1970 DODGE CHALLENGER T/A 340 SIX PACK, 4-SPEED, SOLD NEW AT MR. NORM'S

[KZ]

https://www.mecum.com/lot-detail/CH1015-224578/0/1970-Dodge-Challenger-T/A/4-Speed/?utm_source=emv&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CH1015-ChicagoMuscle

[anlauto]

Not a lot of heavy hitter Mopars there.....and three T/A's at the same sale won't help this one sell at all

[JH27N0B]

That's one of my T/A's twins, 1 of 4 identical consecutively VIN'ed FE5 T/As that were sold at Mr Norms.  Mine was the first of that group, that car is the 3rd, and the 4th still exists but I haven't seen it.  Supposed to be in Georgia somewhere.
Barry saw the paperwork for the 2nd but it hasn't ever turned up last I heard.
It is from my area, so I've seen it many times.  Paint has seen better days and I believe there was some touch up work done like maybe a 1/4 panel redone.  But no rust and good runner etc. 
I go to that auction every year, planning to be there Friday, and I've not been impressed with the level of bidding there.  No money in the room!  I doubt it will hit reserve but time will tell.  I hope it stays in the area because I have been looking forward to reuniting these two cars when my restoration is complete.

[JH27N0B]

I searched and found the thread I posted 8 years ago when I first came across that T/A that is at Mecum this week.
http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?topic=36194.0
 

[anlauto]

It's funny reading that old thread...so many names I don't recognize...Where are they today ?

So getting back to the Mecum T/A....What do you think it's worth as it sits ?

Is yours fully restored going to be worth more or does the survivor status of this car increase the value ?

Just interested in your thoughts because you own the identical car.

[JH27N0B]

Like Barry, I remember when he left here over some dispute with the site owners about their accepting ads or sponsors to generate revenue to support the site or something like that IIRC.    He's been MIA over at Moparts recently too.
Maybe time to start his own posting board where he can set the rules and policies to his liking.
I've been there for over 10 years and here almost as long, and although there are things I don't like or agree with from time to time,  I don't get my panties in too much of a bunch about anything on these sites. 
Whatever!
There was a FY1 Mr Norms 4 speed T/A at this auction last year that was one of the few cars I was impressed with the results.  Lot of WTH were they thinking restoration errors on the car yet it still brought 80K or maybe it was 85K there.  BC/CC including CC over the stripes was the biggest flaw I thought, some colors just don't look good at all on our vintage rides in 2 stage including yellow, and red like my car, but not the end of the world, but clear coating over stripes just looks horrible IMHO.  Had wheel well trim, spoiler painted gloss black, lots of odds and ends wrong under the hood.  It was featured in Muscle Car Review, on the cover even.  But still, big money for a far from perfect car.
So hard to say on a value. That survivor B3 T/A from Wellborns collection brought 185K at Mecum in January.  But it had really nice paint, I've seen it in person.
Right guy might bid over 100K for Jim's car at Mecum this week?  That's my educated guess.
Mine when done (#'s, 4 speed, Mr Norms, mostly NOS parts and restored original parts, single stage paint and NOS stripes so it looks right, and done by a highly rated shop (though I wasn't happy with getting treated like an a-hole and sent to the poor house with padded bills by them, so I am not planning on giving that shop credit when I display or maybe eventually sell that car). I'm thinking it would be worth 100-135K right now.  Of course, I think my 71 V code Challenger is worth 80K -ish and most everyone seems to think I'm in the right ballpark, but no one is interested in buying it, so my T/A done might be worth over 100K but that doesn't mean anyone would buy it.

[JH27N0B]

Here are pictures of that car and many others at the auction today.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/111914442@N04/albums/72157659601002126

[brads70]

Here are pictures of that car and many others at the auction today.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/111914442@N04/albums/72157659601002126

Cool stuff, someday I'd like to attend one of these!   ( with a car hauler and a winning lottery ticket!  )

[JH27N0B]

I've been attending the Mecum auction that is in the Chicago area for years.  That is where I bought my '71 5 years ago.  The FJ5 Challenger convertible in my pictures displayed on the stage is a real R code.  It is on display as a preview for their Kissemmee auction in January.  I'm trying to talk myself into taking a little winter break trip down there as they have a group of cars including that one from the Brent Torino collection I want to see, many of which are real hemi convertibles!! Mecum will have that Challenger and a hemi cuda vert from that group at MCACN next month.
The panther pink T/A at the auction in my pictures is the one from the BF Goodrich posters and banner a few years back.  The orange one was real nice too.
All 3 T/As run today, I'll be logging into Mecums site this evening to see if any sold and what they sold for if they did!

[anlauto]

Although the three T/A's are different enough, I think having three nice similar cars at any auction together hurts the chances for everybody to maximise the bids

[JH27N0B]

What I've observed is that you never know what's going to happen at these auctions.  All it takes is 2 guys with money to run a car high.  At the Kissimmee auction in January, one T/A sold for $55K, while another sold for $185K.  Today you may have 2 guys really into FM3 and excited about the pink T/As poster heritage who will bid that car over $100K while the other 2 cars don't go anywhere.  We shall see.
I was surprised to see the TX9 U code automatic cuda sell for mid 70s.  There was a nice EK2 U code automatic Challenger that sold yesterday for mid 40s.  U code auto E bodies can be tough sells but somebody apparently really likes black cudas! I'd have preferred the Challenger myself.
The auction is 5 miles from me and I debated listing my 71, but it's $1000-1500 to list a car there, and that along with the time commitment and being wary of the games that the auction houses play kept me away.

[blown motor]

  U code auto E bodies can be tough sells but somebody apparently really likes black cudas!

$C comes to mind. 

[JH27N0B]

Well, the only T/A that sold today was the orange one.  It went for 80K plus buyers premium.  My twin Mr Norms T/A bid to 75K reserve not met, and the pink one bid to 65K and they were indicating the reserve was 75K.
The orange one was the one I thought would get the least amount of interest.  Nice looking car but over restored, lots of odds and ends wrong like wheel well trim which wasn't installed on T/As, stuff under the hood, etc.  Someone wrote a check for $86,400 for it today though!

[anlauto]

Thanks for the update; I agree that's really odd and about exactly opposite of what I would have thought would have happened.
I would have guess the pink car to be bid the highest because of colour and History....I would have guessed it to be a "reserve not met" at $80K or so....The owner thinking it was worth $100K

I'm surprised the Mr. Norm car was a "no sale" at $75K because I personally don't think it's worth that much as is....I think the owners greed played a big part in the no sale...he should have taken the money and ran.

Seeing the orange car sell for $80K is just a shocker to me....

Just goes to show you the unpredictability of auctions and like yourself, why I will never take the gamble

[JH27N0B]

Seeing the Mr Norms T/A again yesterday reminded me of its flaws.  The top of the passenger fender looked like acid rain had hit it!  And looking in the trunk, the filler neck was painted red.  The car definitely has had some work done on it over the years, and not high quality work.  Exciting well documented car, but at the end of the day, it really is going to need to be restored.
I wouldn't be too quick to judge the owner based on its final bid price.  One of the tricks these auction houses play is to shill bid cars to near their reserve, hoping a guy wants the car and will bid higher than the shill bid and hit the reserve.  So the reserve on the T/A might well have been $76,000, he might have been willing to drop the reserve at $70,000, but they shilled it to $75,000 and so it didn't sell.  I don't have any insight into this particular auction, but I do know of people that have had this happen to them when they had cars in auctions, therefore I know it happens.