It's been a long time since I have bought or sold any cars and really could use some input on what my 1935 2 door slantback sedan and 1940 2 door deluxe sedan might be worth. I intend to put both up for sale. The '35 is missing it's engine and rad and the '40 it's engine/trans, rad and seats. Both cars will need significant body work and floor patch panels. Each car is correctly titled and licensed to their VINs. In addition I have some 1947-53 Ford unopened flathead engines I will be selling. These all came out of vehicles with spark plugs intact. Most have clutches intact. Value?? Thanks in advance for any help. Regards
I dont know about the 40 but the 35 is worth 37 hamburgers, one box of fireworks(no snakes), and three cases of good beer.
both look like pretty solid cars, but there are a lot of factors at play. among them--1) where you are, 2) do you just want to move them, or do you want to maximize your money 3) do you expect to sell to a re-seller or a builder--they're two differnt price points I like to buy to turn over at a modest profit so I err on the low side of what I'd pay and my reference is mostly for the 35--I've messed with a lot of those over the years and watch the market--less so on the 40. Given the current market in my area I'd give the "road show" estiamate of anywhere from $3,500-7,500 each. based on what I see not an expert and don't play one on TV. Have no clue what the market it is like in Cali.
falconsprint63, I just assumed they would go to a builder, never thought about a reseller. Any "road show" estimate for unopened flathead engines?
nope--don't know a thing about flatties. had a friend with a full race flattie who was asking 8k and everyone I mentioned it to thought it was on the high side of fair. for what that's worth.
stuff seems to go cheap in PNW. my guess 2k on 40 and 2500 on the 35 the market for projects died a few years ago, so real selling prices have dropped a lot.
Projects for sale at the the last few Pomona Swap meets go home on the trailers, the finished driving vehicles are heading to the docks to go to Europe and Australia.
if I found those for free I would not sell either one for less than $3500.00 each. I would consider that cheap, since I got them for free. I'd probably start at about $6,000.00 and see what happens.
I have to say that with the current market I was more inclined to $2500 on the low end, but I they looked to complete to suggest that. plus it messed up the numbers om the "road show" estimate . The added $$$ in the 35 really is in the front clip. there's probably conservatively $2500 alone in those components if you part it out. the question is in this market is it worth more as a whole or as parts. FWIW, back when the market was good I sold a super solid (rust free) 35 4 door humpback body and chassis alone for $3500 but that was well before the economy and market tanked in 08/09. A few years prior to that also sold one that was probably comperable to yours for $3500 too. I carried it from Minnesota to Iowa, and made a few dollars, but really shouldn't have let it go that cheap--but I needed the money and didn't want to hassle with bringing it back to the east coast.
Thanks to everyone who has replied. Today does having the correct title add value? In years past it did. Still hoping to get somebody to weigh in on unopened complete '47-'53 flathead value. Regards
Unopened flatheads are tough. Buyers want to be able to inspect the blocks for cracks. Last unopened flathead I sold I think I got $100.00 out of.
A clean title is always a plus. More so in some states than others. Depending on the state, titling an untitled car can be a cake walk or a huge pain in the ass. Where in the mix does WA fall? Is Brigadoon located near the state line? If a prospective buyer from the next state is buying the car with a clean title, it will streamline getting it transferred in his home state.
Around here one would be hard pressed to get $2500 each for those cars, the 35 maybe a little easier to sell. There was a 40 Mercury Tudor for sale here in close to that condition advertised for $2500 obo, had been on the market for a year at least, don't know if they sold it or gave up trying. When I buy them I usally pay $6500/ 8500 for a good builder but they are rust free at that price. Titles are a + for sure, adds $400 in my book. Same thing with the flatheads, most I can get for one unopened is $100. Worth the crap shoot to open them, no cracks or other issues and I get $500 for any 239, less of course for the earlier smaller ones.
My 2 cents: First thing I would try is a package deal. Both cars and maybe 2 unopened flatheads for a total of $12,000 There are still some guys like me out there that like to make them runners then pass them on. The 35 looks like it would be a cool driver with the body just cleaned and waxed, a seat to sit on and running. In my estimation, not every car needs to be restored to be cool, life is too short to spend restoring everything. Just my 2 cents, Good luck
Good info in all replies. Thanks! I will put the cars for sale locally and see what happens. Tony I agree with you. When I bought these 2 cars years ago I was going to have the body work done, drop them and put flatties in them. Nothing else. Low bucks and head turners.
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