer and bike hauler, it didn't care if there was an 8x12 behind it. 16" steel rims with real 1940's spun aluminum moons. I left it in this condition for 14 years before I sold it last summer. Used to seat 8, gutted and modded the inside with 4 power buckets, 5 amps, 8 speakers and a sub, 3/8" smoked lexan for the cargo floor over the "trunk", and the greatest tailgate ever ... the Clamshell... Condoland hated it, and it was 9" too long for the garage.
I'm looking around for another roadboat, maybe prettier this time.
W-31 cars are small blocks. W-30 cars are Big blocks. You said it was a 455 right???
I don't doubt you and I am not arguing, when I wrote my first post I had thought I saw W-31, until you mentioned that w-31 is small block and w-30 is big block, then I decided that I was probably wrong in my assumption. I now no longer think it said w-31, I now have figured out that I didn't see w-31
The Swing is a cradle that Towing services have on larger rig's to retrieve cars from ditch's or hard to reach area's. That pic was taken two years ago. I owned that car 16 years ago. I got kinda got reunited with it that day of that pic. The present owner of the car got it from the original owner. Which I bought it from and sold it back to. The present owner is the towing company president and owner.... kinda follow me?? lol
Hahaha! That is just evil! Sounds amazing, especially when shifting . I've always been a muscle car kinda guy, but over the last few years more traditional rods having started to grow on me. Saw a nice ratty '32 Ford with a small block Windsor in it today that was quite appealing