Might be something here for someone if they are interested. A few weeks ago, I had a fella contact me at my shop regarding a '32 Ford 5W coupe he has. It is an original steel body, unchopped, but channeled. He indicated it has been in storage a very long time, but I have not seen the car personally to confirm, Just these pics. After our initial and subsequent phone conversations I was really looking forward to cutting the car, but after a while he decided he wanted to sell the steel body and buy a fibergl*** Milner coupe clone body. He doesn't want to chop this particular car. He said that it was built here in the Detroit area in the 60's apparently. Nothing goes with it I guess, just the body. No firewall or garnish mouldings or ch***is or anything like that. It doesn't seem to have a floor by the photos either. I don't know what to tell the guy... He said 15K was what he wanted for it. Apparently the gl*** clone body is 14K. Is his asking price reasonable? I have no idea if he is in the ballpark or not. I told him I'd chop it for him, but he really thinks it would be "ruining" this car. I haven't seen any '32 coupes for sale around here, so this one is pretty much under the radar (until now) but I would be happy to provide his contact info to anyone who might want it. I don't have the $ to buy something like this, but maybe one of you does? Let me know. I don't mind turning people on to something rare. Bill Brothers Custom Automotive 664 S. Rochester Rd. Ste. 102 Clawson, MI 48017
Not only is the steel body too high, the 'gl*** body is too. With no floor, firewall, garnish moldings, etc...... I'd think 10K would be about all the steel body is worth. I don't follow 'gl*** body prices but shouldn't he be able to get into a 'gl*** 5wd for $8500-$10K? The steel body has relatively no historical significance and is cut all to **** already anyway. Where's the sin in installing a floor & chopping the top? The irony in all of this is that if he sells the steel body, the new owner will most likely install a floor & chop it. JH
Saw your post, FWIW, I think that this would be a much better donor car to make a real Milner coupe clone. You would put just as much time and effort into a fibergl*** car and when you are done with it, it is still a fiber gl*** car. Since this car has been cut up so much you really aren't hurting much by chopping the top and the owner would have a better chance would of selling it when it was the real thing. The next issue is if this car has a registration and ***le then all the more reason to use it rather than incur potential licensing problems with gl*** cars. It is the end value thats important, there were two bodies similar to this at this years Hershey event and I'm pretty sure they sat for the whole 5 days with little interest at prices slightly higher. In any case I would lean to keeping the body and building a car from it rather than selling the car and purchasing a fibergl*** car. A Milner car is one of the least expensive to build because it doesn't require a lot of hi dollar parts,with the exception of the intake manifold, so you aren't talking a lot of cash. Look at it this way also. Cost of red body $ 0. Cost of parts to build say $15,000. Total investment out of pocket $15,000. Cost of Fibergl*** kit $15,000, cost of parts to finish $5,000. Total out of pocket expenses $20,000. When your done, do you have a real 32 or a fake one? Anyway there are a bunch of different ways to look at this but this is my approach. Good Luck....
The Milner car, I think I tasted a little throw-up. Keep the Faith, Keep the Steel !! Build something new!! Thats just my 2 cents. Marshall Metal Shaping
I agree with all of you, however, it is a customer car... not mine. I'd love to make him something "different" too, but in the end, it's what he wants. He's the one with the $ and in this economy, I have to do these projects it their way more often than my way... I think it would be a great car as is... but he wants a clone. He already has a black 55 chevy clone in his garage... so I don't know how much luck I'll have convincing him to un-channel and then chop this car for vs the quick way (in his mind I think) of "simply" swapping of a gl*** body for the steel one. Thanks for your input.
Two years from now you will be kicking yourself for not pulling the trigger on this, regardless of the price.
milners car ****s ***. let him clone it. what a retard. hopefully someone with a little more taste buys it from him, if it wasnt the opposite side of the planet, might even be me.
That red car is awesome... Tell him I have a chopped, 32 5w, on original rails, I will be more than happy to trade complete projects, or body and frame for body and frame....hell I even throw in some cash, whatever it takes. I respect the guy for not wanting to screw that body up making a milner clone(gasp) check my add in the cl***ifieds under (1932 ford O.G. roller) or click on my name and look for the add. That car needs to be preserved the way it is, at least body and frame need to stay together.... Pm me, and I'll call you asap
Funny, but only two of the replies addressed your main question: Is it worth $15K? Personally, it's not but probably still on the high side of $9K. Why don't you make him a proposition?" You take the car in payment for the work to turn his fibergl*** body into the car of his dreams. Maybe the dollars don't exactly balance out but they shouldn't be too far apart. (at least within the realm of negotiation). That body looks emminently restorable-raised back up and refloored or left channeled and chopped ala Lynn Yakel. I realize the customer has the hammer here-it's not your choice but I think you ought to try to intervene for your benefit and the car's.
"He said 15K was what he wanted for it. Apparently the gl*** clone body is 14K." He's high balling both prices. Tell him you'll buy him a fibergl*** body and throw in $2,000 and he'll instantly be up $1,000 from the $1,000 difference he's quoting you in the f.gl*** and steel bodies...instantly, w/o any h***le of running a for sale ad for the steel body. Or as another member replied, since he's a customer, do some work or work plus cash in trade for the steel body. I agree with others that 14k for the gl*** body and 15k for the steel body are way high. Sure, it's easy to say that the steel body will eventually be worth 15k, but as we stand here today, that's high. 15k for a steel body is more appropriate for a 32, 33/4 3 window.
That channel job may be one where they left most of the original subrail and slid the frame on top of it. If that is so, and a lot of the subrails are still there, I'd say it is a $15 grand body. Find him a gl*** body and trade for that steel one. YOU will come out ahead.
seriously... as clean as it looks, $15k is a nice deal to me.. but pics can hide a ton o bondo hahaha... work it out either way, and check with harms way, he may know if there is any real history on it
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