years later, the center carb began to leak (I just had that happen to mine in 2019) so the car was parked, then forgotten, and it stayed under wraps for about 30 years
One smart young guy with a lawn mowing business, and a very canny style, never mentioned the car until AFTER he got the business of the AAR's owner, mowed the lawn several times, then brought up cars in his family, and through some sweet talking and zero pressure, the AAR's owner, who had bought it new, offered to sell it to the young guy, because he realized he was never going to fix it up... and rust was slowly killing the car.
I haven't seen a car taken this far down in a long time
not long after this, the young guy found another AAR
Truly a labour of love.Special cars deserve special care.
ReplyDeleteWhat is it with Mopars? We used to trash them when they were new and just get another one. Fast out of the factory, but low quality and not very durable. Too much plastic even back in the early seventies. One quick way to double the value of a Chrysler product was to fill it with gas. Now they sell for millions. You know what they say about a fool and his money.
ReplyDeleteI can't see how you're talking about Mopars specifically, and not muscle cars in general, or even, just cars in general.
DeleteNone of them cost all that much back in the day, now, the few that are still in running condition cost a lot more than it seems to me they ought to, but, they were all low quality, not very durable, had too much plastic in the seventies, and could have the value doubled by filling the tank.
Mustangs, VWs, there were millions of them. They old for less than 500 bucks in the 70s and 80s. All day, every day.
Camaros? Rusted away faster than most, and Pontiacs seemed to get into tree trouble a hell of a lot. Buicks and Olds weren't a big deal, etc.
But Mopars? They had cooler looking designs. They weren't stodgy and boring. Most Fords were a bit less exciting looking.
Plus, they were damn easy to work on and replace anything that could use an upgrade.
Look how beetles and VW mini busses got for ridiculous money now... a restored 23 window rarely sells for less than 100k
I get doing the work. Craftsmanship and all that. But paying literally millions of dollars for a '71 Cuda convertible hemi? The greater fool theory in action. There should be a law that whenever someone buys one of these things at auction, there should be a crawl at the bottom of the screen informing us what he did to get so rich.
Deletewell, you specified "He" did to get so rich, as we all know, women don't care about cars like guys do, and so I'll reply to that. What "he" did to get rich enough to buy the 71 Hemi Cuda Convertibles, is run - very successfully, the Barret Jackson auction company, and push the tv auction craze to it's current ridiculous level of nuts. Craig Jackson owned 3 of the 71 Hemi Cuda Convertibles at the same time I think, if my memory is any good, and had quite the collection of investment grade cars for others to drool over.
DeleteDepending on the year, and what he's bought and sold, he's probably the guy you're referring to.
But, maybe instead of inferring that rich people are a nefarious, maybe, and I could be wrong, as I'm broke, but have a 69 R/T trak pack Coronet, you might look through some of the info on the guys buying the 71 Cudas, and see how many are simply successful at running a business.
Why do they buy the muscle cars? Investment and 20% returns on just flipping them at auction. Not many gangsters, drug dealers, etc are buying or appreciating these.
and Scott Drake builds and auctions off cars to raise money for a women's shelter. https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/11/pay-it-forward-in-real-life-scott-drake.html
DeleteWho drools over these things? Teenage boys? Old white guys looking to relive their youth? You buy the car you couldn't afford when you were a kid. Somebody drops 600K on a 'rare' numbers matching Vette, that's a spare wad of cash. Extra money. Who else has extra money like that? If you work FOR him, he's not paying you enough cuz you can't afford that. If you buy FROM him, he's charging you too much. Too many of those pricks to mention. I just want to know what they did to amass so much extra money. Tell me and I'll direct my spending elsewhere. I'll stop now.
ReplyDeleteWell, I already told you about Craig Jackson, who made a fortune running an auction company that sells rare old cars.
DeleteNow you either ignored that, or insist I become the data base of rich people and how they got that way. If you don't know how Jeff Bezos became the richest person ever, then you aren't listening to news and pop culture.
The sultan of Brunei has one of the largest car collection on the planet. He happens to be the dictator in charge of a country on the island of Borneo, and sells bird shit as fertilizer, because migrating birds have been crapping on his country for millions of years. Ergo, he was the richest guy on the planet for a long time.
Howard Hughes was a genius, an engineer, inventor, and movie maker. He was the richest guy on the planet for a while, and had a hell of a car collection.
So, "who has extra money like that" ? Seriously, the list is endless. Most company owners, most boardmembers of corporations, and if you're ready to stop buying from Amazon as you've just promised to, then we have a deal. I've just upheld my end of your proposal. Now it's your turn.
I suspect you might be the first misandrist I've come across, per your comment "Who drools over these things? Teenage boys? Old white guys"
Summed up, yes, males drool over cars. Women don't seem to care much about them, certainly not a 1/10th as much as most men.
Conversely, men don't give a damn about jewels, shoes, or marriage.
Women don't seem to care about welding, machining, diesel engine repair, or playing football.
Men don't seem work in HR, hotel room cleaning, veterinarian's offices, or as receptionists
I think that sums up some differences between men and women.
Goals, infatuations, and mindsets are very different, and right here on my blog I can verify that somewhere close to 95 percent of the audience are men, because firetrucks, tanks, and WW2 stories don't seem to appeal to women. I wish that it was more like 50/50, because that would mean there would be a likelihood of a woman thinking that what I do, and know, and am focused on, is appealing and respectable.
But I'm just a car guy, and there aren't many women who feel like that is a great occupation. The few women who are into cars, aren't into old stuff like I post about, and are looking for a boyfriend or husband that makes a six figure income, and takes them on a lot of vacations. Example, Supercar Blondie, an Australian from Brisbane (been there, great city) married a banker.
oh, and the point of getting past poverty level income, is to afford the things you want, not NEED, and one of the things most guys WANT, is a cool car, truck, atv, or motorbike. Things that bring adventure, speed, and driving pleasure
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ReplyDeleteHow does someone paying a lot of money to buy the car that they want hurt you personally? It sounds like you're not in the market for one of these old Mopars, anyway, so who cares if they spend that much money? Is it just jealousy? It doesn't seem that you are complaining about this making the cars too expensive for the common guy, just that it's foolish to pay that much. Who cares if they are wasting their money, that you believe they got from taking advantage of others?
If there are customers out there willing to pay big money for these rare old musclecars, it creates demand for others to restore them, so they don't just rust away. It also creates jobs for the people doing the restorations, making parts for them and selling the cars.
And regarding the green AAR Cuda in Jesse's post, the buyer agreed that he wouldn't flip the car after restoring it, so the only money involved here is what he paid the original owner and what he's paying to restore the car. This young man is restoring the cars that he likes because he wants to see them run again. Good for him!
very good points, thank you Marc!
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