Might be coming time to retire the coronet...

[Schneiderman]

It's really tough to think about, but I have to face reality while planning for the future.

It was just over 6 years ago that I bought my 1972 coronet. I was 15 at the time and I paid for it with my own hard earned money- $700. My dad did offer to pay for half the rebuilt engine that we put into it together.

I love this car so much- how it looks, how it feels to drive, the character that it has. And it was so much a part of my highschool years and growing up, there is so much emotion attached to it.

But the poor thing is rotting away here on awful Long Island... it has really bad rust in some spots, the roof is starting to leak, the trunk has leaked for some time despite my attempts to stop it, my dad even backed into the poor thing with his truck!

I will be graduating college in May and I'm going to be leaving NY for good as soon as I can... I'll either be looking for a career in law enforcement or possibly joining the military. In any case, I will be moving out, and I have to start thinking about narrowing down my possessions- I can't take everything with me and I can't store it forever at home. Having three vehicles is especially cumbersome.

My primary method of transportation is actually my motorcycle. My Coronet was my first car... but I also picked up a duster last spring. As much as I love the coronet, the duster is the car that makes sense to save for the future, and I bought it with the intention of making it a solid driver. The coronet has sentimental value whereas the duster actually has material value. The duster is in much better condition, and parts are easily available to get it restored and keep it in great shape.

So the question is, what do I do with the coronet? Well, I'm still trying to think about that. I'd really like to save the engine, tranny and possibly rearend for use in the duster. What happens to the rest? I'm hoping that I can find someone, or a number of people, who can make use of the rest of the car. I'm not just going to send it to the wrecker. And I know that nobody is going to by this four door b body for a full restoration- it's just not worth anything, sadly. But maybe some parts can be reused, to help other cars on their path to being restored, or at least kept on the road.

I don't know, it's going to take some time to figure out what to do, but maybe you guys will see some b body parts in the for sale section by spring.

 

[cudadriver]

IMHO You can try to sell it as is or failing that, try to part it out. It doesn't look that bad but only you know for sure. Maybe someone would like to restore it. Good luck in your decision and keep us posted as to the outcome.

 

['64 Cuda]

Only you can decide what will work best for you, but I'd try to hang onto it as a daily driver. You've rebuilt the engine so you know that's dependable. The time will probably come when you won't want to drive your Duster all of the time for fear of it being damaged. I can speak from experience that motorcycles are fun, & I've ridden in weather which kept most people in their houses, but they still make lousy daily drivers in most areas.

 

[daredevil]

get a solid 2 door shell and reincarnate it.

 

[ESP47]

You only get your first car once man.

If you aren't going to keep it, stay patient and find a guy who wants to use the car for what it is. Don't part it out and don't sell it to anyone that's going to part it out. Greed is what is making this hobby tough for everyone. The more cars we part out the more expensive the rest of them get. There are plenty of people out there who prefer 4 doors to 2 doors, you just gotta stay patient and get word out on the car.