I was in north Seattle today, which is kind of a little old lady area. I saw two little old ladies out on morning errands. One was driving a nice clean early Ford Granada. And the second was driving something much more unusual, a Euro model W116 280SEL. It was white with body color hubcaps, and it looked brand new. The small bumpers made it look much better than the usual DOT spec model. I wonder what the story is on that old beast, and the 80-something looking woman driving it.
mine's close: I'd really like a '66 Fleetwood, I almost bought one (Carribean Aqua, matching seriously metallic-leather) a few years ago (not in great, but also not in bad shape, $1100). Or one in Antique Gold. Or maybe a '67 Caprice four-door hardtop, Royal Plum, loaded. I'd definitely have to clean out the garage for either to fit (my 528e, which is 3 or 4 feet shorter than either, barely does right now).
that reminds me of my teen years. we had a garage that was built in the 30's. the garage door barely missed the back of the roof of my parents electra 225. the whole trunk was still sticking out when you brought the garage door down. :confuse:
2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
a friend of mine's grandfather had a '71 Malibu 2-door....same thing. I think their house was built in the '20s, but had this dinky one-car garage, in which the Malibu barely fit (even width-wise). Cute house, though.
Google Earth street view of the 1920s house I lived in as a little kid At that time my mother drove a gargantuan mid-70s T-Bird, I can't imagine it fitting into that ridiculously narrow "Model T" driveway and garage. I don't recall either car ever being parked in that garage. Lovely house though, interior finishes that would cost a fortune today.
I visited the house back in the 90s and took this photo...driveway not suited for any postwar car, pretty much. The subsequent owners let the lawn kind of die, but it looks green again on the Google shot, and I know the neighborhood the house is in has remained good. Too bad we moved from that area, and bought a new 80s house which wasn't built to nearly such a standard.
I remember jumping off the walls alongside the driveway, and trying to jump and pull myself up. I also remember the steps being that kind of light blue, probably painted by my mother.
gorgeous house, fin. You're right, probably no car made after WWII woulda fit (at least not easily) in that garage (I'm imagining the scrape-scrape on the way down, too), but inside the house, I'm sure neat finishes (trim, built-ins, etc.). My mom owned a house 1987-95, built in 1942, it was very cool...of course, smallish rooms (and square-footage) compared to anything contemporary, but great trim and tile, awesome cedar closet, huge MB, nice corner lot but tiny little frame garage (I'm shocked it's still standing, it was termite-ridden 20 years ago).
Yes, first car that came to my mind---the legendary '77 Cutlass. It shocked the world. I can still remember the riot police outside dealers' showrooms.
In some way period houses are like period cars, that brick house reminiscent of some fancier mass market 20s cars with bud vases and landau bars etc...and when I think of it, my grandmother's modern 1960 rambler kind of the equivalent of a car from that period. And maybe a questionably styled 70s house being the equivalent of an AMC Matador or gigantic 70s woody wagon.
I remember some things about that old house...the tile in kitchen and bathrooms, the woodwork, coved ceilings and arched doors, and leaded glass everywhere. It also had a dumbwaiter and a laundry chute, great fun for a kid.
Yep, it's listed as an option in my book, although I don't know why anyone would want one in a car like this. That's a pretty big boat to "row" with a floor shift all the day long. We aren't talking BMW M5 here in terms of handling.
Supposedly you could get the 1976 LeMans with a 400-4bbl and a 5-speed stick. I guess that might've been kinda fun, with 185 hp to throw around, rather than the 100-110 hp the Olds 260 put out.
Something like 0.62% of all 1976 LeManses were equipped with stick shifts (the 5-speed and the 3-on-the-tree). They built about 96,000 of them that year, so that would mean total stick shifts would number about 592. I guess a 400/5-speed would be next to impossible to find.
the legendary '77 Cutlass. It shocked the world. I can still remember the riot police outside dealers' showrooms.
I know you mean that in jest, but you're not far off the mark. IIRC, 1977 is the all-time record sales year for the Cutlass. It was so popular that it caused a shortage of Olds 350's, which kicked off that whole engine-swapping debacle.
I always wondered why the Cutlass got first priority for the Olds 350? I'd think the more upscale cars, like the Delta 88 and Ninety-Eight, would have been a higher priority, yet they were the ones that tended to get a Chevy or Buick 350 substituted in.
I have to think he is/was an enthusiast anyway, the car looked too nice to be just a normal survivor - and it would be a labor of love keeping that thing going for so long.
I should have followed her and asked her about it. That car would be the W116 to have, the I6 would get much better city mileage than the piggy 4.5l V8s we got, and the Euro trim makes it look so much better. Probably had the cool classic MB style velour interior too.
Yep, they don't build em like they used to. Funny to think that was just a middle class house when new...and there's no way that could be replicated for a middle class person today. However I am sure it guzzles energy, and can be cold and drafty with those wood framed windows.
Another parallel to houses and cars might be longevity. I'd be interested to see how a similar 2010 house will look in 2090. Even my grandmother's 50 year old house seems better built than newer houses I have looked at.
the legendary '77 Cutlass. It shocked the world. I can still remember the riot police outside dealers' showrooms.
I know you mean that in jest, but you're not far off the mark. IIRC, 1977 is the all-time record sales year for the Cutlass. It was so popular that it caused a shortage of Olds 350's, which kicked off that whole engine-swapping debacle.
You are right. In '77, the Cutlass was a huge seller.
I think it was somewhat bold of GM to start making 'baby' V8's as well as sixes back then. And to offer a 5-speed in a car that size? Who else did it? Shows some original thinking. I think it's a neat car (but then I was 19 in 1977).
If I were the original owner, I'd have saved some money and ordered the 'S' model (I always liked the fastback roof and large triangular quarter windows...great visibility), stuck with a bench seat, but ordered Olds' Super Stock wheels with trim rings to dress 'er up. It's amazing to me a Cutlass Supreme didn't have full wheel covers standard. The Monte Carlo always did.
Andre, are you sure about the 400 with 5-speed in a LeMans? You could get the Olds 260 V8 in the LeMans too and I always thought that was the only engine you could get the 5-speed with....the whole economy thing.
Bill
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
I saw the 400 and 5-speed mentioned at www.abodysite.com, a site devoted to the 1973-77 LeMans. However, I think that's the only place I've seen mention of it, and it could be wrong. That site also mentions that the 250-6cyl was standard in the Grand LeMans, but my Consumer Guide auto encyclopedia says a 400 was standard. But, I'm sure that Consumer Guide book has been wrong, as well. For one thing, my Grand LeMans just has a 350-4bbl in it, so either Consumer Guide is wrong, or the 350 was a credit option?
I always thought it was a bit odd that they'd make the 400 standard in something like a Grand LeMans, while a Grand Prix came standard with a 350-2bbl. Especially in 1976, in the wake of the fuel crunch, you'd think they'd make smaller engines more widely available.
As for those really dainty V-8's, like the Olds 260, Chevy 267, and Pontiac 265, I've always wondered if they were worth getting instead of a 6-cyl? For the most part they didn't give you much more hp than the 6-cyl engines around at the time, yet they weighed about as much as the larger V-8's they were derived from. So other than being smoother than a V-6 (maybe not a straight-6 though), is there any real advantage?
Consumer Reports tested a 1977 Cutlass with a 260 V-8, and it did 0-60 in something like 21 seconds! They had it pitted against a Caprice or Impala with a 305, a Fury or Monaco with a 318, and an LTD-II with a 302. Those other cars were good for 0-60 in around 12-13 seconds. I wish they had tested a Cutlass with a 350, as that's what most of them probably came with. It would have made the car much more competitive, but may have given the Cutlass too much of an advantage.
Like you, I prefer that faster roofline with the big triangular windows. My Mom's '75 LeMans had that roofline. For '76-77 though, the LeMans only offered opera windows (which mine has) or the louvered windows.
My first new car was a 1981 Monte Carlo, two-tone Light Jade over Dark Jade paint, 267 V8, no air, intermittent wipers, and Positraction. I was 22 1/2, had a job for four months, and was feelin' on top of the world!
My parents had an '80 Monte Carlo V6 and I knew I didn't want that. The six was rough and noisy in a classy-looking car (at the time). The V8 was only either $50 or $75 extra. It was slow, but it sounded and idled like a V8--smooth and quiet.
I feel almost certain (though not 100%) that either the 250 L6 or 260 V8 would have been standard in the '76 Grand LeMans. Those 'Consumer Guide' books are often error-riddled. They are interesting, but I sometimes feel like I could write one better than some of the stuff I've seen in them!
Re.: The triangular quarter windows in GM intermediate coupes--it's too bad (IMHO) that someone at GM felt that the upscale models should have opera windows and huge blind spots, and only the lesser coupes could have the open, airy roofline. I'm a Chevy guy (although it's hard sometimes!), and I always wished you could have gotten a '76 Malibu Classic with that glassy roofline, and sans hood ornament. I love the grille and interior, but dislike the huge rear-quarter blind spot due to the opera windows.
In fact, I really like the big GM luxury fastback coupes of the mid-to-late '60's (Impala SS, Bonneville, Delta 88 Custom, Wildcat) better than the formal-roofed models (Caprice, Grand Prix, Ninety-Eight, Electra 225). It seems like you saw a lot of Catalinas, LeSabres, and Delmont 88's--all lower-trim--but few of the luxury fastbacks.
Bill
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
what's really scary to me, is that that house looks a lot like my grandparent's house in germany. i started looking around on google and saw a bunch of familiar stuff. sure brought back a lot of memories. not Opa's old Opel, though.
2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
I doubt the average 2010 house will even be standing in 2090. My circa-1955 Airlite is build like a WWII bunker compared to today's stapled-together Tyvek and flakeboard McMansions.
Certainly I could kick through all the walls, and rip the doors off the hinges with a small jamb block, and push the windows out with two feet. Then I could go into the attic and jump down through the ceiling, no problemo. The shower enclosures wouldn't last 3 minutes, nor the towel racks and kitchen cabinet doors. The framing is strong, so I probably couldn't knock the place down. :P
I live in a 1947 2 bdr. cottage that is built like Saddam's bunker....PLASTER walls and ceiling, and hardwood trim and floors, all wooden windows, solid core doors. I don't even hear the storms coming from the ocean. You punch those walls and you're gonna hurt yourself.
Kinda like pounding on a '48 Packard and trying to dent it. Don't waste your time.
My c1916 house proved to be a challenge for the installer when I had my heat pump put in back in 2008. They had to run all-new ductwork, because what the old oil furnace used was inadequate, and he said it was a real pain every time they had to bust through a wall or floor.
For some reason, in the outer walls of my house on the main level, the studs don't go all the way up to the ceiling. Instead, they run up to this 4x4 header that runs just above the tops of the door openings and windows, and then there are shorter studs that go the rest of the way up to the ceiling. And instead of that 7/16" crap in the outside walls that you can punch through, my house used wooden boards, about 1" thick, installed diagonally.
The joists under the main floor are 2x8, but then under that, there's an extra framework of 4x4's, that connect the cinderblock piers. I guess the foundation itself is kinda cheesy though, just being cinderblock piers 8 feet apart and wood closing it off. Sorta like leveling and skirting a mobile home! I guess Grandmom's Uncle Luther did something right when he built the place though, as most mobile homes probably don't last 93 years!
...a very ratty primer gray and bondo 1969 Dodge Charger R/T going north on Oxford Ave in NE Philly on my way back from lunch. I guess the producers of "The Dukes of Hazzard" didn't wreck 'em all.
.....tonight, walking back from voting in the IL primary election (useless, but I still do it), I saw a very nice '83-ish Olds Ninety-Eight sedan, in that period light brown with brown vinyl top and nice plush interior. Then, a '90-ish white Nissan 300ZX.
Last night, near my local 4:00a.m. bar (sorry, I'm a lush sometimes), parked near me was the most beautiful Mercedes-Benz 280C I've seen in a LONG time (Burgandy with tan interior), post-1973 (it had the nasty bumpers), with sunroof, matching burgandy hubcaps. It really was flawless, as far as I could see, which makes me wonder why the owner was driving it around in the snow.
The '90ZX was a new platform, successor to the '84-'89. More '84s-'89 were sold than any other generation, before or since, but few collectors value them. I've got an '88 2+2 that I keep, for no good reason, other than it's been a very reliable car that I still enjoy owning. I have no illusions that it'll ever be sought after, but I like the fact that they're becoming less and less common.
In many ways I prefer old cars to new ones. Weird as it sounds, I find the new cars to be too perfected and perfect to be interesting. Many of them also have more features and gadgets than I want, since they add weight and complexity, and detract from the driving experience. For example, I don't want a beeping back-up camera, or cooled seats.
.....I was driving around, looking for a parking space, and I spotted another E28, got out to investigate (and wipe the snow off its nameplate), it was a really nice silver 535is....oooooh, I like.
Maybe that old coupe isn't bad in the snow...and they do rust less than a W126 or W210, it seems. But at the same time, not many of those have survived in nice condition, so the guy must either really be into keeping it up...or it was an inherited car or something.
Speaking of old MB, they fixed up a W123 230E on "Wheeler Dealers" last night, I hadn't seen that episode before. I wish I could have a ton of work done on my car and not pay for labor.
I'm under the impression that the two guys are in partnerhip and they split the after sale profits.
Another show I like is the Mecum Auction & I continue to wonder if the Buyers are financing their purchases or paying cash. I got on the RM auction website recently and was amazed at what brought how much, again wondering where all the $$$ is coming from these days and in this economy. :confuse:
I don't know the particulars, but there are often no profits to split, even getting the work done for free.
And sometimes they lay a real egg, like when then took a Capri, replaced the front fenders, then painted the fenders with spray cans. We never got a clear shot of the fenders, but it was obviously bad...I think they lost on that one.
I've seen, I think, almost all the episodes and there have only been a few times where they broke even or took a loss on the sale.
Not sure about this show, but if it is funded by the BBC, then there is a pool of money available each year as each home in Britain pays an annual license fee of 142.50 (pounds, which equals about $226) to the government for the privilege of watching TV, regardless of provider.
This is what allows "Top Gear" to do specials from the US, Vietnam, Abu Dhabi, etc.
If WD is funded the same way, then I would suspect that any profits made would go back into the show (or general fund).
That's true...the aftermarket front fender bought for almost nothing and modified to actually fit the car properly didn't exactly make me think "quality". It wasn't a bad looking car though.
But a steering box replacement for the price of parts or free electrical diagnosis etc would be nice.
If they split the profits, the mechanic guy is probably making about 20p/hour for his labor.
Hard to say where the money is coming from. I'm sure some of them are swapping out certain cars for others, and others might have been sitting on ready cash and realize that it's actually a good time to buy stuff.
Some of the prices might seem high, but if you consider the amount of money put into the restorations, they may in fact be bargains, relatively speaking. On many occasions, it looks to me like they paid high retail for the car but got the entire restoration for free.
I was amazed at some of the auction prices too...but kind of what you are getting at, I also thought "I couldn't restore it for that". I wasted a few nice hours yesterday watching car shows now that I have a 21st century TV.
I have flipped a lot....A LOT....of cars in my life and I can say with some assurance that one has to compromise, and sometimes overlook things, in order to make even a small profit.
I remember things like with an Isuzu Trooper---it had rust in the rocker panels, needed tires and a clutch. Okay---if you did that "right" it would cost, in 2009 dollars, about $1500 bodywork, $300 paint, $400 tires, $800 clutch----a total loss.
Soooooo, I ground out the rust, treated it with chemicals, filled it with a good aluminum fortified body filler, smoothed it out and painted it with truck bed liner paint (highly textured).
Tires were used take-offs from a friend's tire shop---not bad---safe----for $100 mounted and balanced.
Bought a clutch kit off the internet, rented lift space and air tools and trans jack, did it myself.
Cost of vehicle $500 Cost of repairs $500 Cost to wash and detail $50 Hours of labor -- about 15
In looking at the Wheeler Dealer entry on wikipedia, they have only lost money five times - this is out of 40 cars they've dealt with.
Also of note - there are two seasons - 16 cars - that haven't been shown here in the US, to my knowledge. These include such cars as a Ferrari Dino 308 GT4, an MB R107 (280 SL) and a Bentley Mulsanne Turbo.
Comments
the garage door barely missed the back of the roof of my parents electra 225.
the whole trunk was still sticking out when you brought the garage door down. :confuse:
Man, as a kid, my friends and I probably would have killed ourselves trying to jump over the driveway with our bikes;)
I remember jumping off the walls alongside the driveway, and trying to jump and pull myself up. I also remember the steps being that kind of light blue, probably painted by my mother.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1968-Oldsmobile-Cutlass-wagon-A-C-3-speed-on-colu- mn_W0QQitemZ270519703788QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item3efc3b18ec#v4- -37
funny, the most expensive option on this otherwise-strippo is the 5-speed (didn't even know that was optional; 4-speed, yes, but whatever):
Rocket 88? 4-4-2? Hurst/Olds? '56 Holiday Coupe? BAH!
I remember some things about that old house...the tile in kitchen and bathrooms, the woodwork, coved ceilings and arched doors, and leaded glass everywhere. It also had a dumbwaiter and a laundry chute, great fun for a kid.
Something like 0.62% of all 1976 LeManses were equipped with stick shifts (the 5-speed and the 3-on-the-tree). They built about 96,000 of them that year, so that would mean total stick shifts would number about 592. I guess a 400/5-speed would be next to impossible to find.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
EDIT: Saw your other post, it was brick. Very nice!
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
I know you mean that in jest, but you're not far off the mark. IIRC, 1977 is the all-time record sales year for the Cutlass. It was so popular that it caused a shortage of Olds 350's, which kicked off that whole engine-swapping debacle.
I always wondered why the Cutlass got first priority for the Olds 350? I'd think the more upscale cars, like the Delta 88 and Ninety-Eight, would have been a higher priority, yet they were the ones that tended to get a Chevy or Buick 350 substituted in.
I should have followed her and asked her about it. That car would be the W116 to have, the I6 would get much better city mileage than the piggy 4.5l V8s we got, and the Euro trim makes it look so much better. Probably had the cool classic MB style velour interior too.
Another parallel to houses and cars might be longevity. I'd be interested to see how a similar 2010 house will look in 2090. Even my grandmother's 50 year old house seems better built than newer houses I have looked at.
I know you mean that in jest, but you're not far off the mark. IIRC, 1977 is the all-time record sales year for the Cutlass. It was so popular that it caused a shortage of Olds 350's, which kicked off that whole engine-swapping debacle.
You are right. In '77, the Cutlass was a huge seller.
I think it was somewhat bold of GM to start making 'baby' V8's as well as sixes back then. And to offer a 5-speed in a car that size? Who else did it? Shows some original thinking. I think it's a neat car (but then I was 19 in 1977).
If I were the original owner, I'd have saved some money and ordered the 'S' model (I always liked the fastback roof and large triangular quarter windows...great visibility), stuck with a bench seat, but ordered Olds' Super Stock wheels with trim rings to dress 'er up. It's amazing to me a Cutlass Supreme didn't have full wheel covers standard. The Monte Carlo always did.
Andre, are you sure about the 400 with 5-speed in a LeMans? You could get the Olds 260 V8 in the LeMans too and I always thought that was the only engine you could get the 5-speed with....the whole economy thing.
Bill
I always thought it was a bit odd that they'd make the 400 standard in something like a Grand LeMans, while a Grand Prix came standard with a 350-2bbl. Especially in 1976, in the wake of the fuel crunch, you'd think they'd make smaller engines more widely available.
As for those really dainty V-8's, like the Olds 260, Chevy 267, and Pontiac 265, I've always wondered if they were worth getting instead of a 6-cyl? For the most part they didn't give you much more hp than the 6-cyl engines around at the time, yet they weighed about as much as the larger V-8's they were derived from. So other than being smoother than a V-6 (maybe not a straight-6 though), is there any real advantage?
Consumer Reports tested a 1977 Cutlass with a 260 V-8, and it did 0-60 in something like 21 seconds! They had it pitted against a Caprice or Impala with a 305, a Fury or Monaco with a 318, and an LTD-II with a 302. Those other cars were good for 0-60 in around 12-13 seconds. I wish they had tested a Cutlass with a 350, as that's what most of them probably came with. It would have made the car much more competitive, but may have given the Cutlass too much of an advantage.
Like you, I prefer that faster roofline with the big triangular windows. My Mom's '75 LeMans had that roofline. For '76-77 though, the LeMans only offered opera windows (which mine has) or the louvered windows.
My parents had an '80 Monte Carlo V6 and I knew I didn't want that. The six was rough and noisy in a classy-looking car (at the time). The V8 was only either $50 or $75 extra. It was slow, but it sounded and idled like a V8--smooth and quiet.
I feel almost certain (though not 100%) that either the 250 L6 or 260 V8 would have been standard in the '76 Grand LeMans. Those 'Consumer Guide' books are often error-riddled. They are interesting, but I sometimes feel like I could write one better than some of the stuff I've seen in them!
Re.: The triangular quarter windows in GM intermediate coupes--it's too bad (IMHO) that someone at GM felt that the upscale models should have opera windows and huge blind spots, and only the lesser coupes could have the open, airy roofline. I'm a Chevy guy (although it's hard sometimes!), and I always wished you could have gotten a '76 Malibu Classic with that glassy roofline, and sans hood ornament. I love the grille and interior, but dislike the huge rear-quarter blind spot due to the opera windows.
In fact, I really like the big GM luxury fastback coupes of the mid-to-late '60's (Impala SS, Bonneville, Delta 88 Custom, Wildcat) better than the formal-roofed models (Caprice, Grand Prix, Ninety-Eight, Electra 225). It seems like you saw a lot of Catalinas, LeSabres, and Delmont 88's--all lower-trim--but few of the luxury fastbacks.
Bill
i started looking around on google and saw a bunch of familiar stuff.
sure brought back a lot of memories.
not Opa's old Opel, though.
also, and ugly monochromatic red XJ-S.
Certainly I could kick through all the walls, and rip the doors off the hinges with a small jamb block, and push the windows out with two feet. Then I could go into the attic and jump down through the ceiling, no problemo. The shower enclosures wouldn't last 3 minutes, nor the towel racks and kitchen cabinet doors. The framing is strong, so I probably couldn't knock the place down. :P
I live in a 1947 2 bdr. cottage that is built like Saddam's bunker....PLASTER walls and ceiling, and hardwood trim and floors, all wooden windows, solid core doors. I don't even hear the storms coming from the ocean. You punch those walls and you're gonna hurt yourself.
Kinda like pounding on a '48 Packard and trying to dent it. Don't waste your time.
For some reason, in the outer walls of my house on the main level, the studs don't go all the way up to the ceiling. Instead, they run up to this 4x4 header that runs just above the tops of the door openings and windows, and then there are shorter studs that go the rest of the way up to the ceiling. And instead of that 7/16" crap in the outside walls that you can punch through, my house used wooden boards, about 1" thick, installed diagonally.
The joists under the main floor are 2x8, but then under that, there's an extra framework of 4x4's, that connect the cinderblock piers. I guess the foundation itself is kinda cheesy though, just being cinderblock piers 8 feet apart and wood closing it off. Sorta like leveling and skirting a mobile home! I guess Grandmom's Uncle Luther did something right when he built the place though, as most mobile homes probably don't last 93 years!
Last night, near my local 4:00a.m. bar (sorry, I'm a lush sometimes), parked near me was the most beautiful Mercedes-Benz 280C I've seen in a LONG time (Burgandy with tan interior), post-1973 (it had the nasty bumpers), with sunroof, matching burgandy hubcaps. It really was flawless, as far as I could see, which makes me wonder why the owner was driving it around in the snow.
In many ways I prefer old cars to new ones. Weird as it sounds, I find the new cars to be too perfected and perfect to be interesting. Many of them also have more features and gadgets than I want, since they add weight and complexity, and detract from the driving experience. For example, I don't want a beeping back-up camera, or cooled seats.
Speaking of old MB, they fixed up a W123 230E on "Wheeler Dealers" last night, I hadn't seen that episode before. I wish I could have a ton of work done on my car and not pay for labor.
Another show I like is the Mecum Auction & I continue to wonder if the Buyers are financing their purchases or paying cash. I got on the RM auction website recently and was amazed at what brought how much, again wondering where all the $$$ is coming from these days and in this economy. :confuse:
I don't know the particulars, but there are often no profits to split, even getting the work done for free.
And sometimes they lay a real egg, like when then took a Capri, replaced the front fenders, then painted the fenders with spray cans. We never got a clear shot of the fenders, but it was obviously bad...I think they lost on that one.
I've seen, I think, almost all the episodes and there have only been a few times where they broke even or took a loss on the sale.
Not sure about this show, but if it is funded by the BBC, then there is a pool of money available each year as each home in Britain pays an annual license fee of 142.50 (pounds, which equals about $226) to the government for the privilege of watching TV, regardless of provider.
This is what allows "Top Gear" to do specials from the US, Vietnam, Abu Dhabi, etc.
If WD is funded the same way, then I would suspect that any profits made would go back into the show (or general fund).
But a steering box replacement for the price of parts or free electrical diagnosis etc would be nice.
If they split the profits, the mechanic guy is probably making about 20p/hour for his labor.
Some of the prices might seem high, but if you consider the amount of money put into the restorations, they may in fact be bargains, relatively speaking. On many occasions, it looks to me like they paid high retail for the car but got the entire restoration for free.
I don't see a BBC reference on the Wheeler Dealer site, I don't know where their funding comes from
Top Gear magazine seems to be a hit too...more money for their craziness.
I remember things like with an Isuzu Trooper---it had rust in the rocker panels, needed tires and a clutch. Okay---if you did that "right" it would cost, in 2009 dollars, about $1500 bodywork, $300 paint, $400 tires, $800 clutch----a total loss.
Soooooo, I ground out the rust, treated it with chemicals, filled it with a good aluminum fortified body filler, smoothed it out and painted it with truck bed liner paint (highly textured).
Tires were used take-offs from a friend's tire shop---not bad---safe----for $100 mounted and balanced.
Bought a clutch kit off the internet, rented lift space and air tools and trans jack, did it myself.
Cost of vehicle $500
Cost of repairs $500
Cost to wash and detail $50
Hours of labor -- about 15
Sale price $2500
Me happy, new owner happy, everybody happy.
Did they ALL work out like that----NOOOOOOOOOO
Also of note - there are two seasons - 16 cars - that haven't been shown here in the US, to my knowledge. These include such cars as a Ferrari Dino 308 GT4, an MB R107 (280 SL) and a Bentley Mulsanne Turbo.
C'mon, Discovery HD, give us the good stuff!