My son needs some help and guidance on this subject. He has owned the Olds for six years. Rebuilt 394, rebuilt slim jim tranny, rebuilt front end, 15 yo Macco paint on rusted body, bad interior. He has his eye on the Chrysler. Not sure about the engine or which one it is, not sure about the tranny, interior is in very good condition, silver w/primer exterior on good body with a few pinholes of rust. I know nothing about the Chrysler nor does he. He needs some opionions on the trade-off. He could probably trade the Olds straight up for the Chrysler as the owner of the Chrysler wants $1800. I think the olds is worth more but I am biased. I am looking at it tommorrow with him...
Neither. The Chrysler is a two door and I like that body style, but he won't get into any of the "cool" shows because it's post-'64. I'd pull the rebuilt 394 and trans from the Olds and put into something cooler and send the rest to the crusher. Four-doors are parts cars in my opinion.
All else being equal, the 300 is worth more, and has two less doors besides. Try to get it running before any deals are made, and see if it moves in both directions. Make sure those torsion bar mounts in the subframe aren't punky as well.
The Chrysler is a 300, I didn't know if that would make any difference. The Olds is a six window hardtop, glass all over. Very cool I think. But I don't think he is interested in getting into any car shows either. I was looking for some more tangible things about maintennance, parts availability, etc. He will probably not cusomize either car, whichever he ends up with anyway. Thanks for your quick reply and opinion though, I tend to feel like you generally, moredoors are not very cool....
I have an ultra-solid rust free '64 Olds four door with nice paint that runs and drives. If I had the opportunity to trade it for a two door hardtop Chrysler 300, I'd trade, although I am kind of a Mopar guy. What model is the Olds? Mine's a 98. Pics would help.
I will try to get a pic of his Olds, it's a 98 that's loaded. Will definitely take pics of the Chrysler tommorrow. Also, the Chrysler has black leather interior, buckets, console with the tach. Would that be the 440 or the 383? And would it be the torqueflight tranny? Heathen, thanks for the info on the torsion bar mounts, you posted while I was composing my second response, I am a terrible slow typist.
Fuck that. That's gotta be the worst advise I've ever heard here. That '64 six window can be a badass road yacht. You've had it around for a while...you have to know what I mean. Dropped and shaved with factory skirts and nice wheels/tires is all it really needs. The '66 is also a sweet ass car, and can look downright nasty with the right touches. As far as being too new...well...I don't base what cars I like or own on whether or not I can take it to "the cool shows" so that holds absolutely no water with me at all. Is he ready to move on from the Olds and has found the Chrysler more to his liking? Or has he been happy with it and this happened to come along, and is tempted by the twodoorness of it? If it's just a matter of lack of experience with the Chrysler, I wouldn't worry about that...you'll figure it all out eventually. Personally I'd go with whichever were a more solid car. Olson
Every response gets another while I'm typing!! Welp, I think it is partially he has lost steam on the Olds as a resto project and was thinking that getting a different car would be a kick in the pants so to speak. He had some sweet plans for the Olds, two tone ligth blue dark blue paint scheme, lowered maybe bagged. He hadn't thought about shaving it but with the amount of rust repair it will need that would be a small addition of time and effort I'm sure. I can see his delima...........
Parts are redily available for either. The chrysler is going to be pricey to repair, just because MOPAR parts are costly. But probably not more than the olds in the long run. Sounds like he's just ready for a different ride to me. I would lean towards the Chrysler myself, but I don't give a flip about car shows and like the devil out of the 300 series Chrysler. As far as monitary value, the only 300s worth much after about '63 or 4 are the letter cars. (The ones with the monster under the hood). The small block cars have very little collectors value. That wouldn't bother me either but to some it makes a difference. Now by '66 they had gone to a standard u joint as opposed to the ball and trunion drive shaft, that makes repairs a little cheaper. It also shouldn't be a push button tranny, that makes a tranny swap easier. You look close at the rear spring pockets and the torsion bar mounts as has been mentioned.
I have 2 67' 300s one stock and one getting the works.(lowered,shaved,candy roof,astros,pinners.)sorry the pics so big...
A 66 300 could have either a 383 or a 440. It only came with 727 torqueflight. A 383/440 mopar is more modern and much more easily maintained that a 394 Olds. They were made into the late 70's. Same is true of the Torqueflight vs the slimjim. 1964 was end of line for a lot of the parts in your 98. Most of the 66 Mopar mechanical components were used late into the 70's. As was said by others, if your ambivalent about the cars, then the condition should determine. For me its a no-brainer. The 66 300 is a sporty, rakish, stylish car. The 98...well...isn't.
OK.... I honestly think I am the only HAMBer that is qualified to answer this question....I have a 64 olds 4 door hardtop and a 68 Plymouth Fury fast top (looks like the 67 300, not sure about the 68). They are both cool cars. I prefer the olds because I think it has better lines overall, however, the 300 is a cool ride as well. Keep in mind that 64 olds 4 doors are hardtop 4s with no post, long, low, belflower style....you can run with anybody and tell em to F off if they can't handle the xtra doors. Keep the olds, get back in the game, customize her a bit and let somebody else build the mopar muscle. True
Every car has it's +/-'s, but I would go with the 300, because well, I did. You can't get in to fancy shows....with your car, so what, i can still walk in and get just as drunk as everyone else, and you save money on entry fees! the taillights are just temporary till I figure out something cool....
Well we looked at the car and it was in the condition described by my son but eventually he decided to stay with the Olds. Honest I didn't try to persuade him too much.... I did take pictures of it. It was really a pretty nice car but it boiled down to him having to start with an unknown project all over again or finish his Olds and I guess he went with the known..... Thanks for all you input.
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