6 cyl vs. 318

[challenger6pak]

I have an opportunity to get one of two 71 Challengers on a trade. One car is an original 6 with a V8 kframe. The other is a 318 car. The pros and cons of each car make them an equal project with equal value at this time. Ironically they both came root beer color from the factory. I plan to put a 340 in the car I get and in a few years resell it. If you were buying a 71 with a 340 in it would it matter if the car was originally a 6 instead of a 318 V8 car? This will help me to decide which car to get. Thanks.

 

[budascuda]

I have owned both 318 and /6 challengers.
Also, I have come across many other 318 and /6 mopers. To me, for some reason fewer /6 cars have had bad crashes or seen too too much abuse compared to the 318s or V8s in general.
It must be the modest horse power.
Does this tip the scale ?

 

[Adam]

Does the 318 car have a better differential/torsion bars?

 

[aussiemark]

Get them both that way you made the right decision and you will have no regrets. I would put the 340 into the 318 car and fit a 6 cyl K frame back in the slant car and fit a slant back into it these cars are rare and I find them interesting, I bet if you took it to a show just as many people would check it as the Hemi clones.

 

[DetMatt1]

I think once the original engine is gone in these base models it doesn’t matter what it was before the 340. Either of them have a tag or sheet?

 

[AUSTA]

If both the cars are undergoing full restorationi would choose the car with the least problem such as rust & mechanical repair.
If i was importing a US car then i would choose the V8 a lot of imported 6 cylinder cars that are upgraded to a V8
engines need an engineering certificate even though that car was released with a large variety of engines.

 

[challenger6pak]

Both have tags. I just was wondering if the 6 had a stigma against it for resale.

 

[challenger6pak]

Get them both that way you made the right decision and you will have no regrets. I would put the 340 into the 318 car and fit a 6 cyl K frame back in the slant car and fit a slant back into it these cars are rare and I find them interesting, I bet if you took it to a show just as many people would check it as the Hemi clones.

I have a friend here with a 70 6 cyl convertible. Unfortunately no one cares. The number 1 question is did it come that way? The second, are you going to change it?

 

[budascuda]

Unless the car started with a 340 or bigger,
I think majority of people usually consider the car as less valuable, but that's not everyone.
On the other end of the spectrum; If the car has a Hemi or six pack; people don't mind as much if it's a clone.
For resale I think, (my humble opinion), a more high performance engine on a clone car makes it more valuable.

 

[6PKRTSE]

I would pick whatever one needs the least amount of sheet metal repair/replacement & pick that one. Everything else is just bolt on. You can install what ever drive train you want in either. It won't hurt the value much at all on a /6 or 318 car.

 

[DrEamer]

Both have tags. I just was wondering if the 6 had a stigma against it for resale.

I don't think there is a stigma against the 6, as others have said, it is not going to be original anyway. When I was looking for my car, I wanted a base car because my plan is to do a resto mod. My main concern was to find the nicest body regardless of original engine. I would imagine most buyers down the road would feel the same way.

 

[Steve340]

All things being equal I would rather have the 318 car.
It just seems better to have been factory V8.

 

[budascuda]

All things being equal I would rather have the 318 car.
It just seems better to have been factory V8.

For sentimental reasons ? of course...

 

[willstoy]

I was looking for a grille for my convertible and ended up with a root beer brown '71 with a 6 cylinder and 3 speed on the floor. The beauty of it was that it had never been abused or wrecked. All the wiring and mechanical stuff was untouched which is rare in any V-8 car..... Ended up driving it for quite some time as is.....

 

[DetMatt1]

I was looking for a grille for my convertible and ended up with a root beer brown '71 with a 6 cylinder and 3 speed on the floor. The beauty of it was that it had never been abused or wrecked. All the wiring and mechanical stuff was untouched which is rare in any V-8 car..... Ended up driving it for quite some time as is.....

View attachment 50848

How long ago was that and what happened to it?

 

[willstoy]

How long ago was that and what happened to it?

I think I got the car around 2006..... Short version, got t-boned on way to work one day. Insurance paid for rental car for over a year, and rebuild. Couldn't leave it alone, so basically totally restored the car and added a 440. Learned and spent a lot on it.

Recently sold it to a buddy of mine down the road.

 

[quapman]

Both have tags. I just was wondering if the 6 had a stigma against it for resale.

YES!, but only in Europe. Will their import rules, a 6 cylinder car converted to a V8 has additional import fees & taxes. My French friends will not buy one of these such cars.

As a side note, I can't get over how many 71s are falling out of the woodwork in the last couple years!

 

[challenger6pak]

Cars do seem to be coming out of the woodwork. I think a lot of people are realizing they will never get them done. This is in my area for $17,000 firm.

 

[budascuda]

People realizing the end of an era is at hand....
Do you all remember people happily driving their expensively restored model Ts on Sundays and on special occasions? I bet the good ones were
#s matched!
I don't see that as much any more, those cars have become relics of the bygone days, now sadly forgotten.
The past is gone and the wives keep talking reason till we submit.
" we need one of those electric cars darling"

But, the story of the E body cars need not be a sad one, since they obviously have an everlasting stylish design.
For some, a reprieve to keep their high performance car on the road could be a 125 horse power electric conversion kit and as the technology improves one can buy a 500+hp setup. with that option your car won't become obsolete and doesn't have to be placed in a museum beside a #s matching Model T.
Sooooo by going electric;
What was ours once, will be ours onceagain!

 

[challenger6pak]

500 hp electric would be insane and fun. It is always 500hp with electric where our gas motors peak at 500hp. Most of the time they are at less horse power.