Why is a dodge orth so much?

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nabob_blaster

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As the title emplies.Why is a dodge worth so much?I mean a few years ago you could buy a valiant,Duster,demon,or any of the other a bodies for scrap prices.What gives?I'm a chevy fan wanting to dabble in the mopars but the cost is almost too great.I mean to build a dodge up to the power of my G body GM it would cost three times as much.Sure I love the mopars but I guess so does the rest.But why so much?
 
Parts ! You can buy an entire Camaro from YearOne. Plenty of aftermarket for chevys and fords.
There are mopar parts that are extremely rare an very expensive.
 
He he he, also, people are waking up to not only the parts, but the fact that scrape Cuda's can bring in $3000 grand while an entire running, working car alibit in need of some work, can be had when you look at an A body. Make it a hard to find more desirable one like a Demon/ early Duster, the prices start to creep up.

Thats also one good reason I picked up a '74 Duster. I looked at worse condition Dusters that the owner wanted more for because of the earlier year. Thhhhphhhh on that. I'll take the '74 and give it the treatment and maybe some fiberglass for weight issues.
 
good call but how is a low income person like my self supposed to get in the game I mean dang I've got 3000 in a car I have and it'll run 12s (I'm guessing here)that's car and drive train
 
I think truly the best way to get in the game is to simply start in modesty. (SP?)

MoPar has many good parts. Some are as expensive as others, some are cheaper. They used to give "TIPS" in there catolog for "Bracket racers" to help them perform at a level they were looking to achieve.

A few examples of "On the cheap builds" can be found here. And researching others drive trains and suspensions for helpful hints on how they do it will lesson the expense pain.

Example;

A MoPar converter is a inexpensive unit that does what it says it will do. You can pay 3 or 4 times the amount for a Dynamic converter. The difference will be apparent in 2 ways. Performance and your wallet. You need to decided on whats best for you and what you can afford.

Sometimes bitting the bullet on certain parts is worth the expense, sometimes not.

Then theres other parts that will require money and thats the bottom line. Paying for a good set of heads and to have them ported well, not just well ported, for the task at hand is a fee hard to get around. But nothing works like well preped pro handled parts.

At one point, sooner or later, these parts are needed to run the time. You'll go as fast as your wallet sez you can and thats that or you'll wait until the wallet sez OK.
 
that's all good but I just want to build a car for my dad he had a 70 model duster and I just want to give him the car when finished
 
I also think that some other good cars to look into are the no brainer but less desireable cars. Late B bodies;

Magnum
Cordoba
Sports Fury/Fury
Charger

and FMJ's;

Apen
Volare
5th aves
Diplomats (I like the '79 ish units alot)
Imperials
Mirada


These cars are actuall excellent platforms to get into the game. There biggest problem is certain parts for body, suspension or the minor pain of fitting older parts onto it for performance useage.

An example would be a rear end and the ISO rubbers that cause fits with the less inovative of part modification.

Shunning of less desireable parts like an 8-1/4 or 9-1/4 because the 8-3/4 is the desirded part to have. If I had it my way, it would be a new disk brake DANA and a 4 link in my Duster. However, that $2500+ (Probably, if not more) expense aint gonna happen. It's an 8-1/4 that I got for $200 till it breaks.

The worth of these cars are low like there desireablity. Nice lookers can be had for cheap. All the old speed tricks will work, but may require alittle welding of a spring pearch or other mod.

You can absoultely pick up a nicer looking Aspen for less money or for the same money, get one with less work required.
 
Now thats a good son. I hope mine turns out the same. It may be some time for that one to turn up, he's only 5. LOL
 
nabob_blaster said:
that's all good but I just want to build a car for my dad he had a 70 model duster and I just want to give him the car when finished
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A body prices have been driven up mostly due to the fact that they aren't as expensive to build as E or B body cars. I remember whan you couldn't give a 74 duster away & look what they are worth now. I't a long discussion with many different opinions & I sure don;t have the time to discuss it. Long story short, it's tough for a guy on a budget to get started as the solid $1000 cars are tough to come buy nowadays. I come across them accasionally but I also spend more time than I should looking for stuff (in the wife's opinion anyway) lol.
 
You've also probably just came across the best site for information & finding a deal here & there. You may want to check out bibgblockdart.com jsut for the technical data available. Too bad selling sin;t still allowed on that site.
 
nabob_blaster said:
As the title emplies.Why is a dodge worth so much?I mean a few years ago you could buy a valiant,Duster,demon,or any of the other a bodies for scrap prices.What gives?I'm a chevy fan wanting to dabble in the mopars but the cost is almost too great.I mean to build a dodge up to the power of my G body GM it would cost three times as much.Sure I love the mopars but I guess so does the rest.But why so much?
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What kind of power is your g-body GM making? Sure there is more Wal-Mart speed parts for the GM ranks. To me , this has been an advantage for the Mopar guys. I have been around alot of Gm guys with mis-matched combos that don't perform as they should. There is a lot of used, out of date parts out there for the GM guys, it can get confusing. The Mopar fans are starting to see this a little, as our brand gets more popular. This GM costing less than other brands, I don't really buy this. As the OEM engines are drying up, the aftermarket has filled in to take up the slack for all brands. Alot of brand X guys are useing aftermarket blocks, cranks, rods, & heads, as most of the brand X OEM stuff isn't very durable. My Mopar is as fast or faster than alot of brand X, at half the cost. Mopar Performace did a comparison of the 350 chevy & 360 Mopar, the 360 made more power at a lesser cost than the chevy. If you are just getting into Mopars, start with getting a set of their Performace Manuals. This is how I self taught myself. Now the cost of our Mopar cars are high, thats due to supply & demand. Mopar built some great Perf cars, but it seems now that everyone thinks if its a Mopar its worth a ton. You can still get some decent prices on the A-bodys, but hurry.
 
nabob_blaster said:
As the title emplies.Why is a dodge worth so much?I mean a few years ago you could buy a valiant,Duster,demon,or any of the other a bodies for scrap prices.What gives?I'm a chevy fan wanting to dabble in the mopars but the cost is almost too great.I mean to build a dodge up to the power of my G body GM it would cost three times as much.Sure I love the mopars but I guess so does the rest.But why so much?
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it can be done just wait it out i picked up my 71 demon with a pile of parts for $1600, it is a /6 auto but a nice v8 drivetrain can be had for $1400 that puts you at $3000. this is close to chevy, and ford.

look at novas, camaros, chevelles, and mustangs thay are up there as well. i remeber when i picked up a 93 mustang gt for $1800 now 4 or 5 times that for the same car.

you will pay more for lets say a 70 340 4 speed duster, but look at a nova with factory 4 speed and thay will be close, look at a /6 car to start and make it what you want it to be.
 
FOX Body Mustangs ('79-'93) can be had running 9's and 10's in the quarter for under 15G's turnkey all day long. This isn't a gutted out drag car, these are nice street cars. I sold a legit 10 second street car for 6G's, it needed some body work and the interior finished, but it was a solid running car.

I am by trait a Ford guy, but really could care less of the brand, I'm just a "muscle car" guy I guess. I tend to agree that the price of the Mopar stuff is a little steeper than that of the other two domestic brands. I knew that going into it though, and just suck it up.

I just wanted to get this in before the oh so biased opinions of "Because brand whatever sucks" really starts flying, because I just cringe at that ignorant statement.
 
thats the point i was getting to as an owner of 3 mopar's 2 chevy's and a ford i like cars and trucks in general just pointing out that it is all on its way up, mopar is at the top price wise but 15-16k a nice abody can be had.
my father had me into chevys at a young age and am a newbe to mopar.
picked up the demon for 1600 the 70 #340 duster for 2500 to me thats not that bad by the time i get them finished that will be a different story. i say buy what you like if you enjoy it then its wort it. just do what you can when you can.

i look threw the auto trader all the time and it still blows me away that cars i picked up for 500 a few years ago now 2500.

by the way one of my chevys is an 88 iroc yet im still a big fan of fox body mustangs. i like them all for what thay are.
 
If you are asking why the engines cost more, I think Larry Shepard's Engiine Manual explains it better than I can.
Actually, Mopar engines cost less in the long run based on reliability and power for dollars.
If you are asking why the CARS cost "so much", I'm sure there are several reasons.
Hype being at the top of the list. (Think Barrett Jackson and GG)
Another thing is that those that own "the cars" either don't want or don't to have sell them for less than they are asking for them.
(Simple)

But I think (think) one of the main reasons is fairly obvious.
Stay with me here.
This is a site that I go to for laughs on hyped ads.
Please note that this one dealer has no less that 14 (fourteen) Mopars for listed for sale on his own site.
And how many dealers are like this out there?
http://www.cars-on-line.com/27921.html

If that isn't "cornering the market" I don't know what is.

The cars are being held hostage.
Yes, I blame dealers for the prices.
I say "blame".
Maybe that isn't the right word?
Quite possibly some think high prices are a good thing.
Good for the hobby?
You be the judge.
But I will tell you that I have told dealers to take a flying when they have tried to buy cars from me for less than I was asking just so they could make money.
And that was when nice 340 Challengers were going for 7K.
I know. I was there. It was pleasant.
 
If you are talking about your Lemans, I would say by your motor build you are mid to low 14's at best. Before I was a Mopar guy I was a Buick guy but also had my share of Chevs. I had a '69 Camaro that had a similar build to yours and it ran mid 14's. As far as the $ thing, I watch all kinds of venues for all types of cars just in case I can find a "buy" on something. Recently I have not found a "G" body GM car for less than $1500. There is right now a '70 Dart on ebay in my area for $1400 so there are Mopars available.

I aquired my '72 Duster through a trade, dollar value to me was $1300 so Mopars can be found for a reasonable deal, but you can't be in a hurry, you have to be patient and if you want an exact type or year car you have to be even more patient. It's all a matter of time and money. If you don't have much money then you have to spend more time looking for the best deal. If you have lots of money then time is of no issue and you spend what you want now.

I am in my Duster very reasonable because I was patient and waited for the right deal to come along. The 318 in my Duster came from a guy that was cleaning out his dad's storage unit. It is a rebuilt 318 with receipts totaling $900 just in parts and I got it for $100. Patience, patience, patience.

As for building a Mopar to run low 14's with $2500 including the car I could do quite easily. A very mild 360 in an a-body will run those numbers.


Chuck
 
Why are Dodges worth so much? Mystique....

Dodges and Mopars for that reason are the forbidden fruit. I come from history of Bow Tie lovers. I had a 69 Camaro and 72 Chevelle before I turned into a Mopar fanatic. All you need to do is read about the Hemi, the 6-Pack's, the Chargers, Roadrunners, Wedge's and the S/S Darts and 'Cuda's. Add in a few good Woodward Ave. stories about the Silver Bullet eating up the streets of Detroit and your hooked! Mystique...

GM and Ford cant compare to that. They have COPO's and Shelby's but the mystique factor doesnt compare. When you see an LS-6 Chevelle roll down the road on cruise night, you say "That's a cool car..." When you see a 6-Pack SuperBee or Hemi Charger roll down the road on cruise night, you say "That car is just flat out Bad A$$..."

At least I do...and for good reason I think.
 
nabob_blaster said:
that's all good but I just want to build a car for my dad he had a 70 model duster and I just want to give him the car when finished
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Be thankful your dad didnt have a '70 model Cuda or Challenger!! $$$$$ I think its great what your doing for your dad--Good luck :goodman:
 
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