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Freebie....... '64 Dodge 440


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Well this was unexpected......

 

Saw this on Craigslist for $1,200, was near me so I went to look it over.

 

One owner, very clean body and interior but yeah.... kinda ugly and too many doors. But still kinda cool.

 

Has a fresh rebuilt 318 "semi-hemi" aka Poly big block supposedly bored and stroked to a 360. Has over $3k in machine shop build receipts to include flywheel and clutch and a carb rebuild.

 

Guys dad loved the car and put 37 miles on it after the rebuild and passed away. Guy kept it for 7 years and the brakes leaked down and the gas tank got rusty inside. Said he can't bear to part it out, wants someone to put it back on the road.

 

I hooked up a jump box to it and put some gas in the carb and it fired right up.....sounded really good too.

 

I got smart and passed on it. He and I talked about how to find a good buyer for it and I sympathized with his desire to not sell it for parts. I wished him good luck.

 

A month later, he texts me, frustrated that he's had lots of no-shows or people just wanting the engine or parts. He says " I believe you'd do something good with it so you can have it for free."

 

Yup. Freebie. But I felt I should still give something for it. We agreed to his thought that in honor of his Grandfather's service in Korea, his Father's military service in Vietnam Nam and his service in Iraq, upon my selling the car I'd make a donation to the USO in lieu of purchasing the car.

 

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It's got a stuck left rear drum and the brake pedal goes to the floor so I'm figuring a full set of brakes, wheel cylinders and master cylinder are needed.

 

New fuel tank is about $160 and readily available on line.

 

Found a very cool set of 70's Parnelli Jones wheels with tires.......haven't pulled the trigger on them yet.

 

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Had lots of people telling me to do this to it....... 

 


 

While it'd be cool I think that'd hurt the re-sale...

 

I'm thinking of painting the area inside the trim like this as many of these were 2-tone from the factory this way and putting those Parnelli Jones wheels on it and calling it done.

 


 

I actually have a fiberglass re-pop Hemi hood scoop and a pair of air shocks that will fit it........  On the fence about the scoop.

 


 


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I'm thinking of painting the area inside the trim like this as many of these were 2-tone from the factory this way and putting those Parnelli Jones wheels on it and calling it done.

 

Agree, with the red interior that's a winner. Maybe drop it an inch also.  :cheers:

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Noticed 2 things about the car today....... 1) It was originally silver as evidenced by the trunk paint.  2) The trunk lid is rusty.  Other than some surface scaley rust in the trunk under the mat in a couple spots, this is the only "rotten" spot on the car.  Must have held some dirt and water for quite some time.  The other corner is in good shape, no idea why this corner would be so bad.

 

Guess I gotta find a trunk lid.

 


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That trunk lid rot would make me wary that the rest of the car is hiding rot...

 

The Idaho plate was only put on it in the most recent past few years as that's where the owner had moved at the time of his passing.  I was told the car was purchased in California when his father was in the military.  Then moved to a few other States, spending the majority of time in Colorado before ending up in Idaho.  The owner died 7 years ago and the car was brought back to Colorado at that time.

 

Since bringing it home on the trailer, I crawled all over and under it.  The floors are great, the pinch seams all along the rockers, lower fenders and lower rear quarters are pristine.  Body plugs are all intact with no rot around them.  There is filler in the driver's front fender where it got dented above the wheel well opening and that filler has cracked and some is falling out.  Beyond that, the trunk lid rot is very uncharacteristic of the rest of the car.  

 

This photo shows the removed gas tank.  That's the top of the tank that had been pressed up against a rubberized mat between the tank and trunk floor.  That's where I'd have expected dirt and moisture to accumulate big time.  That tank looks brand new.  The trunk is just odd where it's got rust in the two forward corners.  The driver's corner is scaly but solid.  The passenger side corner is rotten.  Just weird.  

 

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Had a 69 Road Runner in HS. 383 magnum with 440 magnum heads on it and a 780 holly double pumper on it. These cars are taking me back there. If I had known how much of a good time I was having back then I would have spent more time out of the house doing it. If you love cars that was a great time to be young and alive. To bring back an old hotrod saying your cars going to run like a raped ape. You won't believe the power behind that 440. Have fun.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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The guy I bought the wheels from had this nut & bot restored '70 Super Bee..... 440 4 speed air grabber car. Hes owned it for 38 years. For sale for a mere $65K.

 

 

Very nice! :bowdown:

 

 

And I think your car looks way better with those wheels on it.  Less grandpa, to say the least.  :yes:

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Had a 69 Road Runner in HS. 383 magnum with 440 magnum heads on it and a 780 holly double pumper on it. These cars are taking me back there. If I had known how much of a good time I was having back then I would have spent more time out of the house doing it. If you love cars that was a great time to be young and alive. To bring back an old hotrod saying your cars going to run like a raped ape. You won't believe the power behind that 440. Have fun.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

When I was in High School, My dad bought and restored a '70 GTX with the 440+6 pack and 4 speed, air grabber hood....... hemi orange like the 'Bee above.  That was a monster car to drive.  The engine was built, cammed, headers, and needed half a tank of aviation fuel mixed with premium to run right.  Had an awesome dad, when my car was down, he'd let me use the GTX.  My car was broken....... alot..... :D

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