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

stickguy

That 912 has to be too far gone. And complete original but no engine? Minor issue there. I doubt that restored that those are worth big bucks, and that one needs everything, including a body shell.

Opel brings back memories. I had a green 75 manta, also with some weird rust. Fun car, but the FI was a nightmare. Even in 1982 parts were hard to find, and most stuff was 1 year only and expensive. Love the wagon but would rather have an earlier carb car.

After driving a duster and a gremlin, that was a revelation to drive Though! When it ran.

ab348

The Ciera is a real deal.

The '81 Eldo is gorgeous and priced fairly I think.

Nothing else there that attracts my interest. Surprised to find 2 rusty cars in the PNW.

fintail

Porsche caught my eye in terms of rust as it was apparently sold new in an arid area, but has NY papers. I think many rusty cars here are like so many local residents - transplants from points east.

texases

A restored 912 can bring crazy money it seems.

berri

PNW rust may also be from being in a location very close to the Sound or the Pacific?

qbrozen

texases said:

A restored 912 can bring crazy money it seems.

Only in that seller’s dreamland. A #2 car is $40k. Concours, which that will never be thanks to the missing engine, is $60k. These are hagerty’s values. The 912 is not that desirable. I think Shifty used to say it was just a fancy VW.

fintail

Yes, cars on the coast can rust a little more. Also, if a car sits outside in the damp long enough, especially a car naturally prone to rust, it can go here, but it might take a long time.

berri said:

PNW rust may also be from being in a location very close to the Sound or the Pacific?

fintail

Another pile:

Maybe all of these are here

Kind of like Uncle Buck's car

Color name = 1993

Patina to please coddled hipsters

Must be rare, I've only seen Fords

Interesting swamp cooler kind of device

Railroad ties

Possible Radwood entrant

Few survived like this

Parking outside won't help

Odd restomod

Has the look

SWB Possum Van

Basic spec, owner should address some needs

Another invader being flipped

ab348

That Legend sounds too cheap to be true. I am suspicious.

The '59 Merc A/C is something I've seen before in earlier '50s Mercs from the factory. Maybe they were still using it in '59?

stickguy

Nice el Camino. I always liked those.

omarman

fintail said:

Another pile:

Kind of like Uncle Buck's car
"Sadly, another year passes without a 'de Sade' package." - C&D

Must be rare, I've only seen Fords
That's true. GM had 4 door Suburbans and Ford had none of that until Centurion helped out.

Oscar

The vehicle in the CL ad is not a "centurian" or Centurion. Centurion only used Ford chassis not Chevy.

fintail

I've only seen those van/pickup hybrids as Fords, I remember when I was a kid there was one in town, and it really seemed bizarre to me. The Centurion crew cab/Bronco hybrids seem at least a little more common, but still unusual.

Oscar

There was/is at least one other company that did these conversions on Chev/GMC chassis but I can't remember their name.
On a separate topic, Are you familiar with Pierre Hedrey?

fintail

I've seen Hedary's ads in the MBCA publication "The Star", and I think he's written some material for the club as well, I take it he is reasonably well-regarded. Based in Florida, I think.

Oscar said:

There was/is at least one other company that did these conversions on Chev/GMC chassis but I can't remember their name.
On a separate topic, Are you familiar with Pierre Hedrey?

omarman

Did you mean Pierre Hedary?

fintail

Yep that's the name, Pierre Hedary. I suspect he's well-regarded, just too far away for me to have any first person experience with.

fintail

Just a few this morning:

A little rust, low price, maybe worth the work

Depreciation floor and then some, I am a little leery

Pics from a 2002 cameraphone

It has a look

"must see" - I've seen enough

Spotlight

"Town" is its size, not where it is meant to be used

Detailed pic and ad of the day award

stickguy

Any seems cheap. Wonder what it was rebuilt from? A car that needs the mother of all PPIs.

That town car, the ultimate in inefficient use of space.

ab348

The '74 Chevy K20 looks decent enough for the money. If that is not full rust-through and just surface corrosion it is in places where just a lower-body repair and respray under the molding might suffice without spending huge money, as the rest of it looks pretty good.

I find it odd that the Falcon can have all of those "brand new" things yet still looks like it needs absolutely everything redone.

I love the Town Coupe! For the money and given its pristine condition it would be cool to get just as a curiosity, something to make people laugh.

I now automatically dismiss any 1950s car that has had some doofus drill through the body and into the interior to install a spotlight. C'mon, man.

tjc78

That Town Coupe is very similar to the one I had (mine was more of pale blueish with turquoise interior). For $5 Gs in the shape it's in... I'd rock it.

Wheels would have to be swapped for turbines and proper sized whitewalls upon ownership.

ab348

I always liked this style of wheel on those, not sure what they are called. I'm not so sure about the whitewalls on this one though.

tjc78

The “dish” wheel. 14”

Those tires are actually accurate. The Marks has them for sure.

omarman

fintail said:

Just a few this morning:

A little rust, low price, maybe worth the work
Would sell very quick around here.

It has a look
"Titles as a 1970 sits on a 66 chassis with 67 running gear."
And looks like Speed Buggy 1973!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hx-hEWl10c

"Town" is its size, not where it is meant to be used
Needs leather to become Town Couch edition.

Detailed pic and ad of the day award
Ran when parked in Nigeria.

fintail

Today's dirty dozen:

Thin on the ground

S Model

Woody

Few preserved these

Descriptive ad

Same seller, even wackier price

Classic

Crunch

"must sell!" lower the price

I always liked these in blue

Pair

Odd frankencar project car hell. Basis car is a Euro with many uncommon features - skirts, spoiler, headlight wipers, ABS, (likely) Centra wheels

ab348

The '68 Cutlass was posted a few weeks ago.

The best thing learned about the '93 Mustang from the ad is the color of the paint.

I tried hard to find the charms of the 3rd-gen Camaro and aside from the styling, never could.

stickguy

I actually like that red ZX. Seems like a nice, honest car that could be fun to have as a cruiser to bop around in, but you could probably take on a real drive if you wanted to. I approve.

that SL, wow, what a mutt. Even if the concept made sense (engine swap) that is one long list of stuff that doesn't work. Would need a crazy person with a lot of time, money and tools/experience to get all sorted out. But if you did, could be a decent car, and easy to fix mechanically at least.

fintail

Nice fintail fared well enough on BaT

This car is a known entity on a MB forum, where the owner would post his latest renovations. Better to buy one like this than renovate a neglected pile of parts.

fintail

I am not a big facebooker, but some friends and family use it to organize meetings, so my hand is forced. I logged in this morning, and marketplace suggested a couple cars for me:

I wonder if the mileage claim is real, it does look clean in the couple lazy pics provided - and a spotlight, Conti police car?

Different world from the frankencar SL posted above - same model, also Euro, seller prices high but is negotiable and usually has quality old MBs, buy it like this

ab348

I don't like the black trunk spoiler on that SL but the rest of it looks lovely, as it should for that price.

The Lincoln never appealed to me although the colors on this one are nice and it looks to be in good condition. More pictures would be a must though.

fintail

I kind of like Mark Vs for their angularity, but I also like 77-79 T-Birds, so there might just be something wrong with me Great colors on that one anyway.

SL is definitely priced with optimism, only the best of the best bring that money on this side of the pond, and that one probably has too many miles to be in the club. Boilerplate data is also incorrect - not an airbag car, not factory wheels (but period correct, along with the odd spoiler). If it checks out with a 100% clean bill of health from a specialist, I'd want to be around 20K at most.

berri

I like the looks of that Lincoln and especially the color. My favorite though is probably the Mk VII. Of that earlier vintage Mk, I'd probably go with the MkIII. I also like the MB because it was perhaps one of the last that really stood out as something NOT generic looking. Not picking on MB because that statement goes for many cars, especially in the 90's and 00's.

bhill2

fintail said:

I kind of like Mark Vs for their angularity, but I also like 77-79 T-Birds, so there might just be something wrong with me Great colors on that one anyway.

Another appreciation we share. When I met my wife she had a '78 T-Bird. We took that thing everywhere; on errands, on trips, etc. It was cushy, powerful, and quiet. It also had a huge trunk for carrying things. One of the Great American Pigs (in the best sense of the word).

tjc78

I love the Mark V. I passed on a really nice 79 Collectors series a while back. I should have bought it.

sda

tjc78 said:

I love the Mark V. I passed on a really nice 79 Collectors series a while back. I should have bought it.

I liked the Collectors Series with the leather covered dash, color keyed wheels and other unique touches. Too bad it had the 400 and not the 460.

tjc78

I’ve driven both the 400 and the 460. The 400 wasn’t much slower, maybe less toque off the line.

fintail

I remember my 2nd grade teacher had one, I think it was a bronze color. I've seen some of those Birds lavishly equipped, but others pretty spartan.

Make mine blue or two tone similar to that Mark V with leather, T-tops, turbine wheels, better engine.

bhill2 said:

Another appreciation we share. When I met my wife she had a '78 T-Bird. We took that thing everywhere; on errands, on trips, etc. It was cushy, powerful, and quiet. It also had a huge trunk for carrying things. One of the Great American Pigs (in the best sense of the word).

ab348

In the mid to late '70s my Dad was friends with the fellow who owned the local Budget rent-a-car franchise, and got into the habit of buying "gently used" ex-rentals that were a year old or less with pretty low mileage for what seemed like a bargain price. I remember that when the downsized '77-'79 T-Birds were current, Budget had a number of them in their fleet. I went to look at them on their lot a few times when Dad began making noises about buying a car from his friend, and there was one that was different from the rest. Unlike most of them which seemed like base models with bench seats and not many options, this one was white with brown vinyl on the roof and white bucket seat interior and console. It was the one to get and I did the hard sell on Dad over it, but he ended up with a '79 Impala 4-door. Nice car in its own way but not as cool as that T-bird.

berri

If you could still buy lightly used rental cars like years back, I'd certainly pursue that path.

fintail

I know countless people have good experiences with ex-rentals, but I would still be leery. For the most part, modern rentals tend to be fairly basic spec too, although there are exceptions.

berri

My friends and I always bought used Hertz back then. Their cars were maintained and often a bit upscale equipped compared to the competition back then (Boy, that seems to have changed!). None of us really had any big issues or problems. You're right that it doesn't work out so well today.

bhill2

fintail said:

I remember my 2nd grade teacher had one, I think it was a bronze color. I've seen some of those Birds lavishly equipped, but others pretty spartan.

Make mine blue or two tone similar to that Mark V with leather, T-tops, turbine wheels, better engine.

bhill2 said:

Another appreciation we share. When I met my wife she had a '78 T-Bird. We took that thing everywhere; on errands, on trips, etc. It was cushy, powerful, and quiet. It also had a huge trunk for carrying things. One of the Great American Pigs (in the best sense of the word).

The 'Bird came in three flavors that year. The base one was indeed fairly spartan unless optioned up. The Town Landau added most of the options, as well as a vinyl roof with a silver basket handle, upgraded upholstery, and split front seat (I think buckets may have been an option). That's the one my wife had. Then Ford also turned out a 'Diamond Jubilee' version for some reason that was taken to the limit on options (maybe including leather upholstery) and had special bling.

tjc78

Diamond Jubilee was only in 78, to celebrate Ford’s 75 anniversary.

The Mark V had a DJE edition as well available in a pale blue or gold only.

jpp75

bhill2 said:

The 'Bird came in three flavors that year. The base one was indeed fairly spartan unless optioned up. The Town Landau added most of the options, as well as a vinyl roof with a silver basket handle, upgraded upholstery, and split front seat (I think buckets may have been an option). That's the one my wife had. Then Ford also turned out a 'Diamond Jubilee' version for some reason that was taken to the limit on options (maybe including leather upholstery) and had special bling.

A teacher in high school had a Diamond Jubilee version in a pale blue color. This was in the early 90's so it was showing its age by then.

fintail

There was also the "Heritage" model, which I think was the one with the blanked out rear quarter windows. Not sure how I like that styling change, seems like a huge blind spot, and it looks a little odd. I remember when I was a kid there was a gold/brown one in town with the blanked out windows, and even by the late 80s it was really ratty looking.

Here's one in good colors and options, but the blanked out window:



This well known seller had one in great colors and options, but small engine, not sure if it would matter by then

A google reveals numerous cars with T-tops, so they may be hens teeth, but not unicorns.

sda

I like those but would prefer the moonroof over the T-tops, though the T-tops probably command a higher price.

fintail

I have a thing for T-tops, I guess. Cool kind of thing that doesn't really exist on mainstream cars anymore., probably since personal luxury went away, and normal luxury became very homogenized.

I remember when I was a kid, a friend's mom had a white Mirada with T-tops, which I thought was cool. It might be more retro romance than practical value though, I also recall my friend's low mileage 85 Monte SS had T-tops, which would leak without hesitation.

berri

I think T-Tops didn't last real long because of the loss of roof and vehicle rigidity, they often leaked and where do you store them when they are off.

bhill2

fintail said:

There was also the "Heritage" model, which I think was the one with the blanked out rear quarter windows. Not sure how I like that styling change, seems like a huge blind spot, and it looks a little odd. I remember when I was a kid there was a gold/brown one in town with the blanked out windows, and even by the late 80s it was really ratty looking.

Here's one in good colors and options, but the blanked out window:



This well known seller had one in great colors and options, but small engine, not sure if it would matter by then

A google reveals numerous cars with T-tops, so they may be hens teeth, but not unicorns.

That car is a '79, so I suspect it was the 'special edition' for that year. I agree about the blanked out quarters.

fintail

Today's 20th century dump/selection:

"Perfect edition"

Patina/originality, but the demographic may be fading

Red and ready

Roll the dice

Maybe a good driver

Getting thin on the ground

Louvers

"blue chip" OK sure bud

Green giant

Something something U-Boat commander

Admirable stock condition, expected price

Unusual color for one of these

Trying to recoup an "investment" no doubt

Leo Marvin or Chet Ripley?