| OK, so a couple of years ago a friend of mine was looking for a Magnum.
Another friend of mine finds this real nice example of a 1979 300 (I'd never
heard of such a thing before) and I start putting the two together. I explain
the car to my friend wanting the Magnum and he loves it. Nice dash, center
console, 360, etc. So what do I do? I buy it. (on his request, mind you). I get
it home, clean it off and take a few pictures, you know the deal. Anyways.... I
show him the pictures of what "he" just bought and he looks at me with disgust.
"That's just a Cordoba!". Well, yeah.... it's a 300. They took 3811 of
'em for
North America and badged 'em all with goodies and such and made the car. "I
wanted a Magnum" he says. WHAT!?!?!??! It's the same car!!!! "No... Magnum's
have a different nose". Sigh......... some people, right? Now what am I gonna do
with this car, I begin to wonder. It's not that I'm against the body style, per
se.... but I really wasn't looking to own it. I ponder for a little while and
sit in it a few times. "well, it's going to at least need a tune-up"... so I
throw one in the car. Hmmm... what's that leaking? I bring it to the garage and
the mechanic says "Looks like it's the vacuum booster. You're going to need that
replaced". Fine, I said.... just do it. I can't do anything with a hissing
vacuum booster I suppose. "Find out what else it needs to make it road-worthy, I
don't want any surprises if I'm going to let the little woman have a "fun" car
to drive now and again". Well.... that opened up a can of worms that I wasn't
expecting. Fuel lines, exhaust, air conditioning re-charge and a bunch of stuff
later (that wasn't cheap!) I get the car back. Let's see if it passes inspection
now. WOWWWWW.... not 1 thing wrong with it. Simply amazing. Still runs a little
rough from old gas and needs to be "tweaked" a bit... but she seems to be
clearing up. Fast forward a week or so and I get a call from "she who must be
obeyed" at work on her first day with the 300. "You WILL come and drop off the
minivan and take this huge abomination away from here or I will make you
suffer!!!!" What happened, did it break down, did something happen?!??!?!? "
No..... it's too wide for me and I don't like it. It you value your life, you'll
give me the minivan and DO something with this car... I don't care what, but
it's not going to be driven by me!!!" Wow..... I didn't know whether to be
scared or angry that I have a total of well over a couple of thousand into it
for repairs and now I don't have anybody that likes her. While driving it home I
begin to sit in the car and relax a little. Ya know, I said to myself out
loud..... I could kinda get used to this I suppose. (my current "fun" car is an
option delete Volare 4sp with a slant-six 1 bbl. YOU decide how much nicer the
300 is once you've driven the two, lol). Cruise works, AC blows cold... steers
straight...hmmmm. Before the trip is through I actually fall in love with the
car. Fast forward another month....... we move into the new house and I park the
car on the side of the driveway. *mental note to self.... better start it up and
drive it a bit before things "sit". Oops, door hinge loose ~ oops, faucet
leaking ~ oops, lawn needs work ~ oops, walls need painting. (you all know how
the story goes). Needless to say, the 300 and it's minor work that it needs are
the LAST thing on that priority list..... time passes......more time passes.....
The wife asks "what are you ever gonna do with that car just sitting there now?"
Sumthin', I say while looking at it through the window.... I'll do something with
it... it's mine, just leave it alone.
Well.... I hate to admit it, but I think she's right. I'm
not going to do anything with it. It's been sitting here and one of the tires
went flat, while another one went half-flat. I'm positive the brand new battery
I put in it is toast by now. The gas that was eventually being worked out is now
officially old again. I got a wild hair of inspiration not all that long ago
because I stumbled across a great site with a lot of people on it to where I
could maybe get a new drivers side leather red seat for it. No dice.... tough to
find and if anything in the world is my biggest pet peeve.... it's seats. Some
people like spotless dashes, others won't ever buy a car with anything less than
a flawless carpet... my thing is seats. What's worse, it doesn't look like I'll
find a replacement anytime soon. Hence, we have what brings you to receiving
this "letter". It's time to cut it loose before I do something silly with it.
TRUST ME.... I have a big block and a few things all set for it if I want, and I
will MOST CERTAINLY slap it all in there but, it's no longer a "stock rare 300"
at that point and I'll always be aware of that. If nothing else... it's still
true to it's production. Sure, it needs to have the obligatory help and re-refreshened...
but every bit of it is factory. I don't have the heart to go eliminating the
"numbers" on this car because I've gone through so much with it. The only person
I'll let this go to is somebody who either knows or loves the car and will work
with it. Sure... it has flaws, but you can't argue with the price. I'm taking a
bath on it as is, but I also want action on it. What I ask is more than fair for
what the car is. Even with the few minor spots starting to "cancer" out and the
seat needing a cover (or not if you can exist with it that way... more power to
you. Sorry, I'm picky, but as stated before... I want PERFECT seats). So
anyways.... that's the story behind it all. The status is as much :
The good : It's an all original low production
number car. It's all there and even has the original GR-60 spare. The center
console, dash, carpet, rear seat, headliner, engine, tranny, rear, etc are all in next
to mint if not perfect. All of the glass is chip and blemish free as is the
"gills" on the fenders, tail-light plastics, head light and so on. This is a
non-power window car. A good thing? I don't know. Does it make it all the much
more rare? Probably. Why would you spend that kind of money on a 300 and delete
the power windows from the whole package, I do not know. I think it's a good
thing though. When I put it away, it had just passed inspection for the state of
NJ and I'm not sure about this... may still be valid. This isn't normally a
selling point, but ANYBODY from NJ can tell you.... they want EVERYTHING to work
on a car that's on the road and I can't say that I blame them. Never been in an
accident, clear titled, etc.
The bad : I changed the shifter from the original
one (goes with the car) because the plastic actuator ALWAYS breaks in those damn
things. If you've ever seen a Magnum, then you know what shifter went in the
car. Personally, I think it looks better with an aluminum polished look that
goes with the "turned" dash as opposed to the wood-grain knob unit it came from
the factory with. As luck would have it.... the very top button portion snapped
where it mounts (I have the best of luck sometimes, don't I?) but it still
shifts as it should. I've seen these units on eBay for under 2 dollars I think.
It's not a tough item to acquire or replace. Also... as stated above in my
novella, the seat has "butt wear" on it. It bugs me to no end, but you may not
have a problem living with it. Sorry if I'm sounding picky, but I'm VERY
particular with my cars. I work hard and I want perfection, there's no reason
why I shouldn't have it. It can be re-skinned by any upholsterer, I'm sure. Or
if you have the means to do so, you can find a replacement. Also... the hold
down knob on the drivers visor is loose (I know, I know... I'm picky. but at
least I'm honest in all that I know). I'm sure you can find a replacement or
just be gentle when putting the visor back into the resting position. Some of
the emblems are also sun-faded (on the center caps for the rims). This is an
on-going issue with these cars. Year one has replacements for them. Two extra
center caps are included with the car as well.
I'm sure I could nitpick all day about little stray hairs
and such that I don't like... but you get the picture. I'm fussy with my cars I
guess.
The Ugly : I always hate this part.... and I just
know I'm going to make it sound worse than it is, so understand it from my point
of view. Maybe I'm just an idiot when it comes to bad things on cars, or maybe
I'm subconsciously trying to steer people away from it to save it some how... but
here's the details. First off, the car will eventually need a new paint job. The
previous owner "waxed" it to death and you can almost see high-spots that are
wearing thin in a few places. Normally not a huge issue with me, but I'm talking
all sorts of things to make it a good "park and show it" car here. OEM stripes
can still be had from phoenix graphix for 109 bucks. Spinnaker white can be
painted on from anybody at a body shop that you trust. Also... when I parked it,
some rust was starting at the rear 1/4's near the trim. I took a quick look at
it today and it seems as though it's progressed a bit from when I parked it. I
wouldn't go crazy cutting the rear off the car, but it's going to have to be
fixed before it goes to paint. I'd imagine taking the trim off, fixing just the
spots where it's come through and putting the trim back on would be ok. The way
it looks, it's even too much work to put "cheater" 1/4's on at this time.
Drivers side has two spots like this in the front of the well and the rear,
approx the size of 2 50-cent coins, passenger side has a spot about 3/4's of a
dollar bill on the back section. In addition to that, there's a surface patch
(surface only!) on the front passenger fender which will need to be sanded and
taken care of. Why there, I do not know. No rust or rot anywhere else that I
can tell. I asked the mechanic over the phone how the underside looks and his
reply was "clean" and it passed state inspection (those picky bastards...grrr,
don't get me started) so I'm gonna assume it's all good. In addition to that....
the 4-bbl currently doesn't open. It did when I first ran the car, but all of
the sudden I heard a slight "hiss" and then it didn't. I had a friend over here
at one point and asked him what was wrong with it and he placed his hand over a
vacuum line or two and said it's more than likely gonna need a hose. After
all... the car was sitting for so long (and I didn't help it any in the past
year)... it's not unusual to have dry-rot on a vacuum hose I guess. It will more
than likely need another new battery as well. I put a new one in before I parked
it, but I haven't started it and kept everything "fresh"... so just go into it
knowing you'll need one. If the old one comes back... lucky you. If it doesn't,
I warned you. While I'm at it... I'll also make mention that one tire went flat
while sitting, and another is on it's way. These weren't good tires to begin
with, mind you. I happen to have a set of brand new 15's (on Z-28 rims) that go
with the car because I know the next guy is going to need them. You'll have to
do the mounting thing and all that. I'm liable to change my mind very quickly
about it all if I'm going to start that mess, trust me. The tires alone cost me
near 550 dollars because they are that "rain tread" type of grooved tire. As you
can see.... I'm not into this one for the money, I assure you.
All in all..... those are the facts. Expect it to be dirty,
expect some things to have some minor pitting, etc. Gimme a break, the car has
been sitting for a while, and was sitting when I took ownership of it. For the
price, I have NO fears that one of you that I send this to (sorry... I've just
gotten swamped with e-mails and I got tired of writing the same things over and
over again, hence this "generic" letter to you) will pick it up soon enough.
Rest assured.... I WILL scream at you if you either come with no money or offer
200 bucks for the car. I'm not a child or idiot and I don't run a museum. Sorry
to say it like that, but I've dealt with cars all my life and I know what it is,
how it is, what it's worth and what a deal you're getting. Don't try it. Take
that 200 dollars you're waving at me and save it for the doctor bills that will
be incurred because I'm going to let two very large pitbulls out of the house
and take my time dialing 911. I'm not kidding about this! Nothing makes me
angrier than to extend my hand to somebody and offer them a good deal only to
have them be a complete fool by trying to get MORE than a deal. With tires
involved, I have well over 2500 into the car. 'nuff said. Also.... I like for
you to pick it up with a flatbed or trailer of some sort. It's not that it
wouldn't make a trip, mind you. But I'm not going to condone you going through
all the trouble of coming to me and swapping tires over, getting it started,
etc, only to find out something stupid happened that could have been avoided on
the road. When the police tow it away, it's STILL my name on the title and then
I'm in a world of trouble.... hence : YOU are in a world of trouble. I guarantee
nothing on this car and if you want to take the risk of something happening on
your way home, you are an adult and know the consequences of your actions. It
only take one fly in the ointment to make a fun day into a bad one and I don't
want to see anything happen to you, is all. After all... you don't get two
chances to do things right the first time, right? The car has been sitting, the
gas is surely to be old, etc..... you wanna drive it, it's your neck, not mine.
You can rent a u-haul car dolly for 60 bucks and you get it for 24 hours. While
I'm on the subject (and sounding like a first class jerk) I'd also like to add
that you have until the 7th of December to look at it and give me a
non-refundable deposit. It doesn't have to be huge, 200 bucks will be fine.
Remainder due when you take possession of the car. I can be paid by check
(personal checks will either need to be verified or cleared, which takes time
and I don't release title until then) money order or PayPal. Then again, cash is
always preferable. I'm also not a bank and I don't take payments. If I say the
car has a deposit on it and you come here with even 3 times what I'm asking....
you'll get a big "I'm sorry, I can't help you". My word is my bond and I break
it for nobody. If you were kind enough to give me a deposit first, then you will
have the same security. I don't need bad blood anywhere and I'm certainly not
going to start having any with a car. If nobody is active on anything by the
7th.... I'm either considering eBay or just keeping it. I have a VERY good
friend out there with some parts that I need to convert it over to something
fun. Sure it won't be stock... but then again, I gave everybody ample
opportunity to buy it when they wanted it. If it goes to eBay.... the reserve
will be 1500, I assure you of this. I also have no doubts that it will sell for
more. I wanted to sell this car to somebody that I "know would care for it" as
opposed to make money on it.... but I'm only human and I have bills as well. I
can't be blamed for that.
All in all, if you have anything to ask, special pictures
that you need or anything along those lines, please don't hesitate to e-mail or
call (during reasonable hours). I work from home Monday through Friday so I have
a large amount of hours that I can be reached. I thank you for your time and
letting me ramble.....
p.s. ~ I'm sending this out individually to people. I don't
know who knows who, or where bad blood is, etc. I've seen strange things in my
life, trust me, lol. I don't need to get into the middle of anybody over a car.
So, to be fair.... I typed this and am sending along as an attachment along with
whatever pictures there are to be sent at whatever times. Rest assured,
EVERYBODY is getting the same attachment and there are no "hey, yer my good good
buddy, cut me some slack on the price" things going on. It is what it is and I
can't any more to that that what's been said.
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