Can't sell slant-6 car - convert it to V8? Opinions please.

Hi all,

Please note - this is not a For Sale thread. I'm just asking for opinions. I've been trying to sell my slant-6 Barracuda for several months now. Everyone who has looked at it likes it a lot. However, each one has said they would plan to put a V8 into it after buying. A couple of them have mentioned a 383 or 440 conversion. Unfortunately, none of these prospective buyers are able to do this work themselves, and it is beyond their budgets to pay someone else do it. I'm thinking I'd have better luck selling it if I put a V8 in it myself. I am able to do most of the required work. The car already has disc brakes, and an 8-1/4" rear end in it, so a 318 or a newer 5.2 motor would easily work. Just wondering what everybody thinks? Do you think the increased value would outweigh the conversion cost? Would a small motor be sufficient, or would most people prefer something bigger? All suggestions or opinions are appreciated, thanks.

Roger

In today's world of a lot of available later model motors I would looked at a complete 360 motor with the tranny and look into using adapter motor mounts or see if you could find a V8 K member for your car.
I have done that swap on both A and B bodies, slant six out and in with both A and RB motors as well as several 426 Hemi motors into them with front motor plates

I wouldn't do it on a bet. The right buyer hasn't come along yet. The right buyer will appreciate it for what it is or will have the ability and resources to build what they really want.

Someone that wants if for the body will not want it for the V8 you put into it and then will try to get it at a lesser price than what it was worth as just the /6. You will be the one that will take any loss. As said and most know there are too many engine options out there so putting in a V8 will just be a waste of time and money. Who knows someone may want to do an electric motor.

I agree to not convert it. Maybe it’s the price? How much are you asking and where are you advertising it at?

You'll swap in a v8 and then someone will say you should have swapped in a gen 3 hemi !! You can't win. Either build it for yourself or wait for the right buyer.

There are a lot of potential buyers out there, they have money, most are not real knowledgeable on mechanicals, but they want that V8 sound and want a "muscle car". A decently built 360 would get the car sold. There are /6 buyers out there but very few where as V8 "muscle car" buyers that is a very large pool. I have seen your for sale ad it is a stunning car but in my opinion the /6 kills it for majority of buyers.

How much more $$$ are you going to have to spend to convert to V8 ?? Will value of car go up that much, or more ?!?!? . . . With cost of FUEL these days, and what will happen into the future on that, 6cylinder cars will come into their own . . . not best time of year to sell car, in middle of winter (especially for those of us living in snowbelt area's) . . .

Can either hold out based on what $$ you want, or lower price and get sold sooner. . . unless you absolutely HAVE TO sell the car, I would probably hold on til you get right buyer for car, as it is.

Just my two cents . . .

M

I'm not familiar with the OP's car, but in an A-body the S6 isn't bad, and in an E-body it's unusual.
Seems to me the market for a V8 from the muscle era is much larger than for a Slant 6, but originality has gained favor.
Condition is a big factor: body & paint is way worse to tackle ($$$ & time) than an engine swap.
If the parts were laying around and you had the time, any gain in value is still in the eyes of the potential buyer, so the definitive answer is part equation and part gamble.
It would seem the best swap market-wise would be Gen 3, but that might mean upgrading the rest of the mechanicals & brakes and a significant project.

8.25 rear end. Your swap model seems to be sell it quick with a V-8 before that comes apart. Or put a Malaise era 318 in it.

Perhaps it is your pricing.

They are just making up excuses why they won't spend the money. Unless one of em gives you a cash deposit to get started don't waste your time as those same people will just have another excuse not to buy it when the time comes.

Oh and yes, I would be all over your car if I had cash and it was just a little cheaper, definitely within reason on the price. And if I was able to buy it I would want it how it is, I would just pull and sell whatever engine you put in it and build my own anyhow. You just need to find a guy like me that don't have 9 kids to feed..

I like it the way it sits too! I wouldn't mind it but the transport fees would kill the deal!

A numbers matching collector won't like the color change and updates. A "resto-mod" buyer won't like the 6 cyl and lack of 8 3/4 rear end. Its sort of in between markets. Converting to a modern hemi would be significant $$$ you might not recoup. Making it a 360 would certainly be cheaper. But no guarantee the time and money spent would bring you the additional investment at time of sale. It might make a little sense to be patient and cross your fingers the market doesn't dip, or drop the price a bit to make up for not spending any more time and money on it.

THIS ^^^^^


Save the labor , time and expense for someone else

I doubt there are a lot of numbers matching collectors salivating at the opportunity to buy a /6 car. Yet. Maybe by 2300 AD.

Me? I'd of already put a V8 in it and enjoyed the fruits of my labors about two weeks after I bought it. Last one I did cost me under $500, but that was in 1994 and you could still find deals. I bought the running 360 donor, 79 Cordoba, for $100.00. Already had the V8 cross member, back when you could find them in pick and pulls, had to get a new radiator. BTW, B body exhaust manifolds fit a 72 Dart, lol. New duals rounded out the major costs. Other than a few wires that needed their lengths changed and the throttle cable/kick down setup which I yarded, I don't recall anything difficult. Took one day to do the swap, sans the duals which I took to a shop. My old man helped me take the hood off before he left for work and I was done before he got home. He was amazed, but he wasn't a car guy.

I had planned to put a V8 in it for awhile so I had time to plan what needed doing and gather the parts, when the donor came to my attention it was time. I used the donor's engine, transmission, electric seats, electric windows, wiring bits for the Dart and disc brakes (to convert my 64 300) and whatever else needed. Then I scrapped it, three days from the time I bought it till the tow truck driver took it. I later sold the 225 for $100 and got paid another $100 to install it in a 68 Dodge truck.

Now days, good luck finding a new OEM style radiator, much less a running $100 donor, lol.

So figure out how much a V8 conversion would actually cost to do, and maybe offer the drivetrain upgrade option for $$$$ above the sale price for the given motor/trans conversion, and see how it flies.

Like the others, I think the slant 6 is just an excuse for them not buying it, but if the conversion offer was on the table for less then they could get it done themselves, it might be enough to tip the scales for a dreamer

For the average guy off the streets, any inline 6 had a reputation for making the car a no power slug, weather it was true or not. Those people would have no idea where they might find someone capable of converting to a V8, nor do they have any idea how much it would cost. You giving them a conversion offer with a specific motor & trans (not "a" 318, but "this" 318), a detailed conversion plan covering what was going to be done and what was not going to be done, a price tag, and a time frame on when it would be done, might make the car much more attractive to some. I wouldn't undertake a swap until you knew some one had the money and was buying the car, and knowing you can accomplish the job in the given time frame at the given price. I would also expect your labor rate to be well below the going rate unless you are an actual cad caring mechanic.

If I were contemplating going in this direction, I would expect to get very near my asking price for the car, and I would expect to cover all the expenses of the conversion. The time doing the conversion would not be compensated for. How bad do you want to sell the car, and how much is your time worth to you? You may be farther ahead to reduce your price and sell the car as is, or wait until the right person shows up to buy it at the current price. The conversion is a lot of work, especially if you have never done one.

Sounds like a headache waiting to happen. How much is your time worth? How many unexpected problems will you find that you have to spend more time and money on? I'd leave it as is and wait for the right buyer. Perhaps you need to advertise it more widely?

For me, I'd rather have an original slant six car than a hacked up car with a V8, unless the conversion is done so well that it looks like it originally came with a V8, which would drive up the time and cost accordingly. I know nothing about your car, but I'd drive a nice clean slant Barracuda all day long anyhow... V8 not necessary.

The market might be better for a V8, but I would suspect that you might be shooting at a moving target. You will obviously want to ask more once you've put more time/money into it, so those folks who don't want to pony up for the lower slant price are probably just looking for a 'deal', and won't want to pay you more for the V8 price. Sounds like you would be taking it off the market for a month or two to get it done anyhow, so why not just wait until the spring, when the market takes off again, to sell it as is?

Just my ...

I went and looked at your ad.

I think the problem is a miscommunication between you and the prospective buyers.

The price you are asking might, I say might, be reasonable if it were a 318 AC car with power brakes, power steering and even windshield washers. For a no frills, no options slanty, it's isn't, imo.

So what I think is being told to you is if it were a V8 car it might be worth your asking price.

Best to sell convertibles in the April May time of the year when everyone has the Spring Fever and will pay up for that drop top. As a buyer if you want a convertible buy around this time of year and get that winter after Christmas everyone is broke less buyers in the market discount.

You can't ditch the slant.

8.25 is a fine unit with a good locker, my porky Duster has one with a late model 5.9 with spicy heads and cam and it does does fine.

More people don't race their old cars than those that do also.

Some couldn't care less how fast it is, and just want something to wash and wax and go to a cars + coffee with occasionally. A 3500 stall, 3:91 gears and a stroked 440 would be a turn off for that type of buyer.

The price is too high if it’s not selling. Are you advertising it anywhere else? If I were you, I would drop the “Firm” from the price as a start, possibly even add obo. Why are you selling? How fast do you need the money?

Take it from someone who had $27k into a 66 Barracuda and got $10k for it, you will NEVER get your money out of it.

Don’t do the swap!

Stout money for a slant six car. Buddy of mine sold his turn key 496 stroker SuperBee clone for 19k a few years back.

I think $15,000 is a better starting point.

The problem i run into looking at cars is that a lot of people will have their 6 cylinder car for sale for V8 prices. And like others said you can't win because if you put a V8 in it people will complain about which one it is or that they would have prevlffered if it was left stock so they knew it was done properly or some other excuse. Some might be legitimate reasons others are only people complaining.

People who have never had an entire old car repainted to a nice level of quality will say "Gee I'll just buy a 5K rusty project car instead and then have it painted my way and be able to put a V8 in it and be less in than the slant car with the nice paint". Cept that won't happen at a reasonable price unless they:

1. Know how to fix dents & rust, and have a clean space to paint it,
2. Already have a V8 engine and transmission sitting there ready to go and are capable of doing the swap at home without paying for help.

It's an acceptable car for a guy with a spare V8 drivetrain looking for a home and wrenching ability who does not want to deal with a paint shop.
It also works for someone who does not want a speed demon, and does not want to have a car painted either.

Hey, thanks for all the feedback, guys! And for the compliments.

I will likely leave the car as is, and just wait for the right buyer.

Fortunately, I don't absolutely need to sell it - I would just prefer to have some garage space back.

Yes, I probably need to increase my advertising to other sites. So far, it's only been on this site, FABO, slantsix.org, and Facebook.

As for price, I didn't just pull it out of the air. I looked at all the other cars that I could find. As I recall, most V8 cars were asking in the mid-$20's or more, so mine didn't seem that unreasonable. However, I will re-consider my asking price. And I realize it's generally not possible to get back all the money one has spent on a car.

Thanks again!

Roger

What year is it?

It’s a 67 Barracuda coupe notchback that’s painted an orange. Like a 68 Omaha orange

Big pluses are the large bolt disks, and 8 1/4, and shiny done paint. Very ready for a small block swap of your choice. And paint is very expensive these days.

Unfortunately Notchbacks are not hot sellers. There’s people that say they like them over fastback and sometimes over Darts. But when it comes time to sell them those people go silent.

.. and I’ve owned a 68 340-S notch for 30 years. It’s probably the least valuable of all 68-71 340 cars.

Same for same: I think a 67 Notch is near the least desirable 67-71 2-door A-body.

Notches just don't get the love they deserve.

How much to put a Toyota engine in it?

With an ebay turbo and front mount.....and a giant fart pipe sticking out the back and lowering springs. Next thing you know its sold....

Sounds like this is a So Cal car. Maybe some pictures of the undercarriage to demonstrate how clean it is.

We (So Cal) take stuff like this for granted much more than in other areas.

No, it actually came out of a Houston, TX suburb. It was just very well cared for by the original owner (I'm the 3rd owner). But that's a good idea about underside pics - I'll see if I can get some.

Make sure to take them with flash manually on to show detail.

If you still have it by Spring Fling, bring it there. Buyers come from all over: Australia, Germany, Sweden...

no way would i spend the time and money to drop a V8 in it to sell. maybe you are just asking too much for it. maybe you just haven't found the right buyer. maybe you aren't advertising it in the right places.. car looks decent and doesn't seem way out of line price wise compared to what other cars are being advertising for. maybe its just the wrong time of year.

have you advertised it on forabodiesonly.com ? may be a good idea.

Remove spare tire and take picture of spare tire well since its common for those to be rusted out. Also the trunk drop downs, behind the rear wheels, pictures of those from under the car. Those areas are where these cars commonly have rust. See if you can get car up on lift and show that underside. Maybe even pull carpet back and show floors. If the car truly is rust free provide pictures to prove it because that is a huge value add to these cars.

Thanks. And yes on FABO, I think that's where all of my inquiries so far have come from.