Best VS. Worse

[Marty73]

So today I got mowing the lawn (BTW - we're still alive in SC/NC - Hanna was over rated). Sitting in the garage and having a cold frosty beverage whilst staring at my 73 Chally in all it's primered and rusty glory. A question came to mind

What is the best suprise and worst suprise of your resto?

Mine

Best  - pulling up the trunk mat and expecting to find swiss cheese, but finding a very solid trunk pan

Second best - not to suck up - but finding this forum, only been on a month or so and have already had sooooooo much help

Second worst - discovering that two repop front fenders will cost about 1300$ (plus shipping of course)

worst - finding out that both front fenders are shot (both had some very "artful" body work done sometime in the past)

Just curious what others thave come across in the past

[GoodysGotaCuda]

I'm sure I will have plenty of surprises when I tear mine apart...however I am expecting the worse in a few areas, therefore not to be too disappointed!

[422STROKER]

Best:solid floors and frame
Worst:need a headliner

BTW contact Mopardave for fenders

Tom

[VTMopar]

      

Hey Nephew!  Welcome Aboard!   

There will be many ups and downs -- but once you get that baby running -- most will be forgotten!

 

Vermont MOPAR 

[71chally416]

The best was finding that the vibration I only noticed doing over 60mph on the way home after buying the car (and not on the test drive) was just that the previous owner didn't put the c-clips on the rear U-joint. It disappeared after I put some on.

The worst was finding about a gallon of bondo in the middle of the left rear quarter panel from a previous side-swipe. 

[NoMope Greg]

Worst: Finding rust in the lower right corner of the rear window - and in a few other places.  It can wait for repair, but it bugs me knowing that I allowed it to happen by leaving the car sitting outside for years uncovered.

Best:  Finding this site.  Even if I had to sell my car, I'd still hang out here.

[Marty73]

Thank Unc! Good to be here!

[cudadave72]

The best part of owning my Cuda is the great power it has and all the attention it gets when I drive it.

The worst part is that I know I have several suprises in store for me when I go to restoring it in the upcoming years.

[DAYTONA]

...when I first started messing with MOPARS, no one talked about "Matching Numbers"....the first time I heard about them, I immediately went to the garage to check my cars....luckily, both were correct

...can't think of a worst

pix...my first two collector MOPARS (1985?), the little pinhead is "Back N Black"

[duodec]

These are all from when the Challenger was my daily driver.

Worst: the beer truck driver delivering to a bar next to my job forgot to set his brake and left it in neutral, and it rolled back into the Challenger, hit it at an angle and turned it 45 degrees.  Smacked the right front fender,, right front of the hood, and tweaked the bumper.  Then the hood top got dented by some high school twit who jumped up on the hood yelling 'oh my God did you see that!'.  Thanks a lot.

Fortunately their insurance covered a replacement hood and fender (never bought the bumber, darn it), but I just stored them and spent the repair money on other parts.  After all it wasn't that bad.

Second worst: a week later my brother didn't look when backing up and took out the grille, which had miraculously survived the beer truck with nothing but a few paint scuffs.  Some of the insurance money bought a new grille (still available then) which I also still have in the box.

Best: such as it is.  The car is a Cali-Nevada all its life and had very little rust.  While disassembling the front sheet metal, I found out the right fender was bondo-city; the thing weighs noticeably more than the left fender! Thats probably why the car was repainted white over the original green.  Almost nothing anywhere else.  And I just happen to have a brand new right front fender : )

[JayBee]

From the first resto/repairs in 1980/81.

WORST: Threw away a rectangular piece of sheet metal which I thought the previous owner put there as a rust repair. Found out later it was the fender tag.

Best: The body shop got me a pair of NOS '70 fenders for $300.00 each. They're still on the car and bondo free.

[wally426ci]

Best: roof was completely perfect, could have left the original vinyl top 

Worst: Having to pull the Vinyl Top b/c the previous owner dented the H3LL out of it with his fists. 

Best: Finding my Current car while restoring my 74, an A78 optioned '71!!!! 

Worst: having to sell the 74 in order to keep this one. Could have had 2!! 

[moparmaniac59]

BEST:I guess that would be discovering that I had purchased my Challenger from the original family that had owned it since new. (Don't know why the seller never mentioned it)

WORST:The worst (1983) would be one month after I just had a complete custom paint job on my '73 'Cuda, a young kid pulls out in front of me. It would have been a total loss had I not had receipts for everything. I got it fixed, but it was never the same and had previously never been wrecked.


                                                       Matt B.

[IMNCARN82]

Good thread.

So far...

Best: Simply having it.I've wanted one since I was 4.

Worst: Wanting to rip it apart constantly,Make it nicer. I have a problem...A Mopar problem.

[back n black]

Worst:  Selling a Plum Crazy T/A challenger that my father had given to me.   The car had always been promissed to me, but I was never really old enough to be trusted to drive it.  When I was about 21 or so, my Dad finally let me drive it a bit and I was starting to feel like the real owner for a change. Later that fall, someone contacted my father wanting to buy the car.  Thinking the money would come in handy as I prepared to venture out on my own, my father persuaded me to sell the car.  I didn't really feel like it was my choice, but I was getting the money for the car so I really couldn't argue.  I have regretted selling the car ever since. 

The Best:  I took the money from the T/A and immediately lost the bulk of it on Tech stocks.  The girl I had been dating at the time was more devastated then I, as she was already planning our marriage, although I had never asked her.  I sometimes think that I may have gotten married to her, had I not lost the money so quickly.  So we split a year or so after, and I ended up with a new girl.   I married the new girl and often look at the challenger money as the best money I ever lost.