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

boomchek · February 2009

Hopeless Vette Wagon

Champagne color... really? Look likeit came out from the bottom of the lake.

Old Datsun

M3 shell... "all M3 parts have been removed and are sold" so what's left here that makes it an M3?

Hopeless?

Vauxhall Velox

VW engined GT40 kit car... no thanks

Morris Oxford Traveller...last used in 72..ouch

Not a project but a pretty rare Rolls Camargue...just had to throw it in there

fintail · February 2009

LOL at the Corolla

The Velox and its clones have a cult following in the UK among the 50s nuts...over here it's just a freak. Same for the Oxford... insanely rare here, but nobody on this continent cares. In England it'd be back on the road already.

That Camargue looks amazing. Memories of my first large Bburago car. 1985 is the end of that model, and somehow I don't recall those headlight wipers, very amusing and I suspect uncommon or a late model addition. Certainly a money pit, but much cooler than a period RR sedan. I almost want to like it. I'd take it over a Shadow/Spirit/Spur any day.

gsemike · February 2009

The Rolls is rare but so not interesting, especially from the back. What is a real price for it?

boomchek · February 2009

The Rolls does look amazing for it's year, except for the centre dash. It looks pretty crude/rough. But I guess for the 80s that was top of the line.

That seller apparently imports many luxury vehicles from Japan, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Rolls came from there as well.

andre1969 · February 2009

The Rolls does look amazing for it's year, except for the centre dash. It looks pretty crude/rough. But I guess for the 80s that was top of the line.

That center console does look a bit strange. It makes me think of something that might have been built to go into a motorhome or conversion fan.

I'm not so crazy about the style of the car...in fact from the rear it sort of looks like a Monza or Sunbird notchback, especially with those tailllights. But I'm amazed at how white that interior is! I wonder how hard it would be to keep it that clean?

**edit...oops, I totally missed the center of the dash, I was just thinking the center console. But yeah, like Fintail said, it's probably messed up like that because of having a radio swapped out.

fintail · February 2009

It's also a 1975 Italian design, so some of the details are not of the best quality. As was said in the post before, the rear end is kind of clunky. I suspect that dashboard originally held a period multi piece stereo that was replaced by the cheapo modern unit.

Your Japan theory is probably true, the low mileage supports that too.

Regarding the price...he wants 55K CDN, which is roughly 44K US...I'd say something around 30K is probably realistic, if it is mechanically perfect and has recent brakes and servicing. With production for the global market of about 50 units per year, it is very rare...but demand has to be tiny.

lemko · February 2009

A RICH masochist at that! The BDSM community has nothing on this guy!!!

lemko · February 2009

Oh, those are the "aircraft inspired" instruments and switchgear Rolls pointed out in their design of the Camargue. I guess this is what passed for "high tech" in the mid 1970s when the Camague debuted.

texases · February 2009

Too bad the aircraft doing the inspiring was a Cessna 150 :P

Mr_Shiftright · February 2009

Yeah $30K for a really nice one. If you shop around, anywhere from $20,000 to $30,000 a pop should get you a boatload of Camargues. At $55K he is simply out of touch with the marketplace entirely. They made over 500 of them so they're around. In the heady days before the bust in 1990, you could get $45K for them, and maybe a very low miles, celebrity owned car (like with 5,000 miles on it) could break $40K.

Rusted Porsche 914 -- crusher.

steine13 · February 2009

... have gone cruising on the seattle craigslist.

but i searched for "conversion", hoping to unearth some cool older conversion vans... instead i got this and thought y'all would appreciate the humor:

http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/cto/1034000537.html

fintail · February 2009

Project car hell

Mr_Shiftright · February 2009

roll it off a cliff?

guss · February 2009

Did he mention he just does not have the time to deal with it.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2009

So he's going to unleash Franken-Van on the general population?

Screwed up projects like this NEVER get done, because there is no sound foundation.

qbrozen · February 2009

Well, it took my much longer than expected (about 15 hours), but I finished the t-belt, tensioner, water pump, cam/crank seals, t-stat, spark plugs, oil change endeavor. I spent at least a good 3 of those hours just removing the crank timing pulley. I can only assume it has never been removed, which is interesting since what I've read tells me the crank seal typically needs replacement at some point, and at 156k miles, you'd think it needed to be done before. Anyway, it was quite the chore "unfusing" it from the crank. There was probably another couple of hours in there spent "making tools" to do certain things. Like reshaping one of my gear puller tangs with a file to get just the right angle or cutting down a piece of PVC pipe to press the seals in place, for instance.

I also replaced the trans oil and installed a post-cat exhaust gasket that was missing entirely (remember in the ebay description that it had a "small hole in the muffler" ... yeah, the leak was about 2.5 feet ahead of the muffler, chief). SOOO... all told so far, I've put about $330 into it. $130 of that was JUST fluids! Synthetic oils are so damned pricey.

Last night I ventured into the small bit of rust repair it does need. Its a small area on the lip of the rear passenger fender. Its just surface rust where the paint chipped, but I don't want it to spread. I've never tried it before, and I know it will look bad, but if it stops the rust, that's all I want for now. So I sanded it with rough, then medium, taped off the surrounding area, and threw on a couple of coats of rust-inhibiting primer. I have a can of red enamel on the shelf, so I think I'll spray that on. Or I could go splurge on the proper factory code paint. But, is it really necessary? It won't match either way, right?

Next thing I think I'll actually spend money on is a detail shop to buff the paint. Just don't know of one nearby or convenient.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2009

So the crank pulley is held on by a slotted key? I remember on older Volvos how careful one had to be with stubborn cam pulleys. You could break the tip of the cam off very easily, and many people did.

qbrozen · February 2009

yup. crank has a key "holding it on." But, really, its the damper that does most of the holding, as once I cleaned off the rust, the crank pulley went back on without fuss.
The camshafts, on the other hand, have a fixed notch and the pulleys are held on by the bolts only.

fezo · February 2009

Geeze, q, I should have brought the Celica up your way. You could have done a major disaster brake job on the back. Instead I paid retail....

qbrozen · February 2009

i charge less, but take longer. ;b

what's a "major disaster brake job" anyway?

fezo · February 2009

That would mean the calipers as well as pads and rotors. This was the first mechanical work I had done on it since what I put in right when I bought it about 10 months ago.

I did have to replace the rear curtain on the top. Once the weather allows the top to go down again I'll be happy about that.

Had to put two tires on my daughter's car today just to add to the fun. She hits me first thing this morning with "Dad, my car is making a clunking sound." I tak eone look and say "driving on a flat will do that." :sick:

jlflemmons · February 2009

Yeah, had that happen a couple of years ago. Wife called while returning from long road trip to tell me "the van is making a funny vibration". My son (young at the time) followed my intructions to go look closely at the tires, then called back to tell me most of the tread was gone off one of them. :confuse:

Seems she would have noticed that. Not.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2009

I had a friend who drove across the entirety of the Golden Gate Bridge after having lost the tire AND wheel. Thought it sounded funny, but they were going slow and just thought it was a flat tire. They were flagged down and towed off the bridge, of course.

qbrozen · February 2009

Reminds me of a time back when my sister first started driving. Well, I say "first," but it was her 2nd vehicle, so I imagine she was at least 18, which would make me about 15.

Anyway, she came home from school and told me her car is making a funny noise. I go out and ask her to pull it in the garage. Well, she pulls it in as it is making the very loud and fast ticking noise from the engine. I yelled at her very quickly and loudly to SHUT IT OFF! SHUT IT OFF!

She had run it nearly dry of oil! Surprisingly, there was no damage, and she got a lesson on one particular "bad noise" she should be on the lookout for.

gsemike · February 2009

Probably a good deal

Full vehicle?????

Could be decent Just have to see what flaws the pics aren't showing

What motor is this?

Is this OK or expensive?

Was nicer without any mods Why are so many M3s convertibles?

Really??????

qbrozen · February 2009

The M3 ad fails strictly for the name of the dealer ... "We Be Autos"?? Seriously? That's what you named your company?

Mr_Shiftright · February 2009

66 Plymouth -- distributor in rear, ergo a 318 would be my guess.

1990 Corvette convertible -- price is pretty much high retail for an automatic with over 100K on it. If it were a pristine, low miles stickshift, well maybe there's a bit more money in it.

1988 Corsica -- that's about what it's worth, yeah. $1,000 bucks.

1972 Chevelle SS -- that's what it should sell for WITH decent paint on it. (aka "clean driver"). Nobody wants a '72 Chevelle anyway.

fezo · February 2009

My daughter did the oil trick - unfortunately she was in the left lane of the parkway in Monmouth County when it seized. She defied death twice on that. Once when she got to a shoulder in one piece and again when I didn't kill her....

fintail · February 2009

Not just We Be Autos, but We Be Autos on Lawn Guyland. It's perfect.

I see the M3 convertible as the poser model. It has weight gain and no benefit but the ability to be seen.

Civic should be a bargain for someone.

andre1969 · February 2009

66 Plymouth -- distributor in rear, ergo a 318 would be my guess

Yeah, that's the old 318 "wideblock", as it was known. It was a poly-head engine dating back to 1955. It has kind of a massive look to it, so it often gets mistaken for a big-block engine. The more common 318 was the wedge, which was based on the 273 block. It looks considerably smaller, although I think the wedge only weighs about 50-60 lb less. I forget what year the 318 wedge came out now. Either 1967 or 1968.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2009

A good engine, but in a car of that size, certainly not a neck-snapper.

guss · February 2009

when parents stop kids from blowing your college fund.

link title

Mr_Shiftright · February 2009

turbo M3 -- yeah, might as well show those stupid BMW engineers that you know way more than they do. Now you've got a car that is almost sale-proof unless you take a big hit. Someone has to pay for that turbo kit and the ugly wheels, and it's not going to be the next buyer.

boomchek · February 2009

unless he finds another kid who's willing to blow his college fund to buy it.

qbrozen · February 2009

42lb injectors

Holy cow, man! That's 250 lbs added to the curb weight!

;b

oregonboy · February 2009

I noticed that the kid trying to sell the modded M3 neglected to mention what year it was or how many miles it had... never a good sign.

He did mention the miles on the "rebuilt" engine... again not a very good sign.

gsemike · February 2009

The engine has 62k so the car itself must have a ton of miles

steine13 · February 2009

The engine has 62k so the car itself must have a ton of miles

But they're EASY miles!

-Mathias

steine13 · February 2009

http://lansing.craigslist.org/cto/1039564439.html

I'm thinking the price is borderline high even with a perfect body.
It must be something in the water.

-Mathias

oregonboy · February 2009

Borderline high? With 152k miles, I don't think it's worth fixing if it were free.
Parts car. :sick:

fintail · February 2009

And he claims $700 in damage. Good luck.

fintail · February 2009

Not a project....

"New" W126

I'd say it's worth it to the right person.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2009

2001 Audi A4: Damage is about $6,000 from what I can see.

CRUSHER. More teapots for Turkey. Current value? About $300--$500.

Brand New 1983 Benz: Brand new but what would you do with it? Drive it? Then you lose $9,000 immediately in depreciation. "Show" it? Where? The 80s 4-door Concours? don't think so....

Nice old car but c'mon---get real on the price. Okay $7,500 is all the money in the world for it.

guss · February 2009

I would love to know where you can get a hood,trunk,rear quarter panel,headlight assembly,tail light assembly and get them painted for $700. Are things that bad in Michigan that they are just giving parts away ?

oregonboy · February 2009

$14,212.89 for a new, unregistered 1983 280SE. I'd like to hear the story behind that one.

texases · February 2009

Just found a new (to me) Brit car show, "Wheeler Dealers", they spent 2 episodes getting a W123 230E for 400 quid, spent 600 fixing it up, sold it for 1500 pounds. Just had to replace a fender ('wing', sorry) with a cheap repro, new steering box and windshield, and that was about it. Of course they don't count the hours of work in the fixup cost. Looked like a good buy for $3000.

oregonboy · February 2009

a hood,trunk,rear quarter panel,headlight assembly,tail light assembly and get them painted for $700.

And those are just the things that you can see that it needs! (I suspect that it also needs front and rear bumper covers, front grill, and maybe the L front fender.)

fintail · February 2009

Yeah I wouldn't drive that W126. I'd keep it detailed to assembly line cleanliness, and take it to local MB club events. The general car nut won't care about it, but MB people have a lot of respect for that series. They are only new once, and the 126 is considered by many to be the zenith of what MB was really all about.

Also notice while moderately equipped for Euro/UK spec, it is optioned below anything sold here.

fintail · February 2009

What network airs that show?

With the pound depreciating as Europe experiences a financial disaster and future almost as bad as ours (or maybe worse), 1500 GBP is now under $2200. Those cars are pretty sturdy, it could be a good runaround car for that money.

fintail · February 2009

Maybe an eccentric dealer or some weird estate situation. Old low mileage cars seem to pop up now and then, some survive better than others.

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

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