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

210delray

I thought you meant the T-Bird, which did seem too slow, but then I realized you meant the DeLorean. Now it makes sense.

Mr_Shiftright

The Delorean was supposed to have turbo Lotus power but it never happened, so it got the Peugeot V6. That switch probably killed the car from the get-go, although a turbo Lotus engine would not have been very reliable----but it would at least have been FAST!

210delray

The 55-57 T-Bird was always my dream car to have one of these days, although I'm not so sure now. Still, $38,000 seems pretty cheap compared to the silly money being paid for the mid-late 60s muscle cars.

I was wondering how much a mildly optioned T-Bird would go for if it was in good condition in a nice color for that era (like red, baby blue, or muted yellow)? I'm more interested in "show" rather than "go" so I could skip the hardtop, wire wheels, big engine, etc. I'd just want a nice driver with no issues.

Mr_Shiftright

Nice driver, #3 car....maybe high $20s....there are always a LOT of these cars for sale.

I have to warn you though they aren't much fun to drive at speed...it's stricly a putt-putt in the sun type of car on a not-too-warm day. Atrocious handling, great looks, plenty of engine and transmission heat wafting through the firewall.

All of these things are correctable of course if you don't mind mild modifications which are completely reversible.

Some good shocks, radial tires, stiffer springs, Dyna-mat under the carpeting and a brake overhaul with dual-master-cylinder system would all be very very advisable.

Also I don't recommend the 3-speed manual floorshift.

andre1969

Your new beater is calling you. And it's in Joisey, so it may not be too far away from you.

texases

At least they went to the trouble of having it clean for the pictures. Think it's worth $2300?

210delray

Thanks very much for the advice!

lilengineerboy

Oh man, all dat needs is some dubs 'n id be tite

toomanyfumes

Shifty, my father-in-law has a 98 Regency similar to that one. His is an '82, Brown, with about 100K but in almost showroom condition. Would it be worth much more than that $2300?

The engine was recently replaced and it looks brand new under the hood, inside, and even underneath.

Mr_Shiftright

I think with any 80s era domestic 4-door sedan, just take what you can get and forget about "collectibility". The car will have to sell strictly on its merits as a good clean used car....so whatever the going rate for "cheap wheels" is in your part of town, that's it for cars of this type.

But $2,300 sounds fair enough for a nice clean car of ANY make model or year.

andre1969

I'd be tempted by that Olds Ninety-Eight. But I've come to the realization that I can't bring home every stray car that catches my eye, or I'd end up with a junkyard!

Sometimes I wish my tastes ran toward more expensive cars. That way I could go into debt over one Hemi Cuda or something, and just be done with it!

texases

That's what I do - lack of $$ keeps me a looker.

lemko

Looked good until I saw it had 128K+ miles on it. I had a 1979 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Regency about 17 years ago with 148K+ on it until it was demolished by a box truck.

I forget, how many miles does that blue New Yorker have on it and how many are currently on the Fifth Avenue?

lemko

Remember the 1980 Cadillac Coupe DeVille we saw up for auction at Carlisle? Maybe it's a good thing I missed when it was up for auction, otherwise I'd be bringing home another stray. I also know how I am about cars. I can't let beaters remain beaters. It's amazing that my 1988 Park Avenue isn't almost a concours classic. I'm constantly tempted to get it painted as everything else is in great condition - but I'm not going to settle for Maaco or Earl Scheib.

andre1969

I forget, how many miles does that blue New Yorker have on it and how many are currently on the Fifth Avenue?

My '79 5th Ave has about 92,000 miles on it, and the blue one has about 64,000. I probably should have bought that blue 1980 NYer we saw at the 2006 Mopar Nats. It was just about flawless and I think it only had 34,000 miles on it. I think the seller wanted $4300 for it. There's no way I'd be able to get either one of my New Yorkers looking that good for $4300.

The only thing I didn't like about that '80 is that it only had a 318-2bbl, with all of 120 hp. My '79's really aren't all that fast with the 150 hp 360-2bbl, so I can't imagine how slow one of these would be with 30 less hp and probably 40+ fewer ft-lb of torque.

Supposedly the '80 R-bodies were much better-built than the 1979's, too.

qbrozen

that's real close to me. Not quite my thing, though. But if I needed a beater ...

one thing, though:
GOOD POWER, GREAT STEERING AND TIGHT FRONT END ALONG WITH EXCELLENT BRAKES

Sooo... that means its better now than when it was factory new? ;b

fintail

Cheapest 129 I have seen locally

qbrozen

there might be good reason. notice the miles aren't listed.

texases

It seems like these can be had for not much more than 450/380/560SL$$. Maybe a result of the bland styling. The current SL seems to be holding its value much better. Any general problems with 129s?

Mr_Shiftright

That's not cheap--that's a seller who knows what the real world price is and doesn't want to run the same ad for a year. He wants to sell the car and be done with it.

$9K--$12K is all the real money for these cars.

fintail

Yeah, I didn't mean cheap as in a good deal, I meant cheap as compared to others on the market. Some people still want 20K for 17 year old 129s, and even more for some 560SLs.

fintail

This guy must be a masochist - 80s Jag, Porsche 928, and a RR Silver Shadow in the garage

fintail

A real truck

This might have character

210delray

A real truck -- pretty nice for the money. What are "tabs" in Washington? (I assume these are the expiration stickers that go on the license plates?) Do the plates stay with the vehicle when it changes hands in your state?

"Dual axel" -- obviously he means dual rear wheels. I can't stand it when people name their cars or call them "she."

56 Chieftain -- seems a bit high considering its condition and the fact that it's a wagon and a base model. I like the colors though!

Mr_Shiftright

Those prices are absolutely ridiculous and I presume unattainable.

fintail

Yeah, people here like to call the yearly registration stickers "tabs" or "tags". The plates remain unless it is a personalized plate.

xwesx

Gertrude, huh. Beauty. Now thart's a reeeeal woman there!

fintail

Seattle pricing... - and this is in no way a "European model"

Mr_Shiftright

It's a nice car and all that (unlike most Benz beater diesels) but being a coupe doesn't make it worth more money---if anything the sedan is worth more.

urnews

Wretched color, unrealistic price.

210delray

I totally agree (pardon me while I puke).

I think it would look better in Plum Crazy (Mopar purple).

Mr_Shiftright

Sometimes the claim of "rare" is accurate, but does it really affect the price in all cases? I think not...

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/car/372397948.html

urnews

The radio speaker grille is outta sight.

Mr_Shiftright

It'd be a great rod but $6K seems high for starters. It's pretty rough.

210delray

I'd have to see the front end, but from the sides and rear, it looks like the General made little effort to differentiate the Pontiac from the Chevy of the same year. I bet the wheelbase is the same also.

andre1969

According to my old car book, '53 Chevies were on a 115" wheelbase, while Pontiacs were on a 122" wheelbase. But it could have been different with that sedan delivery.

Pontiac and Chevy were both on the corporate "A" body platform, just with different wheelbases, but I'm not sure where they stuck on the extra length for the Pontiacs. Once they started making the pricier Pontiacs bigger than the cheap ones, in 1955, they usually just stuck on the extra length in the rear deck on 2- and 4-door models. The passenger cabin was the same, but the rear quarter panels were stretched out, and either the trunk lid was longer, or the spacer panel between the rear window and the decklid was longer. But you can't do that with a wagon, so wagons usually shared the same wheelbase and body.

I guess with the Chevy versus the Pontiac, maybe they tacked on the extra length ahead of the firewall? Basically just resulting in a longer hood and fenders?

fintail

Seems like an odd powertrain for this

"It currently is not running because of an electrical problem" - you can guess the nationality and maybe even the make of this car from that statement alone

andre1969

That 1980 Malibu wagon just seems a bit odd in general. It has the base interior...that's the same vinyl and door panels that my 1980 had, but it looks like the gauge cluster is out of a Classic, or maybe a Monte Carlo. Also looks like it has gauges for temp/volts/oil pressure, instead of just idiot lights.

My grandparents had an '82 Malibu Classic wagon with that engine, the Chevy 229, and it was a dog. But maybe with no a/c, a few more hp (the '80 had 115, versus 110 for the '82), and the stick shift, that 80 might not be too bad.

FWIW, I didn't think my '80 coupe, which had the 229, was bad at the time. But I'm sure if I had to go back to driving something that slow, I'd hate it today!

Mr_Shiftright

That MGB could be a very VERY good deal if it's clean and straight.

You can fix an MGB with debris you find on the side of the road. I can't imagine why finding an electrical problem on this car could be hard. We are talking 1925 technology here.

jlflemmons

Unless the entire wiring harness is burned up. Been there, done that. Some of the MG/AH wiring harness routes did not use fuses. Short the wire, smoke the harness. Learned that one on a '67 Healey Sprite when the tail lights were shorted by a loose lug wrench. Took out the harness all the way back to the firewall.

Repeat after me: "Lucas, Prince of Darkness ..."

Mr_Shiftright

I'd buy a super clean '74 MGB for $3,995 with NO WIRES in it. Someone should look at that car and snag it. If it's as clean as it looks (one wonders of course) and it's just a short, someone could make $3,500 quick bucks with a few splices.

Wish it were closer to me.

fintail

Heck, it's even in my fair city. But other than rust, I wouldn't have a clue what to look for, especially when it comes to electrics.

I do notice the car is wearing the old style plates, which were mandated out about 10 years ago. That might mean the car has been laid up for a long time.

Mr_Shiftright

It would be interesting to know what this "problem" is....doesn't start, doesn't charge, what?

fintail

It probably needs a lot electrically. I wonder when it was last on the road.

Mr_Shiftright

I think if you ordered every electrical part that is IN an MGB, from the Moss Motors catalog, it couldn't amount to more than $1,000 dollars. We got one alternator, one regulator, ten fuses, maybe 12 wires, two batteries, some fuses and some bulbs.

I always tell MG owners that the first thing you do when you buy one is replace a)the battery cables and b) the fuses. Bingo---90% of your electrical problems are gone.

lilengineerboy

I always tell MG owners that the first thing you do when you buy one is replace a)the battery cables and b) the fuses. Bingo---90% of your electrical problems are gone.

We bought that painless wiring GM harness thing. It was kind of fun to have windshield wipers, lights, and radio...wait... all at the same time.

fintail

The car is what, a 2 hour flight from you? You should come up with a suitcase full of parts, and drive her home :P

Mr_Shiftright

You know I'd be tempted if I knew what it was...so many MGBs look good in photos but are real rats when you get there.

jlflemmons

You mean like when the the batterys get overcharged by a stuck regulator, boil over in the trays, and eat their way through?

Nah, that never happens.

Mr_Shiftright

Having two 6 volt batteries for "balance" is the silliest thing I ever heard of. Corrosion of the battery tray is also a neat Porsche 914 trick.