Is this as good a deal as it seems?

Does it have a clear 1930 Ford title? I wonder if the previous owner had a good agreed value insurance poilcy on it and being the car was hit on the left frame rail, they "totaled" it and he took the cash. just more hoops to jump through when you want to register and drive it. I know one thing, if your going to make a lower offer, have the cash in your pocket.

 

Get an unbiased opinion from someone with knowledge you trust. If they say yes, bargain your ass off for the best deal.

 

Yep, what do you actually know about the car?
Engine, What engine and in what condition?
A good flathead, small block Chev or Ford won't hurt the value. An early Olds Rocket, Nailhead or Cad might add value. An oddball engine would probably kill the value.

trans, good shape?
suspension, Good shape and done right or ?????
interior? Usable and somewhat decent or redone by rats with mismatched seats.
Dash, Nice with a matched gages or hacked up with mismatched gages?

The Hamb friendly wheels and caps are a nice touch but don't really pump the value of the car. Low cost but we like them.

Tires, well, they look like tires from here but again, will they need replaced either due to being worn, damaged or just flat not what you want.

the Front apron and the two fenders shouldn't cost over 600. the body work, can you do it or have to pay to have it done?

What about frame and front suspension damage? That is what might scare me.

From here I'd say if you can wave 10 grang under his nose you might have yourself a project car that is worth the money and you will be in it about 15 as a presentable car with a new paint job.

 

You're 16 and you have $12,500 to spend on a car? Wasn't it just a couple of months ago that you were looking for an A but could only spend a grand? Just curious...

 

I just noticed that myself in the pic and will definately look into it next time i see it

 

Haha you caught that, my dad wants to buy it, however he is completely computer challenged. Its far less of a project than i was looking for but he insists how its his garage and i dont have much of a say, as they say "father knows best" right

 

Well, in that case, it might be more of a project than you think if the body is tweaked from a hit. Often what appears to be minimal or easily straightened damage, further inspection reveals more work than most home shops can handle...some things are easy, some are not.

 

engine: 305 chevy SB
Good auto tranny
suspension: good but needs new 4 inch drop axle in front and the shocks could be better in the front but are still fine for driving
Professional fabric interior, just needs covering for back corner
Matching gauges with chrome trim etc
Should be able to do some of the body work, there is a small dent in the hood that will be taken out either by us or when it goes for paint
suspension is virtually untouched and its really a light hit

 

There's a lot of good advice here. 12.5K could get you a good to real good driver. You and your pops could keep looking, knowing that 'A' isn't going anywhere and the price will only drop with time. PLUS, now is car show season and guys are always looking to sell so they can start something new

 

yes but most of those cars have the words 32 ford, 33 ford, or 34 ford,somewhere in the description

 

$12,500 is stretching it. I say too much. If you get that feeling in your gut that tells you something's wrong even though you have the money in your pocket and you've asked for advice from people that all say the same thing about it being too high, move on. You still have $12,500 in your pocket and there are still other projects out there. But it is your money not mine, just sayin.

 

Offer tham $5,000 and go from there.
Looks like it was hit pretty good from both ends and as mentioned; the door tweak is probably just an indicator of deeper problems (frame, etc).

If it was totaled-it probably now has a "salvage" title...and always will which may have an effect on resale down the road because you'll have to explain the history.

You said it starts right up, but did you drive it to check for chassis pull, ride, bump-steer, etc? That 40 year old chassis build may not be boxed or set up properly and may be due for a total overhaul.

If the frame is bent up, you now have a 12,000 frame off project instead of a runner.

How much work can you do yourself? You could easily drop another $5,000 into this. Now it's $17,000 sedan.

For $17,000 one could build a "new" Model A sedan by starting with a $2,000 body and going from there.

 

There were no 305 cubic inch motors 40 years ago built by Chevy. If the seller lied to you about how long ago he built the motor, what else is he lying to you about? Food for thought...

 

That poor car is bent to hell. Open the picture in a new window then zoom it all the way in. It was hit so hard it tweaked tho roof, blew the side window out, EVEN PUSHED THE A PILLAR FORWARD! Look at the pic, the paint is all gone where the windshield post/a pillar and cowl come together. There is a reason the windshield is partially open, I'll bet it wont close because that windshield post/a pillar is pushed forward a bunch. Combine that with the crunched up metal where the door meets the body and you have a seriously screwed up sedan. I'm pretty sure the rearend is pushed forward as well, the tire looks out of center compared to the bdy and whats left of the fender. That car needs a new frame and then a shit-ton of re-aligning and bodywork to fix it.

That is a frame off project at the least.



Scot

 

I just took a closer look after 42hotrod's comments, and his seem to back mine. Also, I didn't notice the paint chip at the a-pillar before, as 42hotrod also mentions. But, at the top of the a-pillar too, it looks tweaked. Like the roof has moved forward about 1/2 an inch. This car is looking a lot more like a do-over than a driver. Just my two cents, but I think your judgment is clouded by your enthusiasm.

 

Me too.

 

For that wrecked car 12,5 is way too much....look around harder, you can get a whole lotta car for 12,5....a whole lotta car thats not gonna need a frame off

 

I think there is a lot more work than you are seeing. If all of the problems are noticable in those photos, it probably is a lot worse in person. I think you should pass.

 

Looks like the body's out of whack and it's likely the frame is too. I wouldn't touch it w. a 10 foot pole. Look around and you can find a better car. Be patient. Just my $.02. Good luck.

 

I gotta wonder how long it's been sitting, AND how many others, possibly more knowledgeable than you, have passed on this one.

The damage is very easy to see, the hit was above the bumper meaning the body took ALL the energy from the hit.

It's gonna need a body straightening, which is why the owner is selling it instead of fixing it. If it was as easy as you say, the owner would now be driving it.

So, are you gonna be the sucker that buys it, or let someone else has the can of worms this one obviously is going to be for anyone??

Cosmo

 

If your convinced go buy it....its only worth what someone will pay for it...I personally would pass on it...

 

That does not look like a $10,000 car to me. Some the guys on here must have better monitors that me, cause I can't see all the details on the damage. It took quite a hit though and the thing with windows makes me real nervous. He's selling it for a reason...

 

Here's the problem with that car........

It looks like a 25K car with some scuffs. But when you get close, between the crash damage, and the age of the rodification......that entire car needs redone. Like totally come apart down to nothing redone.

I think what you're gonna find is that once you take it completely apart and look at it as a sum of parts.....You paid about 4-6K too much.

Like anything that comes completely apart, you're probably gonna change a bunch of stuff before it goes back together. There's a great likelyhood that even when reduced to a $6500 parts pile.....by the day you turn the key on the finished car there will only be $3500 worth of that pile left and the other parts have been sold and traded away. $12K is a lot of money to pay for $3500 worth of parts.

Have farted around with wrecked and wounded cars for years, honestly I only buy cars in distress, even for dailys. If you haven't been there, it's easy to dispute my math. If you have been there.....you might even call my values generous.

good luck whatever way you go

 

my old problem, is if i realy like something and it gets me hard, shit, id buy it.....
if it dont get yu hard, move on .........

 

If you really like it and you think you can have some fun ...take 9,000 grand in fives and tens and shove it under his nose if he's like most that big stack will make his eyes bug out and bite........good luck

 

$12K ain't that bad, depends how much of the repair work you can do. If you can do 80% get it. I would. Where are you going to get a steel 30 for that price that isn't pretty rusted up. Saw one this weekend without the busted rear fender and it was $25k and it was sold.

 

You need to get under it and look very closely at the frame. We just finished a 3 year frame replacement redo of a friends 29 sedan. The original frame was very poorly boxed and cracked almost all the way through on both sides after a 347 stroker motor was installed. He bought a TCI frame and we did it in his garage. He now has total about 40k in the car including his original purchase price and all the stuff we redid ( I could write a book on all the BS crap we found along the way) and it will never be worth that much.

 

I wouldn't have it because it has a Chevy motor in it, but hey that's just me and not the norm on here. You said it was for your Dad and 12.5 K is different to some than others. Some people have 12K like I have a couple of bucks. It all just depends ... ya know .. ? Naw, I wouldn't give 12.5 for it, even if it had a Ford motor (or Caddy, Olds, Nailhead or Hemi) ...

 

Sounds like you really want to "own" a hot rod. You will get much more satisfaction from building one. Think about it. You can build a sweet little hot rod for 12K, and you can get all the guidance you need right here.

 

I say leave it, 12,500 is way way to much for something that is wrecked. On the hamb classifieds you can find a way better car for that price, trust me. DO some serching.