Chris, since your asking good questions about 'comparative' value lets take this one step further...
"...if you can buy a fully restored Hemi Cuda/Challenger 4spd with numbers matching top to bottom for less than $130,000 is a similar RA IV TA worth 3 times that?"
Lets ask your question this way :
If you can buy a fully restored ('70) Hemi Cuda/Challenger 4spd with numbers matching top to bottom for less than $130,000
is a '71 Hemi Cuda worth ~ 5 x that?
$615K 71 Hemi Cuda (550K+10% buyer add on)
http://www.mecum.com/auctions/lot_de...=SC0511-107267
Or...
If you can buy a fully restored ('70) Hemi Cuda/Challenger 4spd with numbers matching top to bottom for less than $130,000 is a '70 440 Cuda convertible worth ~2.5x that
($330K w/buyer add on at Mecum's 2011 auction)?
In both cases, it may seem absurd to most people but in the end clearly the answer was '
yes' it was worth it to someone.
Along those lines lets flip your question around to ask this.
Is paying 50-60% of what a top shelf $615K '71 Hemi 'Cuda went for ($615K) for a top shelf, no excuses 4speed '69 RA IV TA 'worth it' (or dare I say "reasonable"?). To the right buyer, absolutely....
That said, I will say its a very "picky" market at the top end, that at times is hard to sort out. Results mentioned here, and generally at Milt's and Mecum 2011 bear that out. Making sense' of every top end sale in this schizophrenic market is impossible, imo.