US car scene in Thailand

[moparstyle]

A short story about the US car scene where i live (Thailand).

US cars in general is not a common sight. Mopars are rare with to my knowledge 8-10 known E-bodies in the country.
The average US car enthusiast is a hard working guy with a very limited budget for a restoration. Importing parts from US is totally out of his league.
Therefore they often turn to the local market for parts and that means Nippon stuff. Have seen some scary examples of cars with nice body and paintwork but with an interior from a Nissan and a 6 cyl Toyota diesel under the hood.
When i bought my GC, it had no engine / trans but the documentation showed that the last engine was a 4 cyl 1600 CC Mitsubishi. Must have been a rocket!

Anyway, last weekend a friend called and said he found a restored -70 Challenger R/T for sale.
Got the contact info and made an appointment. Not that i wanted to buy it but i felt a social responsibility of maybe spreading the word among the local expat community (kind of getting the car in good hands, save a Mopar).

This morning i saw it and 20 feet away it looked very good. C code car but now with a V8 (K-member and rear axle still 6 cyl stuff).
Plenty of rust bubbles under the vinyl top, 2 big bondo cracks on the roof, moldings attached with rusty sheet metal screws, trunk floor a big chunk of bondo etc, you know how it goes...
Popped the hood and there was a SB V8 but surely not a Mopar. Seller says Chevy 350 with a matching 3 speed auto trans.... Well, well...

My point with this story is.... yes, the selling price...
This is a very rare car over here and i am not saying that the locals are idiots who dont know how to restore cars. The job was done to the best of the owners ability and knowledge and as anywhere else in the world, you can get cheated.
So, here it comes, his asking price is equal to the handsome sum of 82500 US.  And the thing is that he WILL eventually have it sold to that price.

Before you guys start to send your cars over here, note that IF you get an import permit (impossible to get), there is an import tax of 335 % on top of all.

Anyway, had a nice morning chatting Mopars with the owner!

[brads70]

Interesting, thanks for posting. At least it has a V-8 in it I guess.... 

[69ChargerRT]

its a good looking car, definitely rough around the edges a bit, but im sure it turns some heads in Thailand.  I have heard of the outrageous import taxes in southeast asia for American cars, and this ones price tag certainly reflects that!

[Katfish]

Very interesting, hard to argue with the price and availability of the SBC parts.

[67vertman]

Thanks for enlightening us on the Import car scene in Thailand.  335% import tax. 

The car looks nice, love the color and wheels....as for the Chevy? like you said they had to do what they had to to make the car a driver.

Good luck with your car! and keep us informed on your build. 

[moparstyle]

As you are saying, the owner had a choice to make, the chebbie engine or some Jap crap.

During my years here, i have never seen a Mopar engine for sale. Except, a body shop owner who has a 383 with matching 4 speed manual trans out of a -68 RR. Been on him for 5 years now trying to buy it but not for sale.
Last time i saw it, it sat in a -62 Thunderbird...

 

[Katfish]

Those guys are true Hot Rodders, mix and matching brands.
You have to respect the effort, many cars here in the U.S. have been scraped for lack of a lot less parts.

[70&09 Challenger RT]

I was stationed in Thailand 1974-75 at Udonthani....Udorn RTAFB. Everything was extremely cheap back in those days. I guess some things have changed.

[BIGSHCLUNK]

Those guys are true Hot Rodders, mix and matching brands.
You have to respect the effort, many cars here in the U.S. have been scraped for lack of a lot less parts.

[roadman5312]

                          X2

[moparstyle]

70&09 Challenger RT:
anything locally produced is still quite cheap. Doing a car resto, this is the place to be. Bodyworks, paint, interiors, chrome etc, the cost is a fraction of what i would pay back home. Here we kind of "chrome for fun"....

I really admire these guys skills, handicraft and imagination. 
As my body guy says, "nothing is too rusty for Thailand". When i did the body works on my GC, they where working on a -53 Chevy in the bay next to mine. The whole front clip on that car was hand made with the rusted out remains as a template. Done just with hammers and dollies and a lot of patience.

English wheel, whats that...?  No offence, Brad and Bart....

[67vertman]

Hey Moparstyle, what part of Thailand are you from? I have a couple of friends that came from Thailand and still have family over there.

[moparstyle]

Hey Moparstyle, what part of Thailand are you from? I have a couple of friends that came from Thailand and still have family over there.

I am not one of the locals, ran away from the sh---y weather in Sweden 18 years ago.
I live in a small beach town called Bangsaen, 1 hour drive southeast from Bangkok. 

[tommyg29]

335% tariff!!!
Thats exactly the kind of thing Trump is referring to about everyone else ripping us off. We cant sell our manufactured goods in most other countries over there. Its not a level playing field.
Try to sell a Ford or Chrysler in China. Similar deal