Thinking about a change

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qkcuda

qkcuda

FABO Gold Member
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I have owned this car for almost 25 years and taken it from a stock 318 first to a 400 that ran 12’s and then to a 500 stroker that runs 11’s. I run the car in full street trim with 3.55 gears and full exhaust, and it is well sorted and easy to drive on the street. I have driven it to car shows and races about 1 1/2 hours each way. That said I wouldn’t necessarily call it a comfortable cruiser. I would not think of driving it to Carlisle, even though I am sure it would make it. I have always liked the 66-67 Chargers, and now I am thinking about selling the cuda and building a cruiser, with fuel injection, a/c, and maybe o/d. Not sure if this is a dumb idea, or if I will miss the occasional trip to the track? Anybody else thinking this way?
 
why not A/C, O/D and more comfortable seats in the cuda? if you want a different car, get a different car, but don't think you can't evolve this one to be what you want
 
That thought had crossed my mind as well. Maybe I just feel like I need more of a change.
 
Sure what kursplat said and more. Add EFI to it too. Just morph it into what you now need it to be.
 
I'd think it'd be cheaper and maybe better to change what you have. You already know the history and current condition of your car. If you bought a new one, you wouldn't have that knowledge, and it could be a bigger headache/ heartache than what it's worth.

Chargers are a good choice to upgrade to, but first gens could be hard to locate parts for, the instrument cluster to name for starters.
 
qkcuda said:
That thought had crossed my mind as well. Maybe I just feel like I need more of a change.
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i can't argue with that...but i will anyway. do what you have to, but figure out a way to keep this one too.
 
Then change something. It's your car man. Do what makes you happy.
 
The electro luminescent "EL" gage panels last used on the 67 charger usually have no problem lighting up. The phillips/chrysler design was made pretty rugged, and still look great even today. The radio and shifter indicator backlighting in the 66-67 charger was also EL. These parts were unique to the charger and did not interchange with any other 66-67 mopar. These lighted panels and pointers panels used 300 volts AC current, and required a step up transformer with an inverter to make them light up. The transformer/inverter is where the problems are with these. Theres people out there that can repair them. If this part is missing to light up the gages it can be pretty costly to replace, ditto for the correct charger backlit stereo face and shift indicator
 
It sounds like you want a change of cars, not to make yours more comfortable to drive.
Then go for what you want, or trade yours for something close and then just modify it further to your tastes.
There's nothing wrong with that..........
 
Depends on where you are at in life and what your interest are. Some people stay stagnant (that's not a dig lol) and keep the same ol' thing. Others just change in desires and interest and make a change. It's all up to....

Recreating the car is great if you want to go in that direction. Buying a modern muscle car is great also and both get you the same results and the result is what you want......

But never let anyone convince you old and new iron are the same. And they can't be duplicated. It's not meant to work that way and never will.

JW
 
qkcuda said:
I have owned this car for almost 25 years and taken it from a stock 318 first to a 400 that ran 12’s and then to a 500 stroker that runs 11’s. I run the car in full street trim with 3.55 gears and full exhaust, and it is well sorted and easy to drive on the street. I have driven it to car shows and races about 1 1/2 hours each way. That said I wouldn’t necessarily call it a comfortable cruiser. I would not think of driving it to Carlisle, even though I am sure it would make it. I have always liked the 66-67 Chargers, and now I am thinking about selling the cuda and building a cruiser, with fuel injection, a/c, and maybe o/d. Not sure if this is a dumb idea, or if I will miss the occasional trip to the track? Anybody else thinking this way?
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Say it aint so ! at lest go with a good looking one ! 68-9
 
Go for it. No rule says you have to keep a car for ever. I have had the conversation "what car would you like to own before they take your license away".., I say go for it.
 
IMHO I would look for one of these
68,69,70 RR
68, 69,70 coronet super bee
68-69-70 charger
70,71 barracuda

I think 70,71 challengers have been done to death, but that's my opinion. And possibly because I see so many new ones on the road.
 
I appreciate all the responses. The “what car would you like to own before they take your licence away” especially hit home. This would have to be a straight swap money wise. The question is would I be better off to sell the car complete to buy something else, or try and piecemeal out the drivetrain and build another?
 
moparmat2000 said:
IMHO I would look for one of these
68,69,70 RR
68, 69,70 coronet super bee
68-69-70 charger
70,71 barracuda

I think 70,71 challengers have been done to death, but that's my opinion. And possibly because I see so many new ones on the road.
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Those would all double my budget for sure. The 66-67 Chargers are still pretty reasonable for b bodies. They are an acquired taste for sure but I am a sucker for fastbacks.
 
qkcuda said:
I appreciate all the responses. The “what car would you like to own before they take your licence away” especially hit home. This would have to be a straight swap money wise. The question is would I be better off to sell the car complete to buy something else, or try and piecemeal out the drivetrain and build another?
Click to expand...
Yep, that's me too. I am 64 and I hope I have some life left but maybe only 10 years or so. I hope to be banging gears into my 80's but who can predict that. LOL Cruise on Mopar brother!
 
They are an acquired taste for sure, but make sure it has all of its bright work and special trim, and that these items are in good condition as they can be hard to track down. I have seen some repop trim items and lenses for the 66-67 charger at PG Classic, but they ain't cheap.

dittos for the EL dash along with radio and shifter indicator. Make sure it all works. I read up that people are making modern plug n play solid state inverter/step up transformers to run the EL panel backlighting, and pointer lighting. About $100 U.S.

From what I understand they only made about 30,000 of em in 1966, and only about 16,000 of em in 67. At 52-53 years old these cars are already rare.

The 67 console is more like the 68-70 B and C body console since the 67 came with a regular fold down rear bench seat. The 66 came as a full length console and 4 buckets only. It's full length console is a 1 year deal, charger only so make sure it ain't broke. They repop the 67-70 console since it was used in many more cars over a 4 year period.

The frames firewall, floor pans, and structural sheetmetal in the most common places are the same as any B body from the same time period. Door shells will interchange with 66-67 coronet and belvederes hardtop. Fenders, hood, and front bumper will interchange with 66-67 coronet. Vent wing windows and frames along with windshield will interchange from any 66-67 B body hardtop.
 
Ok, I felt the same way you do about my GTX. It was a nice car, a great cruiser, plenty of power, and I had owned it for 25 years. However, even tho I loved the car, when it came time to start restoring it because it was getting a little shabby, I was just not enthused enough about the car to spend the time and $$ on it. I decided about 2 years ago that I would start looking for a trade for a car I really wanted, a 70 Roadrunner. My dad had one when I was a kid, and it shaped our entire family into the Mopar crazy bunch that we are today. Ok, finally a spark of motivation!....

I was picky, and wanted to trade even up for a car of similar quality, a nice driver I could fix up as I drove it. Looked at 100’s of ads, far and wide, even found a trade for a similar car, but it was in Texas (I’m in Michigan) All the while, patience ruled the process, but the excitement of owning a car I really wanted was building. Fast forward to this spring and I find a car less than 8 miles away, I can trade my GTX through a 3rd party and he will buy the car and give it to me....

When the car pulled up in my driveway, I was so damn excited that I didn’t care about whether I was trading my running car for something that hadn’t been on the road since 1976. It was the car I had been searching for, and instantly sparked my enthusiasm level into places it’s not been in 25 years. I’m 55, and figure this to be my last classic endeavor. I feel that it’s the only car I want to spend my time and $$ on, but instead of just doing another complete restore, I want to go somewhere I haven’t been yet, a “preservation”. I want to change as little as possible, it is completely original and I want to make it as close to the way it left the road in 1976. My goal?? To go pick up the original owner and take him for a ride, and to pick up the nephew I got it through, and take him on that same ride. He’s seen this car since he was a kid, and never seen it move under it’s own power.

I urge you to consider your enthusiasm level for any car you trade for. Make sure you love it enough to want to make the switch, and enough to be happy working on it and keeping it throughout the next 25 years. The hobby should be a source of excitement, make sure you can be excited about whatever car you end up with, even if it’s the one you already have.

The car the day it showed up, and the way it looks so far.

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