The Briggs Chevrolet Ray Allen 70 LS6convertible

[Jeff H]

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I'm not a mopar guy, but i know its harder to find the parts to correctly restore a basketcase Cuda or Challenger, etc. than an equally devastated Camaro or Chevelle. Not only are there far less available parts out there, the stuff that IS out there commands prices that some of us pay for entire cars... Chevy guys are just now starting to see the insane prices for hard to find parts...5000.00 grilles, 3000.00 bumpers, 4000.00 hoods, air cleaners, etc. The mopar camp has been bucking up for the rare stuff for years, and therefore the prices of the finished cars are higher too... There is also far less repro stuff available, so when you see a nicely restored Mopar, most of the stuff is real deal NOS stuff, not totally catalog ordered repro parts...which you can't say about alot of the restored chevys at auction.

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$2269 roofrail weatherstripping, $1300 door weatherstripping, $1200 sill plates. The Camaro IS in the neighborhood of Mopar stuff in parts costs but the final prices still lag behind. The difference is in the number of performance Camaros/Chevelles made vs the performance Mopars made and that's probaly what keeps the prices lagging behind.

[Charley Lillard]

I also wish it had been left in race trim. It can always be changed back.

[Chevy454]

That's the smartest thing I've heard all day, clill...I sincerely wish *more* cars would stay in as raced condition...if I were buyng, it would be worth a premium to me...

[ANDY M]

Chrysler only made about a third of the Cuda, Challenger and other model cars compared to the Camaro and Chevelle, and nobody ever boasted about their Mopar never rusting. They were built by the worst assembly standards, where the quality was supposed to be inspected in, not engineered into the build.
I spent over a year filling vending machines in Detroit,including Dodge Main, Caddilac, Ford Wayne assembly, and other parts plants, and I can tell you that if you got a Mopar that ran, you were lucky, but it was still going to rust.
There was a reason why Chrysler was #3.
This is the real reason why Mopars are expensive. If you don't build as many cars, and the ones you do build fall apart and rust out so they don't last, the best you can hope for is a barn find. JMHO

[Late BrakeU2]

[ QUOTE ]
They were built by the worst assembly standards, where the quality was supposed to be inspected in, not engineered into the build.


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And still holds true today.I really dig the whole SRT series,but as far as fit and finish,it's crap.People complain about GM interiors,I can't imagine a more spartan and cheap looking cockpit than on early 70's Mopars.

Hemis are awesome cars,but will always remind me of the Revell model of one I built as a kid,about the same degree of thought went in to the trim and detail.I can look at a classic Mopar for ten minutes and appreciate it,but on a GM car it would be an hour just because I enjoy the styling and detail on production items.

[Salvatore]

WOW Andy you are right! My buddy is doing a lift-off-hood Dodge. Man is that expensive. Way to much money to do all that work. Those cars were really poorly made and it shows. Just got to keep drilling out spot welds. I guess when all the chevys were taken everybody else had no choice but to go to Mopar. They always ran pretty good (Mopars) but body, finish and assembly....

[Mr70]

Lets not bash those bodies..they did make for a roomy Taxi cab.

[Canucklehead]

Brings up a good question. What would you rather have a 70 ls6 ragtop that spent most of it's life being thrashed at the race track or a garage kept all original, both have the same low milage on it. Which one would be worth more and why?.

[Stuart Adams]

If truly all original including paint, solid paperwork, low miles, etc. Hands down the original for me.

[SS427]

At this point in time, EITHER ONE!!! However to be serious I would personally rather have the ex-race car just to set it apart from the others. The race cars are going up dramatically in value and the stock ones are already there. There are very few ex-race car converts out there so I think this car will likely set a presence and be worth considerably more. jmo
Rick