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

Mr_Shiftright

I was thinking of buying a MINI but I didn't have the guts. I've heard they can be troublesome. Besides that, when I added up the options for the MINI I really really wanted I wasn't very shy of $30,000!!!! Yikes!!!

BEATER BMWs -- There's only one type of used BMW to buy and that's a cream puff inside outside underside. If it takes 6 months to find one, so be it. I've rehab'ed BMWs with "needs" and were it not for my own free labor, I would have been buried alive in all of them.

lemko

Holy smoke! I had a 1968 Buick Special Deluxe. Those are the wrong wheels. Buick had different 14" chrome wheels with a small center on the A-bodies. Those are the 15" factory chrome wheels optional on B and C-body Buicks. Many Special Deluxes came with small dog dish hubcaps with the Buick tri-shield logo stamped on it or full wheel discs like those on my old ride.

qbrozen

description leaves a heck of a lot to be desired ... but its still got my interest.
'53 Ford Truck - sort of

Mr_Shiftright

Looks pretty spiff for the money. Hope they put in power steering...also looks like you could put way more on the bed than the tires could support.

qbrozen

yeah, the more i look at it, the more i like it ... problem is i tried pricing out a real bed for it and they run about $1500. My "advisor" is of the opinion that we could just weld some steel supports around the flatbed and set up a wood stake-type bed. Not a bad idea.

Of course, I sent my wife the link and her reply was "why??"

ugh!

fintail

This has to be worth saving/maintaining

british_rover

You know I have only had to take my MINI in for warranty service one time. My body control module got fried by a crimped AC condensor hose.

Mr_Shiftright

saving, yes...restoring, no.

andre1969

I like that car. I always thought the '62-63 Meteor was a cool car, and always liked them better than the Comet. I think they were actually a poor seller, because the Comet was much cheaper, but looked just as big. However, the Comet was just a stretched Falcon compact, instead of a "real" intermediate like the Meteor/Fairlane. Still, I guess the Comet filled this niche well enough for Mercury, so the Meteor was dropped. I know the Comet eventually became a bigger, roomier, midsized car, but I don't remember if it did that in '64 or '66?

qbrozen

i have someone here at work that is trying REAL hard to get me to take his '82 924 off his hands. He doesn't even want any real money for it. His last offer was "gimme $50."

It hasn't run in a year and looks like hell.

So what's the opinion of the porsche fans here? Is this even worth my time? If I got it running and cleaned out the mice or whatever else is in there, could I even turn a profit for my trouble?

Mr_Shiftright

Waste of time I think unless you just hosed it off and sold it for parts on eBay for $300. Don't put 5 cents into it is my advice.

fintail

I smell rust and electrical problems

I am unfamiliar with this make

Really nice early 126, a Euro too

Shame about those miles...nice color

That 924 would be a parts car...problem is a good one is worth almost nothing.

xwesx

With a description like this, I do not expect it to last the day....

xwesx

But again, what's with the lack of descriptors? http://anchorage.craigslist.org/car/143653155.html

xwesx

THIS is a project...

fintail

It's a scam to harvest email addresses or maybe lure in some unsuspecting prey. The payment has to be sent to a Nigerian bank probably.

british_rover

That could be intersting if it was numbers matching and complete. Looks questionable from the rust department though.

qbrozen

that's what i figured.
thanks, shifty.

fintail

I want to like it, but too pricey

qbrozen

at least you'll most likely never see one coming the opposite way on the road:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1990-STERLING-Oxford-827SL-runs-NO-RESERVE_W0QQit- emZ4622491778QQcategoryZ6472QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

xwesx

Yes, it on the Kenai Peninsula, it depends a lot on when it was driven (summer vs. winter) and how often it was washed. Kenai is right on the Cook Inlet, so oceanic salt spray could be an issue depending on how close to the inlet it lived. The white marks on the sides of the vehicle are undoubtedly paint-overs from where gravel chewed off all the paint on the sides of the car. There's at least surface rust under there and where there is surface rust...

I am starting to have the same problem with my '69 C20. I really need to get the house finished or the poor girl is not going to survive to a restoration. :mad:

stickguy

funny comment from the seller. Radio encoded, and locked, but you can "ask the dealer" for it. Sure, I'll just run down to my local Sterling dealer and have them look it up!

ghulet

...oh why do Accords command money as if they have a half kilo in the glove box?:

http://chicago.craigslist.org/car/144005827.html

If this were anything BUT an Accord, it'd be $500 asking, not that he's going to get $1000, though it wouldn't entirely surprise me. I do admire the seller's honesty, not that you can hide those problems, though.

ghulet

...hmmm, slightly beat up, largely unloved 15 year-old Volvo with 160k, 'perfect mechanically' (without going into ANY detail about its repair history, natch) for $2350:

http://chicago.craigslist.org/car/144036327.html

I love the buyer's trifecta: price is firm, priced at KBB and 'wish to sell immediately'. Such salesmanship.

andre1969

about the only thing I'll say for it is that I love that color combo...that pretty bluish green, which usually has a sandstone/beige interior. As for body damage, if you're lucky it's just a fender, hood, bumper fascia, headlight, and maybe the bumper beam and whatever bracket it attaches to. IF you're lucky.

So if you found a wreck in the junkyard and knew what you were doing, AND could paint it yourself, you might be lucky to only have $1000 in it? Then there's the issue of the clicking noise. Could be nothing, could be $1000, could be anything in between.

The check engine light sounds like it might be the torque converter not locking up. My buddy's '98 Tracker had that problem, except in his case the check engine light would come on and stay on. I remember picking it up from the dealer for him, and finally got about 3 miles away when traffic finally lightened up enough that I got to a high enough speed that the light came on. So back it went. They supposedly fixed it, but as soon as I picked it up, and got up to around 45 mph it did it again. This one had a warranty on it, so it was free, but I'd imagine normally something like that would run a few hundred bucks?

Then there's the driver's window. Now I could fix a window myself. On something like a 1989 Gran Fury, 1979 New Yorker, 1968 Dart, etc. I'd imagine that something like a '91 Accord is a bit more complicated, and more expensive when something like that does break.

All in all, this thing sounds like nothing more than a parts car in a pretty color combination.

lemmer

second chance offer, was about $1000 higher

decent looking Turbo

au1994

a 944 as a great 1st car for a teenager??? Not too fast??? I've had it up to 125???

This guy must not like kids.

qbrozen

funny. i just went and picked up a craigslist volvo last night.

http://newjersey.craigslist.org/car/143709349.html

It really does have less than 99k miles! I got it for $1100. Oh, and the wife really does call it crapula. She used the term several times.

By the way, i'm letting my brother buy it from me. He is in desperate need and poor.

andre1969

that '88 looks like a dead ringer for the '89 740 wagon my neighbors used to have. I always thought those were good looking cars. Even though they were boxy and angular, they still looked modern in an increasingly rounded, aero automotive landscape.

bumpy

So if you found a wreck in the junkyard and knew what you were doing, AND could paint it yourself, you might be lucky to only have $1000 in it? Then there's the issue of the clicking noise. Could be nothing, could be $1000, could be anything in between.

Yeah, $1000 would do it if you find a parts car. The clicking noise is almost certainly a CV joint. Not cheap if you pay someone else to put in a new axle, but certainly doable yourself. Window's not tough either with the parts car to source from.

stickguy

that one loks pretty nice, and seems to have the usual maladys (AC, etc), but could be a fun ride, since the previous owner already took the big maintencance bath. At least he is realistic about it:

I've got a ton of $$ in this car. I know I can't get it back

Should be the credo of every project lusting person here!

fintail

Just a good detail and it will look like new, I am sure

A limo for the non-socially-ambitious

Swivel seats are kinda cool...I guess the car is honest if not cleaned before the photos are taken

Basic car my dad would like

Wow, it's not chopped

Mr_Shiftright

Where I come from that Accord is a $350 car all day long.

Healey BN-1 seller is freakin' nuts. Someone needs to tell him they made over 10,000 of them and that you can buy drivers for that price. Try $1,500 and kiss the ankles of the man who gives you that much.

I like the '51 Merc and the price is market correct.

w9cw

jrosasmc wrote: "Do you remember the old Saab 900s from the '80s? Talk about biodegradable interiors!"

Yes, I do remember, as I still own two '80s vintage SAAB 900's that I bought new in 1985 and 1987 respectively. The only interior mateial problem with either is a cracked dash (normal and expected with these cars), and sagging headliners (both replaced by a local auto upholstery shop with exact matching material).

One is a '85 900 8-valve sedan, and the other is a '87 900S 16-valve hatch, both with the cloth interior. The seat material, especially in the '85, show little wear with no tears, etc. Overall, they've been good cars, but then again, I perform all maintenance.

Most importantly, neither have suffered the bugaboo of head gasket problems. There is a relatively easy fix to "head off" (no pun intended) this problem from the "get go." Only use Mercedes-Benz coolant (change at every 20K or 2Yrs) with distilled water only and change out the temp sensor for the two radiator fans with one from a VW for an earlier activation. Result . . . never an overheating problem and never replace a head gasket. Both cars have over 175K and the engines are strong as ever, and are used daily. Maybe I'll post a photo sometime, I think you would be very impressed with the looks of the '85 900.

I also have a 1970 Volvo 144S that was set up for local autocrossing and rallys back in the mid-70s. The interior is perfect, but then it's always been garaged, and not left in the hot sun to bake. The B20B engine only has 98,000 original miles on the clock.

Most importantly, Swedish iron can be very reliable -- if, and only if, you perform routine maintenace as per the book. Otherwise, they die an early death.

Mr_Shiftright

Well the reason your interiors partially held up is that you suffered the dash and headliner problems but you didnt' have leather seats. Had you had leather seats, your interior would be totalled just like every other old Saab 900 series.

Headgasket failure on those cars was calculated at about 10% by saab.net, which is shamefully bad for an automaker IMO... And of course the transmissions are very weak.

GREAT bottom end on the engines, though, and GREAT front ends...I'll give credit where it is due....

But you know, maintenance is everything. I'm a maintenance buff of the highest order, but of hundreds of cars I never had more maintenance-hungry cars than Saabs and Jaguars. Even the Fiats and Alfas weren't as demanding by a long shot.

it's a used car I tell people to avoid, quite frankly...because it requires a special type of owner to have one.

Fun to drive though. I was always impressed with handling, except for the convertibles, which are top heavy in the rear end.

bumpy

A '91 Accord with only 129k on the clock runs something like $2500 around here, so if you can patch up one with a crunched nose for less than 2k, it's worth the effort so long as you remember that it's nothing more than a low-mile beater.

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah but that's a LOT of damage to that car! It's a pile of junk. Totalled. Gone. Finito.

Hey, let me give you a hard time for a second (for fun) :P Do the math here and subtract from the $2,500 value, that's what I did. I don't think the fair market value is a nickel over fifty cents for that car. Sure, you can fish for fenders and junkyard parts and have your brother in law paint it on the weekend, blah blah blah, but still the value of the car as it sits shouldn't include free labor and parts scrounging. Not everyone can do that, but the general public sets market value, not handymen...er....handypersons....

So that was my reasoning....

new fender (you aren't straightening that one), new bumper, directional body assembly, headlight assembly, hood repair, paint entire hood and fender and splash pan, new front splash pan, window regulator repair, CV joint repair, engine light repair.

Total? About $4,000.

Just go buy a clean '91 Accord. Probably no shortages

w9cw

Mr_Shiftright wrote: "And of course the transmissions are very weak. GREAT bottom end on the engines, though, and GREAT front ends...I'll give credit where it is due.... Also they are rattletraps, say compared to Benzes of that era."

I thought the same thing on the transmissions, as I bought both cars from a very small town (600 pop.) dealer in western Indiana who had sold SAAB's only since 1956. He told me going in that the transmissions were weak. But in each case, the original 5-speed manual in the '85 900 and the dreaded, but still original, 3-speed Borg-Warner automatic in the '87 900S are still going strong. Again, maintenance is the key. I've only used synthetic gear lube in the manual since new, and surprisingly the synchros have always worked fine with the synthetic gear lube. And, the Type F ATF in the automatic is drained and refilled every 20K.

The '85 900 4-door sedan has absolutely no rattles. It is as tight as it was when I drove it off the lot in April 1985. Now, the '87 900S 3-door hatchback is another matter. It has its share, but none as signicant as our Dodge Grand Caravan ES!

Mr_Shiftright

Well you know, people fall off buildings now and then and land on mattress trucks...consider yourself lucky to still have an automatic transmission in that car...you are in the minority on that one, good for you. I actually converted my Saab to 5-speed after the second automatic failure (good move, by the way, and worth the trouble).

I think the worst rattlers were the coupes and convertibles and the worst head gasket blowers were the turbos. So really the best Saab to have IMO would be a 900 4-door non turbo.

bumpy

New? You want to put new parts on a beater?

Hood, bumper, fender, headlight off a junkyard Accord, don't bother with the grille or splashguard, rebuild the CV joint yourself, tranny and window crud from another junkyard Accord, no painting or other silliness: $1000 or less. Of course, this is what you do if you don't have or refuse to spend $2500 on that clean Accord.

Mr_Shiftright

start with junk, end with junk...what's the point? Might as well just duct-tape a headlight to it and drive it like it is...presuming you paid $350 for it in the first place.

I think you could put your time and energy into something that will turn out better and be worth something.

andre1969

I can't remember the last time I saw one of those old '49-51 Mercs that WASN'T chopped! I'd forgotten what they look like in stock form. A bit glittery up front, but I think it's very handsome from the side. Normally 2-door sedans look kinda clunky compared to their hardtop counterparts...usually because a 2-door sedan is just a 4-door with the rear doors removed and the B-pillar pushed back. It looks good on that car, though.

Don't most of them usually end up with fender skirts, too? That might be another thing that makes this '51 look refreshing to me.

andre1969

has caught my eye lately in the DC area Craigslist, but I did find this old workhorse. Heck, aside from the faded paint it doesn't look that bad. And with a rebuilt 350, rebuilt tranny, and other work it sounds like most of the worst stuff has been done. Too bad this thing didn't pop up last summer. I might've been tempted to replace my '85 Silverado with it!

andre1969

I just caught this lovely beast on eBay. Something about the bidding seems awfully funny though, like there's a shill or something. $2500 just seems awfully high for it. I mean, it has the cool rims and a 455, but still, it's something that only I and like maybe three other people would really love! :P

Mr_Shiftright

price is about market correct...should be about $2,100 but typical eBay overbidding...

lilengineerboy

My uncles Saabs each ate a manual trans, but ultimately went over 200k before being replaced. It was an '87 900 4dr non turbo and a 96 or so 4 dr non turbo. He has a 9-3 now.
The window motor/regulator in the Honda is not such a big deal. That was last weekend. Not so cheap though, I needed it now and couldn't ebay it, so I ended up paying ~$70 from some local place for parts.
Those 944s are cool, the turbo is on a colectable list (the 951) somewhere, he may get close to what he is asking.
Here is my crying in my cornflakes for the week:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=4621915079&- sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT

Mr_Shiftright

looka those bids!! Exceptional car, however, one in a million, looks like. I would have said $12,500--$15,000 tops. Yikes! Might be ahead of the market here, seems like too much $$.

Nice car though, fun to drive.

xwesx

Am I looking at the ad you had intended? The one attached to your link is for a 1975 Buick LeSabre. Now, just calling it "lovely" is a stretch of the imagination, but this one shows a winning bid of $4550. ?

xwesx

I think that's the car that came in at second place in the bid to be the time machine for "Back to the Future." The red must have been too much. :P

british_rover

no pictures cause they are in the local free swap paper thing but here are the descriptons.

First one is a 1966 Corvair 110 4 speed tranny runs but needs restoration $650 or best offer.

1991 Alfa Romew Spider, Cherry red with black convertible top good condition $9,500 or best offer.

Hmhhh I just know both these cars have serious needs but they are both very unique.