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

ab348

As long as the VIN tag is still there that's all you need. They are selling repro bodies for those things now (at least for the HT, dunno about the convertible).

texases

Take those, add $100,000, and then you'll have something!

fintail

I had half a mind to stop by the sale and check it out, as it was being held near my office, but didn't do it. Don't want to risk it being a fantastic car for $2500 (you never know, when the estate sale company only thought enough of the car to describe it as "Oldsmobile" they didn't hold it in very high regard, and these estate sale companies can be goofy) and then having to drag it home.

As an aside, this is one of the houses owned by the owner of the car - that's a lot of house and a lot of detail.

texases said:

Looks just like my wife's first car! Year, paint, etc. Except the paint looks in good shape, unlike the faded silver on hers.

sda

Silver didn't hold up well unless it was kept clean, waxed and garaged. Sun destroyed the finish. You can see the paint peeling near the back up lights. This was mom's 78 Regency just after we bought it in 82. It was repainted soon after. She loved that car and drove it for years.

texases

Yep, exposure killed her silver paint (Texas sun). And for metallic paints before clear coats, it didn't take much for the aluminum flakes to be exposed to rapid corrosion, speeding up the process.

tjc78

As a kid in the 80s I remember all the silver cars were faded. Deep reds weren’t much better. My Grandfathers (and later mine) 89 Grand Marquis in burgundy was faded all to heck in 1993. I had it completely repainted in 1996 after I smashed it. Guy was a friend of a friend and did an amazing job. It looked better than new. I remember him saying he put six coats of clear on it and then wet sanded it all out. It was like a mirror.

The paints got so much better in the 90s with some exceptions of course. Ford never got white right and dark blue on the Taurus/Sable came off in sheets.

ab348

fintail said:

As an aside, this is one of the houses owned by the owner of the car - that's a lot of house and a lot of detail.

I never felt tycoon-enough to aspire to a house like that. It is very nice though. The odd thing is that the majority of the place is either renovated or old but well-kept from what I can see, but the kitchen is very '60s and still has laminate counters - oh, the humanity!!

tjc78

Wow.. amazing house but 1977 called and wants their kitchen back. Soooo tacky that the original (probably SubZero) fridge broke and they just shoved two bottom barrel almond units in.

tjc78

Taxes are higher than I thought out there

texases

tjc78 said:

Wow.. amazing house but 1977 called and wants their kitchen back. Soooo tacky that the original (probably SubZero) fridge broke and they just shoved two bottom barrel almond units in.

Yeah, maybe even more like 1967. Odd that recent owners spent on updating the bathrooms but left that antique kitchen alone. Those cabinets look like they go back to the 1925 origin of the house.

tjc78

Yeah maybe the appliances are a little older than I thought. I always associate that color with the 70s. I’m outside so my phone is a little washed out. That’s more yellow than harvest gold.

explorerx4

How about that nice ceiling patch(a piece of drywall slapped over where a leak occurred)?

fintail

I recall GM white paint of the era also fell off in patches. Honda black is another I recall being troublesome even in this climate, if not maintained it appeared the clearcoat would fail on horizontal surfaces.

tjc78 said:

As a kid in the 80s I remember all the silver cars were faded. Deep reds weren’t much better. My Grandfathers (and later mine) 89 Grand Marquis in burgundy was faded all to heck in 1993. I had it completely repainted in 1996 after I smashed it. Guy was a friend of a friend and did an amazing job. It looked better than new. I remember him saying he put six coats of clear on it and then wet sanded it all out. It was like a mirror.

The paints got so much better in the 90s with some exceptions of course. Ford never got white right and dark blue on the Taurus/Sable came off in sheets.

fintail

I've seen "The Money Pit" enough times to know how a house like that would go. I think the kitchen could be fixed up without a ton of work, maybe make it more retro than the 60s-70s. That kind of terraced range with a pop up thing that looks like an alarm clock is kind of cool.

The one real vain/unneccessary update I did to my house before moving in was replacing the counters, really makes a difference to my eyes, and not insanely expensive, as the cabinets were fine.

ab348 said:

fintail said:

As an aside, this is one of the houses owned by the owner of the car - that's a lot of house and a lot of detail.

I never felt tycoon-enough to aspire to a house like that. It is very nice though. The odd thing is that the majority of the place is either renovated or old but well-kept from what I can see, but the kitchen is very '60s and still has laminate counters - oh, the humanity!!

fintail

What would it be in NJ? Rates don't seem bad here, it's the high values that get you (we also have no state income tax).

tjc78 said:

Taxes are higher than I thought out there

tjc78

@fintail said:
What would it be in NJ? Rates don't seem bad here, it's the high values that get you (we also have no state income tax).

At least double or more. In NJ the home’s assessed value in many cases is much lower than the current market. I looked at some 2.4M homes and the taxes were 30K but assessed only at 1.1M

My house street value is probably 550-600 and it is assessed at 410K. Taxes are just shy of 15K.

oldfarmer50

fintail said:

I had half a mind to stop by the sale and check it out, as it was being held near my office, but didn't do it. Don't want to risk it being a fantastic car for $2500 (you never know, when the estate sale company only thought enough of the car to describe it as "Oldsmobile" they didn't hold it in very high regard, and these estate sale companies can be goofy) and then having to drag it home.

As an aside, this is one of the houses owned by the owner of the car - that's a lot of house and a lot of detail.

texases said:

Looks just like my wife's first car! Year, paint, etc. Except the paint looks in good shape, unlike the faded silver on hers.

Why would a guy with a $2.2 million house keep an old clunker Oldsmobile? That’s not a 442 is it?

oldfarmer50

sda said:

Silver didn't hold up well unless it was kept clean, waxed and garaged. Sun destroyed the finish. You can see the paint peeling near the back up lights. This was mom's 78 Regency just after we bought it in 82. It was repainted soon after. She loved that car and drove it for years.

I had an ‘82 Delta 88 Royale 2 door that was pretty spiffy but a piece of junk mechanically. Sold it with only 74k on the clock because of the constant break downs.

fintail

Yikes. My assessed value is in the low 300s and my taxes are around 2800 IIRC.

tjc78 said:

@fintail said:

What would it be in NJ? Rates don't seem bad here, it's the high values that get you (we also have no state income tax).

At least double or more. In NJ the home’s assessed value in many cases is much lower than the current market. I looked at some 2.4M homes and the taxes were 30K but assessed only at 1.1M

My house street value is probably 550-600 and it is assessed at 410K. Taxes are just shy of 15K.

tjc78

@fintail said:
Yikes. My assessed value is in the low 300s and my taxes are around 2800 IIRC.

Yep! And you can only deduct up to 10K on your taxes

fintail

Not a 442. Maybe bought it new and liked it, or it belonged to a loved one. There was also a 1983 (I think) Riviera convertible in the listing, but no photo in the latest ad. I suspect there are other cars, but the estate sale company isn't giving much detail.

Owner was maybe what one would call eccentric - independently wealthy, old money, but worked as a social worker and was something of a philanthropist and was apparently well-liked. He owned numerous old houses and a massive amount of furnishings.

oldfarmer50 said:

fintail said:

I had half a mind to stop by the sale and check it out, as it was being held near my office, but didn't do it. Don't want to risk it being a fantastic car for $2500 (you never know, when the estate sale company only thought enough of the car to describe it as "Oldsmobile" they didn't hold it in very high regard, and these estate sale companies can be goofy) and then having to drag it home.

As an aside, this is one of the houses owned by the owner of the car - that's a lot of house and a lot of detail.

texases said:

Looks just like my wife's first car! Year, paint, etc. Except the paint looks in good shape, unlike the faded silver on hers.

Why would a guy with a $2.2 million house keep an old clunker Oldsmobile? That’s not a 442 is it?

xwesx

ab348 said:

fintail said:

As an aside, this is one of the houses owned by the owner of the car - that's a lot of house and a lot of detail.

I never felt tycoon-enough to aspire to a house like that. It is very nice though. The odd thing is that the majority of the place is either renovated or old but well-kept from what I can see, but the kitchen is very '60s and still has laminate counters - oh, the humanity!!

Well, sure, but in a house like that, it's the help that spend all the time in there. So, why splurge for luxurious when you're already paying them?

explorerx4

Just got the Mustang back, trans rebuilt. Major difference in shifting, probably better than ever.
Plus new RMS, so hopefully no more oil leak.
First thing off the extensive list is crossed off.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

Just got the Mustang back, trans rebuilt. Major difference in shifting, probably better than ever.
Plus new RMS, so hopefully no more oil leak.
First thing off the extensive list is crossed off.

How much did that cost? When I blew out the transmission in my ‘69 Plymouth it only cost $190 to rebuild. I’m guessing it was somewhere between that and $7,000 for a new CVT.

explorerx4

Cost about $2600 including new RMS(nominal cost) and taxes.

Liana_Scott

steine13 said:

>> titled once to the original owner
Funny. I subscribe to the myth of the one-owner car, and I can often pick them out when they show up at the used-car lot where I'm a repeat offender... my kid got a message from Subaru that her 6MT Crosstrek is on the truck to the dealership, so I'll get my 2012 Fusion back... i'll be the 5th owner. I also was the third owner, much like the guy who wrote the ad; it was a cashless sale to our daughter when she moved out. That car was so clean I'd have bet "one owner" but there was a lease in Ohio ["southern car!"] and then it was owned by the wife of a biology professor. Definitely garaged and properly maintained.

>> Lincoln's black steering wheel - I think that's an aftermarket wrap
I've always disliked steering wheel covers, they scream cheap and cheesy... but I stumbled across "Wheelskins" in an online forum. Stitched-on leather covers, supposedly custom sized for the model. My base model 2017 Gd Caravan has a steering wheel that is vinyl, and clearly built to these specs:
(i) make it cost less than $0.98, and
(ii) make it feel so nasty that people step up to the next trim level.
Which would have brought power sliding doors, so no thanks.

For $55 shipped, I ordered a cover, which arrived promptly, and promptly didn't fit -- too narrrow for the rim. I took pictures, and they sent me a wider one, which fits perfectly, at no charge. For practice, I stitched the original one on our old 03 Sienna, and I have to say I'm impressed. It's pleasant to the touch, and it looks pretty good, too. The diameter of the wheel fit perfectly; the diameter of the rim was a little less than ideal, but the material adapts well and doesn't shift. This is a great option for sprucing up older cars, or covering low-rent steering wheels.


cheers -mathias

Instead of spending on this cover you might have a new steering wheel with $100 spent. Badly Stitched

gsemike

tjc78 said:

@fintail said:

Yikes. My assessed value is in the low 300s and my taxes are around 2800 IIRC.

Yep! And you can only deduct up to 10K on your taxes

I saw a list of the top 12 property tax counties and they were all NY; NJ amd CT. Nassau on Long Island the average is 12 grand so plenty of people pay well more than that. The average in Westchaster is about 14. I think that is the highest

That house on Long Island would probably be over 30 grand, maybe over 40

fintail

Out on the road a bit today, got to honk, at a MT plated Civic veering around a parking lot without a care in the world and apparently not noticing this car which just blends into the background. I love the horns on old MBs, very loud. Seasonably warm in the 80s, although in the car it felt like the 800s - need a window or two down, and when it gets to around 90, I generally don't take the car out, or do it before noon. Car ran fine with no issues, although the gear indicator has slipped a little over time again - now reads R when in P etc, although seems to be working fine otherwise.

sda

The gear indicator misalignment maybe a simple adjustment. I think on dad’s 95 Ciera it had a similar issue and it was just a band on the steering column that needed to be moved back to show the correct gear selection and then tightened up.

fintail

Yep, it happened before maybe 20 years ago, and has slowly been going out of alignment the past several years. I think Kent Bergsma fixed it for me the first time, I should go on an owner's forum and get some hints on the adjustment.

When I noticed it was out of alignment yesterday, I worried that I might repeat the incident when the gear selector cable broke (fortunately it did so when the car was in a forward gear, and automatic fintails can start in gear, so it didn't demobilize the car), but it doesn't seem to be connected, I can select gears without apparent issue.

sda said:

The gear indicator misalignment maybe a simple adjustment. I think on dad’s 95 Ciera it had a similar issue and it was just a band on the steering column that needed to be moved back to show the correct gear selection and then tightened up.

fintail

Quick check of local ads:

Effort and quality of photos does not support the price

All the money

Bricklin-adjacent

Classy brown (technically?)

Nice two tone

A Mercedes can fit in the trunk

Optimistic price perhaps

Uncommon, needs fancier wheelcovers maybe

Seems fair if it is as nice as it looks

Project hardtop

Even as nice as it is, a little dear

Year is getting rare and good spec, someone should save it

Even with the miles, I wonder what's wrong for the price, people like these

Big red

tjc78

92 Vic is not a Touring Sedan, but nicely equipped. Not many of those got the JBL stereo.

I’d rock the blue Caddy.

ab348

The ‘71 Caddy begs the question of why it needs a set of junkyard doors to go with it. Looks nice otherwise.

Big Red would likely be the only one on any block it resides in, but it seems like big money and the black interior is beginning to look tired. I’d hate to have to get any repairs done to something that unique now 60+ years along.

stickguy

I love that brown 76 911. Tasty.

fintail

The Lincoln is in a tough spot. I think most under 50 or so consider it a bit "winga dinga", and with its size, aren't interested. At the same time, boomers who might have restored this kind of stuff in the past, at local shows anyway, seem to be into more normal sized stuff too. It would take the right buyer (and the right price, which this isn't), which might take ages to find.

explorerx4

Noticed one of the wiper blades on the Mustang was separating. Don't want to scratch the windshield.
Ford doesn't sell the original style blade replacements anymore, but I found a Mustang Parts supplier that does.
Ended up buying a pair of new OEM style wiper arms, too. A little over $60 delivered.

sda

I always prefer the look of original wiper blades vs aftermarket. My experience is they also work better and last longer as well.

kyfdx

I like the look of originals, as well. But, the Bosch Ikons I’ve had have performed better.

explorerx4

I don't usually drive the car in when there is any precipitation.
The new style OEM blades are better at removing snow, but I don't have to worry about that.
Original wiper arms are still good, good spring pressure, but the powder coat is wearing off.

fintail

For the fintail, which also seldom sees anything remotely damp, modern refills just don't look right, with their black plastic blade holders. Every several years I will buy a set of new refills, manually remove the blades, and swap them out into the period correct silver metal holders.

sda said:

I always prefer the look of original wiper blades vs aftermarket. My experience is they also work better and last longer as well.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

Noticed one of the wiper blades on the Mustang was separating. Don't want to scratch the windshield.
Ford doesn't sell the original style blade replacements anymore, but I found a Mustang Parts supplier that does.
Ended up buying a pair of new OEM style wiper arms, too. A little over $60 delivered.

It’s funny that you can buy a part for a model T but you can’t get parts for something more recent. I tried everywhere to get replacement headlights for my 95’ Lincoln to no avail.

fintail

Was out earlier before it got warm - started and drove fine, got some fresh gas, gear indicator seems to be stable.

Blind spots, never knew 'em:



The wipers, with the correct/vintage style blade holders:

gsemike

What classics are available on Long Island

I usually search 1990 and older (through 50 because I really don't know anything about cars older than that) but it occurred to me, that it's 2021, so to my astoundment, 1990 is 32 years ago. So here it is, 1950 - 1999

Grand National These are way up in value. I have a feeling that if the seller spend an hour on it, it could present much better. These were not well made interiors and the interior looks good

One pic of this BMW and no model listed I think he is trying to avoid saying it's a Ti, but you'll know when you come see it. Paint looks good in the one shot

Lousy pics of this Cutlass but could be OK in person

Unmolested 4 eye fox body Rare sight these days

This 1974 CC Deville looks really good for sitting in a yard and I am obsessed with those Caddy 8 tracks

Let's make it a 1974 Pimpapalooza

I want more pics of this 1950 Dodge but has potential

Ironic that he would say Only Serious People With is paint and the car full of garbage, this BMW 7 is for parts at this point

Want to be the only one at cruise night? Buy this Studebaker Daytona Looks like a lot of work went into this but still manual sterring and brakes

oldfarmer50

On the same page as that Studebaker there looks to be the bargain of the century.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3463686520543944/?ref=product_details&referral_code=marketplace_top_picks&referral_story_type=top_picks

No mileage listed which means it probably has a million.

gsemike

oldfarmer50 said:

On the same page as that Studebaker there looks to be the bargain of the century.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3463686520543944/?ref=product_details&referral_code=marketplace_top_picks&referral_story_type=top_picks

No mileage listed which means it probably has a million.

Gotta be a scam

fintail

Yep, common scam, meta does a deplorably poor job of controlling this stuff:

https://www.facebook.com/Capt-TJ-107081317869593/vehicles

gsemike said:

oldfarmer50 said:

On the same page as that Studebaker there looks to be the bargain of the century.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3463686520543944/?ref=product_details&referral_code=marketplace_top_picks&referral_story_type=top_picks

No mileage listed which means it probably has a million.

Gotta be a scam

fintail

I like the pimptacular Lincoln on Lawn Guyland, but not for near that money.

oldfarmer50

fintail said:

Yep, common scam, meta does a deplorably poor job of controlling this stuff:

https://www.facebook.com/Capt-TJ-107081317869593/vehicles

gsemike said:

oldfarmer50 said:

On the same page as that Studebaker there looks to be the bargain of the century.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3463686520543944/?ref=product_details&referral_code=marketplace_top_picks&referral_story_type=top_picks

No mileage listed which means it probably has a million.

Gotta be a scam

Now, now, don’t jump to conclusions. It might have been used by a Nigerian prince to deliver gold bars to deserving recipients and he just doesn’t need it any more.

texases

Scam city, but how does the scam work? Get the buyer to disclose credit card or bank account?

ab348

I don't know how most any of these scams actually work but it seems to be a growth industry, from the number of faked text messages and automated voice mails I get that are telling me companies I've never done business with want to send me money if only I press 1 or click here. The robocalls are so bad I have essentially stopped answering the landline.