What about this 71 Dart?? Advice?

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gdizzle

gdizzle

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Hey guys, I don't want to break any rules, but looking for honest opinions on this 71 dart.
I have a 66 dart sedan slant, that I have fixed up to be a driver. This was the first mopar old car I have ever had. I bought it 2 years ago. Intention was to have a car for my son to drive, but I just don't feel safe for him, 9in drums, steering, seats without head rest, crappy seatbelts etc...
Anyhow in the market for a slightly less old Dart, with 2 doors, and disc brakes.
Found this add on CL 1971 Dodge Dart
but has been on there for awhile which means either too much money, or ??
This is what I see, tell me what else is going on.
1971 Swinger, with slant, with dual exhaust?, a 4bbl carb?(why), heater hoses that are MIA, old tires, interior mess.
Anything else pop out? And price-wise isn't this sorta expensive for a car that will need major interior work? I am trying to ignore paint job, which appears to look really nice. I have yet to see the car in person. ok now tear into it.
 
Since he says it needs a rebuild and doesn't currently run, you might as well figure you would be buying a painted shell.
He also says it needs the rubber, so figure the windows may not even work right, and could need all new body to front and rear window rubbers along with wiper pivot seals and all.

That would be a need to see it in person car for sure.
If the body and paint were in good shape it could be worth it since paint is ridiculous these days.
You would just have to make sure all that shiny paint wasn't covering up a rotten body.
 
Lol he put the wrong tail stripe on! That goes on the earlier Darts!!!
 
My question is always, "How good are you with Mechanics and Body/Paint?" Although the paint looks OK in those pictures, I'd be willing to bet there is 100 pounds of Bondo under it. Also, "Engine rebuilt 3 years ago." We've all heard that one. At that price point, and in the absence of absolute proof, you have to assume the car is NOT rust free, the engine was NOT rebuilt 3 years ago, and that you are buying a project that, once stripped down, could be UGLY. I agree with 2000 max, IF you can do most of your own work.
 
gdizzle said:
Hey guys, I don't want to break any rules, but looking for honest opinions on this 71 dart.
I have a 66 dart sedan slant, that I have fixed up to be a driver. This was the first mopar old car I have ever had. I bought it 2 years ago. Intention was to have a car for my son to drive, but I just don't feel safe for him, 9in drums, steering, seats without head rest, crappy seatbelts etc...
Anyhow in the market for a slightly less old Dart, with 2 doors, and disc brakes.
Found this add on CL 1971 Dodge Dart
but has been on there for awhile which means either too much money, or ??
This is what I see, tell me what else is going on.
1971 Swinger, with slant, with dual exhaust?, a 4bbl carb?(why), heater hoses that are MIA, old tires, interior mess.
Anything else pop out? And price-wise isn't this sorta expensive for a car that will need major interior work? I am trying to ignore paint job, which appears to look really nice. I have yet to see the car in person. ok now tear into it.
Click to expand...


Personally unless you want another project I'd pass....especially at that price.
 
Brand new paint and relatively low price points make me nervous. If it was a show quality paint job they'd want more than that. That doesn't mean it's not a decent driver paint job, but it could also be a super cheap paint job with a bunch of shady bodywork. And telling the difference between a decent driver quality paint job and an el cheapo bondo queen is harder than telling a show quality paint job from something else. You expect some imperfections, so, when you find them it's not a deal breaker. But they you have to figure out how bad the imperfections really are, and that's harder than just finding them.

You'd absolutely have to see it in person, and scrutinize the heck out of it. It might not be a bad deal if the paint is decent quality (it's obviously not perfect). But it also might be a horrible deal because it's a bondo queen with every quick flip trick in the book just under that surface.
 
Well its a So Cali. Car, so no rust. Our cars dont rust here. BUT all of the above. Seems too much money too me.
 
Mopar Tim said:
Well its a So Cali. Car, so no rust. Our cars dont rust here. BUT all of the above. Seems too much money too me.
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That's not true about the rust. If it was on the coast it could easily have more than enough rust to make it not worthwhile. Yeah, it's not Midwest rust, but that doesn't mean there isn't enough rust to make it a bad deal. My brown '71 GT was a NorCal valley car it's entire life and it still needs a new roof skin because of a vinyl top.
 
Very first thing I'd do is contact him and see if he has "progress" photos, before, during and "after." Decent photos will tell you a LOT about what "went on." Rust, bodywork, etc
 
As always you guys are great source of knowledge. This is now the 2nd car I have posted, with the intention of buying it but you brought me down back to reality. I am curious, how do you check for the body and bondo issues? Just take a magnet and stick it around? Wouldnt people get pissed if you drag a magnet around their car?? How do you guys inspect the body on a car like this
 
gdizzle said:
As always you guys are great source of knowledge. This is now the 2nd car I have posted, with the intention of buying it but you brought me down back to reality. I am curious, how do you check for the body and bondo issues? Just take a magnet and stick it around? Wouldnt people get pissed if you drag a magnet around their car?? How do you guys inspect the body on a car like this
Click to expand...

Forget the magnet. A magnet can grab metal through as much an 1/8" of filler.

Personally, I like to look at the body scoping down the sides of each panel. Sand scratches (lazy folks will usually stop at 80 grit), bullseyes (the filler not being feathered correctly), and an unnatural wave in the sheet metal can be the better telltales.


I hate to say it, but a lot of guys won't invest in good primer fillers that will help with these things and don't block the filler or the primer right to begin with.

Personally, I wouldn't give up on the '66. The money spent on another car can upgrade most of the things you're concerned about.
 
I am thinking the price is about right, I have seen worse in my area for more $ if you can drive it home that is a plus. Usually people selling Mopars for top$ are people who aren't Mopar guys trying to make a buck. I remember when most "average" guys wouldn't give two cents for Mopars, now everybody thinks they are gold :)
 
gdizzle said:
As always you guys are great source of knowledge. This is now the 2nd car I have posted, with the intention of buying it but you brought me down back to reality. I am curious, how do you check for the body and bondo issues? Just take a magnet and stick it around? Wouldnt people get pissed if you drag a magnet around their car?? How do you guys inspect the body on a car like this
Click to expand...

ramenth said:
Forget the magnet. A magnet can grab metal through as much an 1/8" of filler.

Personally, I like to look at the body scoping down the sides of each panel. Sand scratches (lazy folks will usually stop at 80 grit), bullseyes (the filler not being feathered correctly), and an unnatural wave in the sheet metal can be the better telltales.


I hate to say it, but a lot of guys won't invest in good primer fillers that will help with these things and don't block the filler or the primer right to begin with.

Personally, I wouldn't give up on the '66. The money spent on another car can upgrade most of the things you're concerned about.
Click to expand...

Yeah the magnet trick doesn't always work. You can actually "knock" or tap lightly on the car with a knuckle, you'll hear the difference if you hit more than an 1/8" of bondo compared to paint over bare metal. And you don't have to check every inch of the car, I usually just focus on areas where I know there's problems, ie, bottoms of the quarters, fender dog leg, etc. But anything less than an 1/8" and you won't hear the difference, that will only tell you if the bondo is really thick. Any place you can see the backside of a panel is good too, like in the trunk. Take a good look at the backside of the quarter panels, and then look at the outside. If anything looks odd feel the back of the quarter, if it's anything other than flat there could be a ton of bondo. You can also look at the undercoating that was sprayed on the back of the quarters and see if it's been removed or disturbed, if it looks factory etc. If there's been a ton of bodywork it won't look stock. Look at the body lines to see if they're nice and crisp, if there's been a ton of bodywork the lines can look muddy. Same deal if they're not straight the whole length of a panel. Then some of the other stuff, sand scratches, wavy panels, lots of "orange peel" in the paint. Those are just usually indicators of a cheap/fast job, the filler doesn't have to be very thick for it to have sand scratches, and honestly a wavy panel can indicate no filler just as easily as it can indicate a bondo queen. Remember from the factory the panels on these cars weren't perfect. For example, the Duster/Demon/Dart Sport quarter panel with its concave section right behind the doors before the quarter flares out a little. That's stock, it wasn't flat there. Some of that is knowing what the car is supposed to look like and finding any differences, because differences mean work was done. Not always a bad thing, but something to pay attention to.

You have to look at all of those things and then kind of add them up. That's why evaluating a car that has a driver quality job is harder honestly. You know you're going to find stuff, it's just a matter of how much and what it means. The problem is that a car that has orange peel and some wavy panels can be hiding a ton of bondo. Or, it might not have any at all and it just got a quick scuff and shoot and didn't get a good cut and buff after the paint was applied. So, you could have a car that could actually be pretty solid and look decent with a little elbow grease, or a car that's hiding a hundred pounds of bondo that will fall off in 3 years. Or anything in between. Which is why buying a freshly painted car is so tough. If you can get any "before" or "in progress" pictures they can be very helpful. Not an end all be all, but if the car was fairly straight before it shouldn't be hiding a ton of bondo. Then again, even if it was really rough it doesn't necessarily mean the work wasn't done properly. Just more things to look for.
 
gdizzle said:
Hey guys, I don't want to break any rules, but looking for honest opinions on this 71 dart.
I have a 66 dart sedan slant, that I have fixed up to be a driver. This was the first mopar old car I have ever had. I bought it 2 years ago. Intention was to have a car for my son to drive, but I just don't feel safe for him, 9in drums, steering, seats without head rest, crappy seatbelts etc...
Anyhow in the market for a slightly less old Dart, with 2 doors, and disc brakes.
Found this add on CL 1971 Dodge Dart
but has been on there for awhile which means either too much money, or ??
This is what I see, tell me what else is going on.
1971 Swinger, with slant, with dual exhaust?, a 4bbl carb?(why), heater hoses that are MIA, old tires, interior mess.
Anything else pop out? And price-wise isn't this sorta expensive for a car that will need major interior work? I am trying to ignore paint job, which appears to look really nice. I have yet to see the car in person. ok now tear into it.
Click to expand...
Well, the back bumper is all dicked up, the bumper horns rubber is dicked up, the trunk seems to have a lot of orange peel (nice tape in the key slot) and the rattle cans on the left front inner fender give it nice touch. I'd give no more that $2K for it .
 
Hey guys, nevermind that. But what sorta $$$ is a good average cost on a 2 door dart swinger , 1970 - 72, with a slant. not show roow or show condition, just a cool driver.
 
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