Cowl and radiator support numbers missing?

[Cudachuck]

Friend is looking at a 70 318 barracuda to restore into a 440 speed. He is wondering if he should walk away cause the upper cowl has been replaced and the front clip is from a 74 barracuda. The vin tag and door sticker says 70 but the other vin numbers dont match or they are missing. Should he buy it or walk away? Thanks

 

[Challenger RTA]

Depends what is represented as, titled and price.

 

[pschlosser]

A 318 car is possibly near the bottom of the list, in terms of value. Walk away? It depends what you're looking for. If the plan is to build a restomod, discarding the existing engine and trans, what difference does it make if it's numbers matching or not? If the car has been in a major front-end accident in its 50 year lifespan, it seems possible the radiator support was replaced.

It comes down to dollars. If the car is the desired starting place for a restomod and the price seems right, then go for it. All the little trim pieces and what not take a good amount of time to find and replace. If the car is complete, and doesn't have a great deal of rust to deal with, its value goes up.

If this were a factory 440 car, then I agree, it's value goes down without the stamped number, but not by a great deal. I don't believe a 318 car is worth a great deal effort to fake, so I don't think there is anything nefarious to worry about.

 

[rklein71]

I agree with above. It does not sound like the car is being misrepresented and if you are just building a hot rod like you want it, go for it if the price is right.

 

[71RRhi]

Since your not planning to go back to factory original, numbers don't matter. If the front clip has been changed (Frame rails, inner fenders, core support). I would be more worried if it was done right. The FSM will have measurements you can check.

 

[Cuda Hunter]

Is there a fender tag with the car still?

I see no issue with buying the car without numbers if your already going to change everything anyway.