Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!

Project Cars--You Get to Vote on "Hold 'em or Fold 'em"

1502503505507508843

Comments

  • tjc78tjc78 Member Posts: 15,852
    Ok, I've read a lot about the car on the forum. The engine bay looks to need a bit of tidying but otherwise nicely done. No rust other than the bubble and from a video on You tube it sounds healthy. If I could drive it and evaluate I would be super tempted. It's a look I like with a fairly modern drivetrain, but may too much risk for 4k plus shipping.

    2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve

  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,762
    You know, I think that $7K is actually high for the Ford. I say that because it is terribly thrown together. The upholstering on the interior is just a shabby, sloppy fit, the bed is beat to heck and simply painted over, you noted the poor tailgate fit, I don't know what they did with the interior of those doors, but I see "half-arsed" written all over this thing and would pay more for an all-original non-rusted need-machine than for this tarted up rat.

    Sorry, but that's just how I see it. But then, I *like* old pickups. :blush:
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 32,891
    Really tough to tell from just pics. $7k is a number that assumes everything is kosher. Obviously, if an in-person inspection turns up problems, you have to start deducting. Its the same with just about every vehicle posted here. There is only so much you can tell from pics on the internet.

    And, like in this case, interpretation of those pics can differ. Seat looks good to me, for example.

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,097
    edited March 2013
    A couple pics from today:

    image

    image

    And I thought it turned heads before. I think the tires really catch the eye - I know I was being looked at today.

    Running fine, but turn signals are occasionally weird, the don't seem to light up bright enough on the instrument cluster.
  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 32,891
    Love them

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • michaellnomichaellno Member Posts: 4,120
    All you need are the period-correct French yellow headlights, and your car will be ready for a James Bond film!
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I had yellow fogs on my W123 and they looked very cool I must say. Not an appropriate car for white walls however.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,097
    I was a little doubtful at first as they seemed too flamboyant, but now I am glad I got them. Not cheap, but the car needed tires anyway, and there aren't many choices for that tire size. In terms of huge cosmetic upgrades, worth the money. Now the car is an ultimate 10 footer.

    Sunny this morning, took a few more pics:

    image

    image

    image
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,097
    edited March 2013
    The correct lights for a Euro car would be the flush composite lights, like these:

    image

    I am not sure if French market cars had the yellow tint. It's definitely a 60s spy movie bad guy car.
  • gsemikegsemike Member Posts: 2,272
    link title

    I called about this and am intrigued. The car is the product of a father/son project and by the time that this was completed, the son had moved on. The car hasn't been used regularly in about 10 years but it has been on and off the road. The car was stripped to metal and painted and the bumpers dipped 10 years ago. I don't know yet how much bodywork was done. The car has a rebuilt 400 but he didn't offer much details on that while on the phone.

    I'm trying to see when I can get to it. The question is what i would be getting into in getting this on the road and used regularly, but only as a weekend car. What does everyone think?
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,439
    doesn't look too risky. If the body is really still solid, that is huge in my book. I hate rust.

    sounds like it must run and drive, so hard to think the work needed to get back on the road will be too onerous or expensive. The bodywork and paint is usually what kills you.

    not a valuable car, but also not very expensive. If you just want something fun to cruise around in and enjoy, why not? Still probably makes nice rumbly noises and will light the tires. And real easy to make it faster or louder if you want to.

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    edited March 2013
    Price seems fair enough. You could spend another $2500 sorting it out and still bail and come out even on it or maybe make a little. Doesn't matter too much what it looks like underneath, (probably needs suspension work anyway) but for $6000 the interior should be at least "decent" and not torn up and the engine bay should be tidy. The cars are mechanically as simple as a wood stove, so that's good.

    matching #s are also not important on a car of this price level and type. (1973 is sort of the falling off point for "purists")
  • gsemikegsemike Member Posts: 2,272
    That's what I'm thinking. I hate the dukes or hazard wheels but get something more modern (maybe a weld) and I think the vertical stripe on the quarter that wraps over the trunk in white, it could be convincing for not much money. The seller said that the dash has cracks but interior is otherwise decent and i think he said new carpet at some point. It's got a very weird buckets set up that it two buckets with a fold down armrest in the middle and three sets of seatbelts.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Too bad about the dash--if the cracks are bad, that's pretty expensive to repair and a car always looks like crap with a cracked dash...maybe because you have to look at it all the time! :mad:
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,097
    When I bought the fintail, it had a few tiny cracks around the instrument binnacle, but nothing more. Many years ago, I had the car out on a cold subfreezing day. I came back to it a few hours later, to see a new crack right in the middle. I could have screamed. It is hard to notice and I can usually ignore it - I don't want to think about the cost and labor needed to replace the pad.
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,762
    Looks great, and love the bobblehead. That had me cracking up, and I'm not sure why I didn't see it before.
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,097
    edited March 2013
    Thanks.

    I've had the bobblehead since ~1996, it's a 60s vintage one (a hockey player), found it in some little antique shop and couldn't resist it. I had seen an old car with a nodder on the dash, and wanted one too.

    Surprising, worth a bit more than I paid for it
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,097
    Looks like there's a new project car in Germany

    Just north of Stuttgart, apparently a 26 year old mechanic was "testing" the car, and had an unfortunate incident. Damage estimated at 650K Euro.

    image
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,762
    Wow. That's one guy whose career is over before it began.... :cry:
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Boy he really did a number on that car. Looks like he slid under a truck.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,097
    edited March 2013
    He apparently walked away unharmed, car held up very well. The car has a sad face now.
  • au1994au1994 Member Posts: 3,356
    That just makes me hurt all over.

    2021 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 4xe Granite Crystal over Saddle
    2024 Audi Q5 Premium Plus Daytona Gray over Beige
    2017 BMW X1 Jet Black over Mocha

  • omarmanomarman Member Posts: 2,702
    I clicked the link but my German is a bit weak. I looked for the phrase "Pepsi Max Probefahrt" but didn't find it. Still this cries out for further investigation.
    A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,762
    That cracks me up, omar, even though I'm sure there's a reference there that I'm completely missing.

    Online translators aren't the best, but Google's attempt is the following:

    Pleidelsheim: Because he's probably been traveling fast, it has a 26-year-old on Tuesday afternoon on the county road between 1700 and Mundelsheim Pleidelsheim worn (the district of Ludwigsburg) with a Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing from the curve. The classic car after the accident only scrap, the damage is around 650,000 euros.

    After dpa information an employee of a dealer had taken in Pleidelsheim a test drive with Mercedes. The valuable vintage cars was in the shop for maintenance.

    As the police reports, the 26-year-old came to the county road towards Pleidelsheim draw level at the output of Höpfigheim a left curve to the left of the road. The classic car rolled over in the accident and suffered a total loss. The 26-year-old was unharmed.
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,439
    expensive joyride. I hope someone had a lot of insurance.

    but no, it is not a total loss. It will be rebuilt.

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    edited March 2013
    Yeah, that car is totaled--i'm sure that space frame is completely wonked, too.

    They'll probably rebuild it, because the value for those cars is only going UP, but at the moment there's not a penny's profit in it, IMO.

    Let's say you could sell it restored for $900,000--is it worth doing?

    Maybe the Mercedes museum would like to have another one--they could fix it up real nice. They only made 1400 of them, and I'd guess less than 1,000 are still alive.
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,256
    If the repair shop doesn't have enough liability coverage, they are going to owe the Merc owner a lot of free oil changes. :)
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    a Gullwing can be quite tail-happy in the wrong hands.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    Sheesh, with something that valuable, they shouldn't have trusted it in the hands of some rookie. I don't see one straight panel on that car. Even the left front wheelcover appears to be dented.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    Hmm, maybe I need to bump up the agreed-value of the insurance on my '79 New Yorker, and let this mechanic take it for a spin... :shades:
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Your post does bring up the interesting question:

    "If your classic __________ got totaled, would you use the payoff to buy the same type of car again?"
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    "If your classic __________ got totaled, would you use the payoff to buy the same type of car again?"

    No need to, I already have a backup! :P

    image

    If my DeSoto ever got totaled, I think I would try to seek out another '57-58, as long as it's at least a Firedome or Fireflite, hardtop coupe or convertible.

    If the Catalina ever got totaled, maybe use the payoff as an excuse to advance to a Bonneville? Or, if I wanted another big convertible, I wouldn't mind a '72 Impala or '75 LeSabre.

    As for my LeMans, if it got totaled, I dunno if I'd seek out another one. As for my New Yorkers, if one got totaled, I'd hold onto the wreckage for parts for the other one, but I think I'd simply bank any payout, rather than add to the fleet.
  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 32,891
    aw, hell no. Life is too short to own the same car twice. ;)

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    If something ever happened to my 1989 Cadillac Brougham, I'd put the settlement towards buying a Concours-quality 1969 Cadillac Fleetwood.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    aw, hell no. Life is too short to own the same car twice.

    Now that I think about it, I've always wanted a '61-62 Caddy. So, if something happened to one of my rides, maybe I'd put the settlement towards that.
  • stevedebistevedebi Member Posts: 4,098
    edited March 2013
    Even my German is better than that. As he left the town of Hoepfigheim, he encountered a left curve and lost control.

    It is the first time I've tried Google Translate. It really doesn't account for the differences in sentence structure between German and English.
  • michaellnomichaellno Member Posts: 4,120
    aw, hell no. Life is too short to own the same car twice.

    Like I'd even want another ION!

    Now, with the wife's Mazda, we'd probably go with another SUV.
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,439
    I would never get the same thing for myself. Not sure what would happen if the RDX (wifes car) got totalled. She might want another one, but I would make sure to do the research/test phase again! always something new to look at.

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,762
    Haha, yeah, it looked pretty bad to me, and I can't read a word of German. I got the gist of it, though. That's the problem with any of the translators I've come across: They just don't account for structural differences.
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,762
    It looks like the driver's mirror is unscathed, though. That saves about $5K alone! :P
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,762
    "If your classic __________ got totaled, would you use the payoff to buy the same type of car again?"

    For me, that's a resounding "NO!" Not because I don't like my antiques/classics, but simply because the most valuable part of any of them (to me) is their history. Without that, I wouldn't have a good enough reason to have them to make me seek out another.
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • au1994au1994 Member Posts: 3,356
    That's my motto, although the 328 may test it.

    Owned the same make 3.5 times. Mustang and Explorer about 8 yrs apart; Tacoma and 4Runner about 6 yrs apart; Accord and TSX (thus the .5) about 4 yrs apart.

    2021 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 4xe Granite Crystal over Saddle
    2024 Audi Q5 Premium Plus Daytona Gray over Beige
    2017 BMW X1 Jet Black over Mocha

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,097
    edited March 2013
    "If your classic __________ got totaled, would you use the payoff to buy the same type of car again?"

    Hmm...I don't know. Fintail has a mere 5K of agreed value coverage with Hagerty - could probably find an OK old MB for that kind of money, but I don't know. Fintails are not expensive, but not easy to find a decent one anymore. I might be stuck. I wonder if they'd let me keep the tires :shades:
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    All I know is, I'd be really upset at losing my Brougham. The car has been with me for over 24 years. I could probably easily find another nice Brougham, but it won't be my car!
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,762
    That's it! Granted, it might be a *little* more difficult for me to find a nice '69 Ford Econoline, but the same point stands: It wouldn't be my car. :cry:
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,097
    I've passed the 18 year mark with my car. It would break my heart to lose it in a wreck. I also know all of its quirks - picking up another 50 year old car with lord only knows what issues might be uncomfortable.

    Really nice fintails seem to have crept up a little, maybe I should add a grand to that value.
  • bhill2bhill2 Member Posts: 2,466
    I also know all of its quirks - picking up another 50 year old car with lord only knows what issues might be uncomfortable.

    Exactly the same with me with my 28 year old. I would be very hesitant to pick up a replacement car with an unknown history.

    2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])

  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,031
    "If your classic __________ got totaled, would you use the payoff to buy the same type of car again?"

    Really good question. I wish I had a good answer.

    In my case I would be getting a cheque for $18,000. I know I wouldn't want the exact same model/year again. But whether I'd want something close, something very different, or anything at all is really hard to say.

    I never use the Cutlass these days and I hold onto it thinking that once I'm retired, I'll do a bunch of things to it and with it. But who can say for sure.

    At times I think I'd like to have a Chrysler fuselage car, but I suspect I would drive it even less than the Cutlass. At times I think I'd like to have a modern sporty car, like a Mustang GT - but $18K won't buy one of those.

    It is a really difficult thing to figure out.

    2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,097
    I'd guess a really minty 123 or 126 would be one of the safer old car bets out there - they are just so solid. But it would have to present as-new and have documentation. They aren't getting any cheaper,either.
Sign In or Register to comment.