docmirror

Oye vey....

VanD

I'm finding 1k not a horrible price these days for a '78-'79 parts car...if the parts are there...not like it was not so long ago when decent, complete, rough runners were available everywhere for 1k. Pics of everything included would help. This parts car car not savable in current or foreseeable market...without another parts car...

hlee96

^^^^^TRUE THAT^^^^^

docmirror

30 years ago, this would be on a trailer headed my way. But - the reality is I've decided I have a limited amount of time left on this mortal coil and I have a list of cars and airplanes already that stretch out to 2020 and beyond. If it was sitting in Dallas somewhere, I'd prolly grab it up, but not from the left coast.

I do sincerely hope someone out there with more time on the their clock grabs it and makes us proud - but it won't be me.

Wisconsin Joe

We've seen this one before.

I can't find it, but I remember it.

dcocci

Thanks again for everyone's input. If it isn't clear already, this car will probably never be a full resto. example unless somebody is willing to put ALOT of money and labor into it...too much to make sense...a labor of love if you will. You could spend alot less if you can do the work yourself. The car was purchased by me to become a HPDE/race car. The interior was total junk when I bought it, BUT it was solid and mechanically all there AND it's a stick and no sunroof! Honestly, I think $1000 is a good price to a fellow enthusiast, parts car or racecar or not. $1500 would be the craigslist price. Apparently there is some interest though, so that's cool

dcocci

This car? Interesting. Can you elaborate at all? Time frame? Was it for sale?

Wisconsin Joe

Time frame: "Not too long ago" is the best I can come up with. In the last year, maybe. Definitely in the last two years.

Yes, it was for sale. But not as a "member selling a car" like you are doing (and BTW, as a paid member and listing a price, you are following all the rules for this sort of thing). It was more of a "Found this one for sale" thing.

I seem to remember it was sitting out, somewhere in the SoCal hills. It had been sitting for a while and the seller was asking a lot for it (maybe $3k or $4k). There were pics of it sitting in a field.

The 'originally green with a red over it' is the part I remember. I searched around a bit to try to find it, but no success.

And as a disclaimer, I could be totally out in left field. I've always had a great memory for details like this sort of thing, but as I'm getting older I sometimes mix stuff up. I could be "misremembering" a completely different car.

hacker-pschorr

I see posts all the time around here comparing the cost of repairs / restoration versus the value once completed.

The difference is those in the domestic market don't care as much, they just want the car how they want it and / or enjoy the journey. I've used this example many times around here. The cost to do a full restoration on a 67 L88 is the same as a "generic" 64 small block Corvette. At the end of the day the L88 will be worth more than a house, the 64 well under the restoration cost.
Yet people are still lining up to have their "run of the mill" small block Vette's restored knowing they will be losing money when they sell. It's even worse for cars like Chevelle's and the like (unless we are talking about rare versions). They can be bought all day long in great shape for a fraction of even a rough restoration.

Why do people do it? Who cares. The difference is "our" community is stuck with this mentality a car is a write off if the repair's will be X over the marketable value.

You ever see someone do a full rotisserie restoration on a 65 Mustang? I have, they pumped out over 550,000 cars that single year, not exactly rare. Yet people are still willing to dump truck loads of money into them.


I have more money in my 81 than it will ever be worth, and that's before I have it painted, the dash recovered and seats fixed. I don't care and I'm not done by a long shot writing checks for it. I'm enjoying the project and that is all that matters.

docmirror

If one may be philosophical for a minute, there's a suspicion that owning or supporting something for its intrinsic value is one of those first world hierarchical things. Or, maybe one of those Mazlow top-of-pyramid things. While someone can appreciate great art, at least I can't for the life of me figure why it has to cost $,$$$,$$$.

Guessing it might have to do with how we grew up to some extent. If someone grows up poor, I mean dirt poor, it can be difficult to become upside down(or underwater) on material things. Having said that, surely I'm underwater on my plane, as it costs me $3-4000 every year just to keep it in the air, no matter if I fly 1 or 1000 hours per year. Gah - It still bugs me.

Which is why I said I sincerely hope someone will grab this up and make a good showing of getting it back on the road, despite the $$$$ involved. If it weren't for the good folk who see value where others don't we would surely be lesser as a culture. Not everything is meant to food, clothe, or shelter our miserable meat sacks.

2002M3Drew

I don't know about the rest of you, but I often wonder how so many of these cars end up this way...in fields...tree branches coming through them...or stripped to the bone like this one. I mean, these were expensive cars....exclusive cars. These are not Ford Pintos. How does one buy a $45,000 car (when $45,000 could buy a small house) and in relatively short amount of time allow it to become a lawn ornament?

VanD

No - I too remember what might be this same car - might be post #692 in 'for sale' section - I think that's the car we were talking about - I remember the pic of the car in a field. '79 5 speed Red but repaint over green.

hacker-pschorr

I know what you are saying and I don't necessarily disagree, but it depends on how you view these things. Is it a hobby, investment, basic form of transportation etc....

Everyone is upside down in their hobbies, that's kind of the point. I have more money into a pair of mountain bikes than I paid for my 78. If I were lucky they are worth $1k combined now. How much was the time spent over the past 20 years riding them worth?
Other hobbies, boating, snowmobiling etc.... anything involving gasoline you are buried.

But for some reason, with the car hobby the investment bubble is always hanging over our head. Nobody buys a boat and endless maintenance thinking about "well what is the boat worth...." they don't care, they just want to go boating & accept the cost. Even more absurd around here with fewer boating days than nice driving days.

The daily driver aspect, that is what really kills me. It's perfectly acceptable to go out and buy a new vehicle for $40,000 knowing in the three years of average ownership the trade-in value will be under $20k. But we flinch at spending $10k on a "$5k car" because of the resale value?
Most people lose tens of thousands on a regular basis in vehicle depreciation.

The guys with track cars much laugh hysterically at these threads.

The beauty of our car hobby, especially with 928's, is the cost of entry is so low.

Wisconsin Joe

While the entry cost is low for a 928, the upkeep isn't.

That's how it happens.

10 years ago, 928s were dirt cheap. A decent example could be found for well under 10k.

The fact that the car originally cost the equivalent of a small house hadn't changed and parts prices reflect that.

So some fool buys a "cheap Porsche" without realizing what the realities of ownership are, drives it until something breaks and then finds out what it will cost to fix it.

Can't afford it, parks it thinking "I'll get it fixed eventually", and "eventually" turns into months, years, decades...

Never.

I was at a Walgreens a couple summers ago with my 928. Dude comes up to me and compliments the car, saying "I have one too, a red S4."
I ask where he lives, and he is local. I ask why I've never seen it, he replies that he hasn't driven it in 10 years or so. When I ask why, he says "I have lots of cars to drive."
I was halfway home when it occurred to me to ask what had broken.

928NOOBIE

Amen.