Need opinions on this Demon for $25k

[Fizzer6001]

Hello FABO,

I’m struggling big-time about a demon that I flew out to see. Originally I was looking for a duster but this demon caught my eye.

I did have a shop inspect it and they told me it was “solid”. I flew out today to look at the car and noticed the doors and quarters definitely look wavy along with some bubbling in the quarter, rocker, and door.

I’m at a little bit of a loss as to what to do. My budget is in the mid-upper 20s and I don’t want to erroneously write this car off due to the body defects I see. At the same time, I don’t want to overpay / get in over my head. I’m willing to learn, but I’m a definitely new to this. Seller wants mid $20k.

The car is originally a slant 6 car that now has a 340 4-speed. Car drives nicely besides a vague brake pedal that doesnt seem to work as well as it should due to a possible vacuum issue per the seller. All electronics appear to work besides the AM radio.


Any thoughts or opinions as to if I should buy or pass? I’ve been looking for a clean A Body for a year now and don’t know what to think at this point.

Mmm

 

[Fizzer6001]

Hello FABO,

I’m struggling big-time about a demon that I flew out to see. Originally I was looking for a duster but this demon caught my eye.

I did have a shop inspect it and they told me it was “solid”. I flew out today to look at the car and noticed the doors and quarters definitely look wavy along with some bubbling in the quarter, rocker, and door.

I’m at a little bit of a loss as to what to do. My budget is in the mid-upper 20s and I don’t want to erroneously write this car off due to the body defects I see. At the same time, I don’t want to overpay / get in over my head. I’m willing to learn, but I’m a definitely new to this. Seller wants mid $20k.

The car is originally a slant 6 car that now has a 340 4-speed. Car drives nicely besides a vague brake pedal that doesnt seem to work as well as it should due to a possible vacuum issue per the seller. Any thoughts or opinions as to if I should buy or pass? I’ve been looking for a clean A Body for a year now and don’t know what to think at this point.

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[Fizzer6001]

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[GTX JOHN]

I have seen and also sold myself nicer Demons and
Dusters in that price range.

Just my .02 = For Free

 

[Garrett Ellison]

I never like never like seeing that much non-factory undercoat and black paint on the underside. A slag hammer and a scratch awl would show any serious flaws, but it looks pretty decent for it to have been sprayed that heavily. I would have rather seen sloppy factory color paint underneath than the "quick and messy slop tar." I always associate that as a quick cover up to hide ugly or inadequate patch work.

 

[H22A4]

Check to make sure the block is actually a 340 block and not a 318 or 360 block. You will be able to tell when the car is on a hoist and you look at the drivers side of the block below the head and in front of the starter motor. Lots of people say it’s got a 340 but it’s actually got a 360 block. Any pictures of the engine bay? At least the trunk has been sprayed body colour which is a plus.

 

[ch1ll]

Nope not me. Clones are not worth that kind of money.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Not worth it. Pass. You'll have just as much $$$ in getting it right as you pay for it. That's a hard pass for me.

 

[72bluNblu]

Typical comments from people that haven't bought a car in the last 2 decades or more. $25k is in the ball park for that car. Could you argue about $5k? Absolutely. But I don't think you could reasonably argue about $10k, not if you actually look at what cars are selling for now.

First, I'm not sure that isn't factory undercoating. It looks similar to what's on my '71 GT.

The frame rails and trunk appear solid, as does everything else actually. Definitely some wear and tear, but none of those lower seams or butted joints appear to have any rust at all.

The bubbles in the door and quarter are extremely minor. They may just be paint prep issues, but even if they aren't if you're planning on parking that car indoors you wouldn't need to be concerned in the next decade or two. I had plenty more than that on my Duster when I bought it, have parked it outside for a decade including under a damn snow bank on a couple of occasions and I'm still not worried about mine.

The rocker appears to be more chips/paint prep to me, but it's a small picture

Real 340/4 speed Dusters and Demons have sold for over $100k at auction in the last few years. If it was a real numbers matching 340/4 speed car in that condition you'd be looking at $40k. $25k for a clone is not at all unreasonable anymore. And yes, 10-15 years ago those numbers would have been insane, but again, the market has DOUBLED or more in that time for A-bodies.

Whether or not you "buy or pass" on this car to me really depends on what you want. It's not perfect by any means, but it does appear to be solid. And if it's a good running car then it is in the ballpark for the price tag. I don't think it's a steal, but it's not a rip off either. If you're looking for a show winner then this isn't it, but you're not gonna get one of those for that kind of a price anymore either. If you want something to enjoy on the weekends and maybe work on improving a few things here and there, well, it doesn't look like a terrible car for that. If you want to buy it as an investment and try to make a ton of money on it, well, probably not the car you want.

With the standard caveat that all I've seen are the pretty little pictures that have been posted here and a pretty basic description.

 

[Ottmundr]

Hello FABO,

I’m struggling big-time about a demon that I flew out to see. Originally I was looking for a duster but this demon caught my eye.

I did have a shop inspect it and they told me it was “solid”. I flew out today to look at the car and noticed the doors and quarters definitely look wavy along with some bubbling in the quarter, rocker, and door.

I’m at a little bit of a loss as to what to do. My budget is in the mid-upper 20s and I don’t want to erroneously write this car off due to the body defects I see. At the same time, I don’t want to overpay / get in over my head. I’m willing to learn, but I’m a definitely new to this. Seller wants mid $20k.

The car is originally a slant 6 car that now has a 340 4-speed. Car drives nicely besides a vague brake pedal that doesnt seem to work as well as it should due to a possible vacuum issue per the seller. All electronics appear to work besides the AM radio.


Any thoughts or opinions as to if I should buy or pass? I’ve been looking for a clean A Body for a year now and don’t know what to think at this point.

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Last picture there, looks like the door is not lining up properly.
Check the hinges, and the striker to see that the sheetmetal isn't tearing.
How does the rear window look? Is there any rust at the bottom?
How does the floor of the trunk look?
Does the car have a heater? Smell the carpet in the front passenger footwell.
Drive down the road behind the car, does it track straight?

The little rust spots don't look all that bad from what I can see.

 

[Deltatech]

Hard pass,$18k tops, numerous red flags. Typical flipper stuff, doors don't line up, uneven gaps in both doors and back bumper.
Painted over rust, can't fix a vacuum leak to repair the brakes for $25k?.
That bubbling probably means rust holes all of the way through the quarter panels and door skins have been filled/covered with filler and painted over.
If you look close at that rear Quarter post #1 picture #3, I can see a 6-8 inch hole that's been filled. Follow the bubbles down to the filler line across the bottom (which is extremely visible) then to a small bubble, up and to the left, ignore the orange peel and look how the middle of the hole is flatter, less contoured and smoother than the rest. The contour isn't right on that quarter panel at all, it's too flat.
Whoever did it is pretty good but raises serious red flags because most who can do that good of a coverup wouldn't. We all know there is only one way to repair rust...

The mechanical bond between the filler and substrate has broken down in those places because either rust wasn't removed or contaminated prep work. It'll be cracking and/or peeling within a year or two.
The quarter most probably needs cut out, new welded, re painted.
I'd definitely be checking the block to actually be a 340.

 

[72bluNblu]

Hard pass, that bubbling probably means a rust hole all of the way through the quarter panel.

Yeah ok buddy!

 

[Oldmanmopar]

Yes the car does look solid and most of the bubbling under the car you pictured is factory undercoating.

1. The plus are Its a Demon and a 71 none the less
2. Someone put a lot of money in that car to build what they wanted.
3. Body wise the car looks solid other then some miner bubbling.
4. It has all the nicknacks you don't need to locate. Spoiler, scoops , buckets, air cleaner is a high dollar item, and already transformed to a V8.


For a daily driver the body and paint look great.

The negatives are

1. The brakes ? How does the car have Big bolt 73 brakes and small bolt wheels? Most likely Adapters Not good ,and probably the reason for the 4 inch wide wheels on the front So the tires stay under the car. This I see as the major issue and why weren't the brakes fixed .
2 color was changed and the black paint was done under the car and rockers to hide that.
3. After the color change at least some of the the car was then repainted with the stripes taped off.
4. The stripes were taped off for the repaint or painted on and not a decal after the color change and the issue there is the stripes were installed too low. To fix that it will need a complete repaint again
5. The body ? Door Bubbles are the major issue I see
6. torsion bar clip has under coating on it. So either they were never out and the suspension was not rebuilt. Or they did some cover up under the car.
7. resale red Tour red/ Hemi orange, What was the factory color?
8. What is under that thick doubled / triple layers of paint???

Now is the car worth the asking price ? Yes, for a driver. But you will be sticking another 10k easily in the car to correct just the items pictured to make it nice. Unless you do it all yourself.

Its like biting into a piece of that Christmas chocolate. " you never know what your getting until you take a bite. Be careful and good luck. If it was me I would pass. But I have seen it all over the years .

keep looking and the most important is look for an original color car. The beauty on that one is only skin deep. There is a reason That it wasn't sucked up by a car lot for auction. I have seen that car somewhere before. And without getting into details it wasn't a good vibe.

 

[Kendog 170]

My concern is the door alignment and is that the front frame rail that's kinked? If so, is the door on the same side as the rail is?

 

[A56]

Mid 20's .... no thanks. Did he have all of that work done or is he trying to sell due to buyers remorse? I'd ask for "before" pictures to see what he covered up. Get the body shop phone number and ask about the car. Much more leg work required before I'd toss him any money and for sure as previously pointed out. You'll be putting another 10k into after all of the body work is laying on your garage floor. For him to attempt to sell that car and leaving the door wacked out like that is a red flag.

 

[abodyjoe]

the pictures kinda suck.... there are things i don't like but at the same time 25k is what solid cars bring these days. demon was built for only 2 years so they are harder to find then a duster. like oldmanmopar said prepare to throw more cash at it but that can be saidfor anything in that price range.

 

[Oldmanmopar]

That kink that looks like the rail but is not the rail . I thought that also. That is the frame rail to rocker connector behind the front wheel.

 

[PROSTOCKTOM]

Personally I think you should keep looking. That's a can of worms waiting to open on you.

Tom

 

[Dartswinger70]

Check to make sure the block is actually a 340 block and not a 318 or 360 block. You will be able to tell when the car is on a hoist and you look at the drivers side of the block below the head and in front of the starter motor. Lots of people say it’s got a 340 but it’s actually got a 360 block. Any pictures of the engine bay? At least the trunk has been sprayed body colour which is a plus.

I think the number is right above the starter if one wanted to lay under it and look...

 

[Dartswinger70]

My concern is the door alignment and is that the front frame rail that's kinked? If so, is the door on the same side as the rail is?

Probably would ajust out between the A pillar bolts and striker bolt...it looks like lazy panel alignment during body assembly as always I could we wrong but I wouldnt think the worst etc.

 

[Dartswinger70]

I see a car that has been redone at some point, how it was done is the question. It could be a 20 year old restoration who knows but, its all there and it can be redone again etc. you wont know what's under that paint till ya get there...maybe use a magnet etc? I don think I'd run from it, but I'd haggle a bit...the thing is its not the early 90s any more and the cars aren't 20 years old now they are 50-60 years old ...so question is is it acceptable for a 55 year old car with possibly a 20 year old restoration...? the perfect unmolested car is probably double what the asking price is...and lets face it an all original car has been repainted ant Maaco at least once...anyone remember when Maaco was common cause paint only lasted 5 years?

 

[Dicer]

20K or walk away and I would make sure the engine matched the air cleaner.

 

[Garrett Ellison]

It’s a pass for me just because it looks too much like it has a quick do over to get it to sale. Your gut instinct is already you what to do, and you’re correct to come here for a second opinion before taking the plunge. In my own experience, buyers remorse is worse than the remorse from “I should have bought that one.” Even more so as I become more limited on time to do things the way I like them to be done.

 

[Kendog 170]

Probably would ajust out between the A pillar bolts and striker bolt...it looks like lazy panel alignment during body assembly as always I could we wrong but I wouldnt think the worst etc.

I would like to see the line on the other end of the door. I had a 72 that color 340/4spd so I could get sucked into that. As said offer him 20.

 

[dogbreath]

That is a very average 25K car , want nicer , you will have to spend more money either on that car or on a nicer car to begin with , unfortunately today nice 340 a-bodies start in the 35K range with 340 Demons at the top of the heap