Buying my first MOPAR...

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MIKEonMOPAR

NEVER FORGET THE 343
Joined
Oct 21, 2011
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Location
Florida
Hey everyone, I just put my $500 deposit on a 72' Challenger. Needless to say, I'm excited to go pick it up. I'm new to all of this and just wanted to know what I should look for on the car before I give the guy all $15,000.
I found the car on ebay. Its a 1972 Challenger and the vin the seller told me says its originally a 340 rallye. He states that it now has a "midly built" later model 360 in it. The car has a fairly recent paint job and the interrior looks great. He said it has 52,000 original miles and is rust free.
The car is located in Ohio and I'll be flying from Florida to go buy it and put it on a car transporter.
What should I be looking for on the car?
I dont have any motorhead friends to take with me and I just dont know enought yet to feel 100% confident.
Any and all help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks Alot and look forward to alot more posts in the future.
 
Welcome aboard! Post the vin and fendertag, someone on here will decode it for you. Im not well versed on challys, other than mee likey! Chk to make sure vin on dash matches vin on rad support and trunk rail and f-tag. Post pics if you can
 
MIKEonMOPAR said:
Hey everyone, I just put my $500 deposit on a 72' Challenger. Needless to say, I'm excited to go pick it up. I'm new to all of this and just wanted to know what I should look for on the car before I give the guy all $15,000.
I found the car on ebay. Its a 1972 Challenger and the vin the seller told me says its originally a 340 rallye. He states that it now has a "midly built" later model 360 in it. The car has a fairly recent paint job and the interrior looks great. He said it has 52,000 original miles and is rust free.
The car is located in Ohio and I'll be flying from Florida to go buy it and put it on a car transporter.
What should I be looking for on the car?
I dont have any motorhead friends to take with me and I just dont know enought yet to feel 100% confident.
Any and all help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks Alot and look forward to alot more posts in the future.
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WeLcOmE to FABO!!!​

A 1972 Challenger is an E body car and you are more likely to find the most what to look for on www.forebodiesonly.com. You will find the friendship on this site second to none and there are some E body people on here also.
 
I have the vin and I used on online site to decode the vin. I havent actually seen the vin plate, were are the other vins located that I'll have to match up?

To CarCollecto: Your right, there really is alot of friendly advice going on all around this site. I'll go to the ebody site and check up there too.

Thanks again.
 
You aren't buying a $15,000 car on eBay without seeing it first or having someone look at it for you are you? If you win the auction, you can't look at it and decide it's not what you wanted, you have to take it. Well, you can, but eBay has rules against that. First advice - never buy anything that expensive without getting it checked out before hand. There are lots of crooks on the internet. (I know, I know - whodda thunk?) Beyond that, check the trunk and floor pans for rust. Mileage isn't that big a deal since the original motor is not there, but if it's no rust (aren't they all?) and had a good 360 and good interior and paint, $15K is a pretty good deal. Good luck and I hope it all works out well for you.
 
Mopar to ya said:
You aren't buying a $15,000 car on eBay without seeing it first or having someone look at it for you are you? If you win the auction, you can't look at it and decide it's not what you wanted, you have to take it. Well, you can, but eBay has rules against that. First advice - never buy anything that expensive without getting it checked out before hand. There are lots of crooks on the internet. (I know, I know - whodda thunk?) Beyond that, check the trunk and floor pans for rust. Mileage isn't that big a deal since the original motor is not there, but if it's no rust (aren't they all?) and had a good 360 and good interior and paint, $15K is a pretty good deal. Good luck and I hope it all works out well for you.
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x2. There are car brokers that (for a fee)will take pictures , document tags and dings scratches etc. Its good insurance, especially from that far away. I had a 72 Challenger ,you'll like it . hope it works out.
 
Thanks guys, I actually went around E-bay with the seller. I am flying up to see the car before paying the rest. The seller understands that I'll be taking a look myself before paying.
ZIGS- were do you find brokers that will do somthing like that for fee. How do they make money?
 
Well, the pics in the ebay ad aren't the best quality, and certain areas are not pictured that I would like to see. If it has 52,000 original miles on the body, you should be confirming that it has no panel repairs prior to that paint job being applied. Things like the blacked out engine and trunk and the body color paint on the door strikers indicate to me that it is a poor quality repaint and is possibly suspect to some questionable workmanship underneath.

I would look at areas inside the trunk to make sure that the qtrs. haven't been replaced, look at the floorpans under the car and check the frame, especially in the front sub. Check under the hood for signs of different body color replacement hood and fenders or front filler panels and valence, indicating possible front end damage. The VIN indicates a 1972 Challenger Rallye/ R/T, which in the book is a 72 only designation. Also indicates a 340 motor.

All in all it ain't a bad looking car, but I would be wary before spending that kind of $$ and not really knowing the body style and just winging it. You're buying with your heart, sometimes a dangerous thing!!! Good luck with your purchase, Geof
 
cosgig said:
Well, the pics in the ebay ad aren't the best quality, and certain areas are not pictured that I would like to see. If it has 52,000 original miles on the body, you should be confirming that it has no panel repairs prior to that paint job being applied. Things like the blacked out engine and trunk and the body color paint on the door strikers indicate to me that it is a poor quality repaint and is possibly suspect to some questionable workmanship underneath.

I would look at areas inside the trunk to make sure that the qtrs. haven't been replaced, look at the floorpans under the car and check the frame, especially in the front sub. Check under the hood for signs of different body color replacement hood and fenders or front filler panels and valence, indicating possible front end damage. The VIN indicates a 1972 Challenger Rallye/ R/T, which in the book is a 72 only designation. Also indicates a 340 motor.

All in all it ain't a bad looking car, but I would be wary before spending that kind of $$ and not really knowing the body style and just winging it. You're buying with your heart, sometimes a dangerous thing!!! Good luck with your purchase, Geof
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what he said
 
hope that isn't my old 72 340 stick challenger, sold mine in 95 and the guy said he was going to fix it up, never seen it after he got it done. Was a factory 340, 3 speed manual, that I put a 18 spline Hemi 4 speed in

Since it has a pistol grip shifter sticking up assume it is a factory stick car

4 speed cars had reverse light on right side of lower dash, 3 speed cars didn't

they rusted bad, mine needed both rear frame rails, left 1/4, wheel house, trunk lid, had rust in a pillars, radiator support, fire wall, floor pan

dash cracked bad and seen many with a dash cap over the factory dash pad

looks like maybe the wrong seats, wrong stripe on the side, 72 was RALLY ONLY, no RT, lazer strobe stripe coming off the plastic pieces on the front fenders. Trunk and under hood should be body color, bumpers should be chrome

Pictures do wonders, I hope it is all that the guy claims since you are traveling so far to look at it

Good Luck

I did enjoy my E bodies and would like to have another someday
 
Thanks guys , i appreciate all of your time and honest comments ? You have raised some great questions .
To wildcat: Were you from the ohio area ? That would be crazy
the seller did say that there was some small ares of bondo and that he would show me where they were .
 
The seats look to be early 70-71 as they have the metal hinge cover instead of the plastic cover that is attatched to the back panel. The stripe is no big deal as you can put any one on you want. The VIN is a 72 JS as it is the crossover from the early R/T to the rallye. As far as the radiator, could someone have put in a 26" in a 22" hole therefore the correct holes not lining up?? I would take a magnet and check all metal to make sure there is no filler. Check the wheel lip areas and see if there is any indication of a replacement panel as most replacements have a wider than stock lip and most ametures dont trim that off. The numbers that match the VIN will be on the radiator support as well as the drivers side upper cowl. Nice car but that engine compartment looks kinda shoddy as opposed to the rest of the car. good luck with it!!
 
for real ! paint and pictures can hide just about everything! you are a brave man diving in head first without inspecting and looking over everything in person! the first thing i would look for is any evidence of patch panels/rust/collision damage/ and shoddy slap together rebuilds with pieces and parts of 10 different cars semi-bolted together with some paint thrown over it ! watch out and be aware of these shisty ebay get profit quick scams off of our mopars! in my opinion!
 
MIKEonMOPAR said:
Thanks guys , i appreciate all of your time and honest comments ? You have raised some great questions .
To wildcat: Were you from the ohio area ? That would be crazy
the seller did say that there was some small ares of bondo and that he would show me where they were .
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I sold it 16 years ago to a guy in Connersville, IN which is very close to Ohio

I really should have parted it out, could have gotten more money out of it, sure hope this isn't my old car
 
Open and close all doors, trunk and hood.
Something is jacked with the hood, might just need adjustment, but for 15K why is the hood not adjusted.
Take a common magnet off the fridge, if it will not stick to body panels, you have found bondo.
With the engine compartment not painted, the car is not detailed, and something is not right.
North eastern cars are full of rust unless they are garage kept, check the frame, floor pans, trunk, and any lower areas of body panels.
Also look for any signs of rust where the shock brace is welded to the inner fender.
 
Where is the trunk seal ? it is not on the lid or the body. Engine bay is nasty lookin. That can be dressed up check it out completly [im gettin the i would not do it feelin].
 
There's a lot of picking nits here. You'll need to go over it carefully and see how much plastic there is in it.

Beyond that, 90 percent of car enthusiasts couldn't care less what is correct and non-correct about that car. They'll see orange paint and a Challenger and open their wallets.

Anyway, it didn't sell on eBay, or at least not officially because the reserve wasn't met.

Go check it out in person and if it's not a bucket and you like it, buy it. 5 years from now it'll be worth 15 percent more, watch and see.
 
Take a magnet with you and go over the body to see if it has any bondo on it. Look under the floor carpet and check for rust. Same in trunk. Don't be afraid to ask a ton of questions. If you sense something is not right take the next flight back. It will take some time but the right car will come along. Even if you have to pay a few k more. It will be worth it in the long run.
 
a friend of mine has a challenger in florida for sale, im not sure on all the details,,i know it is a roller no drive train,,,if your not happy with the one in ohio,,
 
Hey Thanks everyone, I've got to say I'm real impressed with all of the honest comments everyone has been willing to share. I think is rare to find this kind of knowledge so happly shared. Thanks everyone, I leave Thursday and ill keep you updated.
 
MIKEonMOPAR said:
Hey Thanks everyone, I've got to say I'm real impressed with all of the honest comments everyone has been willing to share. I think is rare to find this kind of knowledge so happly shared. Thanks everyone, I leave Thursday and ill keep you updated.
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thats what you get here the real deal,,great site with a ton of great people,,,some other sites not so much,,,
 
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