Thread: advice on value of project car

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Has anyone had experience with an unfinished car similar to this? Owner is asking mid $20's. I like it because I can drive it while I work on it. It would always be a driver even when complete so i'm not planning any high dollar expenditures to finish it. Would like your opinion please.
. '32 Ford 3 window coupe
. car is currently licensed and can be street driven, owner took me for a ride
. Fiberglass Heritage body - not primed or painted
. Chevy 454 with dual quads
. 350 trans
. '63-'67 Jag rear end
. boxed aftermarket frame - unknown identity
. straight front axle with wishbones
. power brakes
. Sanderson full length ceramic coated headers
. mandrel bent stainless exhaust
. power windows, mechanical doors and trunk. Doors and trunk all open/close well and the reveal is pretty uniform. The doors close flush and do not stick out at all when shut.
. needs interior - has bench seat, polished aluminum steering column, a dash w/gauges, and door handles and wooden bows for headliner. No dynamat or any covering on floor, doors, or headliner.
. Motor is strong, trans seems sound, no leaks, no smoke, couldn't find any issues underneath. No cracks/gouges in the body. Window glass good all around.

While that price doesn't sound crazy in today's market,remember that paint and interior are the big ticket items, so yeah the price is high. Hank

Originally Posted by GMR

Has anyone had experience with an unfinished car similar to this? Owner is asking mid $20's. I like it because I can drive it while I work on it. It would always be a driver even when complete so i'm not planning any high dollar expenditures to finish it. Would like your opinion please.
. '32 Ford 3 window coupe
. car is currently licensed and can be street driven, owner took me for a ride
. Fiberglass Heritage body - not primed or painted
. Chevy 454 with dual quads
. 350 trans
. '63-'67 Jag rear end
. boxed aftermarket frame - unknown identity
. straight front axle with wishbones
. power brakes
. Sanderson full length ceramic coated headers
. mandrel bent stainless exhaust
. power windows, mechanical doors and trunk. Doors and trunk all open/close well and the reveal is pretty uniform. The doors close flush and do not stick out at all when shut.
. needs interior - has bench seat, polished aluminum steering column, a dash w/gauges, and door handles and wooden bows for headliner. No dynamat or any covering on floor, doors, or headliner.
. Motor is strong, trans seems sound, no leaks, no smoke, couldn't find any issues underneath. No cracks/gouges in the body. Window glass good all around.

My only concern would be the combination of the big block and the Jag IRS as the torque of a BB will be too much for the rear if you really lay into it a lot. The price doesn't sound too bad given what you are getting. Just take a very close look at the body, particularly how the doors and trunk fit, etc. Heritage does not have the best reputation for building bodies, but this one may be okay.

My brothers 31 has a Jag rear. Really took a lot of jigging to get the car so it didn't wonder all over the road. When you turned the car, felt like the body moved on the chassis.

Jack

Compare it to some others out there. Most premium rollers with brake lines run. doors and trunck hung start at about $14K and go up. Rear maybe $1k tranny and engine if both are stock and used you could get for about$1500 -$2000. Wheels tires depends what they are.
IMO $20K is ok but I would offer $18K

Thankyou all. Appreciate your willingness to give me your opinions. You have helped. If I buy it I'll post pictures for your review.

. Fiberglass Heritage body - not primed or painted
Not the best repro body ...

. Chevy 454 with dual quads
Possible overheating ... waiting to happen ... 32's have a small radiator area. 454's are more prone to overheat than some other large engines ...

. 350 trans
Good transmission ... BUT Chevrolet NEVER used a light duty 350 transmission behind a Big Block ...

. '63-'67 Jag rear end
Can be a bag of snakes ... WERE popular years ago ... I hate doing brake work and U-Joint work on them

. boxed aftermarket frame - unknown identity
Exactly that ... unknown ...

. straight front axle with wishbones
. power brakes
. Sanderson full length ceramic coated headers
. mandrel bent stainless exhaust
. power windows, mechanical doors and trunk. Doors and trunk all open/close well and the reveal is pretty uniform. The doors close flush and do not stick out at all when shut.
. needs interior - has bench seat, polished aluminum steering column, a dash w/gauges, and door handles and wooden bows for headliner.

Could you get this far along with a project for the asking price ??
If not ... and you like the work already done ... there is still a lot of things to do that would make it your car and your tastes. Wheels, tires, COLOR and interior make or break a Rod ... this one could be yours ... painted, upholstered and done to suit you ...

Deuce - I did research these items prior to asking everyone's opinion. As I'm still learning I don't trust myself enough yet and two or more heads are always better than one. Actually, I came to pretty much the same conclusions as you and the other kind folks have mentioned - so I'm making progress. Anyway, didn't know about the cooling problem (thanks). So, my question - I don't plan on covering the engine and I do plan on driving it often and I don't want to be afraid to travel a couple hundred miles at a time on rare occaisions - do you think cooling will be a concern under those circumstances?

Also, let me shift gears, so to speak, and ask this (anyone please chime in). I like manual transmissions. Assuming I'm not worried about resale value and like shifting, are there any reasons not to have a floor shifted manual transmission in a deuce coupe?

Originally Posted by GMR

I don't plan on covering the engine and I do plan on driving it often and I don't want to be afraid to travel a couple hundred miles at a time on rare occaisions - do you think cooling will be a concern under those circumstances?

Also, let me shift gears, so to speak, and ask this (anyone please chime in). I like manual transmissions. Assuming I'm not worried about resale value and like shifting, are there any reasons not to have a floor shifted manual transmission in a deuce coupe?

A open hood sided Deuce usually runs cooler than a Deuce with a hood ... and Big Blocks can run cool but most do not ... that are Hot rodded... compression ratio, timing and lean/rich induction all play into it.

When GM installed a Big Block into a vehicle ... it ALWAYS got a larger radiator and big fan.

Have you ever driven a 32 Ford ??
There is very little room around the brake pedal and steering column. Clutch linkage can be done but it takes a good bit of room and engineering to work properly. I have B I G feet ... and shifting gears in rod run traffic is not my idea of a fun weekend ...

I believe this is the car you are looking at ... is it ??

A little late to the party here due to being homeless for about a week, but I'm in the same ballpark with iceburgh. I've seen about 4 coupes similar to what you've described go for around $20k in the past year. Roadsters seem to go for slightly less though that could be more regional depending on weather considerations.

One big "negative" since in your last post you mentioned resale.............Heritage doesn't have much of a reputation for quality, better than Street Beast, but only a little, so if that's a concern factor accordingly. As for the stick thing, in today's environ it's somewhat of a plus as sticks have had a resurgence with the greater emphasis on "nostalgia" in rod construction. That being said, Deuce is right about foot room, not an impossible deal, just pretty darn tight in there. With some judicious planning and fabrication/component placement you can improve things somewhat. Below is a pic of the last Deuce I did (although the new owner is responsible for the upholstery and radio head) where the goal was to leave the floor as clear as possible for better room in a small cabin. The e-brake handle appears lower than it really is, and it is tucked pretty close to the side wall. There's room for a clutch pedal and shoes if you're not a D or wider.

Deuce - yes sir, that's it, glad you found and posted the picture, what do you all think?

Bob and Deuce - I have driven one '29 roadster on deuce rails; driven one '32 5 window; and ridden in the above pictured '32 3 window. I thought things were tight but wanted to hear from the experts. Been trying to find one in Florida (with a stick) to look at but no success yet. Nice car Bob.
Bob, by the way, wife and I are in Seattle for the holidays visiting our daughters (Snoqualmie Pass and Redmond) seems Maple Valley isn't far from Redmond.

Originally Posted by GMR

Bob, by the way, wife and I are in Seattle for the holidays visiting our daughters (Snoqualmie Pass and Redmond) seems Maple Valley isn't far from Redmond.

Yep, we're only about 20 or so miles apart. Don't know when you got here, but hope there is power where you are. We were without til yesterday afternoon, total of near 6 days. A far cry from what you probably have in Florida (well, this time of year anyway ) Have a Merry Christmas here.

I put a 454 big-block and a top-loader in a '30 Tudor sedan, and had no overheating or footroom problems with three pedals. My car wasn't channelled, so the flat floor gave a reasonable amount of room. Isn't an A-bone about the same width as a '32?

With a big-block, you need a good radiator and a high-capacity fan with a complete shroud. At least with a stick, the radiator isn't cooling the trans also.

If everything is in good condition, low 20's seems OK, but the Jag rear-end would worry me a bit. 454s can be torque monsters. With decent tires and a heavy foot, you could generate some shrapnel back there.

Definitely looks to be worth 20k to me.... the parts alone would cost more than that, and you can drive it while you accumulate any other stuff you want to buy for it.