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

xwesx

eBAY -- I see the Fall Glut of mint Lincoln Continental from dead guys in Florida and Palm Desert is upon us once again. The sellers are stretching into the $12,000 market but I'm still seeing $8,500 tops on these bids---but we'll see, the market is always changing. I could see $12,500 for a nice 60s Toronado but for a wheezy floaty-boaty baroque mid 70s Conti--NAH.

I was thinking the same thing regarding the price. Especially on that '75 Continental. Paying over $10,000 for an old boat with no redeeming features just does not add up. I think the seller was feeling a little too much nostalgia when he stated near $19,000 and something about "show." *cough* uhuh.

andre1969

Paying over $10,000 for an old boat with no redeeming features just does not add up.

I love those big, hedonistic, cushy old boats of the 70's, but even I don't love them enough to want to pay big bucks for one. One of my friends paid something like $16K for a 12,000 mile 1978 Mark V Diamond Jubilee. I'll admit, it's a nice car, but if I was going for something big and pimpy like this, I'd probably get something like that '75 Craigslist Toronado that Fintail was taunting me with a couple weeks ago. The one that started off at around $2500 and kept dropping until it was down to around $1500 or so!

The more that I look at the Marks though, I think I'm starting to like the Mark IV better than the Mark V. I always liked the clean, sleek, angular style of the V better, but I'm starting to get more of an appreciation for the more curvaceous IV.

I think 70's Lincolns might actually have a bit of a cult following, but I dunno if it's enough to push the prices ridiculously high. But once the Imperial went away and GM downsized their big cars, I think a lot of people started treasuring these big, cushy boats because they were the last of a dying breed. You could still get a mammoth-sized New Yorker in 1977-78, and if equipped the right way they could be every bit as hedonistic, cushy, pimpy, and every other 70's attribute you could think of. But a New Yorker just didn't seem to have the cachet of a Lincoln.

andre1969

but this 1976 Catalina caught my eye. For $500 or so it doesn't look too bad, although it has some rot around the rear window and in the trunk area. One of those cars where it's not really worth fixing, so it'll only get worse with age. I kinda like the dark blue that it was repainted, although the light blue probably looked nicer.

And of course, this 1976 LeMans is crying out to me, but I think the guy's a bit delusional with his buy it now price. Even the opening bid might be a bit optimistic. What is a "recreational" cam? First thing I think of when I hear that is a motorhome/big truck cam.

benjaminh

This one owner car with complete records is for sale on ebay. The opening bid is 2k, and it's probably worth that because of its condition, but the "reserve is not met" and they encourage "international buyers," and so they may have an unrealistic idea of what it's worth.

What interests me most about this car is the back seat. There seem to be two "oh Jesus" handles fitted into the seat in front for use by back seat passengers. I've never seen that kind of design. There is also a light in the middle of the seat, which seems a bit strange. I guess it's a reading light. Then there's a small door that may house a very large ashtray and lighter(?).

I have this car's grandchild, a 1988 Olds 98, and it has very nicely finished ashtrays with lighters built into the armrests of both back seats. Being non smokers we never use them, but they look neat.

Anyway, here's the old 98, the Cadillac of the Olds family:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/One-Owner-Complete-Records-125444-Miles-RARE-FIND- _W0QQitemZ130031294641QQihZ003QQcategoryZ6407QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewIt- em

qbrozen

so I'll finally dig into it this weekend. I've been battling with a HORRIBLE online parts company (autopartswarehouse.com). I have ordered thousands of dollars of parts online (with a couple of orders over $1k each) and NEVER had problems like I've had with these people.

Anyway, I believe I'll have all the exhaust pieces I need by the weekend and I've talked my father into helping me tune the carb. So then we'll see what we see.

Good items i discovered recently:
tires have lots of tread and are holding air quite well.
I think the brakes may actually be OK. they seem to have gotten better with use.
radio works.
heater and blower work.

newly discovered problem:
gas gauge works invertly(??). It was reading 1/4 tank, so I stopped to fill up this morning. It only took 7 gallons and now the needle is buried below E.

tally so far=$1280 (truck=$800, reg/title/tax=$130, exhaust=$350)

oregonboy

Your LeMans is much sharper, although I like the simpler grill on this one. I also like the "no-vinyl-top".

james

xwesx

A "bit" delusional? Come now, anyone wanting to sell a car for anything more than parts should at least take the time to make sure it has four inflated tires on it. That thing needs a ton of work to even be comfortable. I think his opening bid should be his BIN. :lemon:

I have to admit, though, I have grown to like the LeMans.

xwesx

I have nothing against an old '70s boat. Your friend's '78 Mark V might have even been worth 16K since it did have a redeeming feature (very low miles), but the one in question does not. It is just another old car in decent condition.

That is just my take, but then I have a very practical view about these things.

andre1969

That '68 98 looks like a nice old beast. If you were to desribe the color scheme to somebody, I'm sure they'd give you a disgusted look, but somehow I think it works on that car.

That little built-in with the two handles and the door in the middle is kind of interesting. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that in an Olds 98, either. I have seen Cadillacs with that kind of treatment, where they'd actually have little tray tables that extended out for the backseat passengers, but have never noticed anything like that in an Electra or 98.

I wonder if that thing in the middle is actually a door to a storage compartment? I was thinking it might be a little tray table too, but it would be kinda odd to put one of them just in the middle.

They certainly were generous to smokers back in the old days! My '79 New Yorker actually has 5 ashtrays and 4 cigarette lighters in it! There's an ashtray and lighter for the each back door and the passenger front door, and then a big drawer in the middle that slides out for his & her's ashtrays, with yet another cigarette lighter between them!

I guess back in those days they counted luxury by how many ashtrays and lighters you had. It would be a marketing coup today, because they could call them "power points!"

xwesx

Hey, the manufacturers catered to the children of the day. Back then it was cigarettes, today it is iPods, handheld gaming systems, and DVD players..... The motto always has been and will be "catch them while they are young!" :P

xwesx

There is something about wheel covers that makes a car look abnormally massive to me. Even modern vehicles with them tend to look that way.... like the Honda Insight(?)... that "world's first" hybrid car. It is really quite a small car, but it looks massive and cumbersome with the "hidden" rear tires.

In general, I do not care for them, but it works on that '98.

andre1969

Your LeMans is much sharper, although I like the simpler grill on this one. I also like the "no-vinyl-top"

Yeah, I prefer these things without the vinyl top as well. Not only does it give it a cleaner look, but the trim around the vinyl tends to catch moisture and dirt and make them start to rust out quicker.

I bought those same grille inserts last year to put them on my car, but just never got around to it. I think they make it look more aggressive, while the ones on my car are a bit more pretentious and frilly looking. I've just been too lazy to put them on.

I do like the bucket seats and console/floor shift on this car. Although my car, which has a power bench seat, is probably better suited for me. I've sat in these cars with just the manual adjust, and the seats are kinda low and don't seem to go back very far. I wonder if they ever offered power buckets in these cars?

andre1969

I think there's just something about that car in general that makes it look massive! I had a 1969 Bonneville, which was on the B-body instead of the C-, but it was stretched out enough that I think it was probably close to that 98 in length. I remember the wheelbase was 125" and the overall length was 225", and I doubt if that Olds is much longer. But it just LOOKS longer!

I wonder if one thing that might make it look longer is the roofline? The C-pillar looks a bit smaller and upright, with a more formal rear window, which gives it a correspondingly longer decklid. My Bonneville's roof was much more sloping, and that took away some from the rear deck. Still, even the distance between the front wheel opening and the front door even looks huge on that 98!

xwesx

Absolutely. There is no hiding "huge" on that thing. I prefer a sloping roofline - it makes a vehicle look more "thought out" to me. It flows, giving the observer a taste of movement while it is still. Not like the boxy '80s cars... like the Camry. Haha.... it looks like the engineers said, "Oh carp! We are going to have to put a box on top of this thing so that people will fit inside!" That is why I do not find those old Impalas appealing at all. They almost look like a classic "flying saucer" the way the roofline juts out of the otherwise horizontal lines of the hood and trunk. The tendency for them to be "pimped" with hydraulics and oversized wheels does not help that, either. :sick:

andre1969

I used to hate this style of Chrysler. They've come to grow on me though, and nowadays I think they're kinda cool. I think the main reason I didn't like them is that they were just too small to be a "proper" New Yorker. Most people today would call these things monsters, but if you size one up next to the Electras and Ninety Eights they were supposed to compete with, they're actually kinda dainty.

I guess the comparatively small size and light weight made them pretty good performers, though.

oregonboy

That is the same body style as the 1963 Newport that was the replacement for my mom's '57 Fireflight when I was in high school. (I looked for car photos last time I visited my mom and came up with zip).

As I recall, it didn't accelerate as hard, but it handled better than the Desoto. The Chrysler had the advantage of modern (1968) "Polyglass Wide-Oval" tires. (Woo-hoo!).

The Newport was frog-green, which seemed appropriate for its toad-like profile. :P

james

xwesx

Hmmm... I like the looks of that car. The seller also looks to be reasonable about its condition (in terms of asking price), though I did not read through the ad completely. It looks big, but sporty. I think that is a nice combination, and probably why the 300C/Magnums sell well today.

fintail

Were vials of extra-potent crack given to W123 owners?

jaserb

I see what looks like a pretty nice Turbo on my route to work. Asking price is $1695, supposedly has only 85k miles. Are these as deadly as 900s? Worse?

-Jason

benjaminh

I always thought those 9000's looked pretty sharp. A lot of room and functionality. I've heard nightmare stories, here and elsewhere, about how often they break down and how expensive they are to service--thus the low resale value. I think the 9000 came out around 1986. I assume that by 1990 at least some of the bugs were worked out, but I just don't know. What year was that 9000 you saw? Here's a 92 9000 on ebay, with bidding currently up to only about $600:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1992-SAAB-9000CD-GREEN-TURBO-NO-RESERVE_W0QQitemZ- 150038490763QQihZ005QQcategoryZ6437QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

british_rover

Looks like a decent SE-R

lilengineerboy

The practicality of the 9000 hatch is awesome. On various occasions I have fit a couch in the back (sticking out), large televisions, 4 bikes in their shipping boxes, several Macs still boxes and a living room table set.
I remember going garage saling when we found that couch. The lady said "so are you boys just going to run home and get a truck or something?"
The car wasn't mine so I don't know what its repair history was, but the kid got it as a hand me down from his dad when he went to college. It wasn't a turbo.

british_rover

Way Cheap SI Civic

Too bad it looks like it has the wrong engine but if the price is cheap enough it could make a decent rally car. You wouldn't have to worry about title issues or DMV stuff if it was just going to be a rally car.

eewwwhh a Bi-Turbo

michaellno

Busy, busy, busy here in Denver....

Seems overpriced .. I'm sure Shifty will weigh in

Does CarFax go back to 1956?

A fair price for a 944 Turbo?

High miles but grandma can smoke you from a light...

A true project car?

Is CraigsList really the right place for this ad? More like Robb Report.

With the 350, I think this is just an old Chevy .. but check out the seat covers!

Same engine, but probably a bit faster as it's a 4-speed and in a lighter car

I'm hoping to get my FIL's (well, now ours since the title has been reissued) Subaru listed on CL this weekend .. will wash it and take a few photos as well.

qbrozen

Wow! that is one hideous interior on that Mas.
What the heck were they thinking with the green carpeting??

british_rover

hehe nope carfax does not go back that far.

Funny.

jaserb

This is a hatch, don't know the year, don't even know whether it's a stick or an automatic. Does say Turbo on the backside, though. Seems like I heard that it shared an automatic transmission with the Alfa 164s, which are notoriously fragile. Platform is the same, anyway.

-Jason

andre1969

LOL, I like the added touch of the wildflowers in the pics of that '63 Ford...kinda give it a Little Fairlane on the Prairie look or something.

lilengineerboy

That Civic has the wrong engine and that is kind of a big deal. Its too old of a B16a. IIRC, the Del Sol SIs were done before OBDII, so they were OBDI or earlier. That makes them harder to adapt to the post -'96 computers. OBDI motors are in demand because that is what you put in a CRX, it might be easier to sell the OBD1 and get an OBDII.

fintail

Ooof that interior color is a little painful...one for Andre

british_rover

Yeah but if you only be 500 or 600 dollars for the car...

I think it would make a great open class rally car. Just stick any honda motor you want in it as the open class rules are very broad. You can put a B18, a H22, K series or whatever you want.

I think the H22 would be best.

Mr_Shiftright

a 4cylinder '77 Benz diesel? What might that be?

And 35 mpg? Oh, sure....right.....

It's bad enough to ask 4X the retail price, but then lying on top of it....tsk tsk....

Yet another Craigslist rug dealer....

Saab 9000 -- fun to drive, very practical, totally awful automobiles....however, having said that, there is a way out of hell....take the car to a Saab restorer and have him rebuild everything mechanical in it for maybe $20,000. I've seen this done, with good results. But if you buy an old high mileage one, you're as good as dead in two weeks.

1980 Porsche 930 Turbo -- price is perfectly market correct---right on the money. Not an easy car to like, however...you have to be the type that enjoys this car's peculiar characteristics. It has two speeds....1) "are my tires going flat?" and "YIKES!!!!" And never never stomp, or remove your foot from, the gas, in a hot turn.

andre1969

Actually I don't mind the interior of that '79 Caddy too much. What I want to know though is what is it doing with a 4.1 under the hood! I hope that's a typo!

xwesx

Would it not be hilarious if the "fuel starve" issue was just a clogged fuel filter?

fintail

I thought the 4.1 was like a ca. 1983 clunker engine...hmmm...could just be a dumb dealer.

fintail

I know it's old, but "horseless carriage"?

Mr_Shiftright

Actually the term horseless carriage should only apply to any car old enough that it looked like it could be pulled by a horse---certainly a curved dash Olds would qualify.

Once cars got a discernible front hood, this took the place of the horse's head in people's minds and they could understand how it propelled itself. But when the motors were under the floorboards, the cars really did look like horseless carriages. Probably Renault gets credit for making a car look like a car.

fintail

LOL yeah, I know what the term means, I just thought it was dopey to apply it to a 1940 car.

lilengineerboy

And never never stomp, or remove your foot from, the gas, in a hot turn.

There might be a lady in Cincinati that lost her flower garden as someone learned that very vaulable lesson

lilengineerboy

'87 RX7 GXL
I got $937/1350/2056, a bit of a descrepancy from his suggestion. I don't think there is over a grand for a beat up 2nd gen RX7 though.

Mr_Shiftright

The lad is delirious...$750 is about all the money for an old RX-7 with cracked windshield, interior wear and rust---I mean PLEASE--Kelley "Fair" condition is not a shabby car, it's a ten footer...this one sounds like a 50 footer.

These cars SHOULD be worth more, but they aren't, so the market has spoken.

Horseless Carriage -- yes, I KNOW you KNEW what it meant...I was just rambling on about how the term came to be and why people of that time...early 1900s...were very disturbed by seeing a vehicle with nothing apparently moving it forward. They were apparently less upset by cars where you could see the gears and pulleys under the floorboards then they were by cars with totally invisible motive force. Once long hoods came along, they got the concept.

I also recall there was a famous car magazine called Horseless Carriage but I've never seen an issue...would like to, though..I bet it's very interesting.

fintail

Horseless Carriage Gazette? I had a box full of those that I bought at an estate sale when I was a bit younger. All 60s-70s vintage from when such cars were really a big thing. Nice glossy magazines as I recall, but I don't have them anymore.

Diesel Ciera...never heard of it

oregonboy

"runs on Biodiesel"

I suspect that more often than not, that translates to: "it could be modified to run on Biodiesel, if the buyer wants to go to the trouble and expense." :P

Here's one that would be useful on the back 40, if it were fully sorted out. http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/car/211136181.html

james

oregonboy

Here is my nomination for the funniest CL ad of the day:

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/car/212171296.html

I just wish that the seller had included pictures.

james

Mr_Shiftright

That is so sad. He hasn't a prayer of selling that thing, has he?

fintail

That Camry sounds like a $20.00 car rather than $2000

The diesel Toyota seller is a big craigslist diesel hoarder/dealer. People are nuts for it here,

benjaminh

"Excellent condition non running..."

Hmmm. There seems to be some tension between those two descriptions.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1986-Mazda-RX-7_W0QQitemZ140034703984QQihZ004QQca- tegoryZ6327QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

benjaminh

95, supercharged, low miles, no plood, very good condition:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1995-BUICK-RIVIERA-SUPERCHARGED_W0QQitemZ11003874- 1650QQihZ001QQcategoryZ6142QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Mr_Shiftright

2.2 liter non-turbo? Thing is going to be a pig on wheels and a rattle-trap to boot....no thanks...can you say "primitivo"?

fintail

Nice color, pretty car

Wow, this has to be some kind of bargain if it isn't rusty...