Define restoration....

[Monkey Man]

Saw this, quite modded, might be a good truck but I am not sure about the "restoration" label and the price....
I hope it sells and they are happy with the sale price, I can tell you though it won't be $80K from my pocket though

MM

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dodge-Power-Wag ... ars_Trucks

[w30bob]

Hi MM,

To be fair....they do call it a "restomod" in the sub-title, which it surely is. Seems there's more and more of these mega-expensive restomods becoming available, just as there are in the muscle car world. I'm not seeing there being much of an audience for such a thing on the MV side of the house.........but I'm terrible at predicting trends, so who knows. And there are quite a few people out there with tons of money who like toys regardless of price......so to each his own I guess. I know if I had $80K I wouldn't be buying THAT......but that's just me.

regards,
bob

[Monkey Man]

It is indeed a restomod, I could pay my house off with $80K USD and wouldn't buy it but that is simple economics and if I had that sort of money to spend on a vehicle I would get something a bit more modern.
The crux of it I guess to me it seems like a lot of money for the work done, like you say though, each to their own and whomever buys it will most likely be very happy with it and I hope they are and that they have many years of enjoyment out of it.

MM

[tbone1004]

That's a $25k-$30k truck, not an $80k truck. That price is Legacy Power Wagon or MSeries rebuilt prices, not homebuilt or this shop in SC.

Brakes-Call it $2k
Steering-$1k
Diff's-$2k
Tranny-$2k
Engine-$4k
Wheels/Tires-$2k
Radiator-$1k
Truck-$5k
Top-$1k
Blast/Paint-$5k

$25k optimistically if you didn't pay for all of the labor. Add another $10k for labor on the engine swap and you're still nowhere close to the $80k BIN, combined with the fact that restomods aren't "investments". You pay shops to do that work so you will enjoy it not because they will ever be worth the value you paid for them otherwise shops like MSeries would be building these things left and right and people would be paying for them. Right now they are enthusiasts paying shops like that for their own enjoyment. I think we'll see the bidding go up to $30k or so and call it quits there.

[JimC]

That one ain't my cuppa tea. It'd cost a small fortune getting to look like it ought to again.

[w30bob]

Hi Guys,

You really can't pay any attention to the Buy It Now price, what really counts is where the Reserve is at. Most sellers use the Buy It Now to attract the people with more money than brains....the impulse buyers who just have to have it and can't wait for a silly auction to end. And sellers know this and price it above reality just in case. You can't blame them for trying.

There are so many people out there in the world now-a-days it never surprises me when stuff like this sells for way more than I think it's worth.......it all comes down to money. How much you have and how much they have. More is usually better.....but not always. I look at it this way......whatever someone pays or does not pay for it......another M37 has been spared the crusher! So good on him.

regards,
bob

[m37jarhead]

As mentioned above, it ain't my cup of tea either, but mostly because I don't have the $$$ to buy it.
The truck seems to be very well done although I question if the stock drive train can handle the added
horsepower and the expected high free-way speeds.
At the recent Barrett-Jackson auction I saw "resto-mods" of every size, shape, make and color. Most all
of them were outstanding examples of what CAN be done to any vehicle. Prices generally hovered
around $75K to $150K, so the "buy it now" price on this M37 does not seem to be too unreasonable for a
professionally built, show quality resto-mod. The high rollers at the auction were thicker than thieves.

That being said, most anything in the "resto-mod" catagory leaves me drooling and on the outside looking in until
my Powerball tickets finally pay off. Don't hold your breath.
Jerry

[tbone1004]

sitting at $30k right now. We'll see where it ends up at the end of the day

[JimC]

It's less than 400 HP and only about 400 ft-lb of torque, so the stock drive train will handle it OK. The truck itself looks like a piece of crap to me.

[tbone1004]

relisted with a BIN of $60k... Bid up to $30k and ended...
I think it's the wheels, tires, and being able to see the radiator. Good lord does that look ugly. The rock rings just make it look really tacky imho

[Brett]

Its the naked headlights that I really don't like. it just looks funny with out headlight guards. I'm not crazy about the tires being way past the fenders either.

Brett

[MSeriesRebuild]

A quick look at the description of this one said A LOT.

Asking price of $80K, one could assume that included a nice profit for the seller; so that tells you that quite a bit less was actually invested. Seller said most of the work done to the truck was professionally done. Professional shops in today's business world can't work at cut rate prices. There are employees salaries, TAXES, more taxes, and the general cost of doing business on both the federal, state, and local levels, among numerous other things that drive cost through the roof. Being 61 years old now and thinking back, it actually hurts my feelings to charge what we have to on some jobs. Yes I too think of what this could have been done for 25 years ago. This is the real world though, this seller almost has to be less than straight up on a lot of what he has said in one way or another. Even at $80K, he would have lost based on what he said was done if it was the top quality workmanship that he claimed was done professionally. Many questions I would have were not addressed; like was the body totally disassembled, media blasted, repaired, primed and painted as individual pieces? That is the only way to clean and coat things proper. I'd almost bet a minimum of disassembly occurred leaving many areas not cleaned and coated properly for long term preservation. That one issue goes a long way on a cheaper price tag, as the body on these trucks is THE high cost issue if it is all done the best it can be. That will cost more than a total mechanical restoration with upgrades every time, simply because of the time it takes to do this right. I can see this seller doing lots of squirming if hard questions were ask by someone who knows M37's well. There is a lot of untold info here.