A good example of buying a 70 Duster done rather than building one

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honestly, i don't know if some of the FABO guys offering negative comments here about the noted Duster are completely removed from reality as far as what it currently costs to buy and restore old A-body mopars OR if there are just a lot of "angry, negative people" on FABO. and i REALLY don't give one crap about the within Duster or whether owner ever sells it. i'm going to post the following information for the benefit of you YOUNGER guys out there and the guys that who want to get into the mopar muscle car hobby. for you FABO readers who are angry, negative people with nothing but bad things to say about cars that aren't "museum quality restorations", you all can just ignore this post.

i now have 6 Barracuda's - one that i completely restored and two that i am working on this winter. i have 2600 hours of time in the finished car as well as a lot of "materials" and some parts. the other two cars i'm doing i am still buying parts and will soon be buying paint and bodywork materials. i have looked at the within green Duster and have identified all the major parts of this car if you were building it along with prices for those parts that should be VERY close to current prices as some of the stuff i have priced for the two cars i'm working on. here is an "accurate" list of the parts this car has and the price it would cost to acquire those parts.

two hood scoops: $400.00
4 cragar mag wheels: $500.00
complete 340 motor: $2500.00
833 4 speed trans: $800.00
aluminum radiator: $250.00
rear deck "wing": $400.00
new dash bezel: $700.00
dash bezel gage lens: $225.00
repro tachometer: $200.00
Tuff steering wheel: $250.00
Seat covers: $450.00
headrests: $400.00

Total parts on car: $7075.00

paint and materials

2 gallons of paint: $800.00
primer, sandpaper,
glaze, bondo, thinner,
tape, etc. $600.00

labor: 40 hrs. at $75.00/hr. $3000.00

Total bodywork/paint: $4400.00


cost of a "decent" 70 Duster
that does not need major metal
work and/or replacement $10,000 (?)


Total "estimated" cost of "replicating" the green Duster featured in this post: $21,475.00

Now, my above parts list should be very accurate because i have priced a number of these very same parts recently. a person "might" be able to save a little money if they could find used parts, but if you bought new, these prices are pretty close. it would not hurt to assume a $1000.00 range up or down for all the parts noted. the paint and bodywork estimate is a very rough estimate. in most places in the U.S. you can probably still get bodywork done for $75.00/hr. in other places, bodywork is $100 or even $125/hr. paint can be anywhere from $200.00/gallon to $1000/gallon if you buy "factory mixed" PPG OEM paint. the $4400.00 noted here should just be used as an "estimated cost."

GOOD LUCK finding a 1970 Duster that is good enough to build without major metal and rust repair. however, you "probably" "could" find a decent Duster for $10,000. if you add all these reasonable estimates up, you end up with some $21,470.00 dollars.

SOOOO.... if you could buy this guy's Duster for something less than $20k, it would probably be worth considering assuming that the 340 ran OK; the 4 speed shifted OK; the body WAS NOT full of "rust and bondo." as i've noted above for all you guys that haven't been buying these cars or parts or paint for at least 10 years, building the same Duster as advertised will cost MORE than $20k. but it is true - if you built it yourself, you could do "everything" right. but then, if you could buy the listed Duster for $18k - you could probably just fix the problems that car has in about 1/3rd the amount of time it would take to build one.
 
^^^ People want perfect and rarely will they pay for perfect, unless that car was send it to a high $ shop and the owner paid $60-90 an hour. All receipts in hand. Want all the trim and glass out, everything. Want a pro built drive train? Want to buy a "done" car for pennies on the dollar/ We all love bargains!!!! You better be willing to pay some $$$, most people hate selling and losing a lot of $ on their "hobby".
Righty Tighty ^^ said he did not get exactly what he thought he was getting, maybe he was shorted, maybe he expected more for his purchase $ that was maybe realistic, but I am glad to see he is happy and loving the hobby!
Definition: Fair market value. True for anything. What an item will sell for IF properly advertised for its highest and best use, for an adequate length of time. A willing and informed buyer and a knowledge and honest seller.
I totally agree that the buyer should be willing, but most importantly, INFORMED. I was naive when I bought the car, that's all on me. I think if I asked the right questions, the seller would've been pretty straight with me. Heck, he's the one who told me about FABO. I certainly wasn't expecting perfect for pennies on the dollar, I was just saying that the more I learn, the more I realize I paid too much.
 
An example of jimharvard's point of view:
Marketplace 245962350528385/?ref=product_details&referral_code=undefined
1973 Plymouth duster
$17,975
Vehicles
Listed 2 weeks ago in Elk City, OK
Driven 94,211 miles
Automatic transmission
Exterior color: Orange · Interior color: Black
Fuel type: Gasoline
This vehicle is paid off
Fun car. Put new exhaust system and fuel tank on last week Runs and drives great. For more info message me. Thanks Carl
632920_o.jpg?_nc_cat=107&ccb=3&_nc_sid=843cd7&_nc_ohc=5HRRqvQAGW8AX8o9TMV&_nc_ht=scontent-den4-1.jpg


-FKgGATIMAjPmH3TpndWnjzAse1mWobl2sFw3fisnkNb7R8kp21Gy5trI6_gfdscvhyPkk-f0&_nc_ht=scontent-den4-1.jpg
 
LOL! you are SO right SGBarracuda!! i've owned and run a body shop and still do my own work and paint and i would NEVER attempt to assess the condition of a car from just a picture! you MUST see a car in person to determine its actual condition. could this car have hidden rust and a lot of bondo? sure. but can you tell that from the pictures of the car? ABSOLUTELY NOT and anyone who thinks they can is simply NOT a "bodyman." LOL!

but, you can see all the bubbling under the paint from the pictures, can’t you?
 
Integrety should be the foundation of life we should seek. Seller should be just as fast to tell the not perfect to the buyer as the good. Then let the buyer make his bed to lie in.
I have been asked how I arrive at my selling price? I just say it is worth that much to me personally. If I was buying it I would pay that much.
 
but, you can see all the bubbling under the paint from the pictures, can’t you?


cosgig... yes, bubbling on paint means that there is rust or bondo that has absorbed water. however, you can't tell from looking at this kind of surface feature to what extent the underlying metal is damaged. pin holes in metal will create the same kind of bubbles if you put bondo over the holes then paint over that. so even though you might see bubbles, you cannot tell if the repair will be a relatively small area that can have a small metal patch welded on or if a much larger portion of body panel will have to be replaced. ALL cars older than 10 years will start to show some rust on the body. and a 52 year old Barracuda, Dart or Duster CERTAINLY will have rust on the body somewhere. the big difference is - is the rust a small area easy to repair or is the repair going to require a body panel remove and replace. THAT'S why you can't make assessments about this green Duster or ANY car just by looking at pictures. don't believe me, talk to a body man who does rust repair on a regular basis.
 
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