hey so im a first time muscle car guy, and i have an opportunity to buy a 1970 coronet 500, i was wondering if any of you could give me some info on the car, or mabye some advice

From November 1, 1977 to June 6, 1986, I owned a 1970 Dodge Coronet 500 Convertible. What do you want to know about this car?

well I havent been able to look at the car but the owner has sent me pictures, it looks like it needs paint. he says it is 99% rust free(just a little rust on the read quarter panels near the wheel), its got a 383 numbers matching, and a 727 automatic transmision(not sure if its original or not). since you've owned one i was just wondering if you could tell me about what you thought of your car. and mabye some things to look for in this car im looking at.

well I havent been able to look at the car but the owner has sent me pictures, it looks like it needs paint. he says it is 99% rust free(just a little rust on the read quarter panels near the wheel), its got a 383 numbers matching, and a 727 automatic transmision(not sure if its original or not). since you've owned one i was just wondering if you could tell me about what you thought of your car. and mabye some things to look for in this car im looking at.

"Rustfree" is a very subjective term and paint can hide a lot. I'd have somebody check the car out in person. Especially to hear the motor and to make sure the electrical system isn't FUBAR. How well equipped is the car and what does he want for it?

well we are still negotiating a price, from what i've told you what do you think would be a good deal? its got a 383 that needs work and the transmision worked when he took it out, but it is currently out of the car.

well we are still negotiating a price, from what i've told you what do you think would be a good deal? its got a 383 that needs work and the transmision worked when he took it out, but it is currently out of the car.

For a car that doesn't run and definitely has cancer, I'd offer him $1500. Keep in mind that if it has rust in the quarters, it definitely has rust elsewhere. If he acts shocked and outraged, move onto a different project. Even if he's willing to negotiate, I still wouldn't go over $2500. You're looking at $15k+ to restore it. What's the condition of the trunk and the interior? Did he give you pics of the framerails or the torsion bar crossmember? If he's unwilling to show you pics of the undercarriage, that's a big red flag in my book.

How far away is the car from you? I've seen a bunch of people get burned by buying a car long distance, with the condition being much worse than the seller stated. Look before you leap.

First of all, the seller should have given you the VIN. If he did, what is it?

If the guy claims it is "numbers matching", he had better be able to back it up. The last seven figures of the VIN are stamped on the engine block above the oil pan and on a raised pad on the transmission case. The seven figures on each must match the VIN on the dashboard to be truly "numbers matching". I would visually verify this for myself before giving up any money. The fifth figure of the VIN is the engine code. It should be "L" if a 383 2-barrel or "N" if a 383 4-barrel. If the fifth letter is anything other than L or N, he is dishonest.

Beware of buying a car sight unseen. You can get into a lot of trouble that way. And as far as I am concerned, the price goes down for each part that is removed from the car.

The 1970 Coronet is a basic, mid-sized, B-body Mopar. I fit beautifully behind the wheel and I am 6-foot, 4-inches tall. Mine was a 383 2-barrel with column-mounted A-727 and an 8-3/4 rear with 3.23 standard gears. According to the VIN, it came from the factory with a 383 4-barrel and dual exhaust. When I bought it, it had a non-numbers matching 383 2-barrel under the hood, but the dual exhaust and original transmission were still there. I drove mine to the point that I either had to start refurbishing it or sell it. Since it wasn't as fancy as my Chrysler 300's, I chose to sell it. I still have mixed fellings about having sold it, but looking back after twenty years, I think now it was a good thing. Though, I would reconsider buying it back should I ever find it for sale again.

The 1970 Coronet 500 was the "premium" model of the Coronet line. A little higher priced and classier than the Deluxe and 440 series Coronets. It shared the same taillight treatment as the Super Bee and the R/T. It came as either a 4-door sedan, 2-door hardtop or convertible. All engines were available, from 225 slant-six to 440 Magnum. The most collectible and desirable of the 1970 Coronet 500's was the convertible, with only 924 made.

If you were to rank the collectability of all 1970 Dodge Coronets, the most desireable is the R/T convertible with only 296 built. Next would be the Coronet 500 Convertible. After that is the R/T hardtop, the Super Bee, then the other 500's, the 440's and the Deluxe's. The 2-doors of each series rank higher than the 4-doors.

Good luck with all this and let us know what you find and do.

well the seller is unwilling to go below 2K, his original asking price was 5000, and 2K+ is too much money in my opinion, for a car that doesnt run and has rust and some interior work to do. thanks for your help

well the seller is unwilling to go below 2K, his original asking price was 5000, and 2K+ is too much money in my opinion, for a car that doesnt run and has rust and some interior work to do. thanks for your help

Glad to help. I'd hate to see anybody buy into somebody else's nightmare. Keep looking, you'll find a decent project.

yea thanks I appreciate it, you guys seem pretty knowledgable about these cars, so what do you think would be a good beginner car?

yea thanks I appreciate it, you guys seem pretty knowledgable about these cars, so what do you think would be a good beginner car?

It depends on what you like. Practically any car you buy and build will cost you more than it's worth. So make sure you really like the car before you buy. Then just find the most rust-free car you can find. This will save you a ton of time and money on bodywork.

I guess if I had to start over, I'd figure what I was looking for and then I'd start monitoring brand-specific bulletin boards for what I was looking for. One of the best Mopar boards is Moparts.com. They have an excellent classifieds section. Also looking local to you for project cars ensures you can examine them in person. I've been working out in the california desert this summer. It's amazing how well preserved the cars are out here.

I was recently in missouri, and i was driving along a back highway and on the side of the road I saw a lot with about 15-20 cars. I pulled off and turned around just to go check it out. It turned out that all the cars were GTOs(all different years). Have any of you guys had any luck just going up to someones house that has an old car in the back yard and asking if they want to sell it?

In my opinion, never miss an opportunity to ask someone if they are interested in selling their car. It doesn't hurt to ask. The worst they can say is "No". But they might surprise you with a "Yes". But you never know for sure until you ask. I acquired one of my cars by knocking on the front door and asking. But I knocked on a lot of doors about a lot of cars before someone actually said yes.

cool, what kind of car did you do that for?

The one car I purchased by knocking on a door, was one of my 1964 Chrysler 300-K hardtops. This happened in 1979. An aquaintence of mine saw the car parked in front of a house and told me about it. He wasn't quite sure what street it was on, but he pointed out the general area where he thought he saw it. I spent the afternoon with a couple buddies of mine, searching numerous neighborhoods in the general area where the car was suppose to be. I was told the car I was looking for was tan in color. While searching, I stumbled upon a silver 300-K hardtop and knocked on the door of that house. Well, the folks with the silver car showed it to me but they were not interested in selling. I continued the search and eventually found the tan 300-K hardtop I was looking for. I knocked on the door and the man was happy to sell. They had owned the car for six years and their 17 year old son was starting to turn it into a low rider. Unfortunately for them (but good for me and the car), they encountered a problem with the brake system where one front wheel kept locking up while driving. They had replaced the brake drum with a junk-yard replacement, but the problem persisted. They thought it was caused by a wrong-size (too small) brake drum. They got so frustrated with it, that they gave up and I just happened along at the right time. He sold me the car for $275. I had to drive it 40 plus miles home. Within the first three miles, the front wheel locked up from overheating. When another friend arrived with what we knew was a correct size brake drum, it won't go on over the shoes. We discovered that the brake drum on the car was truly the correct size and the brake shoes were somehow stuck in the pushed out position. We pulled the shoes out off the backing plate, reinstalled the drum and wheel, and I drove the car home using only the parking brake. What an experience.

I acquired another car by putting my business card on the windshield. In the spring of 1990, in the Southern California town where I lived at the time, I noticed a 1964 Chrysler Newport in immaculate condition. When I saw it parked one day, I found that it had 49,000 miles on the odometer and was in very good condition. It was missing a wheel cover and I had a replacement in my garage, so I put a note on the car telling the owner to call me. He didn't call, but I kept seeing him driving around from time to time. In the fall of 1990, I again found the car parked in a parking lot. At this point, the odometer had 55,000 miles. I waited for someone to come out. I was driving another one of my 1964 Chryslers at the time. When the man came out, I engaged him in conversation. He happily shared that he acquired the car from other family members about a year before, when the original owner, a then elderly woman, was placed in a home. While liquidating the estate, the family of the original owner tried to sell the car but got no takers. They eventually gave the car to the man I was talking to, who was the uncle of someone married to a relative of the original owner. The old man just loved the car and he didn't want to sell it. One day, in the summer of 1991, I got a telephone call from a women in town, who said I did not know her, but I had left a note on her brother's car. It turned out that the man had recently and suddenly passed away. He had lived with his sister and all the worldly possessions he left behind where clothes and effects that filled two boxes and this 1964 Chrysler. In his wallet, she found the note I had left on his car the year before and decided to call me. She brought the car by my house to have me look at it. It had 60,000 miles on the odometer now and needed a little TLC that I knew I could provide. We agreed on a price and I ended up with a 60,000 mile original car in very good condition.

One thing I have learned in life is that if something is meant to be, it will be. Decide for yourself what kind of car you really want to buy and own. Then start to look for what you want. Don't be afraid to knock on doors if you have to. If there is one out there for you, it will appear when you least expect it and more often than not, the price will be more than right. Good luck with your search.

Those are some pretty cool stories, yea i've looked at several cars so far,(1965 442, 1969 Road Runner, 1967 442) that road runner was for sale at a tiny estate auction in wyoming, I drove up there the day before and asked the auctioneer, who was getting everything in line for the next day if i could take a look at it. This car had the body work already done 20 years ago and had been stored in a machine shed next to all the owners tractors, the car had no rust whatsoever and no bondo, the engine was out of the car and needed work, and the interior was shot, but overall it would have been a really good car to start with, anyways since the auction was barely advertized and it was out in the middle of nowhere i decided to come back the next day and try my luck, hoping to get it cheap I waited around 4 hours in the sun and heat, when it finally got to the car the bidding started at 10,000 and got no bids and slowly dropped to 1,500 and then 1,000 thats when i made my bid, and the price sky rocketed from there, right when i made my bid there were around 6 others and shot up to around 7,000, which was out of my league, the car ended up selling for 11,000 but overall it was worth checking out

Pretty old thread but it brought back so many memories.
My first car was a 70 coronet I was 17, got it from a lady in Palos verdes Calif for $225.00 in 1980, She had just bought a new pinto and didn't want the "gas guzzler" anymore it was in perfect condition, what great times I had in that car, it was a boat of a car to me.
I drove it for 3 years and sold it for $400.00, and all these years later I wish I had not.
Now a chevy guy, "mopar's are so expensive to build".
I may someday go "field shopping" for an old mopar but my kids will have to growup and move out first, "kids are so expensive to build", till then I have to stick with my cheap easy GM fun.