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

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Comments

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Yeah, but we might not enjoy the fog on our windshield with no defroster. I mean, the AC and defrost on these old Benzes is pathetic enough when working....I dunno here....wiping the windshield with one hand, trying to find a gear with the other...this doesn't sound like fun yet.... :P
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,760
    edited October 2010
    Use it as a dry-day car - problem solved. It probably doesn't have AC , based on age and location. It looks like a few wet winters might do it in anyway.
  • omarmanomarman Member Posts: 2,702
    edited November 2010
    The seller doesn't include enough info in this ad but still...the pics do tell a story. Wasn't there a recent topic warning folks about covering cars with a tarp for "safekeeping?" Well I'm late to the topic but I brought pics. :sick:

    image
    A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 54,070
    that 70K price before or after the resot?

    quite the rat for 9,200 miles, but I guess since they were mostly at full throttle for 1/4 mile at a time, to be expected. That, and how poorly it was stored.

    odd too to paint it black like that within the 1st 6 years. Nice they found a red door to slap on it at least.

    other weirdness is the sales receipt from the Ford dealer showed that they paid $2,300 for it, while the sticker with options was over 4K.

    that car is gonna cost a whole lotta money to get back in tip top shape, but in theory it is all thee.

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    call the wrecker....he's absolutely crazy....I could probably find him one ready to drive for that price. A documented, good looking, good running Boss 302 sold for considerably less on eBay in April of this year.

    I'd value the car at $10,000.....maybe......depends on how bad it is.
  • omarmanomarman Member Posts: 2,702
    RE: the list price and receipt price
    That $2,300 could be the difference after trade in. In Ohio, anyway, the dealers deduct trade in from the new car price before applying sales tax. The next line after the sale price of that Mustang is Indiana sales tax, so maybe they left out a line showing trade in? Just guessing.

    The seller didn't really post enough info, but wow! those pics are scarey enough to send most buyers looking for one that was already done! :lemon:
    A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Another case of greed overcoming common sense.
  • tjc78tjc78 Member Posts: 17,361
    edited November 2010
    I think the 69,900 price is for it being restored. In the ad it says: ORIGINAL ONE OWNER CAR !! This car is now currently in restoration....Stored for 32 years after driving only 9,270 miles...

    2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Icon I6L Golf Cart

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Oh.....well....that makes more sense, although I don't think, given what I see there, that you can restore this car for $69000---at least not to show quality....but I guess you could cut some corners and do a nice enough job. Given how he took care of it in the first place, I'm a bit skeptical about what this restoration is going to look like.

    I mean, I see thousands of man-hours and every single solitary piece of this car needed restoration. That's a pile 'o work there.

    Let's see:

    paint and body work, show quality $10K--$12K
    new chrome ---- $5K
    new interior complete $6K ??
    restore entire drivetrain -- $12K ??
    all other mechanicals $20K ??
    glasswork $4K ??
    tires/wheels $2K

    Well yeah maybe you could do it for $69K....depends on who does it, how well, and where you do it.

    Don't know as I've ever seen a restoration budget be on time and on the money. :cry:
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    image
  • jlflemmonsjlflemmons Member Posts: 2,242
    Gee, less than 10K miles and the brake pedal is worn through to the metal on the right side? Was he wearing sandpaper shoes, or can I throw the BS flag on the mileage claim?
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,760
    That's a fine last ride. German hearses are interesting - they can be made from anything, I have even seen them made from VW vans.
  • michaellnomichaellno Member Posts: 4,120
    Speaking of hearses, I saw a picture of one recently in Switzerland .. a PT Cruiser!
  • berriberri Member Posts: 10,165
    I wouldn't mind a Mercedes final ride. But I always thought people got gypped if it was in a lesser hearse like a Pontiac or something. PT Cruiser - I think that stiff was on his/her way "downstairs"!
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 21,030
    Hey, hey, Halloween was yesterday!
    2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Nah, that's just the relatives trying to keep as much of the estate as possible, most likely. I would suspect that most dead people can't really tell if they're in a Mercedes or a Ford F-350.
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 54,070
    Close to me. Too close...

    isn't the 924 turbo actually something potentially interesting or worthwhile? or is it just a bad idea from the get go?

    http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/2038380073.html

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • garv214garv214 Member Posts: 162
    Hard to find 924 Turbo model that's lots of fun to drive when sorted out.

    I wonder how much this car will empty your wallet before it qualifies as "sorted out"...
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    edited November 2010
    image
  • hpmctorquehpmctorque Member Posts: 4,600
    Does it really matter what the final ride is? Rickshaw, beater, or Rolls hearse, the stiff won't know the difference. If one of you readers know something I don't, please let us know.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    Ugh, the seller of that 1973 Oldsmobile Cutlass must've forgot the decimal point! That thing looks like it's been sitting on the ground for a long time. The floor pan and frame are probably rotted out. This is an unremarkable car even in good condition. The previous generation A-body is the desirable car!

    I believe the Pontiac Executive was slotted between the Catalina and Bonneville.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    73 Hurst/Olds -- this may be a classic case of "year confusion". A 1972 version of this car has a potential $40K ++ value. A 1973 example has a potential of less than 1/2 that amount. Basically this wreck is worth the price of a VIN plate and maybe a few little specialty items IMO. I'd say give it away as a donor car for the good of the hobby.

    73 Nova---seems more than fair for the price of $3000. I'd need to look closer to see about this "rust".

    69 Chevelle SS --- I wonder how he knows it's a real 396/4-speed? No VIN #s, no engine, no date codes, no Data Plate, no nothin'. Unless seller steps up to the plate, this is j-u-n-k.

    69 Chevelle 454 -- some kind of clone.

    74 Monte Carlo -- fair enough at the price

    1980 Porsche 924 -- to the wrecker, so that others may live.

    1990 BMW 535i -- fair enough at that price. Watch out, though, if the tires are metric size on metric wheels. A set of 4 replacements will cost you as much as the car. This is the "metric tire bear trap" that a lot of people fall into, to their regret.

    66 Pontiac Executive --- yeah, it's a model they made back then, and, in terms of value, nobody on earth cares. You price it the same as a 4D hardtop. Might be worth $2500 if there was no body damage or ripped up interior or body rust. If there is, try $1500.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,117
    Technically, that '66 Pontiac is a Star Chief Executive. For whatever reason, that year Pontiac decided to tack "Executive" on the Star Chief name, and then from 1967-70, called them simply "Executive".

    The Executive slotted in between the Catalina and the Bonneville. It used the Catalina engine (389-2bbl in 1966, 400-2bbl in 1967-70) in the longer Bonneville body. It had a little more trim on it externally than the Catalina did, but I can't remember if the interior was dressed up any, or not.

    It was offered as a 4-door sedan, 2 and 4-door hardtop, and station wagon. No convertibles were offered. Overall, it really wasn't a very popular car, as buyers overwhelmingly chose the Catalina, and those that wanted a bigger car just went all the way with the Bonneville, which had a standard 4-bbl and nicer interior. And there was a Ventura trim package on the Catalina that dressed it up inside pretty nicely, which again probably put pressure on the Executive.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Funny name. I wonder if someday soon we'll be seeing the "All-New Cadillac Hedge Fund Manager" or the Ford Stockbroker.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,117
    Yeah, "Executive" is kind of a pretentious sounding name. Only people I knew who ever had one was the elderly couple who lived behind my grandparents when I was a kid. Mr. and Mrs. Marlowe. They had a 1970 Executive 4-door (I think it was a sedan but memory's fuzzy, could've been a hardtop). It was a dark green, but not a very nice one. Might have been that "Verduro" green? They were anything BUT executives though...just simple, nice, honest farm people. They had a big shaggy one-eyed sheepdog named Snooky.

    Dunno whatever happened to them, or the car. They moved away back in 1981 or 1982, to a family farm in PA, I think.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,117
    I was goofing around on google maps, looking at the area in Southern MD where my Mom and stepdad live. The pictures were recently updated, with higher resolution, and taken early in the year before the trees bushed out. And lo and behold, there was the old '53 Firedome that Granddad had sold in 1986, just a few months before my 16th birthday!

    image

    It's sort of in the upper right corner, a pale seafoam green color. It looks incomplete in the picture, because Granddad had replaced the hood and driver's side fender with parts from a junkyard DeSoto that was a dark greenish-blue color.

    I'd always wondered if that car was still around. It's about a mile from my Mom and stepdad's place, and sometimes when I'd go to visit them, I'd drive by this house and sometimes I could catch a glimpse of it through the trees. But then the trees got thicker.

    I wonder what kind of condition the thing is is, after 24+ years of sitting in that same spot? It was almost rust-free when Granddad got rid of it, and the interior wasn't too bad. The engine would also turn over, but Granddad couldn't get it started. And the guy who bought it from him tried to jump start it with a 12 volt soon after buying it, fried it, and then pushed it into the woods, where it's sat ever since.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Oh yeah, I can see it.

    Well there may be some hard to find little bits and pieces that would still be useful to someone---even if it's all ruined, sometimes you can make templates from old parts to create new ones.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    Packard also had a car called the Executive. I think it was a Clipper with a Patrician/Four Hundred front end clip.
  • hpmctorquehpmctorque Member Posts: 4,600
    Please let me know whether you received my information regarding struts for your PA. Thanks.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,117
    Hey HP...it had been awhile since I logged into my email, but yeah, got the info. Thanks! I'll definitely look into it. I was given a reminder of just how bouncy my Park Ave is the other day when I drove my Catalina to work. There's one dip in the road that makes the Park Ave bounce pretty badly...and if I hit it at the right (wrong?) speed with the pickup, it can actually hurt my back. But the Catalina went right over it like it wasn't even there. And that's not right. I'd like to think that GM learned something about ride and handling in the 33 years that passed between when my Catalina rolled off the assembly line, and the Park Ave was born.

    And it was great seeing you at the Rockville show. Hopefully, sitting behind the wheel of my LeMans didn't give you any bad 70's flashbacks!
  • hpmctorquehpmctorque Member Posts: 4,600
    edited November 2010
    Rest assured that the flashback was positive. Although my '78 LeMans was narrower than yours, the dash shared many of the same design cues, and was one of the best elements of that car. Handling, with the upgraded suspension, was good for its day, but I understand it was further improved for '79. Now I rarely see a '78 generation LeMans. For whatever reason more '73-'77 generation seemed to have survived. The more delicate transmission in the downsized LeMans might account for much of that, but that's only a guess. The rust proofing was actually improved for '78, through more extensive use of galvanized steel,

    Circling back to the replacement struts, you might want to compare price with one or two other Monroe distributors, besides Sears, if you should decide to go with that brand. Good luck with your PA.
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 54,070
    FWIW, early this year I had to replace the struts on my Acura (cheap things only lasted 150k!). Anyway, most every place (the chains) carried Monroe. I would have gone with the more OEM brand (KYB?), but the car is old and I am cheap.

    so shopping Monroe, Sears was far and away the cheapest. Keep an eye on their sales. They always seem to have a discount on installation, but occasionally something better. I beleive I got 1/2 off the units (plus a Monroe rebate). And sears standard install prices are much lower, so the end result was a good deal.

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • hpmctorquehpmctorque Member Posts: 4,600
    Good info. How do your new Monroe struts compare with the originals on your car, in terms of ride, handling an suppleness? If you don't mind my asking, what model and year is your Acura?

    One of our cars is a '99 TL with the 127,000 miles and the original struts. They seem okay for now.
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 54,070
    it is a 2000 3.2TL, with about 150K on the clock when I swapped them. Honestly, it seemed to drive OK to me, and I did not notice a huge difference afterwards, but it is my sons car, so I did not drive it much, and usually just local so nothing that would really test it out.

    I would have kept the old ones, but one of them had blown and was leaking, so I decided to do it when I put new tires on, since my sone was going to be taking it to college this year (250 miles away).

    Maybe not coincidnece, but the reason I got new tires was one of them had a sidewall bulge from an impact break, and it was the same one (pass. front) with the bad strut. Kid must have really nailed that pothole!

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,922
    edited November 2010
    I put new Monroe struts all around on my '98 Escort at the start of the summer. It was a pretty easy job (aside from discovering a broken spring on one corner!), even though it was more labor intensive in that sedan than on any other car I have done since I had to remove the entire back seat in order to access the tops of the rear strut towers; the total work was about five hours. I think the car had about 132,000 on it at the time, and the replaced units were the originals.

    The fronts were pretty well gone, taking about ten minutes to extend the pistons when compressed (versus about ten seconds - maybe less - for the new ones!). The rears were not so bad, maybe taking 3-4 minutes, but the ride was incredibly different afterward. If I tried to "launch" too quickly from a stop, the front wheels would hop pretty bad, but no such problem after the replacement. I did manage to get it to hop just a little one time, but I was pushing the car as hard as it would go, just to see if I could get it to happen.

    I really enjoy replacing shocks/struts, as it is about as close as one can get to buying a new car without actually incurring the cost of doing so. :P

    My car also had very old tires on it, and after putting on the winter tires (new this year - Continental ExtremeWinterContact) it rides even smoother and quieter. It is actually a pleasant ride now.

    Compared to replacing the rest of the suspension that takes a beating when the struts aren't doing their job effectively, the time & expense of replacing the struts is downright cheap.
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
  • hpmctorquehpmctorque Member Posts: 4,600
    It all makes perfect sense. Thanks.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Caution: Viewing this eBay auction may cause severe intestinal distress or rapid head-shaking movements;


    It's the "Go Anywhere" Sports Car!!
  • hpmctorquehpmctorque Member Posts: 4,600
    Well, hopefully that MG was a beater when that crazy project was started, so that a good one didn't get wasted.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    It's a rubber-nose car, so not a big loss (to me at least). I would find it personally difficult to put huge amounts of time and money into unattractive or uninteresting cars.
  • gsemikegsemike Member Posts: 2,452
    http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/2045000738.html">why why why

    Is there anything that you can do that offers a worse ROI than a 4x4 car?
  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 33,806
    well, according to him, it fits 6 inch tall passengers. Ken and Barbie can go anywhere, it seems, but not the rest of us.

    And what is up with the gearshift?? I'd have to saw off my right leg to use it ... then couldn't drive a 3-pedal car anyway.

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Yes that gearshift does speak to excellent project planning, doesn't it?
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Porsche 914 -- he probably realized how much it would be worth after restoration---not enough.

    88 Mustang -- well, I'd offer $10 more than a junk yard.

    VW --motor built at a trade school--class dismissed?

    83 Benz Oil Burner -- that's about the going rate for a good one w/ conversion equipment. Question is...what work does it REALLY need?

    72 LeMans -- it would have to be very sharp for that price but it could be worth it.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Free Box.
  • tjc78tjc78 Member Posts: 17,361
    He must be nuts. If you wanted to take on a project of that magnitude I am sure for $1000 (or a little more) you could probably get something somewhat complete.

    2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Icon I6L Golf Cart

  • lemmerlemmer Member Posts: 2,689
    edited November 2010
    BMW 525i

    It is owned by a guy down the street from me. He doesn't need the car, but doesn't really need the money either.

    Mechanically the car is great. Nothing but dealer service. Good Michelin tires. One potential issue is that because of the low mileage the guy hasn't had the cooling system repairs that these cars typically require at some point.

    The interior is excellent except for the radio has a couple of pixels missing. The exterior would be excellent except for one thing - it looked like someone backed up a truck with a ball hitch into the front. From 10 feet away, you can't see any damage. Up close, you can see that the portion of the hood that includes the grill is bent inward, the front bumper is scratched and is started to spiderweb. The owner had not noticed the extent of the damage and said he is willing to drop the price accordingly. I thought he might be $2K high to start with. What do you guys think?
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