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Looking for opinions......

B

bwross

Member
I am seeking your opinions; I have been offered the opportunity to purchase a 65 coupe, no fancy options. The car has literally been sitting in a garage in Montana for like the last 20 years, is a "C" code 289 with AT; has just a few over 28K original, documented miles. Has three spots of rust that will require some attention, needs the interior to be updated and the usual stuff repaired (dash pad, faded carpet, etc). The engine started first time and leaks basically no oil. Black with white interior. Oh yea, its a mid-year production serial number from San Jose.

Question for opinions is what do you all think the car is worth?

TIA,
Bruce
 
The car has literally been sitting in a garage in Montana for like the last 20 years
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That's good.... but that also means that it sat someplace else for 23 years.

has just a few over 28K original, documented miles.
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I'd be very skeptical of any "low mileage" claims.


Has three spots of rust that will require some attention
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Is this based upon your inspection or a claim from the seller? Unless the three spots are: the front, the middle and the rear.... it's VERY likely that there's more rust than you're planning on.


Establishing "worth" is a tough call. To me.... I wouldn't pay a dime over $2k for it
 
Dave,
You've got some valid points. The full story of the car is that it was built in San Jose and sold to a dealer in Montana where it was in turned sold to a local musician. This guy used it to travel around the area to various performances. After a couple of years he traded back into the same dealership that he bought it from. The dealer put it into his own name and used it as a local driver for a few more years at which time he parked it. He eventually passed away, with no immediate family to deal with it and a convertable that was with it. A few years ago the dealers sister is clearing up the property to get it ready for sale and contacts my buddy's brother. So, from there my buddy gets it with the intention of restoring it and parks it here in Texas in his garage. His wife recently has asked him to get it out of the garage and hence our conversation. And, there is documentation in the way of service reciepts and safety inspections to back up the original mileage claim.
The rust spots are based on my inspection of the vehicle. There are also a couple of spots on the underside where the undercoat has chipped off but no rust. There was also no rust around the battery holder and the cowl area is dirty but looks and feels solid.
I am going to try and get some pictures of it this week; buddy says I have until the middle of June to decide before he'll go to buyer "B" that is already lined up.

Bruce
 
Any idea what your buddy paid for it? Doesnt sound like he did anything to increase its value and the market hasnt changed a whole lot, other than probably drop prices.
 
He diassembled the interior for a couple of reasons; first, the dash pad was cracking up and needed to be replaced, he has had the instruments professionally refurbished, and he pulled up the carpet to give the floor pan a complete inspection ( no rust to be seen anywhere, I looked). He has a small pile of NOS and reproduction parts that he's willing to throw into the deal. Other than that he transported it from Montana to Texas.

Bruce
 
Thats a tough call given he is a buddy. You know that it came from Montana, and he is going to want to try and recoup that money or atleast some or most of it. But say you found the car on Craigslist from a private seller, he could say he had it imported from Hawaii and want to recoup that money, in which case it would be tough $%*&, its in Texas now.....
 
You say three spots of rust that you've personally seen... Care to describe? Rusted frame rail or small bubbles in a lower door corner? It makes a big difference in price knowing the rust you need to deal with. Sounds like a pretty nice car but the description is pretty vague to really judge.
 
Do the obvious and see what similar have sold for recently. Being a plain Jane coupe doesn't do the value any favors. I think you'll find Dave is fairly accurate in his assessment. Right now, you can find an awful lot of decent condition coupes for under three grand. Remember, the car needs a good amount of work ($$$) to get it back on the road. You'll spend a couple grand just on interior, trim pieces etc. Even more if you have original pieces restored (chromed, etc). Add some new tires, brake work, shocks, etc. Now you've got another $3-4k on top of the purchase price and you haven't even touched the drive train or body and paintwork. What do you see fully restored coupes selling for these days?

You're not going to come out money ahead (especially on a coupe) with a project like this but why dig a deep hole at the outset?
 
Okay, a little more amplifying information because I was trying to get unbiased opinions. The asking price is $6500.

The rust is on the quarter panels; on the right rear quarter in the corner just behind the wheel (heavy bubbling). The other two spots are on the front quarters at the bottom just in front of the door interface (small bubbling). No rust on the frame rails, no rust in the cowling, no rust in the area of the battery, no rust in the front or back windows.

Sorry for holding out on the asking price.

Bruce
 
That is way too much. Those bubbles will turn out to be much more decay than you expect. If you can't do the metal work yourself that will be a fairly hefty dent in the budget. You can grab a decent fastback project for about that price right now.
 
My thanks to all for your thoughts and suggestions. After the initial rush of the thrill of an early low-mileage car wore off I gave it a lot more thought and have decided to pass on the offer.

Besides, I much prefer the 67-68 body style; guess I'll just keep looking for the low mileage 67.

best and thanks again,

Bruce
 
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