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

qbrozen

I like the Acura as a runabout but it really is just a used car to be put into service, IMHO. I feel like $5k on the street would have been right. At $5500 on an auction, you are what when done? More like $6k? I don't know the BAT rules/fees.

Mr_Shiftright

qbrozen said:

I like the Acura as a runabout but it really is just a used car to be put into service, IMHO. I feel like $5k on the street would have been right. At $5500 on an auction, you are what when done? More like $6k? I don't know the BAT rules/fees.

Seller pays $99. Buyer pays 5% of selling price, minimum $250 up to $5,000 fee, with a $5000 cap for any selling price over $100K.

So if you bid $6K on that Acura, you'll pay $6300 + shipping of course if it's not local to you.

isellhondas

And hope like heck it doesn't have a bad transmission or stink like dogs, spilled milk and cigars inside!

Buying an auction car sight unseen has many pitfalls but you can get lucky too!

Mr_Shiftright

Yep, it's a crap shoot. Being artfully deceptive is not a skill practiced only by dealers.

isellhondas

Our store once bought a beautiful used Odyssey at an auction sight unseen except for photos that were beautiful.

If SMELLED so bad inside that I'm going to spare all of you would could have been a very GRAPHIC assessment. Just think the worst and it was ten times worse than that! The detailers tried and eventually refused to even get in the car. We sold it at auction and no doubt got spanked in the process!

tjc78

A buddy of mine had a 98 Grand Prix (fully loaded pace car replica with the supercharged 3800, nice car for the time).  His wife as driving the car in the heat of the summer and managed to spill almost a whole gallon of milk in the rear seat.  

It wasn’t cleaned properly and after a few days the car started to smell.... bad!  I helped him steam clean it, pull the rear seat to see if it got under there somehow, but we could never fully get the smell out.  

isellhondas

Milk may be the worst. I once took in a nice Civic that the owner had used to cart around an 80 pound SMELLY Bassett Hound. It smelled SO bad! The problem got even worse when the detailers pulled out the entire interior and power scrubbed everything. It then smelled like a WET Bassett Hound.

Another sweetheart for the auction.

gsemike

1990 BENTLEY Hopper Empress II

https://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/cto/d/1990-bentley-hopper-empress/6468251142.html Is this actually a thing? Could this money be remotely sane?

texases

I don't know, but that's the least-impressive interior I've seen in a Bentley/RR - those seats and steering wheel could be out of an Accord...

andre1969

I'll confess I spilled chocolate milk in my 2000 Park Avenue once. Fortunately it wasn't *too* big of a spill, and I cleaned it up when I got to work. Also a good thing, I guess, that the car had a light brown interior, so the milk blended in!

My Dad used to smoke like a chimney, and unfortunately, the '03 Regal I inherited from him had that inflicted on it. It actually has diminished, with time. He hadn't driven the car since September of 2016. And after he passed away in March of last year, I left the windows cracked, to let it air out some, until I finally brought it over to my house in May. We had left it over there so the house at least looked somewhat occupied, until we could get it sold, but in retrospect, the car got so dusty, it probably wasn't fooling anybody. Probably looked abandoned!

Anyway, the smell is mostly gone, now, but every once in awhile I'll catch a whiff of it. Hell, maybe the car is a more modern GM version of Christine, and what I'm actually smelling is Dad's ghost lighting up a Maverick!

fintail

Yep it's real, and no, the money isn't sane. That era was not a bright time for Rolls-Royce and Bentley. Looks like it was on BaT, too:

https://bringatrailer.com/2017/08/15/one-of-six-coachbuilt-turbo-r-coupes-1990-bentley-hooper-empress-ii/

And has been seen elsewhere over the years:

http://www.bentleyspotting.com/2008/06/bentley-hooper-empress-ii-market-wrap.html

If I wanted a weirdo car like that, I'd buy a Camargue for a quarter of the money, and at least get a Pininfarina badge.

ab348

Dealerships use a product to get rid of smoke and other odors that are resistant to cleaning but I can't recall the name of the stuff.

gsemike

fintail said:

Yep it's real, and no, the money isn't sane. That era was not a bright time for Rolls-Royce and Bentley. Looks like it was on BaT, too:

https://bringatrailer.com/2017/08/15/one-of-six-coachbuilt-turbo-r-coupes-1990-bentley-hooper-empress-ii/

And has been seen elsewhere over the years:

http://www.bentleyspotting.com/2008/06/bentley-hooper-empress-ii-market-wrap.html

If I wanted a weirdo car like that, I'd buy a Camargue for a quarter of the money, and at least get a Pininfarina badge.

The whole thing, the styling, the proportions all looks very awkward to me. Can think of a bunch of cars I'd take that cost half as much

Mr_Shiftright

gsemike said:

1990 BENTLEY Hopper Empress II

https://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/cto/d/1990-bentley-hopper-empress/6468251142.html Is this actually a thing? Could this money be remotely sane?

Decimal in wrong place.

tjc78

ab348 said:

Dealerships use a product to get rid of smoke and other odors that are resistant to cleaning but I can't recall the name of the stuff.

I think they use a machine “ionizer” or something like that.  

andre1969

From certain angles, those Bentley coupes make me think of those clunky Century/Cutlass Salon "Aerobacks" from the late 70's. And for some reason, at a quick glance, the dash makes me think of my grandmother's old '85 LeSabre. Anyway, not the most attractive looking beasts.

fintail

An Aeroback 442 would probably be a better buy at 1/20th the money - easier to live with, no worse looking

If I wanted an oddball big British coupe, this is what I'd choose - yes, a guilty pleasure

The depreciation floor is still insanely high for these - the style reminds me of a really fancy Fiat 130 coupe.

ab348

I never liked the R-R designs from that era.

Mr_Shiftright

Big pile of trouble. In my book, a nominee for one of the worst Top Ten cars in the world, ("And now---in the postwar, non-commie class--may I have the envelope please?"). A car company resting on its laurels, with a product built by disgruntled union labor and managed by backward-thinking luddites.

fintail

The steering wheels in period Rolls-Royce amuse me most, so stark and plain, like something out of a 1920s car - and they kept them that way until airbags became mandatory.

ab348

fintail said:

The steering wheels in period Rolls-Royce amuse me most, so stark and plain, like something out of a 1920s car - and they kept them that way until airbags became mandatory.

I know. Imagine the first-time buyer of one of these, finally coming into wealth, and seeing... that.

stickguy

I am speechless. Of all bizarre cars to do this to, picking this as a base?

Not sure what is my favorite part. The green wheels, or the roof basket.

https://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/d/1992-volkswagen-fox-airbagged/6478856963.html

qbrozen

stickguy said:

I am speechless. Of all bizarre cars to do this to, picking this as a base? Not sure what is my favorite part. The green wheels, or the roof basket. https://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/d/1992-volkswagen-fox-airbagged/6478856963.html

Low miles...but I won't tell you how many.
fully restored...but I won't tell you what I think that means nor show pics of the underside or engine.

Seems like a $1500 car with $4k in aftermarket garbage and likely a $995 paintjob.

stickguy

well, I found out what his next project was.

https://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/d/1979-corvette-cp-wide-body/6446841504.html

fintail

Maybe staring down the bonnet at the Spirit of Ecstasy, smelling the wood and leather, feeling the wool rugs, made up for it. Not that I'll ever know

ab348 said:

I know. Imagine the first-time buyer of one of these, finally coming into wealth, and seeing... that.

qbrozen

http://www.vanderbrinkauctions.com/auction/the-rietz-mopar-collection/

stickguy

Lots of crap in those fields. With a few almost worthy to restore mixed in. But looks like the majority should go right to the boneyard.

fintail

Letting somewhat desirable cars sit outside for eons, brilliant way to maximize that ROI. I assume this was more of a hoarder than collector.

isellhondas

tjc78 said:

ab348 said:

Dealerships use a product to get rid of smoke and other odors that are resistant to cleaning but I can't recall the name of the stuff.

I think they use a machine “ionizer” or something like that.  

They don't work. They help but the smell lingers. A smoker's car will always retain the odor in the A/C vents. On a hot day with the A/C going you'll get the smell.

xwesx

isellhondas said:

tjc78 said:

ab348 said:

Dealerships use a product to get rid of smoke and other odors that are resistant to cleaning but I can't recall the name of the stuff.

I think they use a machine “ionizer” or something like that.  

They don't work. They help but the smell lingers. A smoker's car will always retain the odor in the A/C vents. On a hot day with the A/C going you'll get the smell.

Yes! Smoker cars, dog cars. I have owned two cars that were dog houses in their previous lives, and there's just no getting that smell completely out of the car. On both of mine, it wasn't really noticeable except during the summer months when the interior was hot. But, oh man... what a reminder!

gsemike

Hey guys, i know I've been on the fence for quite some time but I finally made a decision to bit this today . 09 X5  it's coming from a well regarded BMW specialist and he went through it pretty thoroughly.  I only drive 6 or 7k a year so it should serve me well . 

After a few years in a Sienna, I am pretty excited 

explorerx4

@gsemike, I can see why you are excited. I haven't seen many with running boards.

stickguy

nice looking. Enjoy. I think my SILs X5 has the running boards. Just be prepared to have dirty pants cuffs on a regular basis, if you aren't careful getting in and out!

fintail

Had the old dear out on a Saturday, which is unusual - I tend to stick to Sundays, as traffic volumes are lowest, and the car and I both have little patience for traffic and lowest common denominator drivers here. As the weather forecast for tomorrow is uncertain, I took advantage of a rare dry day. The car started right up and ran fine, idle for 3 weeks and 6 days - gotta love fuel injection. Turned a few heads, which is more common as the car ages. The tires are just about 5 years old right now, aging well. Two gratuitous shots for today, one in the garage, one out in the fresh air:

stickguy

somehow, I never noticed your driving lights before.

Car still looks good.

fintail

Thanks. It's holding up.

The fog lights are period accessory items bought by I think the second owner around 1970.

gsemike

stickguy said:

nice looking. Enjoy. I think my SILs X5 has the running boards. Just be prepared to have dirty pants cuffs on a regular basis, if you aren't careful getting in and out!

I’ve heard that too but it wasn’t a problem when I was checking it out today

berri

Fin, I think that M stands out because 1) it looks like an MB and 2) the color.

fintail

The color definitely helps a lot. Colors like that were gone by the late 60s for most cars.

andres3

fintail said:

Had the old dear out on a Saturday, which is unusual - I tend to stick to Sundays, as traffic volumes are lowest, and the car and I both have little patience for traffic and lowest common denominator drivers here. As the weather forecast for tomorrow is uncertain, I took advantage of a rare dry day. The car started right up and ran fine, idle for 3 weeks and 6 days - gotta love fuel injection. Turned a few heads, which is more common as the car ages. The tires are just about 5 years old right now, aging well. Two gratuitous shots for today, one in the garage, one out in the fresh air:

You could probably convince people it's a wrap job given the unusual color and great looking condition of the paint.

So when are you scheduling the Plasti-dipping to black-out the chrome?

Apparently it's what millenials would want to do to your car.

andres3

Pearl Paint at Night looks good to me:

andres3

I'll take a blue Ferrari too:



If it had a black interior I'd kick it out of the garage, but this one is safe.

fintail

Funny, there's a car similar to mine with black painted chrome - but it was done in the early 80s, when the car was customized (also has kind of a candy apple red paint job). Everything old is new again.

The paint on my car is definitely in the "10 footer" (or more) category. It looks pristine from a small distance, but definitely has a bit of patina when you get close. As quality body and paintwork would fly past the value of the car, it's not on my list unless I win a powerball.

The youngster trend for old MBs is putting them on airbag suspension, and taking endless pics of the cars sitting on the ground, wheels tipped out, for social media dopeyness.

andres3 said:

You could probably convince people it's a wrap job given the unusual color and great looking condition of the paint.

So when are you scheduling the Plasti-dipping to black-out the chrome?

Apparently it's what millenials would want to do to your car.

fintail

Your Audi does seem like a "project" car, with all of the work you put into the brakes. The Ferrari isn't one yet, but as it ages, might be.

And I too prefer a non-black interior.

andres3 said:

I'll take a blue Ferrari too:
If it had a black interior I'd kick it out of the garage, but this one is safe.

berri

Don't tell me that Fintails are becoming the new Chebby

fintail

Lowrider MBs (but not the bouncy hydraulics scene) are definitely a thing, and a fintail is kind of a 57 Chevy of Germany in terms of being a period design piece.

Mr_Shiftright

The Few......The Brave.....Apply Here:

Would Make a Lux Chicken Coop

I'm Speechless on This One

Yeah, well....good luck...

Kinda Surprised He's Giving Up at This Point

I Like These But I Don't Like Rust

Good Parts Car

fintail

Parts car, project car, tomato, tomahtoe

Nice colors on the W123.

explorerx4

That Jeep looks like a G Wagen only better.

ab348

I rather like that Jag.