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

Mr_Shiftright

Err.....how 'bout the seller paying me to haul it off the property.

boomchek

I love the "engine ran when it was rebuilt 20 years ago" line.

Well that makes it more valuable than a non rebuilt non runner. :sick:

fintail

This is...umm...different

boomchek

hahahaha, but it's stick with original hubcaps!

Speaking of these, I saw one for sale here in Vancouver, a 77 240D with 660,000kms (410k miles). I wanted to buy it as I needed a beater and they only wanted $600 for it. I figure if it lasted that long it might just last to 1 million kms.

Mr_Shiftright

I'd be into a 'trade'---how 'bout a 6-pack?

fintail

There was a manual W123 240D in my workplace parking garage with a for sale sign on it. It was aged, of course, but they only wanted $700 for it. It looked ok and apparently was roadworthy as it was being driven to work every day. Last time I saw it, the sign was gone, they must have had no luck. A 35 year old sloooow manual diesel tank with 350K miles on it is a hard sell. But for an in town beater, why not.

tjc78

What is 0 to 60 on something like that? 18 seconds? More?

I wouldn't want to drive that thing in my neck of the woods.

stickguy

for running errands around town, and driving backroads from your house to the speedline parking lot, why not?

texases

Something that slow would be a problem just getting out of my neighborhood. If I wanted an old car to drive around town and backroads, I'd try and find a 1st gen GTI.

Mr_Shiftright

Because people are always on your butt...the car is too slow for the modern world, sad to say...you feel like there's *always* someone breathing down your neck.

ab348

I think 0-60 is more like 35-40 seconds. They are really slow.

stickguy

well, around town around here 20 seconds is more than enough. Heck, you could take a normal car and imit the RPM to 2K and still have plenty of oomph.

fintail

For an automatic, I bet it is 30+. For a manual, a good driver could probably nudge it under 30, but maybe not by much.

Could be worse though...an automatic diesel fintail probably isn't good for more than 70mph flat out, and you'll wait awhile to get there.

Old MB diesels really need to be turbo.

A slow car could work in the city or some suburbs though. I think one could work where I live - no roads move at more than 45, traffic density and a diverse motoring population make fast starts rare, and many people in modern cars dawdle along anyway.

texases

Actually, a 240D may be good here in Dallas - that black cloud trailing behind could eleminate the need for much of our mosquito spraying!

Mr_Shiftright

I could, literally, out accelerate that car on a bicycle. I guess if you are envisioning putting down a rural country road in Mayberry delivering the newspaper in the year 1936, well then yeah, maybe such a car would work.

I'd be scared to death to drive this car in modern traffic. I'd feel like I just pulled out on the L.A. Freeway in an electric golf cart. I could never relax.

Let's get real here--an old Benz diesel is probably slower from 0-30 than a 1915 Model T Ford.

fintail

From my Model T experience, if you drive it right, they accelerate to about 30-35 scary fast. All the worse when you don't have real control of the vehicle, and are on wooden wheels.

Mr_Shiftright

I don't think I'd ever own an antique car with wooden artillery wheels--way too dangerous--but okay for slow speeds.

I think that my comfort level for old Benz diesels would be the 80s turbo diesel 300 series---they are okay.

fintail

I wouldn't kick a mint W123 or 126 turbodiesel out of my garage, for sure.

boomchek

Or is it better to buy a finished car?

I'm guessing the small bits, trim, etc. will nickle and dime the restoration over what a running half decent example would cost.

66 Mustang project

Mr_Shiftright

That's just a parts car IMO. It's an ordinary coupe, been modified---it's not that valuable a car even restored, so there's no upside on this one whatsoever. They made a *LOT* of Mustang coupes and there are a LOT of them for sale.

boomchek

Thanks. More trouble than it's worth although there aren't as many of them up here in Vancouver as maybe in California.

But then again I could probably pick one up in Cali if I really wanted one.

fintail

You can get a nice completed one for ~10K. You won't be able to make that heap a nice car for the same money, unless your labor is valued at a negative rate.

boomchek

Yeah now that I think about it to tune up the motor, remove it, sand and paint the whole body inside and out, (probably at least $5k for most basic body work and paint job), assemble the interior, find all the trim pieces.... it could be $15k on top of the price before it's finished.

fintail

And you'd be lucky to get much of that back. Like Shifty says, those cars are a dime a dozen - so many were sold that demand is more than met even 45 years later.

Like with most common old cars, buying something someone else has already restored, or an immaculate survivor, is far better than restoring a wreck.

boomchek

I just checked LA craigslist, there's like a gazillion of them under, quite a few complete cars for under $5k that run and just need TLC.

fintail

I bet there are some nice V8 cars for not much more than 10K, too. If you have a Mustang itch, like with everything else - get the best you can afford. Maybe it's just me, too...I have little desire to really restore a car. Old driver quality cars are fine.

boomchek

I'd like to buy one in California and sell it here. Prices for some of these up here are ridiculous. And yes, it would be cool having one as well.

fintail

But are the asking prices anywhere near transaction prices? Craigslist is the ultimate form of freedom of speech, when it comes to vehicle prices.

An early Mustang will always get looks and compliments, and is a lot of style for the money. Certainly worse ways to spend 10K.

boomchek

Yeah probably not. So many up here are priced high and stay online for months.

lemko

Here's a project for somebody who wants to complete a project on a "super rare car!" :P

1936 Mercedes Marlene

fintail

Interesting thing to fall in love with. A butt for every seat, I guess.

Speaking of reproductions, saw something on the passing of Phyllis Diller, and her Series I Excalibur - impressive that she drove one of those, as the early ones could apparently be brutes.

stickguy

even worse, he just wants you to send him money so he can finish the car for himself!

boomchek

bwahahahahaha - ok let me send you $5k so you and your wife can have something to do. Wow. Is that a moocher website or something?

fintail

Had this old beast/dependent/project car out again today:



Performed admirably as usual. It's funny to me that it needs so much, yet is still a pleasure to drive. Looking forward to the wide whites already.

ab348

I had mine out today as well, since it was such a nice day here in Nova Scotia:



The more often I take it out, the better it seems to drive. Lots of fun on a nice day, people react well to it.

fintail

The attention my old car gets seems to grow each year. I think I'd have to be driving a new Ferrari to turn as many heads, and I probably get more compliments and thumbs up.

I took it out on the highway a few weeks ago - seems to be running at least as well or better since.

qbrozen

What do you think a fair value on this is?

I'm thinking maybe $6500-$7500 IF the paint was done well and it is a solid, no rust car that runs well.

I mean, a showcar 4-door 210 wagon is worth around $20k, right? Figure a decent driver is maybe $10-12k? I guesstimate it would take $3k to get this car to decent driver (doing the bulk of the work yourself, of course).

Mr_Shiftright

I'd say about $5000--$5500 is all the money for it. Lots of wrong stuff, lots of pitting ($$$), probably a money losing proposition if you wanted to restore it properly. It's not a 2D wagon, it's not a Nomad, and it probably was originally a 6 cylinder car, so it has a lot NOT going for it.

Might be a nice beater for errands and "look cool for cheap if you don't look too close" kind of thing. Take the kids for ice cream on Sunday and forget about restoring it.

qbrozen

whoops. Sorry, shifty. Was editing my post above while you were posting.

I originally was thinking $5500.... but IF the paint is really good quality, I was thinking maybe then a bit more.

It claims that the V8 is original to the car.

Mr_Shiftright

A quick VIN check would verify that it was originally an 8, and a quick check of the suffix letters on the pad in front of the right cylinder head would verify that it's a '1956 engine.

Correct V8 engine might make it worth a bit more but still, it's a 4D and a rather base model car, so potential value is limited.

If you "Pebble-Beached" that sucker and spent $60,000 on it, you'd have about a $28,000 car.

qbrozen

Thanks for the feedback.

I sent it to my father and he has expressed some interest. We'll see.

texases

I'd deduct $500 on that Chevy wagon just because the fender skirts. Not the vehicle for them...

gsemike

Interesting to see the close up shot of the gear selector with the R tucked all the way at the end. Never saw it like that before. I don't have much experience with anything before the late 60s

btw: with the cost of rechroming, what would that front bumper go for????

bhill2

If someone dropped in a V-8 to replace the original 6 they had the presence of mind to add the chrome 'V' under the Chevrolet badge on hood; the sixes didn't have that.

lemko

That car is just about ten miles or less from me! Get rid of those STUPID skirts! The tires are wrong, the interior trim is pitted, the horn button and ring is missing, and something's not kosher about having that front seat covered with that ugly black blanket.

fintail

Speaking of Corsicas from earlier...probably one of the best ones left, if one is into that kind of thing.

xwesx

No kidding; it must be the best example out there. A friend's mother had one of these when I was in high school. It was a good car, aside from an oil pump issue.... :sick:

tjc78

I could certainly think of better ways to spend 4k!

xwesx

Yeah, me too!

stickguy

odds are, you start driving it every day, and it will be a nightmare of parts/systems failing.