How do you guys feel about clones?

Author Topic: How do you guys feel about clones?  (Read 130009 times)

Offline moparnut

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Re: How do you guys feel about clones?
« Reply #75 on: October 10, 2005 - 12:30:27 PM »
If I find a 318 Charger, Barracuda, Challenger, Satellite or others, it's not staying 318 no matter how rare it is, that is unless I can sell it to make enough to build a better one. Earlier this year I had a one of 138 Coronet 361 2bbl 4 speed 2 dr hdtp buckets etc etc and it wasn't going to remain a 361 for long, it ended up getting traded but my point is, it wasn't a collectable to most people, clone it, hot rod it, do whatever gets your heart pounding, it's your car, do what ever you want to it! Shame on anyone else who puts you down for whatever you do to it unless you are trying to run a scam or trying to convince others it's an original numbers matchjing whatever. I have this low production numbers 70 383 Satellite that has matching numbers on everything. It's getting the 383 parked in the barn and stroker inserted, Satellite emblems going on the shelf, chrome trim going on the shelf, gas tank getting a fuel cell, column shift getting shelfed and getting a Cheetah reverse pattern shifter, hood is going in the barn and getting a fiberglass 6pak hood, weld in frame rails, etc etc etc. All original, numbers matching getting thrashed!! LOL Just making my point, itr's mine and it's gonna be a fun Mopar to be sure! BIHYW
The 318 cars arent that diesireable or collectable.TODAY!.What about 10-20 years from now?there wont be many left and they will be,so to me changing even a small block numbers car is mopar sacrilege ,Remember when a Hemi car wasnt desireable either?Not too long ago.A buddy that is an e-body restorer last year had a nice numbers matchng 340/4 sp cuda vert,he made a hemi cuda vert clone out of it.Its a major mopar sin since he did it just to make more money on the sell of the car,I would have left it a 340 cuda vert.
70 Barracuda Gran Coupe,383-4bbl,# Match
2012 Subaru Forester
70 D100 Adventurer 383 pickup
02 F250 S'cab Powerstroke 7.3 4x4 6 speed Manual
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Offline Chryco Psycho

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Re: How do you guys feel about clones?
« Reply #76 on: October 10, 2005 - 12:55:28 PM »
personally I love clones , you can take the car to a better level with the addition of 4 wheel disc brake , imporve handling & HP etc& have a car you can actually drive without feeling guilty about putting a lot of miles on it or god forbid if it was to get damaged it is fixable without distroying the originality of the car
 Original cars have their place & shold be preserved but clones will always have value when built properly & are more fun overall

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Offline Chryco Psycho

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Re: How do you guys feel about clones?
« Reply #77 on: October 10, 2005 - 12:56:50 PM »
Awesome 71 GTX/ RR Jim  :drool:    :thumbs:

Challenger - You`ll wish You Hadn`t

Offline hotrod98

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Re: How do you guys feel about clones?
« Reply #78 on: October 10, 2005 - 01:01:45 PM »
Clones have no value?  That's strange...I've been offered big bucks for both of my clones. Back when my gran coupe was stock and unrestored, people turned their noses up at it. It was in a word...ugly. I brought it to the dealership to restore and was promptly told that I was insane. Now it's one of the best looking cars around this area, at least according to the car show judges. It wins almost every car show around. Don't think that flat hooded 318 GC would have won many shows. There's a beautiful low mileage perfect 74 318 matching numbers yellow cuda here in town and I whoop him at every show. He doesn't even bring it out anymore. He's tired of gettin thumped by a worthless clone. I hate that because I like his car.   My only problem now is my wife's whoopin me with her 73 lime clone. Go figure, my 71 getting beat by a 73. Kind of cool I think. Means we did our homework. I'll take my two clones over your original cuda any day of the week. I sold an original N96 71 hemi orange cuda to build these two cars and I'm glad that I did.

Now wait until my hemi daytona and my wife's 6-barrel superbird clone are finished. They will be nicer than any of the originals ever thought about being. Of course according to some they will be worthless. I own 12 mopars and I love them all, even my four clones.
1971 Cuda, Tor-red, Bench seat
1971 Cuda Drag Car
1973 Cuda Clone, EFI/OD Limelight
1970 Superbird (Yes, it's real) Black Ice
1971 Barracuda Sassy Grass Green (sold)
1970 Challenger RT SE 383 Plum Crazy
1969 Road Runner Hardtop
1968 Road Runner Coupe (sold)

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Offline 71GTX

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Re: How do you guys feel about clones?
« Reply #79 on: October 10, 2005 - 01:36:26 PM »
I am a firm believer in clones! I just dont believe in decieving persons about them! As a purist, I would have a rough time making my 70 383 4 speed Cuda into a Hemi car. I would much rather see someone or myself use a Barracuda or any type of base model for this type of modification to these style cars. To cut up a BS, JS, RS, RM, or whatever style car, to suit my performance desires not offered by Mopar is sacreligious, in my opinion. To that I thank Mopar for inadvertantly creating these "clones" thus allowing some of us to not carve up the original High Performance packaged cars! JMO!
69 RoadRunner (clone)
70 Cuda 383 4 speed (project) one of the first few off the line at Hamtramck with a 1017XX VIN
70 Cuda convertible 340 4 speed (project)
70 Barracuda (project)
71 GTX 440 4 speed (project)
72 Cuda 340 3 speed (project)
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Offline hotrod98

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Re: How do you guys feel about clones?
« Reply #80 on: October 10, 2005 - 01:45:23 PM »
Just remember that you can always put it back later. Just save the parts and go have fun. It's cheaper than trying to buy a real hemi car and besides, you would probably just park the other car anyway if you had a hemi to drive.
1971 Cuda, Tor-red, Bench seat
1971 Cuda Drag Car
1973 Cuda Clone, EFI/OD Limelight
1970 Superbird (Yes, it's real) Black Ice
1971 Barracuda Sassy Grass Green (sold)
1970 Challenger RT SE 383 Plum Crazy
1969 Road Runner Hardtop
1968 Road Runner Coupe (sold)

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Offline Carlwalski

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Re: How do you guys feel about clones?
« Reply #81 on: October 10, 2005 - 02:45:43 PM »


There is no way someone can confirm whether or not Clones are "more fun".
Clones have less risk of losing high values due to driving but can be driven exactly the same as a clone...more fun or not is up to the driver.
1970 Dodge Challenger R/T
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540ci Aluminium Hemi, F.A.S.T EFI
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Offline 71GTX

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Re: How do you guys feel about clones?
« Reply #82 on: October 10, 2005 - 04:58:10 PM »

Clones have less risk of losing high values due to driving but can be driven exactly the same as a clone...more fun or not is up to the driver.

AMEN NZ, AMEN!
69 RoadRunner (clone)
70 Cuda 383 4 speed (project) one of the first few off the line at Hamtramck with a 1017XX VIN
70 Cuda convertible 340 4 speed (project)
70 Barracuda (project)
71 GTX 440 4 speed (project)
72 Cuda 340 3 speed (project)
3 Harleys
95 Dodge Ram 2500 Diesel 4x4

Expensive Pee is the end result of Expensive Beer!

Offline moparnut

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Re: How do you guys feel about clones?
« Reply #83 on: October 10, 2005 - 05:23:58 PM »
I do have to add that clones are cool if a non numbers car was used in the cloning process,chucking a 340 numbers car to make a big block or hemi car is wrong to me no matter how you slice it.If the restorer has a numbers car it should be saved and purchase another car(maybe minus engine tranny)and clone that
70 Barracuda Gran Coupe,383-4bbl,# Match
2012 Subaru Forester
70 D100 Adventurer 383 pickup
02 F250 S'cab Powerstroke 7.3 4x4 6 speed Manual
06 Honda VTX1800S Spec 3

Offline hemi71

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Re: How do you guys feel about clones?
« Reply #84 on: October 10, 2005 - 06:02:32 PM »
I do have to add that clones are cool if a non numbers car was used in the cloning process,chucking a 340 numbers car to make a big block or hemi car is wrong to me no matter how you slice it.If the restorer has a numbers car it should be saved and purchase another car(maybe minus engine tranny)and clone that

I agree totally! Excellent point.But in the end, it all does come down to that if it's someone's car, it's their call what they do with it.

Offline moparnut

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Re: How do you guys feel about clones?
« Reply #85 on: October 10, 2005 - 07:28:34 PM »
I agree totally! Excellent point.But in the end, it all does come down to that if it's someone's car, it's their call what they do with it.
Agreed,If i were into verts I would definatly build hemi cuda vert clone,cause i could never buy an original(maybe I'll buy a delorean,travel back in time and buy a dozen or 2),unless the granny down the street has one in her garage and doesnt know what its worth,then i would probably sell it and buy 30 more b @ e bodies with the cash,then pay off my ranch,buy my mom a house and take a Vaca:+).And while I am a moparnut,I wont mortguage my ranch just to buy a car,i like to live under my means instead of over it,been there done that.There was a 70 challenger vert 383 plumb crazy numbers car at a local mopar show sunday for 30k,it was all there but needed to be restored,while i was drooling over it and could have bought it,It was more than i would spend on a pile of dirt,afterall thats what steel,rubber and glass really is in its basic form.If it was restored it probably would be in my shop right now.I cant see paying that much for a project,even though its Mucho desireable.And when i am called up yonder,God has a 1 of 1 Hemi cuda wating for me:)
70 Barracuda Gran Coupe,383-4bbl,# Match
2012 Subaru Forester
70 D100 Adventurer 383 pickup
02 F250 S'cab Powerstroke 7.3 4x4 6 speed Manual
06 Honda VTX1800S Spec 3

Offline OzCuda

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Re: How do you guys feel about clones?
« Reply #86 on: October 10, 2005 - 07:47:51 PM »
When I first got my Barracuda, I initially planned on keeping the 318 and restoring it to original but when I realised how much work was going to be involved in the resto and still not have the big block car I really wanted the choice became pretty easy.  My brief is to keep the car as a Barracuda but basically build it as the car could have been if the original owner had had the foresight to order with me in mind!  If it was an option that could have been ordered from factory for a 70 Barracuda then I'm pretty happy to put it on.
'70 Barracuda

Offline hotrod98

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Re: How do you guys feel about clones?
« Reply #87 on: October 10, 2005 - 10:14:01 PM »
I'm finishing up a resto on my 70 chal vert. I bought it 10 years ago in pretty rough shape. It was originally a 318 3-speed, but the original motor was long gone. It now has a brand new crate hemi sitting next to it along with a new TCI 727. If I had restored it as a 318 3-speed, I gurantee you that it would have sat in the shop. Now it's going to be driven all of the time. I can't wait to get this one finished. I love driving clones.
1971 Cuda, Tor-red, Bench seat
1971 Cuda Drag Car
1973 Cuda Clone, EFI/OD Limelight
1970 Superbird (Yes, it's real) Black Ice
1971 Barracuda Sassy Grass Green (sold)
1970 Challenger RT SE 383 Plum Crazy
1969 Road Runner Hardtop
1968 Road Runner Coupe (sold)

www.maniacmusclecars.com


Offline whitesatinmopar

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Re: How do you guys feel about clones?
« Reply #88 on: October 11, 2005 - 08:12:32 AM »
Awesome 71 GTX/ RR Jim  :drool:    :thumbs:

Thanks CP, the pic is not the best,...........it's a 72 model. I've in the past refered to the car as a clone, I guess because that was the "catch phrase"? I run her build specs through a dymo software program and it says she should put out 475 hp and 530 # torque, all I can tell you it sounds mean as hell straight out of the headers and about a three mile drive leaves you asking, "huh? wata ya say?" lol
1969 Polara 500 vert.
1970 Charger 500
1971 Dart Swinger
1972 R/R 440+6 (wanabe)
1973 Challenger

Offline hemi71

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Re: How do you guys feel about clones?
« Reply #89 on: October 11, 2005 - 03:15:36 PM »
Thanks CP, the pic is not the best,...........it's a 72 model. I've in the past refered to the car as a clone, I guess because that was the "catch phrase"? I run her build specs through a dymo software program and it says she should put out 475 hp and 530 # torque, all I can tell you it sounds mean as hell straight out of the headers and about a three mile drive leaves you asking, "huh? wata ya say?" lol

Sounds like a great car, no matter what you want to call it!

I've found the 71-2 B bodies to be the tightest old mopars, very nice driving, well built cars.