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A little short on details but what do you think?
It would be nice if the seller had listed which engine it has. According to my old car book, the Charger SE has a standard V-8, so at the least, it has the 150 hp 318. It also lists a 240 hp 340, a 175 hp 400, a 260 hp 400, and even a 280 hp 440. My guess is that the vast majority just had the 318 or the 175 hp 400. But by now, who knows, it might have been hopped up.
If it were a very clean small block inside and out, say a #3 car (clean daily driver) there could be some money left on the table here.
But if there's some minor rust, or ripped upholstery, or missing parts, or bad body work, then the car is worth no more than he's asking.
And, how would the 240 hp 340 stack up against the 260 hp 400 or 280 hp 440 for value? I wonder if the 340 might actually be the better choice, since it would be lighter than the big-blocks, but still has a lot of hp? I guess the 400 and 440 would out-torque it by a wide margin, though?
I know it sounds sad, something that big having just a slant six standard, but that was par for the course in those days. FWIW, the 1973 Chevelle came standard with a 110 hp 250-6. However, the Monte Carlo, which the Charger SE nominally competed with, had a 145 hp 350.
The Ford Torino that year had a ~137 hp 302 standard, but a 92 hp 250-6 was a credit option, apparently. I guess the Gran Torino formal hardtop coupe would've competed with the Charger SE. It was a bit cheaper, $3154 versus $3375 for the Charger SE. A Monte Carlo started at $3415 for the cheapest Sport Coupe, but the more popular S and Landau were $3562 and $3806, respectively.
I guess the Charger SE should still get some credit for trying to pull off that sporty, musclecar look. In contrast, the Torino and Monte Carlo were going for that full-blown, pimpy, personal luxury coupe style. To be fair though, that's what the people wanted in those days.
The only way to get a lot of value out of a '73 Charger would be, ironically, to modify it with a "real" engine that could put out serious horsepower.
That is exactly what I was thinking, you certainly couldn't hurt its value by replacing the original engine. Actually, if that car checks out and looks good you could drop in a nice Hemi crate engine, maybe retrofit A/C (if it didn't have it) and have a nice cruiser for maybe 10-12K.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
I'd opt for a beefy 440, maybe a 6 pak. Hemis are very nasty engines to drive around on the street. They don't idle well, they overheat.
Yeah, I remember it vaguely. Did it have a manual or automatic, or do you remember? One dog that always sticks in my mind was a 1977 Cutlass Supreme sedan that CR tested, with a 260 V-8. 0-60 came up in around 21.6 seconds! It was in a comparison with a Caprice with a 305, an LTD-II with a 302, and either a Fury or Monaco with a 318. The other cars, while no powerhouses themselves, were at least good for 0-60 in about 13 seconds.
That Bel Air, if it had a manual, might have been slightly quicker than the Cutlass. I believe the Cutlass had a/c as well, which would slow it down. And by that time, the midsized cars got so heavy that a V-8 '77 Cutlass Supreme probably weight about as much as 6-cyl '73 Chevy! Even though the Cutlass just had a 260, it probably didn't weigh much less than one with a 403 would have.
Not THAT Hemi, THIS "Hemi":
long block + engine management system + lotsa $$$ labor
Oh, yeah. But it'd be a fun project, just resign myself to $0.25 on the dollar...maybe...
long block + engine management system + lotsa $$$ labor
Find a wrecked newer 300C, swap it all over. Done! Weekend job!
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
Let's see--what would one have to do?
1. Get used engine and engine management system
2. Prepare/fabricate motor mounts
3. Fabricate cooling system
4. Adapt to Tremec 5-speed
5. fabricate drive shaft
6. splice engine management computer and harness into existing wiring
7. Install custom gas tank and fuel pump
8. Fabricate custom exhaust
9. Fabricate gauge pack/sensors
10. install clutch pedal assembly
11 install hydraulic clutch system
so, that takes care of the first day ! :P
Car Craft
Andre, what a sleeper one of your Fifth Aves would be!
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
Would a more modern, reproduction Crate Hemi still have all of the same problems that the original 426 did, or would they have worked out any of the kinks?
One nice thing about the modern "Hemi" (I use quotes because I hear it's not a true Hemi, but rather a pent-roof) is that, for the power it puts out, it gets surprisingly good fuel economy. In my Ram, for example, it's rated 14/20, which really isn't bad for 385 hp in something that's probably pushing 5,000 lb. I've averaged about 14.5 mpg since I've had it, but that's been mostly local driving, and the one time I took it on a trip, I did have a bit of a heavy foot.
I'd imagine a transplant into something like that Charger would probably yield similar, if not better fuel economy. While the Charger would have a much higher coefficient of drag, it would have a lot less frontal area, and weigh a lot less.
If I had tons of money to blow, I've actually thought about putting a big block in one of my R-bodies. While they never came with anything that big, a 360 smallblock being the largest offering, the engine bay isn't that much different from the previous B-body (Coronet/Monaco, the "New, Small Fury", Cordoba, Magnum XE), so a big block will fit.
Supposedly, if you simply ditch the Lean Burn, and go back to one of the simpler, early 70's distributor, carb and electronic ignition setups, the later 318's and 360's can put out some fairly decent power.
A modern Hemi would be a pretty fun transplant, as well!
At least, I'm presuming these new transmissions are larger, physically, then the old Torqueflite 904 and 727. I've heard that when people started putting the 4-speed truck Torqueflite in older cars, they had to modify the transmission hump.
This type of project could take months, maybe a year--not all working on the car of course, but tracking stuff down, making it work, making it fit, paying for it :P
But what if you did most of the work yourself?
Old Cars Weekly tracked the restoration of a '66 Mustang Coupe done by two guys who swapped labor (he helped his buddy build a garage, and his buddy helped with bodywork and assembly of new parts).
In any event, even with very little outside labor charges, the receipts added up to $30,000...which still exceeds the value of a restored '66 Mustang coupe---but at least there's a chance that one day these costs and the value of the car will even out.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
$60K is a LOT of golf or sound equipment.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
The rich can just write checks and the poor can barely get started on one, so it's the 50K--150K income crowd who can get in over their heads.
Also the folks using the home equity as an ATM machine got into trouble.
Worth fixing? How much would a head gasket job cost on this? And why doesn't it have side view mirrors?
63 190D for sale
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
And of course, once the head is off you want to do the valves, right?
yeah I think $1500 is more than fair---it has the wrong interior, too. Bumperettes missing, front bumper dinged up.
For the engine, if it has many needs, it will quickly pass the point where an engine transplant would be easier and cheaper. Maybe drop in a healthy 240D or even 300D unit into it - I have no doubt it would fit without much mess, and the car needs the power.
If you keep it stock, here's what you get to look forward to
So say $500 for junkyard seats, $2500 for engine work, and if it has no other needs (and you pay $1500 for it), you're in $4500, which might be as deep as you want to go, unless its a labor of love. Price goes up with a higher purchase price or more needs. Paying asking price has you in for 7K, which will be tough to recoup.
Were the bumper guards standard or optional on these? I know on W111s, they were an option - my car has them ("Gardmeister" brand, real name).
If you like odd old films , there's one called "Pretty Maids All In a Row", where Rock Hudson plays a psychotic high school counselor, and drives a car virtually identical to mine, same color.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
I suspect the old MB dealer in Van would touch it, but it might scare off some of the other branches. It would be financial suicide to take it to a dealer though, simply due to labor rates. A car like that needs an old timer independent, and an owner who is patient.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
Speaking of old diesels, this late run diesel ponton sounds and looks wonderful
I imagine you could easily squeeze in a smallblock Chevy if you wanted a real sleeper!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Well, if it'll fit in a PT Cruiser, you never know!
I imagine you could easily squeeze in a smallblock Chevy if you wanted a real sleeper!
I wonder which engine is physically smaller, a Ford 302 or a Chevy smallblock? I know they're both notably smaller than a Mopar smallblock. I think one reason that the Sunbeam Tiger went away was because when Mopar took them over, their 273/318 A-engine would not fit in there, while the Ford 289/302 block would.
One thing the Ford has going for it is light weight, around 500 lb. In comparison, the Chevy smallblock was a bit of a porker, around 575, although with modern technological advances, I guess newer crate engines are lighter. The Mopar smallblock, while physically larger, was only around 525 lb, 550 for the 360.
Rule of Thumb: If you're buying a car with an engine malady, and you can't verify that malady prior to sale, then ASSUME THE WORST POSSIBLE OUTCOME when making your offer.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])