M-Body - What to look for

[charlie2951]

Not mine but local to me.

1984 Dodge Diplomat

Unfortunately, the '84 is gone already. Must have been a pretty hot deal.

He's in the rust belt too

And yeah, I am in the rust belt, but there are a large amount of these cars that were owned by older people who garaged them and didn't take them out in the winter. I've seen a few with excellent undercarriages.

 

[Ele115]

Go doorbell ringing. You would be surprised. I've got a lot of good cars that way. I've had dogs chase me too, but it's worth it.

 

[8T2TOP]

I guess time has moved on,but I find it near impossible to find a '75 up 2 door Mopar M F B C in decent driving conditions for reasonable monies..
So might look into 87-92 2 door Turbo Mopars until i get rich and can afford a late model challenger..
Hope your search is better than mine..

 

[89.Fifth]

I've seen plenty good ones in the $1500-$2500 range but you really gotta take your time. Also there's good and bad seasons for finding them. Fall and spring are good but Summer and Winter are terrible. Sometimes you'll get a hell of a deal though.

 

[BudW]

I found my ’77 wagon on eBay. This car had been kept in a garage most of its life – that’s a different issue. There are some good deals there (and on my local Craigslist) as well as not so good deals.
BudW

 

[Camtron]

1985 Chrysler 5th Ave

1986 Chrysler New Yorker

1976 Chrysler Cordoba

1983 Chrysler Cordoba

1978 Chrysler Le Baron Original Survivor

1979 Dodge Aspen

1988 dodge dynasty

1988 DODGE DAYTONA SHELBY Z

These are up for grabs by me in Illinois between $750 and $4.5k... there’s a real nice Monaco for $6k; I bet you can get that down.

1978 Dodge Monaco

They’re out there for sure.

 

[8T2TOP]

Camtron... Thanks for the links..
NO 4 DOORS OR MJF bodies or TTops or Doba/Mag/Charger
That Monaco or Furt Sport/ Charger Sport 2 door is what I'm looking for, will investigate but near me in Phoenix or at least SW... NO Rust belt cars. Unless mint and those are $$..
Yes I'm a picky old bastard..
Looking for MY cheap/reasonable retirement AZ car..
Thanks ALL..
I search CL daily since they changed their policy lots dried up..

 

[8T2TOP]

That 78 Monaco is awesome...
Bit out of my $$ range...
Still good to know they ARE out there...

 

[Camtron]

That 78 Monaco is awesome...
Bit out of my $$ range...
Still good to know they ARE out there...

Monaco is back up for $3k
1978 Dodge Monaco

 

[Ele115]

I find VERY buyable cars on a regular basis sitting in carports and garages covered in dust, flat tires etc. You have to roam around and ring door bells. A lot of people would rather have the parking spot than the old car gathering dust. Be friendly. Talk them up and don't insult them with lowball BS. Sit and talk with them about their dog, their health whatever, it may not be for sale today but they will call you. Make contacts. And make some room for GOD's sake, you'll need it.

 

[The Director]

I've read that 88s and 89s had galvanized metal done underneath the car for protection against rust. Don't know if it actually works, but I bought an 88 Fifth Avenue from a guy who had it sitting on a lawn for quite some time, and rust isn't really an issue. There's just some surface rust on the frame and exhaust, but nothing where it's coming through the paint and the panels are rotting away. Whichever way, good luck on your search! (I read about the galvanized steel on allpar's article about m bodies. It might help you to on car info.)

 

[BudW]

F-bodies have a factory-installed rust option installed on every car (except for Arizona or other dry areas).
J and M-bodies do not have the same “rust option” – but that doesn’t mean rust won’t happen.

Chrysler moved M-body production to a different assembly plant (to Wisconsin) in ’88, and that assembly plant did use a lot of galvanized steel, for first time. There are a lot of minor differences between the ’87 and older vs. the ’88-89 M-bodies, mostly with trim.
BudW

 

[MoparDan]

Last Fifth Avenue I saw in a junkyard in Connecticut had a lot of rust-through on the lower quarter panels, and lots of surface rust behind the the back doors, but the undercarriage was in really great shape, it was an '89

 

[Camtron]

My Fifth Ave is an 89. My undercarriage is coated (couldn’t tell you if it was applied at the factory or by a previous owner) but, the door skins, rockers and quarters, particularly anywhere that chrome trim was secured, had rust waiting to be discovered underneath. Illinois winters weren’t very kind to it.

 

[The Director]

The problem in NJ exists here to with the winters... seems like almost anything we all do to prevent rust, it will always find a way to show up. Illinois is probably much worse with snow though - that polar vortex this past year sounds like it was a nightmare. In that case, I wouldn't trust that 88s or 89s are worth considering more than the previous years over that feature. I think rust is just a given issue to deal with when getting older vehicles, especially in the snowy states.