I have a friend who has a 1967 RS/SS L78 4 speed car with 7325 miles on the odometer. the car is in incredible condition but was used as a drag car. The original 375 horsepower 396 is gone and has been replaced by an L36 427 out of a 68 Impala SS. He has the original Muncie transmission but no bellhousing. The car has a Doug Nash 4+1 transmission in it now. The original factory gearing was 4.56 but has been changed to 3.73. It has the factory 12 bolt housing in it and the original 396/375 intake and carb on it. It is a 4 wheel non power drum brake car also. It is blue with a black top and again is in incredible shape. The question is what to do with the car? He wants to sell it and has been told as it sits it is a 42,000.00 car. He has put the heater and wiper assemblies back in the car and the electric hideaway headlights work but it will never have the original 396 back in it as nobody seems to know where it is but we assume it is blown up. The hood was changed because there was a hole for a 2x4 intake cut in it. He also has all the paperwork on this car but is unsure which way to proceed. Thanks.

 

Sounds like a nice car for a good street rod/driver,so what exactly is it you want to know?

The original 396 was probably destroyed long ago since it was a race car,50 years is a long time. It would be worth a lot more than the $42K if it was all original but it's not so?

 

What he is wanting know is since it will never be numbers matching what is going to help it sell? Keeping as much as original as possible as far as alternator, wiring, brakes, and such or leaving stuff like the internal regulated alternator and the aluminum water pump and aftermarket carb that has been added or nodded to race?

 

Probably won't make any difference trying to go back to more original. Watching collector car auctions on TV the resto-mod cars are doing quite well,since it's no longer numbers matching I'd probably go that route. If it was all original of course that would be a different story.

 

He should make sure it runs, drives, and stops, then sell it as-is, and include the original parts that are off the car with the sale. Sure the 396 is gone, but it has an era-correct, passenger-car 427. Plenty of people will like the 427. Same with the Doug Nash 5 speed.

Ultra-low mileage is going to greatly help the sale. Your friend should go through all of his old photo albums and pull out all his pictures of the car from back in the day. Make copies and include in the sale. He should go through all of his old paper work and find any and all receipts, drag slips, inspection reports, and newspaper articles about the car. And of course his bill of sale and title.

He should clean the entire car thoroughly, meticulously; with a toothbrush if need be. Then get the car to a garage with a lift and take 100 photos it, from every angle and of everything. Then go through those photos and pick the best ones for the advertisement. Based on the current car market, I'd recommend selling it on Ebay with a $35k reserve.

 

Thank you. This is the advice he was looking for. Thanks to all who replied.