1971 340 Demon - 12k orig miles kept in damp garage - what to do first?
 

Guys - I have found a one owner, '71 340 Demon that's still owned by the original owner. It's a 4-spd, man steering, manual drum brake car. It's showing 12,300 original miles, has the original paint, tires, belts, hoses, etc. The car was driven from the day it was picked up until 1973 when it was parked (no winters). The owner started a business, raised a family, and before you know it 40 years have gone by and he now wants to sell it - he's in his 70's.

Cool right? I want this car and I'm trying to come up with a number for him.

Unfortunately the car was parked in a damp Vermont garage, has rust pimples all over the undercarriage and engine bay, the car has not been run in 30+ years. The brake pedal is ROCK hard, the shifter seems to work correctly moving in and out of the gears. I opened the vents and it was stuffed with insulation telling me this was a mice condo in the past. The gas was never drained, and the oil is as old as my daughter that's just given us our first grandson (she's in her mid 30's).

The paint, body and interior is in real nice shape other than some mildew. I'm thinking of just getting it to be safe to driver (recondition the paint, do over the brakes, new re-pop tires, belts & hoses, carb rebuild, new tank, fuel pump and lines, possible engine re-seal, and some light paint work in the engine bay - not sure what all that would cost. But I'm likely to out source most of it due to my work travel.

I need to come up with a number that would work for both the seller and me. I do not intend to sell it, but would enjoy showing the car and telling its story...

Oh and by the way - it's a Mr. Norm's GSS 340-6pk Demon. I'll try and upload pics later today....

That's quite an "oh, by the way...." there Dave :biggthumpup:

Looking forward to the pics. And I'll throw a number out there....$15K....right now it's a pig in a poke.

Unbelievably cool Dave !!!

Wow!!!!!

I like it!! The pictures are much better than when I read your description.

If there are original Mr. Norm docs, $20,000 is not out of the question

Seriously ? Oh By the Way HaHa , Killer Car for sure !!!!

That is AWESOME. My buddy had a '71 Demon 340 Six Pack in Hemi orange with the tartan interior that was way cool. Did a ton of work to it including building the 340, repainting it, etc., and sold it just before it was put on the road. Always wanted to see it run, and now I have a soft spot for the '71/'72 Demons. Congrats on the purchase, and looking forward to seeing how this goes. Looks like a great start!

Wow.
It even has its original heater hoses.
Larry may have the Grand Spaulding folder on this car.
The air filter element is going to be a PITA to find....some modify a K&N to fit.
I like that car! I have 4 G-S Dodge cars....but not a GSS Demon. Cool stuff.

I've been talking to Larry about the car - sent in my $50 to have them start digging - waiting to hear back now.

That thing's cool! What a great find and, though not of the barn variety, would suit the MCAN display nicely (do they let ya add dust?).

Wow, what a time capsule!! I was expecting way worse from the description. What a killer car!!

Great - Hope he has a full jacket on it!

Well Larry came through - he verified that the car was a real GSS and that the current owner is the original owner, and the one that picked up the car in 1971. He's sending me the docs from Grand Spaulding Dodge - very cool.

That is sweet. One of the cars that are on the very top of my wish list. I hope you get it. They are a blast to drive and damn fast.

That is a killer car, and like the others I thought it was going to be much worse based on the description. Don't let that one get away. I like the $20K number for sure. I would be prepared to juice that a little if he starts to waiver and shop your offer.

Just saw this. WAY cool. Keep working it and I hope you both come to a mutual agreement. Then..................get this thing to MCACN barn finds (don't touch a thing)!!!!!!!!!

The first several things sound good, though I'd keep the original parts. But new tank, lines, engine apart, underhood paint are taking away for the originality of the car.
I'd be careful on outsourcing it. They could hose the originality vs conserving the car.

Very cool!
Did he start the conversation saying "Well, today is your lucky day". ;)
Hopefully it's a full jacket file - but anything he has will be valuable, for sure.

Inglewood Pos-A-Traction rear tires, are you kidding me??? Can't even remember the last time I saw any of them! Awesome find, Dave, and after seeing the pics I would up my initial $15K guesstimate.

I say 25K is a good number for both. I like it. Clean it up real good and run it. Not a bad car.

way better shape then your description. Its pretty darn nice Dave!

I think you are crazy for even posting anything about it until it is in your garage. but wow that is one cool car.

This is a great car. I sent you a pm.

Oh well, the car(s) went to someone else who offered a number a LOT higher than the number I offered. That's game I guess - the seller told me that I'd have the car if my number was in a certain range (which it was), then they tell me that they sold it to someone else who offered more...

Beer is good and people are crazy...

Yep, been there done that. Greed again! Really sorry to hear you did not get the car and hopefully it was not someone who read the post on here and went after it behind your back. Handshakes mean nothing today sadly. I would have LOVED to have had this car but did not go after it because it sounded like it was locked up with you. Such a neat car and precisely why we did not go public with our Yenko acquisition until it was home and in the shop. I lost an LS6 convertible to people just like this.

In the future, keep it to yourself till you get it in your garage, then post all you want about the car. It probably was someone from this site or someone who visited. Sorry to hear the bad news.

Man!! I am sorry to hear that but have also been burned in a similar situation and will never disclose anything until the car is in my garage. I know that's not exactly constructive feedback at the moment, but I'm amazed at the lengths some people will go to.

I do think that car would have pulled a good bit more on the open market than the estimates provided in this post.

The numbers that were thrown around seemed really low. I thought I was missing something, with how low they were?

$62,700....

https://www.mecum.com/lots/FL0118-31...dge-demon-gss/

Now sell them the G-S paperwork ;)

Original owner, 12k miles, original paint, day 2 parts from GS. I would take the untouched time capsule, 100% of the time.

And it could just be a local person that knew about the car. I was kinda interested in a local clone car, came up with a number in the mid-20's, realistic value. Sold for $40K with many people after it in the 30's.
Local markets are different than national. Sometimes they won't pay up for things, other times they overpay.

Any idea who got the Demon and what their plans are?

Heard it was a local guy that they were dealing with before me, rumor has it it went for somewhere around 60-70k with the Chrysler... haven't heard anything about it since.