Worth It? 1967 Plymouth Satellite Convertible
You’re going to have to use your imagination a bit with this ex-barn find. Why “ex?” Because someone already bought it from the original owner’s barn and is now looking to sell it on. The imagination part — well, take a look at all the pictures. This is the best angle, I’m afraid. You can look over the auction listing here on eBay which is up to $2,650 (reserve not met) as I write. This big-block 1967 Plymouth Satellite is located in New Lebanon, Ohio.
If you look closely at the right front fender, especially at the top, and at the bottom of the right rear fender you will see some of my reservations. The seller states that the “bottom of car is in not too bad a shape at all” and that the floors are “solid.” I’ll let you draw your own conclusions, but if you look at the picture below, you’ll see the trunk isn’t bad at all.
Could that be an original red line bias-ply tire? The trunk floor (or what we can see of it) looks pretty solid!
Surprsingly given the exterior, the interior doesn’t look bad at all. The dash pad is actually uncracked per the seller. Looking at this, I can believe the 85,000 original mile claim; it’s a shame those miles came in a state that used salt on the roads!
The 383 V8 doesn’t run, although we’re told both it and the transmission are original to the car. We also don’t know if it turns over freely, which is a shame since it looks like someone has tried (note the missing air cleaner and decent looking battery). What do you think this find is worth? And do you think it’s worth saving? If so — would you restore it stock or modify it? Let us know in the comments!
Auctions Ending Soon
1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1Bid Now23 hours$7,100
2003 Porsche Boxster SBid Now24 hours$5,500
1966 Lincoln ContinentalBid Now1 days$500
2000 Jaguar XJ8LBid Now4 days$1,250
1977 Datsun 280ZBid Now5 days$275
Comments
I have to wonder how save-able some of these unibody cars are, especially a convert with a big motor. The whole structure has to be sound and with lots of rust who knows where it might be weak… beautiful car but the rust issues, plus being a convertible, would easily put me off it.
Anything can be saved. Unibody included. The question is how upside down you’ll be when it’s finished. It comes down to how much you want to spend. For a convertible this one seems better than the majority of what’s out there to restore. Convertibles have broad appeal, so it would be easy to sell, but it’s likely to cost more than its worth.
The problem is it is a Satellite and not a GTX so the value retired is limited. So now you have to make the decision to buy this and restore it or just buy a good one for probably less than what it would take to do this one right. It may make sense if you have a GTX basket case and use the bones from this to restore the GTX Bottom line you have to see it in person to see how bad the rust really is. Maybe just a fender and patch panels on the quarter or ……….
The seller says “I bet the engine will run with some tinkering”…if I were the seller, I would do the tinkering and at least double my money! That being said, would love to have this one…
I always love the square body Mopar’s, especially the convertibles. If I didn’t have 2chevelles in my garage, I would be seriously considering this one. Everything can be fixed.
Well, somebody has high hopes. Bidding is up to $3,350.00 at this point.
The Recall steering wheel is worth more than the car.
Why was the wheel recalled?
No.
Just about Anything can be brought back to usable or Better conditions. It all comes down to how committed the buyer is. Inspect thoroughly, then decide. When its GOOD TO GO, then add sub-frame connectors to stiffen the chassis, freshen up the engine, if needed and enjoy some nice sounds from the engine!! Nothing worth while is free. Enjoy this drop top!!
If it were a GTX it would be worthy of saving. As a Satelitte?? I would be scared of the rust that is unseen on this one. That’s just my opinion as you can spend a boat load to restore this convertible. The restored value would not be enough to recoup half of the funds spent.
A good body man could repair any rust/ dent issues on this rig. Repaint resale red with new top. The big problem is engine/transmission useability. It’s a pig in a poke, buy it cheap, take a chance, opportunity comes very slowly in life make the best of it. When you’re old like me you tend to focus on missed opportunities more than successes. So if you’re young and talented enough for a project like this, go for it. You’ll have fond memories later in life.
I’ve done worse
It’s a Satellite convertible with a 383. That has to be rare enough on its own. Hopefully it will be restored instead of turned into a GTX clone.
I don’t understand the logic of not washing the car and in this case the seat covers, before you shoot the pictures. Wiping the upholstery down wouldn’t take 15 minutes and probably increase to the number who look at it. I was told by a big car dealer that the trick to selling the car is to remove anything the seller can object to (within reason, of course). Lookers probably want the car, but wonder how much to fix, what heat will be waiting at home to critique the buy. so their mind starts clicking: Like the car and it will be cool–[+5] points. Dirty seats objection. -1; Trunk full of junk objection -1; Aircleaner missing objection -1.5; no trunk mat -1; Engine dirty-1; Firewall and engine bay filthy-1 etc……. Total score 5 positives; 6.5 negatives. See ya. The point being is the buyer may think the items I have listed are easy fixes and therefore no big deal. Buyer however is apprehensive when he arrives so seller doesn’t want to get him thinking negatives because that way buyer downplays the positives. or subconsciously starts looking for negatives ignoring the positives.
If the trunk pan is any indication of what the floor pans look like then this car looks like viable project. The trunk pan looks real clean. I wouldn’t go full tilt on a resto, but rather a preservation to decent driver status. Clean the interior, patch the visible rust and see if the 383 will run with some of the aforementioned “tinkering” and enjoy it for a weathered driver. If you have $10 grand in the whole project your still not buried. Worth a closer look in my opinion.
Why worry so much if motor can be easily started? It is a 383 , so rebuild the damn thing and boost flip price.
Know of a few 383, 400 and 440 low compression runnable motors for sale cheaper than a cheap full rebuild kit.
Like some say, it is not a G T X original numbers matching to begin with.
Would have concerns about underside and attachment points of suspension components.
All bushings springs , better than original are a phone call away.
One can by original looking top, but better than new, interior upholstery and apointments.
The major cost would be body and paints, your time and labor.
It is a not common Mopar Vert of great years, and one demo of tire smoking, air sucking exhaust rumbling will make even Ford or Chevy lovers digging deep for cash.
Why worry so much if motor can be easily started? It is a 383 , so rebuild the damn thing and boost flip price.
Know of a few 383, 400 and low compression runnable motors for sale cheaper than a cheap full rebuild kit.
Like some say, it is not a HTC original numbers matching to begin with.
Would have concerns about underside and attachment points of suspension components.
All bushings springs , better than original are a phone call away.
One can by original looking top, but better than new, interior upholstery and apointments.
The major cost would be body and paints, your time and labor.
It is a not common Mopar Vert of great years, and one demo of tire smoking, air sucking exhaust rumbling will make even Ford or Chevy lovers digging deep for cash.
I’m biased: I bought a ’67 Belvedere ragtop in similiar condition — in 1982! I loved that car and did an amateur resto, but the kind of rot it had was damned scary and just like this Satellite. I never did replace the missing rear floorpans (read: rusted away) and spent a small fortune rebuilding the 318. The torsion bar mounts were welded-up by a local garage who specialized in MoPar Torsion-Aire for $200. I had fun with it for about a decade and sold it for $500 to some guy with a few GTXs. I’m still a Plymouth man, but I’d steer clear of this block o’ rust!
This one is only 15 miles east of me. If I was in the market, I’d have to give it a look see. A friend has a ’67 Satellite – red with maroon interior and a white vinyl top w/magnum 500s. That was one great looking car.
I agree the 383 is an easy rebuild. The trunk pan in this looks really good so most likely floor pans are pretty good shape. Rework the bottoms of the 1/4’s if you know what your doing. Car looks pretty straight. Not a ton of money if your doing the work yourself. You can be in a droptop big block Mopar roasting tires on cruise nights!