expert help needed (my first post)

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HemiSSDart said:
Having owned dozens of big block and small block A-Body's I can tell you for sure there is nothing like a big block in an A-body. Having said that, it is not for the faint of heart to go from a small block to a big block. If I was just starting out, and since things have changed significantly since I did my first one 40 years ago, I would go with a stroker small block and embarrass big block cars...
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i just think a 440 a body would be nuts , witch is my inspiration for the hole build.
 
Ricks70Duster340 said:
I understand the problem completely. When you get the big block itch, it is very hard not to scratch it!

If you go that direction, be prepared to spend several times what you thought you'd spend. Certainly can be done, but you'll need mucho patience, a fat wallet, and time to do it right. Don't cut corners trying to save a few buckos. Ask the guys here and they'll steer you right. I had a 70 Duster that I pulled the engine and replaced it with a 408 stroker. Excellent running car. Had a '68 Valiant that I put a 440 into and had all kinds of issues. Would not do it again, and did not. Whichever way you go, have fun!
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what were some of youe issues and could i possibly run into the same things? thanks.
 
If you paid 14000 for the car and the add-ons you have done.

I'm not sure you will be able to sell it for much more.

If you get a bored and stroked 360 with a warranty you can get up to 383, and everything will EASILY bolt in.
 
Dana67Dart said:
If you paid 14000 for the car and the add-ons you have done.

I'm not sure you will be able to sell it for much more.

If you get a bored and stroked 360 with a warranty you can get up to 383, and everything will EASILY bolt i
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ok thankyou, its hard to not build the car i want, and to build a car the buyer whats lol
cosgig said:
I agree with the above. First, make a plan, and if your plan is to flip it when you’re done, stick with a small block. The big block swap will easily out price any machine work on the 273 you have. And that’s not counting all of the u seen upgrades that the big block will require, such as that mystery rear end, which I suspect is the original 7 1/4”. Around here (SE Michigan) you can have the matching done on the 273 for less than $2k, and all in, meaning having them assemble the long block for you, at under $3k. You would still have to do the final assembly, paint and reinstall, which I believe you can handle. You start getting away from the 273, and needed parts to do that quickly add up. Unforeseen things to even do a 318 would be a different trans and torque converter, which are specific to the 273. My advise is to slow your roll a bit, gather information, and proceed slowly, bring your first foray into the Mopar world.

Welcome to FABO by the way, the best place to be for a Mopar young gun.
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thanks, im trying to take my time. my biggest problem on this flip is not building the car i want, but building the car the buyers want. do you think if i did the 440 and made the car stick. webt through and did all new eletric, new fuel, and got the intiror in perfect black with a new dash and seats i could get 30+ for the car?
 
TheCudaKid said:
hey thanks for this comment, so far ive rebuild the entire from suspension, and wile under there i did a complete front break overhaul, i switched to disk breaks, did new shocks, control arms ext. im really wanting to go big or go home with this big block, buy i under stand were everyones coming from.
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well, it sounds like you've got a good foundation to work with.

personally, if i were in your position i'd keep it small block and go find a decent running 318 or 360. you could probably even find one somebody's pulled out and selling on the cheap. maybe throw some parts at it if you're feeling frisky- cam, intake, 4bbl, **** who knows maybe you find one that's already nearly there.

or, rebuild what you've got. just have the machine work done and do all of the assembly yourself.

get it back running and driving and then decide if you want to go big block or build a snotty small block on the side while you're out enjoying the car.

i missed your line about ROI before. you're already at 14K which doesn't leave a bunch of meat on the bone if you're looking to flip it. i'd say a non OG big block 67~69 nacho is solidly a mid to low 20's car. maybe you find just the right buyer and you see upper 20's

but let's do a little back of the barroom napkin math vis à vis the chonk block: the exhaust (headers) is the big one, you're looking at 1K there no matter how you wanna slice it. unless you're incredibly lucky and stumble on some used tubes you're coughing up dough. same on the transmission, because it's BB specific you've gotta find that piece. automatic is the path of least resistance, but again you'll need specific parts for that-- press the easy button and get an aftermarket shifter and check that off the list and watch $250~300 fly out the window, so there's another 1K out the door. so that's 2K easy money in addition to all the other stuff...

but you want to go manual? okay, you're gonna need a whole bunch of A-body specific parts, all of which are rare as rocking horse **** and cast out of pure unobtainium, or you pivot and run something aftermarket in the swing pedals and bellhousing department which is maybe slightly less, but requires modification and fabrication to the body or pieces themselves. then you cough up for all other stuff you need: flywheel, clutch, transmission itself and a shifter. so all of that is easily 2K at the end of day.

so, you're at 14. snap up that 4K motor and then add 1K for exhaust, 1K for trans, and let's use a nice round number of 1K for all the install stuff just to keep it simple and you're at 21K. basically what the car would likely sell for.
 
TheCudaKid said:
do you think if i did the 440 and made the car stick. webt through and did all new eletric, new fuel, and got the intiror in perfect black with a new dash and seats i could get 30+ for the car?
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probably, but you'd also probably have 35K into it.
 
junkyardhero said:
well, it sounds like you've got a good foundation to work with.

personally, if i were in your position i'd keep it small block and go find a decent running 318 or 360. you could probably even find one somebody's pulled out and selling on the cheap. maybe throw some parts at it if you're feeling frisky- cam, intake, 4bbl, **** who knows maybe you find one that's already nearly there.

or, rebuild what you've got. just have the machine work done and do all of the assembly yourself.

get it back running and driving and then decide if you want to go big block or build a snotty small block on the side while you're out enjoying the car.

i missed your line about ROI before. you're already at 14K which doesn't leave a bunch of meat on the bone if you're looking to flip it. i'd say a non OG big block 67~69 nacho is solidly a mid to low 20's car. maybe you find just the right buyer and you see upper 20's

but let's do a little back of the barroom napkin math vis à vis the chonk block: the exhaust (headers) is the big one, you're looking at 1K there no matter how you wanna slice it. unless you're incredibly lucky and stumble on some used tubes you're coughing up dough. same on the transmission, because it's BB specific you've gotta find that piece. automatic is the path of least resistance, but again you'll need specific parts for that-- press the easy button and get an aftermarket shifter and check that off the list and watch $250~300 fly out the window, so there's another 1K out the door. so that's 2K easy money in addition to all the other stuff...

but you want to go manual? okay, you're gonna need a whole bunch of A-body specific parts, all of which are rare as rocking horse **** and cast out of pure unobtainium, or you pivot and run something aftermarket in the swing pedals and bellhousing department which is maybe slightly less, but requires modification and fabrication to the body or pieces themselves. then you cough up for all other stuff you need: flywheel, clutch, transmission itself and a shifter. so all of that is easily 2K at the end of day.

so, you're at 14. snap up that 4K motor and then add 1K for exhaust, 1K for trans, and let's use a nice round number of 1K for all the install stuff just to keep it simple and you're at 21K. basically what the car would likely sell for.
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21. i also plan on doing new wireing harness, new dadh, headligher, and seats. would it be stuiped to think i could get 30 for the car if i get it almost perfect?
 
here's a few comps:

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360-Powered 1967 Plymouth Barracuda Hardtop

Bid for the chance to own a 360-Powered 1967 Plymouth Barracuda Hardtop at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #113,414.
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still a small bock, but nicely appointed. mid 20's


again a small block, but with a modern 6spd and vintage air. it's not perfect, but shows nicely. low 20's

bringatrailer.com

496-Powered 1969 Plymouth Barracuda

Bid for the chance to own a 496-Powered 1969 Plymouth Barracuda at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #80,819.
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here's a stroker BB nacho with an auto that looks pretty decent. this is probably about the closest comp you'll find. and again, low 20's

so, ask yourself is big block and manual transmission worth 10K more?
 
junkyardhero said:
here's a few comps:

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still a small bock, but nicely appointed. mid 20's

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again a small block, but with a modern 6spd and vintage air. it's not perfect, but shows nicely. low 20's

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here's a stroker BB nacho with an auto that looks pretty decent. this is probably about the closest comp you'll find. and again, low 20's

so, ask yourself is big block and manual transmission worth 10K more?
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to me yes, but for the buyer i would assume no. also this interior is miles better than mine, i have a column shifter setup but i'm thinking of switching to a center one, i have all the stuff necessary.
 
TheCudaKid said:
.... also this interior is miles better than mine
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interior makes or breaks sales. it's a hard line in the sand for a lot of buyers because of the known expense involved, let alone the hassle of chasing anything down should it be missing.

if your interior is tatty, or a half cobbled together amalgamation of modern and vintage bits n' bobs you can knock 5K right off the top. dash and package tray is all tore up, headliner blowed out and the gauge cluster looking a mess? that'll take an easy few K right out of the pot, too.
 
junkyardhero said:
interior makes or breaks sales. it's a hard line in the sand for a lot of buyers because of the known expense involved, let alone the hassle of chasing anything down should it be missing.

if your interior is tatty, or a half cobbled together amalgamation of modern and vintage bits n' bobs you can knock 5K right off the top. dash and package tray is all tore up, headliner blowed out and the gauge cluster looking a mess? that'll take an easy few K right out of the pot, too.
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its all there just switching to black. no one has put a 440 stick in an abody and sold it. or alteast i cant find any. thats why im stumped on what it could sell for if i did it. here’s pics of my interior, need headliner idk about dash. need everything black so doors and seats and ext.

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I reread the OP’s first post. If the car is a flipper, the margin is going to be very tight. You could easily have 30-35K in the car and the parts not including labor. If you have 100 hours of labor in the car, (this is light amount of time) at 100 per hour(that’s a low shop rate) that’s another 10,000 so your now at 45,000 K for a not so special car that you’ll have a hard time selling. There was a thread a few weeks ago about the dusters selling at Mecum auctions, most likely the sellers were upside down in the cars.

Doing it versus doing it right are too different things. I had a friend buy 67 nova that came from a classic car dealer, when we got it on the rack after he bought it, it still needed another 10k in labor and 5k in parts to make it right…
 
TheCudaKid said:
its all there just switching to black. no one has put a 440 stick in an abody and sold it. or alteast i cant find any. thats why im stumped on what it could sell for if i did it. here’s pics of my interior, need headliner idk about dash. need everything black so doors and seats and ext.

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I know a family in Portland that has 3 big block cudas. Your not the first. We are talking about a 56 year old car after all.
 
Scody21 said:
I know a family in Portland that has 3 big block cudas. Your not the first. We are talking about a 56 year old car after all.
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do you think you could find me a notch back abody 440 swaped car that has sold recently? i just want to have something to help me understand what i can shoot for, thanks.
 
TheCudaKid said:
do you think you could find me a notch back abody 440 swaped car that has sold recently? i just want to have something to help me understand what i can shoot for, thanks.
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One of the 3 had in the mecum PDX auction in ‘21 with a reserve of 27k and did not sell. Also I’m not in the car selling business… but will share what small amount I know.

It’s had to put a value on old car as the car speaks to the person that wants to buy it. Most of the guys on here, me included have way more into our cars than we’d be able to sell them for. I’m about 15k into a 10k running driving 72 340 4spd duster I found by luck and good timing that I might be able to get 25-30 for if I’m lucky if I wanted to sell it.

Here’s for for ya, we have a vintage race car in the shop, the owner bought it for 125k, the motor need a rebuild, that was 30k, that rebuild went into the car from another shop, ran one weekend and the motor blew up, like window pained the block, so new motor from the UK 55k, plus 35k in other work. So all said and done, the guy will be well over 120k into a car he spend 120k on that’s only worth 120k on a good day….
 
Scody21 said:
One of the 3 had in the mecum PDX auction in ‘21 with a reserve of 27k and did not sell. Also I’m not in the car selling business… but will share what small amount I know.

It’s had to put a value on old car as the car speaks to the person that wants to buy it. Most of the guys on here, me included have way more into our cars than we’d be able to sell them for. I’m about 15k into a 10k running driving 72 340 4spd duster I found by luck and good timing that I might be able to get 25-30 for if I’m lucky if I wanted to sell it.

Here’s for for ya, we have a vintage race car in the shop, the owner bought it for 125k, the motor need a rebuild, that was 30k, that rebuild went into the car from another shop, ran one weekend and the motor blew up, like window pained the block, so new motor from the UK 55k, plus 35k in other work. So all said and done, the guy will be well over 120k into a car he spend 120k on that’s only worth 120k on a good day….
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ok so what im understanding here is that i shouldn’t have tryed to flip my this cuda haha. all jokes aside i understand what your saying, people put more into the cars than what there are worth. i appreciate all the information you have given me.
 
I didn't read all the post completely through, but from what I saw of the photos you posted that looks like a really clean engine. I would run a hone through it and re-ring it. If the main and rod bearings look good use them over. I know a 273 isn't fast, but you can get it running better for now while you decide your future plans.

Tom
 
PROSTOCKTOM said:
I didn't read all the post completely through, but from what I saw of the photos you posted that looks like a really clean engine. I would run a hone through it and re-ring it. If the main and rod bearings look good use them over. I know a 273 isn't fast, but you can get it running better for now while you decide your future plans.

Tom
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thanks, i have no need to run the car, i have a truck that i drive everyday. this is just a fun little flip. i just think it would be worth it for the funfacter of the car to have a stick shift 440. all the buyer would need to do is drive it to be hooked. i would also love to have a crazy muscle car to drive around in
 
TheCudaKid said:
ok so what im understanding here is that i shouldn’t have tryed to flip my this cuda haha. all jokes aside i understand what your saying, people put more into the cars than what there are worth. i appreciate all the information you have given me.
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The other thing that is going against you is buying parts, if your buying from Summit and such, your paying retail, which wholesale is 10-30% less depending on source and terms, which is hard to get these accounts if you don’t have a business setup. We are not saying don’t do it, just saying proceed with caution if your just trying to flip.
 
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