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

fintail

Year is wrong, wheels are wrong in a different way

Price is right

andre1969

I kinda like that blue Mark IV. Do they have to do any suspension mods to get those monstrous wheels on the car? Or could you just take 'em off and put the stock ones back on, without having to undo any modifications?

fintail

I bet those eyesores are just slapped on.

lokki

Actually - I doubt if I have enough nerve to try to buy either one right now, since money in the Lokki household is tighter than it should be when buying new toys (Japan Vacation coming up in a couple of weeks) but I've been working to convince her that all work and no play makes Lokki annoying to have around the house. However, all play and no money in the bank makes Mrs. Lokki very annoying to have around the house.

Which one is the better hobby car. I know that the more expensive is usually the better buy, but it's a lot easier to get half the money from her -

Newer, nicer, and twice the money

Older, uglier but half the price

Is older and cheaper more than twice the work?

qbrozen

no contest. If that paint on the first one is nice up close and in person, you've made up WAY more than the $1500 price difference.

If it is really all there and all as solid as described, that $3k roadster seems like a bargain to me. Which makes me think it is not as nice as described or pictured. But worth looking into.

qbrozen

Same seller, same price, 2 very different cars:
'68 Galaxy
'55 2-door

qbrozen

you forgot one very important detail ... WHY did it need a new engine??!

Hey, look shifty! It is a collectors car! ;b

xwesx

Hey, look shifty! It is a collectors car! ;b

Hahaha... notice it says "runs and moves" not "runs and drives." So, the engine will run, and you can push it..... :P

andre1969

I'm starting to warm up to those little Jag hardtop coupes, although I still know enough to stay away from them!

I think it's interesting how the Europeans often make their 4-doors look better than their 2-door counterparts, while the Domestics would usually make their 2-doors look better than their 4-doors.

seminole_kev

Jeez, finally caught back up on this thread.



Andre, for whatever reason I really like those coupe versions as well (even inspite of that one's color) but I do suffer from an admitted bias for Jags though.

However British cars in Pennsylvania sounds like a certain tin worm infestation. I still remember what an old Mustang I had looked like when I first purchased (it was an old PA car as well). *hint - it had really big "sunroofs" in the floor boards. Driving down a dirt road was fun!

lilengineerboy

you forgot one very important detail ... WHY did it need a new engine??!

It did say woman owner or something, didn't it? Okay I'm totally kidding, but at the same time, why is that in there? I don't care who owned it, if it has all those mods (short shifter w/solid bushings like that one, etc) that sacrifice comfort, the person was likely pretty hard core, male or female.

fintail

Probably some hidden problems or repairs, but it is nice to look at

seminole_kev

Fintail - nice lookin' car, but what do they mean "no paperwork"? Surely they have "some" paperwork. Some work had to be done over the years. It's not a Pinto for heaven's sake. That No Paperwork bit raises a red flag to me.

fintail

Being a Euro model, god knows where it came from and who had it. It probably has no documentation and no way to verify that mileage (which is obviously not correct anyway). There's always a huge risk of getting a rustbucket on a Euro W113 - the worst 113s I have seen have all been Euros.

texases

If you get a chance, take a look at the NY Times article about the guy who bought a new XJ8 in '98, spent thousands on maintenance over the years, then got offered $1000 at trade in time - at the Jag dealer! They know what they're dealing with, I guess.

Can you spell depreciation?

ps - I'd still like a coupe (that works)

british_rover

Oh god he bought a lexus...

He sold his soul.

bumpy

I forget exactly what, but the earlier WRXs liked to eat head gaskets or something that chewed up the engine.

lokki

You know.... it's true: he did sell his soul and like Faustus, he's going to be damn'd sorry.

Don't believe me? Do two Google Searches:

1. Beautiful Jaguar

2. Beautiful Lexus

Look at the first picture you see on each search. Look at pages of them.

Then tell me which car he'll dream about when he's 90.

But, hey, I'm an aging Alfisti - I understand about the beauties of foolish love.

Google Search: Beautiful Alfa

210delray

Well, I can't say I blame him.

texases

This brings up another good side to the XJ/XJC - they are both great-looking cars. It always made me wonder where BMW went wrong with the 1st gen. 635/735 pair - beautiful coupe, so-so sedan.

boomchek

I always liked the looks of the classic XJ sedans as well. Because I'm more of a design/visual kind of person I get attracted to cars more by their looks rather than their practicality.

That's why I always wanted to pick one up, until I heard all the stories here including Shifty's advice. I still like the looks and might get one for a couple of $2k for fun

As for the first gen 7 series BMW, I always thought it looked kinda odd as well. Odd proportions

lilengineerboy

Bumpy, that was more of a 1998-2002 2.5L non-turbo engine thing. My guess is he cranked the boost and popped the thing, especially given the mods list.

fintail

I could see lemko in this

lemko

Funny, because my Grandpop had a gold 1967 Chevrolet BelAir sedan with a black cloth/vinyl interior. There was a car at the Carlisle GM show that was a dead-ringer for his old ride.

210delray

My mother had the exact same model also, except it was a 2-door sedan. That exterior color is NOT original. Ours was turquoise, but darker and greener than that one. (The interior appears right however.) I learned to drive in that car, 3-on-the-tree, no power steering or brakes!

There was also a powder blue color and a "mountain" (light) green.

andre1969

about the exterior color on that '67 Bel Air. Just looks a little TOO pale to be original. My grandparents had a '68 Impala hardtop sedan that was turquoise. My Mom got it in '72 as a hand-me-down, and drove it until 1975 when she got a new LeMans.

The blue on that '67 makes me think of the color that they used on some special edition Firebird around 1977. I think they called it a "Skybird" or something like that? Real pale, powdery blue that had a slight radioactive looking glow to it in certain lights, with rally wheels (either snowflake or honeycomb, can't remember which) painted to match.

To me, it seems more like a luxury car color, and I don't think it looks quite right on a '67 Bel Air. Or a '77 Firebird!

andre1969

that light, greenish/silver metallic that seemed common back in the late 60's/early 70's?

210delray

Yes, that's correct.

fintail

Ouch

lilengineerboy

No, you couldn't save a lot of money. You would have a bent Corvette with a ding on its title.

xwesx

Eh. I more prefer the old Blazer sitting next to it. Bit of rust-through at the base of the doors though. :P

fintail

Modern money pit

Looks like the airmatic has crapped out...that's probably the least of the problems.

210delray

I love it: We do not know the story behind this car or what it will take to get running.

Yet the mileage is "actual." Sure, 22K (or is it 21K miles?) on a 6-year-old car!

qbrozen

wow. unbelievably sad condition for such low miles.

oregonboy

It sure is shiny
http://home.comcast.net/~drenglishe/8/8.htm

Mr_Shiftright

no, no....the Kelley Blue Book value for a RUNNING S500 WITHOUT body work, and without the air of mystery about it, is "over $30,000."

Dear Seller: That is not "your" car...that is a Kelley Blue Book fantasy car..YOUR car is a hallowed out shell of what's in Kelley Blue Book.

Now you know....

BMW 840 Coupe: The "white elephant" (well okay red elephant) BMW that nobody wants. $24,000? Are you mad, sir? Try $17.K, take $16,000 gratefully. Or enjoy your large flower pot.

texases

I know Ebay bids are low, but the highest bid any '94 840 got was about $12,000. A '95 got one bid $22,000 (highest of any '95), "reserve not met", then relisted and never got a minimum bid of $17,500 - OOOPS! Shouda taken the money and run.

8 series was the biggest pre-Bangle BMW disappointment IMO, guess they choked when trying to follow up the 6 series.

Mr_Shiftright

Darn near sale-proof. How many people want an ultra-expensive to maintain 2 door coupe with chocolate pudding for cylinder bores?

Not me, bro.

fintail

Looks like a decent survivor

Mr_Shiftright

Truth in advertising! That '78 T-Bird is in fact being sold below its collector value...by $200 according to my books.

Fairly priced, go for it!

210delray

Trouble is, that's one of the ugliest post-WWII cars ever made. Not as bad as the '58 Edsel or AMC's finest, but still somewhere near the bottom of the barrel, IMO. And then it's brown to add even more to the "yuck" factor.

Even that august publication Motor Trend once called that generation of T-Bird "aesthetically forlorn." (Not when the car was new, of course.)

xwesx

Hahhaha. Well, I know quite a few people who would fit that same description... and likely find the car quite attractive to boot! :P

210delray

Good point. There are some sad-looking people whose appearance could be perked up by sitting in that car. :P

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah well I'm impressed when people vote with their wallets. I think it would be a good car for a 16 year old kid with undeveloped taste buds.

explorerx4

too bad that is not a right coast car. that color is back in fashion.

hpmctorque

Shifty, not sure what you mean by "...2 door coupe with chocolate pudding for cylinder bores?" I've always admired the styling of these BMW coupes, and can understand why the 12 cylinder version was a money pit, but I don't understand why the 8 cylinder version would have been more of a money pit than the sedans with the same engine. Maybe the sedans are money pits too, but then shouldn't people expect large BMWs to be rather expensive to maintain? What problems were associated with the cylinder bores?

Mr_Shiftright

Defective engines. Cylinder bores were too soft. The engines are so expensive to replace (can't really be fixed) that the car is essentially totalled when the engine fails.

If someone is rash enough to replace the engine, he/she is so buried in the car that they can't sell it without taking a big loss.

It's a "no-win" car. It's not even that interesting to drive. It's a big mistake I guess you'd say, from BMW down to the original buyer down to the poor person who buys it second-hand.

At a certain price, it's worth the risk...that price is whatever you are willing to lose.

boomchek

I always liked the styling of the 8 series BMWs. One of my all time favourites. But I also heard that if anything goes in that car, it will be multiples of thousands, not hundreds of dollars to fix.

That's why I was shoicked when a customer wanted to trade a red 840 in to us (I think it was early 90s), and the book value on it was between $2500/$5000/$7500 (rough/avg/mint).

Yikes for a car that cost around $100k new. :surprise:

As for the MB S class with the saggy rear, one of my coworkers was telling me about a client of his who needed to fix or replace the air suspension in a modern Benz. It cost him about $12k. :surprise: Yikes again.

texases

You can also see in the listing where it talks about the engine having been replaced because of the Nikasil problem (BMW said the problem was caused by high sulfur in US gas). Someone else has taken that big $$$ hit, so that 840 might be worth a look, at less $.

seminole_kev

On the Nikasil issue, I know certain years of Jag V8's were of the same construction and had that problem.

Didn't Porsche also use Nikasil on some engines as well? Not sure about that, but ringing a faint bell.

What other manufacturers/models had the Nikasil problem?