New member and potential Dart owner

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ndp

ndp

New Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2018
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Location
Worcester, Mass.
Hey gang. Hope everyone is doing well. I'm Nick. As the title says, I might be buying a 63' Dart convertible, so I've joined up to hopefully acquire some new knowledge.

The car is to be a joint project between two friends and I. It ran when it was put away in the late eighties, and has been garaged ever since. I have some blurry pics, but it's hard to make out much. Last we heard they only wanted $100 for the car, so it seemed like a good project. We are probably going to look at the car if it's still available sometime soon. Does anyone have any specific advice on what to look for? Potential dealbreakers etc? Any info would be greatly appreciated, and I'm looking forwards to interacting with you all soon.

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There can be no deal maker with that car. It's worth 2K in parts alone if it's not totally rusted out!! But it would make a great restoration because it looks like it's all there.

treblig
 
nice. look for rust if you don't want to end up parting it out. lower quarters, rockers, everywhere from underneath.

good luck
 
Welcome to FABO. There's lots of early A bodies here and you will fit right in. It looks like the ol' girl is in pretty good shape and a great place to start. Need anything just hollar! toolmanmike
 
Was able to check out the car today.

Body is on the rough(er) side. There are several moderate dents, although nothing major is creased or damaged too badly. The rear floor panels are shot, but that's about the extent of the rust. My suspicion is that water soaked through the carpet and sat with the drain plugs still in. It seems I should be able to get new floor pans, and I'm pretty good with a MIG gun and angle grinder so I think it's manageable.

However, the engine is a true gem. It's got a 225 slant 6 (to my surprise), but get this. The owners had the entire engine and etc. replaced in 1997. When the shop wrote the ticket up, it had 106,304 miles. Checked it today - 106,324 miles. The shop was about 20 miles away. Yep. They got the entire kit replaced, drove it home, and it's been there ever since. Oil looks great, air cleaner is damn near new, etc.

If I didn't find out about the engine, I'd be on the fence. But that pretty much sells it for me. I'm going to make an offer in the coming days after consulting with my fellow partners. I'll report back once I know some more info.

Thanks for the welcomes everyone!
 
It’s a good looking prospect, and I would venture to say that you would do alright even at $1k! Welcome to fabo, glad to have you with us!
 
Hi Nick, thats a nice find, I havent seen many '63s in my travels. I remember the slant 6 as a great indestructible engine. Have fun.
Joe
 
Just my opinion....BUT I would of just paid the 100 bucks and not walk away from it. I would NOT make an offer on a $100. deal on any MOPAR in that condition, you will risk insulting and "pissing off" the seller. Even if you get it home and change your mine you will make money reselling or stripping the car. and you can use that the money to "buy up" to a better project /driver.
 
good news on the motor. but i wouldn't wait, you keep asking questions, they're going to start looking for more $$
 
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