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

xwesx

Andre.... there are! :P

xwesx

This Nash has to be unusual, especially for these parts! Is this something that could be a worthwhile project?

fintail

Parts car, or the basis for a wild custom/rod (the bathtub cars are popular for this). Restored stock and in concours condition, just not worth a lot.

Mr_Shiftright

I would say parts car definitely. Most rods that have to come this far wouldn't be 4-doors, or if someone was that ambitious, they'd want a Hudson or Mercury. But there are certainly valuable pieces in there somewhere, especially little interior and exterior trim pieces, or a restorable grill perhaps.

fintail

If Andre wants a new truck

Lots of "OEM"

Were these sold new in the US?

Hard to get more frankencar than this

Go broke in style

This'll destroy you too, but you can look cool in the process

I love this, but seller has priced it like we live in Germany

gsemike

I actually like a number of those. The Big 10 truck, not sure what big 10 means but I do like the Cragars and the gauge package must be rare. Also, no rust visible about the snaps for the cover which suggest a cared for life. Big 10 must have been a regional sticker package. They loves them some college football in big 10 country.

The seller of the Toyota truck is a little OEM nuts but it does seem to be a decent example.

Frankencar is right. How did he even think of if the dash would swap in? It seems like a lot of work when you could have just bough a GTO.

The price on the Ferrari is market correct, right? The blue color is nice.

andre1969

With the exception of that peach/orange color (which I could live with if I had to) that '78 Chevy truck is actually pretty nice. There's a heck of a lot more than $5960 between the condition of that truck and my '85, plus, I'd imagine that the 78 has a 350, whereas mine just has a 305.

Mr_Shiftright

yes the Ferrari is market correct because it's not a QV (4-valve) motor, and the fuel injection likes to destroy the motors on the 2V GTSi engines. I wouldn't touch this one without a complete cylinder leakdown test and a Manhattan phone book-sized service record. Worse yet, a V6 minivan will probably cream you 0-60.

ab348

Great-looking truck for sure. I don't even mind the color and the interior looks good except for the speedo overlay, which I would guess is available repro these days. Truck interiors are often trashed so this one is great. The color is era-appropriate.

qbrozen

I like that Chissan, believe it or not. Would be a very fun car. I mean, it probably still weighs under 3k lbs.

I've never seen a ferrari in that color. very nice.

I wonder what ever happened to that old 308 Edmunds bought to see how it would hold up as an inexpensive toy car.

EDIt: found it. wow, I can't believe it was that long ago already.

texases

That Edmunds 308 saw frequent trips to their mechanic, but they seemed to have fun with it:
308 blog

Now they're doing the same thing with an '85 911, not needing near as much special care (not surprisingly).

I was watching some auction, a Dino sold for over $100k. I was amazed, guess it has to do with rarity, not ability... :confuse:

Mr_Shiftright

A Dino 246 with all the right options can bring a lot more than $100K---they are very popular because in real life they are outstanding looking cars---real attention getters. You are right, the early 206 engines were excellent boat anchors, but a good running 246 is quite a lot of fun to drive and a very competent car.

Like all old Ferraris, they are like little birds with their mouths open all the time.

lemko

Porsche With 10,000 Bullet Holes

Mr_Shiftright

Very creepy article. Reminds me of the crosshairs campaign against politicians. Not a good message to be sending out to society IMPO.

Here's a project with a worthy car but the asking price is simply not realistic.:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/2584626133.html

fintail

Maybe he means $795.0?

Mr_Shiftright

Abut $3K--3500 is all the money in the world for it, IMO.

All done up spiffy and show quality, it's a $25K car, so how can you get THERE from HERE?

explorerx4

A lot of bad shooters there. I hope it wasn't the same group from Mass that let an 8 year old try out a mini Uzi and fatally shooting them self in the head. :sick:

xwesx

A lot of bad shooters there.

That's what I was thinking! There were a surprising number of shots that hit the dirt in front of the car (and who knows how many that missed on the other sides). Eh; maybe they were having trouble with the idea of shooting a Porsche, too, but were afraid to admit that to their buddies! :P

Mr_Shiftright

No, they are just bad shots. I detest all modern guns but I was an excellent marksman in the army. I could carve my initials in that Porsche, (well, when I was on my game) and there were times when I was *very* tempted with my Porsche 928, lemme tell ya'. I was also very good with a mortar but I don't think they let you have those at home (and least not yet) :P

gsemike

What a waste. With the body looking fine, how much would it be worth in that condition? How about selling it as is and giving the proceeds to a charity trying to help people?

texases

Did they collect money from the shooters? But yeah, you'd think there'd be body parts there worth $$.

Mr_Shiftright

Well they used to sell people swings with a sledgehammer at old cars for charity events. But you know, that takes a lot of effort. With an AK-47 you can just sit on your butt and blast away--LOL!

I do think the event took advantage of a cultural animosity among certain members of society against Porsches and what they symbolize. I'm no better than they are. I'd shoot up a Harley for charity, no problem.

A clean late model 911 body would be worth a fair amount of money--the front and rear clips especially.

lbuck2

I put a built 302 Ford engine with MSD electronic, 600 CFM double pumper carberator w/ manual secondaries, and an electric fuel pump. I am running about 6 psi fuel pressure. I put in a C-6 Transmission. Supposedly it has a shift kit in the tranny. (Now I may have messed up by purchasing the tranny thru craigs list.) But anyway, when I drop the transmission into any gear and try to accelerate slightly the engine will seem to pull down and die. I set the idle to about 1000 rpm, same thing. I blew a power valve in the carberator and replaced it. I have cracked the secondary butterfly valves slightly (as Per direction from HOLLEY) All the engine components are new. If I try to rev the motor, while in Park, it has a tendency to bog slightly then after the gas is burned out, will accelerate. Anyone have any ideas as to what the problem may be?

im_brentwood

The Lincoln is getting a careful going over, so I bought this...



54 Ford Customline Fordor. Rock solid body, paint is shiny but presentable at best, interior is incorrect velour, runs good, needs minor mechanical work, already fixed the alternator (12v conversion), water pump, some brake work.. got the carb set right, etc. It's got the 239 Y Block V8 and a Fordomatic.

Been driving it to and from work. I LOVE it! Best of all? $3,300! Even after a set of correct 6.70-15 Firestone Deluxe Champions, brake work, suspension work, etc I'll have short money into it.

And yes Shifty, I know it'll never be worth much but It's not a whole pile of money for a toy in the grand scheme of things

Bill

jwilliams2

Nice '54 Ford, and the price certainly sounds reasonable. Brings back a lot of old memories for me. Learned to drive on my Dad's new '54, same year, same color, same motor, but a 3 on the tree with overdrive. Drove great and stood up to quite a bit of abuse. Only negative was the fact that it was a Country Squire. Not cool for a teenager to be seen driving a wagon. :shades:

fintail

Nice! That's the way to buy an old car - cheap and cheerful. You can drive it and not worry about damage, parts are cheap and work is easy, and it is presentable - especially will be with period correct wide whites. The tents in the back give me a vision of the car pulling a little Airstream trailer.

Mr_Shiftright

Sounds like a good buy...with luck you should be able to 2X your money on it.

True, it'll never be worth a lot (I mean, you can buy an 90 year old Model T for well under $10,000 (gee imagine the insurance and storage fees if you can "held onto it" when you bought it new--LOL!).

She won't bring '55 money nor '49 money but look on the bright side--it can keep up with modern traffic and it's done depreciating! :P

im_brentwood

That's what I thought... for $3300 I can't get hurt at all. I figure that if it gets presentable enough and all set mechanically it ought to be worth about $8-10k.

Good:

SOLID Body, NO rot.
New Port engineering electric wipers.
Trans and rear end are good
Engine runs pretty strong

Bad:

Needed a water pump, alternator, brakes and tires.
Engine has some blowby and smokes a bit
Some flat glass is bad (driver's door vent and window)
Generic radial tires dry rotted.
Few stupid wiring problems from idiot previous owners
Driver's side hood hinge broken
Paint job is not too swift but shines OK.

But NONE of that is really a big issue...

Alternator was shot, $100 for a new Denso and a few wires and it's fine. It also got a new battery.

Water pump was $37 for a Cardone reman.

Brakes? $158 with shipping for wheel cylinders, hoses, master cyl kit.

Glass? I can get a complete set of flat glass for the car for about $450 shipped.

Tires? OK, those were expensive but I'm a H.A.M.B. Alliance member so I saved about 12% on some 6.70-15 Firestones from Coker. $768 shipped..

Engine? Well I have been running marvel through the tank, it's helping free up sticky rings, but the truth is, even if the engine is shot, there's plenty of good used 272/292 Y Blocks out there for $500 give or take and I can swap one out in an afternoon.

Hood hinge? Well it came with a pair of good used ones! Those are a weak spot on 52-4s. 20-30 minutes to swap it out.

Wiring? $150 or so for a new harness from Rebel Wire and a sunday or two in the garage over the weekend will rewire the car.

Paint? I can repaint it... $4-500 in materials.. just my time.

So the way I look at it... paid $3300, I could be into the car for under $7,000 done.... realistically I could have a $7500 car and be into it for under $6k.. can't lose can i?

Besides... it sure as heck beats a 10 year old Accord

Mr_Shiftright

I'd get it squared away mechanically before you do the cosmetic stuff. A good running car can be sold a lot easier than a pretty, non-running one.

So if I were you i'd get it to where you can hop in it, turn the key and the following will occur:

1. You can't see anything really bad from the driver's seat (like a cracked windshield.

2. you can't hear anything bad

3. The instruments do not give any ominous warnings

4. It starts, it stops, it goes, without drama.

once you've reached that point, then you have a salable car--you can either flip it then and there, or decide to go further.

But remember what Shifty Sez: "with old cars, the profit is in the buy, not the sale"

michaellno

But remember what Shifty Sez: "with old cars, the profit is in the buy, not the sale"

OK, I've got one for you.

My wife is working towards her degree in Early Childhood Education, so she comes to class in Colorado Springs once each month. Next to the building where she goes, there is a German Motorsport garage. Today, they had a swap meet. Mostly parts to obscure Porsches and VW's.

However, there was one car for sale - an '82 911 SC. Guards Red, black interior. Owner is a pilot for American Airlines who flips Porsches as a side business.

The nuts and bolts - the "tub" (as he called it) has 170K, while the engine only has 27K on it. The repaint was pretty sloppy - he explained that he had a tenant in a commercial space who ran a body shop but got behind on his rent. As a barter, he agreed to do some work for the landlord which included painting the 911.

Didn't start it, just walked around. He was asking $11K, which I thought was high.

Your thoughts?

Mr_Shiftright

yeah, sounds like high retail at best. No profit in it, and it's not a particularly desirable or collectible Porsche. If the paint were really nice, it might pull $15K but even then not sure with those miles on it.

im_brentwood

Rebuilt engine huh... 170k on the tranny? It's probably on its' last legs.

When they did the rebuild, did they use Carrera pressure fed tensioners? How's the interior? Body?

I've seen plenty of decent 3.2 Carrera coupes for not far off that money, ditto NICE 3.0SCs. Not too long ago I could have bought a really nice, good interior, nice paint, straight body, tight mechanically 90ishk mile 88 Carrera coupe, ya know, with a G50 tranny, for about $17,500.

Mr_Shiftright

My two cents concerning 911-type Porsches is that you stop buying them ending in 1974 and pick it up again in 1987, then skip 90-91 and go for it again.

One has to keep in mind with 78 -88 Porsche 911s is that a bad engine pretty much totals the car.

lemmer

You hate the tranmission that much in the pre G50 cars? That is my main issue with the SC and early Carrera models.

Mr_Shiftright

No I don't 'hate' the transmission and clutch action but it gets so much better in 1987, and with prices about the same, and all the other improvements, and with styling not much different, why not go for the better car?

qbrozen

I'm getting a bit itchy for one myself. However, I'm thinking MUCH newer. I'm seeing 2000-2002 Carreras for the mid $20k range these days with really low miles (under 40k). I'm thinking that's a helluva deal, personally. I might try to see what I can do in the winter. It would require a complete change-up in cars to do it, though. That means selling the MR2 and 540 and trading the GTI. Then buying a 911 and a cheap beater. Might not be worth doing just yet.

Mr_Shiftright

I can only add from my own experience that there are some cars that offer an "experience" that you can't find elsewhere---Ferrari is one, and Porsche is another.

Whether this "experience" is worth it, is a matter of choice for each individual. But my feeling is that in a car universe that we have today, where (unlike in the "old days') there is not such a vast universe of difference between most cars, that the experience of uniqueness is worth paying for if you are that type of enthusiastic driver.

What I mean by 'vast universe of difference" is how you felt say in the 1960s or 70s when you jumped out of an American sedan into a 2-seat open top iimported car. Wow. This WAS different.

Nowadays, you can buy a "hot hatch" or a sleek "sport coupe", and they are very fun, but then go into a typical V-6 sedan and it's not all that different. Same basic seating, dash, controls, good power, very decent handling and brakes, etc.

But you get into a Porsche 911 with that powerful engine howling behind your ears, and that rock-solid feeling and sense of precision----it's really different than an Altima...as in *really*.

qbrozen

I haven't actually even looked in a 996, though. Is the backseat at all useful? It would need to fit my kids, unfortunately. So if that's not even an option, the idea will be killed.

qbrozen

Still haven't gotten the wife a replacement for the saab. She is now waivering on the whole convertible idea and asking about a sedan just so she's not driving her minivan all over the damned earth.

I've spotted these 2 candidates today. This might be the cleanest '89 260E remaining. Good color combo, looks super clean, super low miles, etc. So that's all appealing. Butt..... although this 525i has many more miles and isn't nearly as clean, it still appeals to me because I find them SO much easier to work on and source parts for than the Benzes.

Mr_Shiftright

The BMW would be more fun to drive certainly. CARFAX looks good. I'd check it out for the usual BMW maladies---driveshaft vibration (you can feel this as you first take off), control arm bushings front and rear, and the usual German electrical glitches (play with ALL the switches and dials). Also check the HVAC system and the power windows.

Old Benzes are too expensive to fix IMO and no fun to work on, either.

fintail

Ah a 260E, only sold here for a couple years, smaller engine with only a marginal efficiency gain over a 300E, with less power and a slightly smaller price. Looks pretty nice, especially for being in an area where the elements alone just destroy cars, but even so, nice old W124s have a hard time going past a few grand anymore. Even if it had absolutely no needs, I'd have a hard time getting it out of the 3s.

im_brentwood

Google the following:

"Intermediate shaft failure"

Then get back to me on a 996... Had one I sold grenade its' engine... wasn't fun.

im_brentwood

Funny you should mention a 260E.. saw one today with, stop laughing, Historic Plates!

fintail

Must have a 20 year cutoff there, as I don't think those came around in NA until 88, maybe 87. I saw a Citation with "collector" plates last week.

I see Andre is complaining about his Buick, I think he needs this

andre1969

Funny you'd post that Newport cop car. I was actually looking at that a couple days ago, when the bidding was only up to around $5200. Nice car, and I wouldn't mind having it, but a bit pricey for my tastes. Plus, it's nice enough that I wouldn't want to use it as a daily driver.

I drove my '79 New Yorker to work today, the midnight blue base model that sometimes has a bad habit of getting me to work okay in the mornings, but then refusing to start when it's time to go home. I drove it yesterday on the way back to work from lunch, and it got me home. So hopefully it does the same, today!

It won't always start on the first try, and this morning it cut off after warming up for about 10-15 seconds, and then stalled out again when I put it into reverse. So, I guess it's performing about how your typical 1979 car was supposed to, right off the showroom floor! Once I got out of the driveway though, it didn't stall any more, so that's a bonus, I guess!

omarman

I like the Chrysler squad car too, but I don't know about the seller's claim that the rebuilt E58 360 may be pumping out +300 horsepower now. If the induction is stock and maybe has a hotter cam, that's not going to turn 195 net hp into much over 200 hp. Still, it's a nice survivor and somebody will want it but it didn't meet reserve at $8,180.00. :surprise:

My dad bought a dealer demo Monaco SW with a 360/2bbl in '79. It was a good car but had some cold starting issues even when new. I don't recall any chronic stalling out issues though, even after it was old and miled up. After the warranty ran out my dad would take it to an independent shop for service instead of the Dodge dealer. Eventually the mechanic bought the car from dad after he bought his next new car.

As far as an engine cutting out when warm or warming up, it sounds like primary ignition problems. If recently tuned, then I'd still have the coil checked out before moving on to carb or other fuel delivery issues. When a car is at or near operating temp and it stalls off idle or when selecting D or Reverse, that sounds like the ignition being stressed.

lemko

I had this new 1983 model that kept running after I turned-off the ignition. I guess all new cars did that then. Had a heck of a time finding the gas cap the first time.

andre1969

had this new 1983 model that kept running after I turned-off the ignition. I guess all new cars did that then. Had a heck of a time finding the gas cap the first time.

"Cla-ark, it's still running!"

"Oh, all new cars do that, honey!"

qbrozen

You should have held out for the blue sportwagon.

andre1969

As far as an engine cutting out when warm or warming up, it sounds like primary ignition problems. If recently tuned, then I'd still have the coil checked out before moving on to carb or other fuel delivery issues. When a car is at or near operating temp and it stalls off idle or when selecting D or Reverse, that sounds like the ignition being stressed.

I'm thinking the problem might be in the wiring that runs to the Lean Burn computer mounted on the side of the air cleaner. I've found that sometimes, when the car is getting a little extra stubborn, if I get under the hood and jiggle those wires, or wiggle the air cleaner, then it usually fires back up.

I replaced the ignition coil a few years ago, and at the same time also replaced the cap and rotor, and spark plugs. Seemed to make no difference whatsoever. My mechanic rebuilt the carburetor back in 2008, and that made no difference either. He also messed around with is some the following year and when I asked him he thought it would make it to Carlisle, he proudly proclaimed that he would drive that car ANYWHERE! And of course, it died right around the corner from his shop. He came right out and said "I don't know what else to do". Finally, it did re-start, though. And needless to say, I take that particular mechanic with a grain of salt these days!

It was just last year that I discovered the trick of jiggling the air cleaner and the Lean Burn wires around.

Anyway, I take lunch in about 45 minutes. I guess the car will decide for me, whether to eat out, or stay in the office! If it still won't start by the time I leave work, I'm not too upset about it, because home is only about 2.5 miles away. And the mechanic who's currently working on my Buick is only about a mile away, and says it should be ready this afternoon. So, worst case, I get some exercise in!