1970 xr7 at Pie In The Sky Motors / Help Me Pick it Apart...

A local guy is interested in this very nice 70 Convertible. Like most retail car lots, it is overpriced and puffed up a little. It is not the nicest in the world or even close to a #1. here’s what I spot…

Door panels are ruined, the emblem in steering wheel shows a broken cat tail, missing hood fillers?, wrong hood pad, no detail paint on front trim, boot does not fit, tired paint on dash parts, black shift handle, fuel door and hood misalignment. What else?

https://www.harwoodmotors.com/vehicles/inventory_details.php?id=1370

Why does it have a Black interior but Green seat Belts and Steering wheel pad? And does the coloron the drivers quarter panel look off?

That is just lighting on the paint. I cannot tell what is green and what is black on the int but I think it is just lighting again, pretty sure it is all green and looks to be original. This might be the car that the original owner and his wife brought to our open house years ago. He drove it very little as he was in a wheel chair thus the reason the door panels were torn beyond repair at the bottoms.

Is the red wheel emblem color correct? My 70 came with blue ones, but it is a blue car. If different colors were used how was the color determined?

$60k?? JEEZ!

How picky are we gonna be? For $60k for an H-code / Auto, I would expect it to be damn near perfect…

Incorrect tires and wheels and center caps. Marti shows wire wheel covers.
Incorrect radio. Marti shows AM radio.
Missing door edge guards. Marti shows Protection Group, which should have door edge guards.
No blackout on the lower rocker pinch welds.
Underside shows that they painted it body color instead of overspraying it (yellow was sprayed everywhere ~ there are no unpainted shadow areas where overspray would not have hit). Also no sign of slop gray, just red oxide in the trans tunnel.
Differential isn’t detailed properly.
Driver’s side front sway bar bushing bolts show what looks like PS fluid on the ends of the bolts. PS is leaking from somewhere.
Front sway bar has two yellow paint marks instead of a yellow and a green.
AC compressor ~ believe that should be black.
Valve covers should be painted instead of chrome
Looks like they replaced the front seatbelt retractors.
Door panels have carpeting along the bottom and are screwed on along the bottom.
Passenger side mirror added.

I wonder about all those extra shims under the drivers side fender.

No seat belt retractors on convertibles but yeah, lot’s of silly stuff for that price.

The car has a lot to recommend it but like is always the case with these dealers, it’s at least 2X over market even if those things were correct.

That Harwood Motors is in my hometown. I went to a car show there last summer. They keep a pretty large inventory, way more than listed on the site.

All of these consignment joints shoot for the moon on everything.

Vanguard and Gateway Classic Cars are two others that do the same thing.

Rear window is plastic, should be split glass.

Paint on quarter panel doesn’t match… some of the gaps and alignments are off too.
I hope that’s a black interior!
Seems like a 30k ish car if you really like the yellow

What’s been the top price for a 351 70 vert anyway?

Your average guy does not care about chalk marks and overspray patterns. They want to pay Toyota Camry money and get a turn key classic they can drive in 90 degree weather without stress. The upgraded wheels, radio and AC are a plus is you are wanting a driver. $59k is the moon but if they spent $40k and and their kids inherit it in 20 years and they only get $35k out of it why not? What would the loaded $40k Camry be worth?

I think I figured out the interior color weirdness. The steering wheel was redone by Best In Show and they are notorious for getting the colors wrong, they do great on black though… The rest of the interior has been repainted and the color is just off.

That is a good looking car, I’m sure the owner put a lot of time into that restoration. I like that it’s an original 1970 AM/FM, not a later 70’s item people pass off as original. Shame they screwed in those door panels, maybe a PO was responsible for that travesty. Overall, I agree the car seems to be overpriced given the 2v small block and frankly the color combo (not one I would particularly go for). It has some desirable but not particularly rare options.

With only 45k miles, I would almost rather see the original patina everywhere and be able to drive it. But it is a real nice cat!

Blue was the only color available from the factory, regardless of exterior color.

You guys have picked it apart pretty good. It’s a nice looking car and I’m sure someone will be very happy at half the asking price. The only thing I have to add after quickly perusing the photos is that the upper seat backs on the front seats are incorrectly upholstered. It’s a common mistake and unavoidable if using most of the reproduction covers that have been available over the years. The only way I’ve seen to get the correct “puffiness” of the center section is to have an upholsterer add additional foam to the center section. Don’t know why the reproduction covers can’t get this part correct. It always bugs me to see that.

Pretty good looking car but the paint color is all over the map. Look at the color disparity between the left door and the left quarter panel. I think more like $35k .

That is an outstanding cat, but I’m thinking more in the mid to high thirties. I’m sure the buyer could find another car for around the same price with powertrain options that are far more desirable.

20K on a good day.