Part restored Charger value?

[Matt74]

Just needing some opinions on what the approximate value of my Charger might be as it stands!

68 Charger R/T
Rolling shell restored by me to rock solid condition,
New Floor pans
New Trunk Floor
New Trunk Extensions
New Filler Panel
New rear quarters
New Tail Panel and Valance.

All other patches I have let in correctly (not over lapped) and ground back flush. You would be very hard pushed to see the repairs and no filler has been used yet so you can see exactly what you are getting!

I think the engine is original but not 100% sure but that needs a rebuild.
I bought a very good 440 from Morgan and that would be included in the price if I do sell the car.

It has the 727 torqflite that came with it and another that I bought from a member here several years ago that was rebuilt by Blue but has not been used since the rebuild.

Interior in black all there but needs redoing.

Front wings are '69 so need modifying to accept the '68 marker lights.

Fibre glass bonnet (needs work)

Duncan found the car in the UK for me. Fender tag didn't come with it, the owner had it apparently but unfortunately I've not been able to track him down so that'll knock a few grand off!

Lights and grill are there but the front light buckets need repairing.

There are no side lights!

I could and possibly will get the car back on the road minus the paint but at the moment I'm in a very bad way mentally and cannot face it.

I also have a MK2 Cortina and can't face working on that either so if things don't improve that'll be the first car to go!

I can't upload photos but as I said it's a rock solid shell so hopefully that's enough to go on!

I'm not going to rush into selling just yet I just want to work out what my options are. I'm considering selling up and moving and hopefully get the mortgage paid off in the process.

I hope that no one feels I'm wasting time but I'm just trying to figure things out and want to be realistic about it!

Like I said I'm struggling at the moment. I think I have post traumatic stress and I really hope it will pass but I'm not sure if it ever does!
Fingers crossed it will improve. I am trying!

[Matt74]

Forgot to say a spot welder was used where possible to try and keep looking factory!

[Matt74]

Double post

[Pete]

Firstly, and more importantly, I am sorry that you find yourself in a bad place at the moment - there really is a lot of this at present, you are most certainly not alone.

In terms of the Charger, they are making very strong money at the moment; I am constantly surprised at how buoyant the market is for them.

You would have no problem selling the vehicle and for good money, but the challenge you will face is then trying to get one at a later date if the current trend persists.

[Matt74]

Firstly, and more importantly, I am sorry that you find yourself in a bad place at the moment - there really is a lot of this at present, you are most certainly not alone.

In terms of the Charger, they are making very strong money at the moment; I am constantly surprised at how buoyant the market is for them.

You would have no problem selling the vehicle and for good money, but the challenge you will face is then trying to get one at a later date if the current trend persists.

Thank you Pete for the kind words. Like many I've had a lot on my plate these past few years and there was an incident recently that was the final straw.
Long story short I went to help someone who was slumped behind the wheel of a vehicle and who I believed to be in need of medical help and possibly CPR.

Turns out they were drunk and on a bit of a crime spree and passed out while theiving from the car!

After I woke him he got aggressive towards me. It turned into quite an ordeal and I've been struggling to process what had happened and what I could have done differently.

Luckily it was being filmed and I actually handled things much better than I thought I had. Funny how the memory works but I was thinking I should have been much more forceful in protecting myself but after watching the video I feel I got it just right.

I did leave myself vulnerable though while on the phone to the call handler as that distracted me. If the aggression had turned to violence or he had a knife things could have been a lot different so lesson learned there.

For anyone reading this please remember that just in case you find yourself in a similar situation. Keep your eye on the aggressor and at arms length at all times if you can't get away from them!
Also always use an open hand to push them away if they invade your personal space. Don't make a fist no matter how much you want to as that will be seen as intent.

I just learned this today from a colleague. I have no training in self defense what so ever apart from that!

Anyway apologies for going way off topic!

You are right Pete that once I let the Charger go I probably won't be able to afford another one so I will weigh up all the variables and if I can afford to move and live a quieter and more relaxed lifestyle without selling the Charger I will definitely do that!

Thanks again!

[Pete]

You have to be so careful these days.

One of the people at work was walking home from work recently and got attacked by a complete stranger and then his accomplice waded in.
They were armed with knives.

He managed to knock them both out and then called the Police.

Amazingly, this is the second time this has happened to him.
He was attacked many years ago by two people with knives and it was the same outcome, but he got badly cut in that incident.

He is struggling to process that the same thing could happen to the same guy twice when he was minding his own business...

It is a very strange and sometimes unforgiving world.....

[Matt74]

You have to be so careful these days.

One of the people at work was walking home from work recently and got attacked by a complete stranger and then his accomplice waded in.
They were armed with knives.

He managed to knock them both out and then called the Police.

Amazingly, this is the second time this has happened to him.
He was attacked many years ago by two people with knives and it was the same outcome, but he got badly cut in that incident.

He is struggling to process that the same thing could happen to the same guy twice when he was minding his own business...

It is a very strange and sometimes unforgiving world.....

Wow that truly is shocking!
Your colleague obviously has his wits about him and he must be very quick thinking to defend himself against two assailants.
He has my absolute respect and I think he should be very proud of himself indeed!

[morgan]

Sorry to read this one - what a story. No shame in any of it - not surprised you are feeling PTSD ish.
For what its worth I think you'd be surprised just how many people are struggling in some way or another under the surface, behind the scenes.

Secondly, as Pete says, yeah, everyone loves a Charger BUT if you let it go, its getting harder and harder to get back on the ladder. Unless you desperately need the cash, lock it up, put it away and just let things settle. It isnt going down, money worthless in the bank - inflation is killing it all. It may as well sit there in 60's metal. Bet it will outperform your bank account.

Sending positive mopar vibes. "This too shall pass"

Morgan.

PS - I'll have first refusal on the engine ! But I'd rather you used it...

[Matt74]

Thanks Morgan for the kind words!

Had a bad day today but feeling a bit better now.
I'm putting my son's MK2 Scirocco back together at the moment after bringing it back from the dead and it's slow going as it's hard to concentrate.

If it wasn't for this car I probably wouldn't have been as close to the edge mentally as I have been and I like to think I may have dealt with the recent events differently. I haven't been thinking clearly for a while and what occurred outside my house probably couldn't have happened at a worse time.

I used to do a serious amount of weight training years ago and if I hadn't let that slip he may of thought twice about behaving the way he did and just left. But there you go!

Back to things Charger related I do feel bad when I've got your old engine and your new one isn't all that you had hoped it would be!

It must go well though when on the open road and you can put it through its paces!

Thanks again Morgan

Matt.

[Steve]

Sorry to hear all of this Matt and I hope you feel better soon. Get professional help if you need it as they will help you to put things in perspective and into context.

I know its off thread but a VERY important conversation.

From what you are saying, your intentions were very good and you showed compassion and humility in a situation that many would just walkaway from, hoping someone with your morals comes along to deal with.

This situation and the way you feel isn't your doing and it isn't your fault. Its their fault and the unseen consequences that good people suffer at the hands of this type of person are devastating.

Don't over analyse your actions as hindsight is a wonderful thing. Most of us do the right thing at the time when faced with a stressful situation. Yeah, we may do things differently in future, but at the time, you made a decision, under extreme pressure, and are thankfully here telling the tale. There is no 'right or wrong' as you are the person there, at the time, dealing with it.

I wont go into detail but I have been in many situations like this and calmness and clarity of thought, mixed with an understanding of threat / spacial awareness / the rules of reasonable force and justifying your actions at a later date, dont come easily to most people who arent regularly exposed to this type of interaction. You did very well!

On the car front, its a piece of metal. It happens to be an expensive piece of metal that could be the key to unlocking a future that will make you happier. I know what I would do (and have done). Sell up, move on, be happy and if you end up with some spare cash, get a nice 'less expensive but just as much fun' Mopar. I am biased but for a quarter of what your Charger is worth, you will get a really nice, big block, 2 door (or 4 if you dare to be different) 60s or early 70s C body that will turn as many heads and is as much fun to drive as any Charger (except Autofetishes one).

Stay positive Matt, get help if you need it and if you can, put this behind you and just see it as the catalyst for the next step in your life. Mortgage free, living a quiet life, blasting round in a cool C body without a care in the World!!

Very best wishes, Steve

[Steve]

Around £8k would get you something like this....440 / 727, low miles and easy to import. Almost exactly the same mechanicals as a Charger, just cheaper and not as common. Stick some nice original Mopar 'Road wheels' on it or some Magnum 500s (though I love original) and it would be a great car to have fun in before Greta kills us all.

I am biased for C bodies, but just trying to illustrate that you can have your cake and eat it. Use your Charger to get you out of a hole and get you into a good place, and she can also keep you in a Mopar.

If you are becoming tempted, dont worry, Pete will be along soon to get you back on the boring 'same old same old' muscle car path (kidding Pete, you have exceptional taste in Mopars ).

Cheers Steve

[Matt74]

Thank you so much Steve.
Some very wise words there that are very helpful to me!
I kept telling myself to stay calm and perhaps I was too calm.
But if I had been more aggressive and tried to make him leave he may have gone from threatening to violent.

I tried my hardest to keep him at bay without aggrevating him and there is nothing I did that can be seen as provacation, I was very careful at that!

I know some would have hit him but you absolutely cannot do that ( unless you are being attacked I guess ) and I was aware how badly things can end with one punch.

Although very tall he was very drunk. It was very easy to push him away. Pathetically so and I think this was either an act because he was trying to make it appear that I was using excessive force or really was so drunk he wasn't aware I was pushing him until I had if that makes sense!

I think I'm starting to get my head around what happened and your right this is entirely his fault.

I did make some mistakes such as taking my eye off him when I phoned for the police so I've learned some lessons.

I think I'd be better prepared if faced with a similar situation again so I guess there is a positive in all of this!

I have a telephone appointment with victim support tomorrow but I already feel a bit better as I'm starting to look at what I did right rather than what I did wrong!

I'm also going to take some self defense lessons soon. There is a place not too far from me that teach Ju Jitsu for adults. They teach you how to avoid some situations, how to diffuse a situation and then how to defend yourself.

I'm not into that sort of thing at all but I guess it will at least provide me with some basic skills I need to protect myself and others!

As for the C body Steve I'm not sure what it is although it is nice. I could Google it but that would be cheating so I will guess it's Chrysler 300?

Thanks again Steve!

[Steve]

Im absolutely no expert at all Matt and am sure some classes etc will at least give you an appreciation of situational awareness etc. The instructors will spend
time on threat perception, quickly assessing options, reasonable force etc etc and will give you knowledge and a bit of confidence to stay safe.

It takes a long time to get beyond this as until reactions become 'muscle memory' then running away will be your best option by far (and usually is anyway). The bit you need to be as prepared for as you can be is that rare situation where you are trapped, cant run away and need to protect yourself. Thankfully, those situations are extremely rare and, beyond a basic hands up, fighting stance, almost not worth preparing for (in my opinion). That is often enough to put most would be tipsy Saturday night idiots off as you will look like you know what you are doing , even if you dont.

Incidentally, while I admire anyone with martial arts skills etc (I have zero beyond very basic self preservation) the guys and girls who I believe can deal with most situations in a level headed manner and use decisive physical force if absolutely neccesary are boxers. Even a reasonably well trained boxer can 'defuse' a situation one way or another, in seconds.

Anyway, sure you will recover well, take positives away and come out of this absolutely fine. Its a real shame you have had to go through it and it could just be your prompt to do some things that you want to do in your life. Good luck Matt.

The car is a 1969 Chrysler New Yorker. A real chunk of American car in my book and great value for money if you drop onto a nice one.

Wondering if a few pics of your Charger would help with a rough valuation by the owners and experts on here?

Cheers Steve

[Matt74]

Thanks Steve,

The reasonable force is where I was very unsure of my rights.

After the situation it was obvious to me that of course you can shove somebody back if they are in your personal space in a threatening manner and although I did push him I didn't do it enough.

He would stay close, less than arms length and I didn't push him back until he moved in again. I would then effortlessly push him back which didn't make sense really and he would protest at this, put his arms up in the air and then move back in claiming he was allowed to be in my face but I wasn't allowed to push him.
It really was bizarre.

I know I would have used more force if I needed to but I was sure he was goading me!

Anyway I think I'm beginning to make sense of it now and I feel that I'm beginning to recover from.

[Steve]

An all round awful situation to have to deal with Matt. Reasonable force is very subjective. Its all about your honest perception of threat level at the time and it sounds like you did just enough to deal with the situation and no more than necessary.....perfect. Drunk people are notoriously difficult to deal with as they tend to do stupid things that they wouldnt dream of doing when sober.

Glad you are feeling better and good luck with all your future plans, whatever they may be. Maybe we will bump into each other as you have decided to move to Scotland and buy a C body!