Why is the cost of fake cars more than original ?

Have your Dad buy Fuel Pump's '38. (***uming it didn't sell on ebay last week). He can get a real, traditional hot rod that has the soul that no coast to coast thing ever could.

 

I believe he traded it to Fab32 for one of Franks 5W coupe bodies

 

Just like muscle cars....
A CLONED RED muscle car brings more money than a REAL-DEAL BEIGE muscle car.

LOUD and FAKE trumps SUBTLE and GENUINE any day of the week. Sad but true.


...for the record, I'm not offended at all by well built, tasteful 'gl*** cars.

 

And no one should be its all got to do with quality and preference. 32 fords bring stupid money in steel and if done right there is good money in gl*** i have proof of that. Quality ... So i got 42,5 but if my car was steel then how much ? A lot more A lot more.. I think the 32 **** is way over rated steel or gl***. I was a lot more comfortable in my 34 (nother gl*** car) At least it had leg room... Also done right they are sweet looking cars unless its a ****ed up street beast. I also like the speedstar . really whats not to like its a good looking car but again here we are with opinions.. Actually this thread has turned into a pretty good debate . Hopefully it wont get all ****ed up like the some of others today
Dave

 

Gl***?...Steel?
I dont care.

The only thing that irks me is a gl*** car all dolled up with "rust spots, holes drilled to look like rust, primer, patina, trying to make it look like steel...Geezus, paint it shiny or in primer (if your ten years late with fads), but don't try to fake the rust thing.
Kind of reminds me of that gl*** '37 in Street Rodder a few years ago with the fake Ardun "heads" on a sbc.......Geeeeez

 

OK

Im going to step in and share my humble opinions.

First, the value of any collector car is simply what a buyer and a seller agree on at a particular moment. No more, no less, and subject to change with any wind change.

Second, a street rod is NOT an original car (or more correctly it is truly an ORIGINAL, nothing like the ***embly line copies). Form and function become important, not the generic who, what, and when it was made. Of course this flips if it becomes a ORIGINAL piece of art... then WHO, WHAT, and WHEN are critical.

So then is a C-C 39 a 39? NOTHING interchanges with an original 1939 Ford (or Chevy, Buick, Dodge, Graham, Willys, Bantam, for that matter). It is a piece of art (or if you dont like it "its A Piece of "ART""). How about a Wescott 32 body on an orignal frame? Is it a 1932? How about a Brookville 32 on a TCI ch***is with a SBC?

If you are one of those truly dedicated and narrow minded souls who strive to restore a vehicle to accurate as factory built, first my hat off to you, as without understanding what we are modifing we often loose sight of our art, and second to strive to save usable original parts for you. The same to the few who try to preserve a particular car as it appeared at a particular moment in time. To those that argue that steel is the "holy grail" of hot rodding, I suggest that your time might be spent more productivly arguing (in a more appropriate forum of course) whether the Mormons, Catholics, Jews or Muslims have the "one true" religon.

In my mind a worn out piece of rusty steel slathered in bondo is a piece of junk. With a nice paint job it is all of the above with a nice paint job. A poor quality steel repro slathered in bondo is only one step better, of course with a nice paint job add "with a nice paint job". A nicely built street rod is guess what? The above. With a nice paint job... you get the idea. Steel, aluminum, fibergl***, or even billet ***ianum does not matter. If its a street rod and its nice, its a street rod thats nice.

"Fibergl***" too often gets said as a generic. All fibergl*** is not the same. Same with steel. There a lot of alloys out there that are and have been used. Some of the reasons for prefering original Ford steel is really the fact that Ford used special alloys that are to difficult for most repro manufactures to work with, or have become "onobtanium" I dont want to get into an advertising mode so I will just say that with fibergl*** there are a lot of i's that have to be dotted and t's that have to be crossed or quality will suffer. Back to form and function. Done right fibergl*** is equal or better than steel done right (and if it does not work in that application it counts as done wrong). Done wrong fibergl*** is a lot worse than anything else done right. Or rather, anything done wrong is a lot worse than anything else done right.

When it comes to price all it takes is one smart*** who adds a 0 to his real price (No the car is not for sale... but just to keep you bozos from asking what its worth I put a 175,000.00 for sale sign on it) and some idiot with more dollars than sense who whips out his checkbook! Or, take the time to put 4 s**** C-C 39's on epay with a 95,000 starting bid, then put the real on on with a 75,000.00 starting bid. See if some ****er bites.

OK i ranted and raved. If I offended anyone I apologize... these are only my opinions. I hope everyone will build their cars THEIR way, and if done well I hope I have the opportunity to appreciate the workmanship.

 

Or the 32 Roadster that's in Street Rodder this month - just as Stupid!

 

Don't get me started on that thing.......

 

And the point of this thread would be?????

 

I appreciate all cars for the creativity and workmanship. I like having a car that started as what it is called, ie. 36 Chevy or 40 Ford factory car, but it's nearly impossible to do lots of the creative automobile art with steel that one can do with gl***. Lot's of "original steel" cars have gl*** parts added to achieve the look that the owner/builder wanted. Like they say, everyone has an opinion - opinions are like ***holes, everyone has one and they all stink. This is mine.

 

Gl*** vs. Steel? Well, fact is, fibergl*** bodies have saved this traditional hobby. Taking the ever popular '32 roadster for example, only a very few were ever made and many have not survived the ravages of time from crash, fire, piecemeal modification, rust and otherwise. How many have been crushed over the years by the cl***ic falling tree? The point is that most can't afford a steel roadster, old or new. At $10,000 + per copy this is just way out of reach for most rodders. So what can they do? Maby a gl*** body is within reach. People who otherwise could not participate are now crusing down the street and keeping the traditional scene alive. If it looks good to you, build it and drive it! Ya don't have to make excuses to anyone! They should be thankful!

 

Well said Karl
Years ago I built a 32 Roadster using one of your bodies. I was at a show and a guy spends 45 minutes telling me how much he liked the car, how he remembers ones just like it when he was a teenager, etc. He's talking so much I just listen and can't get a word in edge wise.
A buddy walks by and yells "Hey, you finally finished your Tupperware!" I laugh and say "yeah, finally". The guy asks what this means, I explain the car is Fiberglas and he calls me an ***hole and storms off. I though it was funny as hell.

 

I'm calling ********! Name ONE gl*** car that is worth more than a steel one ,of the same quality??? That's right...you can't!
Two 32 3w Coupes;
same wheels,motor,trans,paint,interior,frame,even same builder!
Original,Ford steel one will be worth more every time...

Now,i'm not saying there isn't some good quality gl*** bodies out there and that's all some guys will ever be able to afford. But don't try to say they are worth more!

 

OK Bob, I'l take a poke...

Darrin, Avanti, Corvette.

Well, if you do have an ORIGINAL one of the above thats steel it might be worth more than fibergl*** to the right person.

LOL

If the "value" of you house and garage dropped from last year, yet the roof still keeps the rain out just as well, is it "worth" less. Retortical question... DO NOT ANSWER!

 

I agree steel is worth more, but 99.5% of the the people that saw this car didn't know. Including a local who owns one of almost every 32 model made.

 

Its probly been said already here, but which do you want? a real 'diamond' ? or man made? If i just wanted a roadster it would be gl***. If I was gonna cut one up it would be gl***. But I have wrestled with this issue, and since bakinthe day I used to borrow my buddy,s flatty powered deuce roadster, and experienced what that was, I just cant go the gl*** route. I will take my steel 2dr and hopefully drive it, just like i did in 57.

 

You're saying ABSOLUTELY the same cars, only one is gl*** bodied and one is steel. As Wescott said, these are original, one of a kind cars, and as such, each car has it's own unique build story as well as other situations particular to that given car. Sure, if Brizio builds your scenario, the steel one would PROBABLY go for more, BUT, there may be something peculiar or of note with the 'gl*** one making it worth more to the buyer for WHATEVER reason.

Point being, it's very unusual for two street rods to be built EXACTLY the same so the price is strictly based on whatever the car gets.

 

Bob I think you hit the nail on the head - it comes down to build quaility.
Lockwood's asking why some 'gl*** cars are worth more than steel - they're probably better builds.

I've seen a traditional looking original steel 32 3w street rod with nice shiny paint but obvious evidence of a lot of bondo. Turned out to have well over a 1/4" thick on the dash! And that was the tip of the iceberg. Only the smallest of trans crossmembers, no boxing, no k members at all. And it wasn't cheap.
A much better investment would be a hi quality gl*** body on a well built ch***is.

But Lockwood, if you're comparing a C to C 'gl*** car with an original Ford, then yeah, apples & oranges. A well built (have someone that knows their stuff check it out) mid to late 30's ford will be cheaper and probably hold it's value better than some fadish looking car which might be out of style when your step Dad's ready to sell.

 

What about the real steel cars, like a 32 5w, where they mold in the drip rails, install hidden hinges, fill the cowl vent........maybe they should start with a fibergl*** body instead of wrecking an original one!

I'm sort of a fibergl*** kind of guy from Wisconsin.............I hate ****ing RUST!

I could spend the rest of my life looking for a rust free and reasonably priced 32 body....or spend $25,000.00 for a brookville body. That's why I'm building a 32 with a $8,000.00 Kilborne body. When it's done who gives a **** what it's worth, I'm not planning to sell it!.......Did I mention I hate rust.

 

Karl Wescott made the point that some people lose sight of what they're modifying. I often make that same point. A LOT of folks who join the modified old car hobby have NO IDEA what a real old Ford looks like, much less know how one is put together. They literally 'hot rod' nothing. They ***emble a bunch of mailorder parts into something they like the look of. Maybe they saw something like it in a mag, at a show, on TV. It doesn't matter where, they just want something like "that" because it turns their crank.

To be real ****, I would therefore say they are illegitimate members of the hot rod hobby. For ****s sake, you should at least have some idea of what you're actually hot rodding - even if you start with an exact copy replica body, gl*** or steel.

But plonkers fall in love with a 'look' and will pay whatever they feel it's worth. They may be totally ignorant of any steel vs fake issues.

But that's life.

I also agree 100% with Chili Phil again. I HATE those so called 34 and 39 'Fords.' They should be banned from discribing them they way they do. A CtoC car make sno attempt to even look like anything Ford made.

 

Steel is the only thing for me. Even dented and rusty, but steel. A real nice gl*** rod w/ typically a sbc holds my interest for about a half second. Don't know why, but it does.

If people prefer gl*** that just leaves more steel for those that want it.

 

I have not figured out how to weld fibergl*** .I dislike chemicals.What I am trying to say is I work on my own stuff love the build more than the ownership .My 2 cents

 

Supply and Demand. Some people just don't care what they buy!

 

And what again is the untimate form of flattery?

 

But not out of fiberglas!

 

I can't afford a real Porsche 550 Spyder... but I could afford a modern reproduction.

I can't afford a real 32-3W built to my ideal specs... So I bought an all tin Model A "Starter Kit"

When I started looking at getting back into the old-car game a few years ago I was looking at a '32 LowBoy Kit from Speedway... then I did some math... then I started looking at one of Norby's RPU Kits... all tin... about the same price but much cooler ... a quick google search brought me here... I lurked... watched... found a p.o.s. hand-me-down clusterf@ck from Colorado, had PanTown haul it to my buddies place and have been parts collecting since.

I'm back... sanity has returned... I'm feeling better now... and I'd still like to have that nice 550 some day.

Besides.... if "they" wanna "wrap their *** in fibergl***" that's just more affordable tin for the rest of us... So let'em be happy and STFU!!!

(Can you tell I'm looking for a METAL Model A decklid still???)

 

You can salvage a steel car after an electrical fire!!!!!!---------------Don

 

I know a guy who brought a fibergl*** 36 3 window shell to a builder and had them make it into a top quality show winner, which they did - it won tons of awards at the big shows. I mean it really is a seriously beautiful car with incredible detail, taste and build quality that would be hard to beat. If I posted a pic, you guys would absolutely love it (especially if I didn't tell you it was 'gl*** before hand) - it's in a style that this board is all about.

BUT, I also know that the very same owner is constantly kicking himself for putting so much money and effort (by the builder) into a fibergl*** car and wishes like hell he had spent more time looking for a real 36 to use as a starting point. As HE puts it "then I'd really have something." I still think it's a great car.

To me, I just like having a car that rolled off the ***embly line 70-ish years ago and has somehow managed to not end up in a landfill - hard to explain why, but I guess it seems like part of history. I also like having lots of antiques in my house instead of new furniture. Old stuff just means more to me.

 

That about sums it up for me too, and I also collect Antiques.
The challenge required to find good condition cars is also a factor to me...if I just go buy a new one that's too easy....it's kinda like fishing.

 

Well, I don't know what kind of info you're working on. But, I thought the "fake" or 'gl*** cars were cheaper, or else they would have no place in the world. That's the only reason I built a 32 and 2 41 Willys in 'gl***. I didn't want to spend the $$$$ on steel. Maybe I read your thread wrong? R U comparing "asking" prices, or actual sales? Because I find it impossible to believe a "fake" in equal trim more $$ than a real car