Thread: OT: To Auction or Not?

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Bart,
You've got a beautiful sedan, one of my favorite years regardless of the body style, and the chop is perfect. Like Dave says, the pricing is going to be dependent on the locality and the audience at the particular auction. When I Google'd "1934 Sedan For Sale" it had several ( 1934 sedan for sale - Yakaz Cars ), and they seemed to be ranging from low $30's to mid-$40's asking price, but you might jump on the Mecum auction site and see if you can find a comparable vehicle in their Kissimme auction going on now?

I had not noticed the front track, but Dave's got a good eye. Not sure you can gain much via back spacing to pull the tires under the fenders more - looks like they're already spaced inboard from center. What jumps out at me is that the graphics scream '70's, which I think may restrict your audience somewhat. I'm more conservative and would probably be looking at doing the body solid silver but I would hate to lose that pin-striping on the back side! That would affect my bid price for the car, but that's purely personal preference.

I watched some of the Mecum and Barrett Jackson auctions, and one thing they mentioned was the value of the owner being present to answer questions, or at least having a good package of historical info to show the details of any restoration. At Mecum most cars have a reserve (not at BJ), and they said many times that the bidding is restrained until the reserve is off, with bidders "hunting" for that reserve without over shooting, and then once they know they can win the bidding may become more spirited assuming one has two or more who are ready to buy. Not sure I'd take the risk of a no reserve auction in today's market.

Originally Posted by rspears

Bart,
You've got a beautiful sedan, one of my favorite years regardless of the body style, and the chop is perfect. Like Dave says, the pricing is going to be dependent on the locality and the audience at the particular auction. When I Google'd "1934 Sedan For Sale" it had several ( 1934 sedan for sale - Yakaz Cars ), and they seemed to be ranging from low $30's to mid-$40's asking price, but you might jump on the Mecum auction site and see if you can find a comparable vehicle in their Kissimme auction going on now?

I had not noticed the front track, but Dave's got a good eye. Not sure you can gain much via back spacing to pull the tires under the fenders more - looks like they're already spaced inboard from center. What jumps out at me is that the graphics scream '70's, which I think may restrict your audience somewhat. I'm more conservative and would probably be looking at doing the body solid silver but I would hate to lose that pin-striping on the back side! That would affect my bid price for the car, but that's purely personal preference.

I watched some of the Mecum and Barrett Jackson auctions, and one thing they mentioned was the value of the owner being present to answer questions, or at least having a good package of historical info to show the details of any restoration. At Mecum most cars have a reserve (not at BJ), and they said many times that the bidding is restrained until the reserve is off, with bidders "hunting" for that reserve without over shooting, and then once they know they can win the bidding may become more spirited assuming one has two or more who are ready to buy. Not sure I'd take the risk of a no reserve auction in today's market.

The comment on the color is one that I am hearing a great deal about... considering repainting to match the red, as the interior trim is red (seat inserts & ceiling is gray; floor is black carpet)... What's your opinion on that color. Thought about the silver, but then I would need to repaint the window trim, etc. inside as well as the interior engine bay and hood inside. If I had my choice, and wanted to spend the $$$, I would redo the entire car JET BLACK.... then decide whether or not to sell... I wanted to start a fresh build, 33-34 black, all steel 3 window coupe, ford in a ford... but by the time I repaint this one, I might not need to!

I've bought a number of cars at auction, typically on emotion, but never sold any. I would only sell with reserve, as the risk is too high for me! That said, I've seen general prices moving up recently in FLorida at auction, but the prices I've seen on rods are all over the place... sometimes 'glass more than steel, retro more than rat, and sometimes just the opposite!

Bart in FL

Originally Posted by btsave

The comment on the color is one that I am hearing a great deal about... considering repainting to match the red, as the interior trim is red (seat inserts & ceiling is gray; floor is black carpet)... What's your opinion on that color. Thought about the silver, but then I would need to repaint the window trim, etc. inside as well as the interior engine bay and hood inside. If I had my choice, and wanted to spend the $$$, I would redo the entire car JET BLACK.... then decide whether or not to sell... I wanted to start a fresh build, 33-34 black, all steel 3 window coupe, ford in a ford... but by the time I repaint this one, I might not need to!

I've bought a number of cars at auction, typically on emotion, but never sold any. I would only sell with reserve, as the risk is too high for me! That said, I've seen general prices moving up recently in FLorida at auction, but the prices I've seen on rods are all over the place... sometimes 'glass more than steel, retro more than rat, and sometimes just the opposite!
Bart in FL

IMO I think you'd lose a lot of "pop" if it's all red, and I don't think you have to re-paint the garnish moldings - your door panels are more red than silver, and garnish moldings are part of the interior, not the exterior. Engine bay would be up to you, but matching the fenders is not a bad approach on a two tone car, IMO. Dave's point on the wheels is that ideally the centerline of the tire is centered on the fender recess, taking advantage of the "rebound area" of the fender. Your's are inside the edge of the fender, but biased outboard an inch or two, it appears.

Originally Posted by rspears

IMO I think you'd lose a lot of "pop" if it's all red, and I don't think you have to re-paint the garnish moldings - your door panels are more red than silver, and garnish moldings are part of the interior, not the exterior. Engine bay would be up to you, but matching the fenders is not a bad approach on a two tone car, IMO. Dave's point on the wheels is that ideally the centerline of the tire is centered on the fender recess, taking advantage of the "rebound area" of the fender. Your's are inside the edge of the fender, but biased outboard an inch or two, it appears.

You seem to sound like you have a good handle on the color schemes... so you think that I should paint the car silver to match, and leave the red/silver interior as is? In terms of the wheels, probably going to use painted steelies... maybe I can find a deeper back space... opinions on whether the steelies should be matched to the body or contrasting color?

Originally Posted by btsave

You seem to sound like you have a good handle on the color schemes... so you think that I should paint the car silver to match, and leave the red/silver interior as is? In terms of the wheels, probably going to use painted steelies... maybe I can find a deeper back space... opinions on whether the steelies should be matched to the body or contrasting color?

Jerry's right, paint is not cheap but it doesn't cost anything to kick it around. Given your approach I would do the body silver and leave the under hood and garnish moldings alone. Add a belt line pinstripe matching the red on the fenders, which will also tend to tie into the interior garnish moldings and interior color. If you can save that nice pinstripe in the back that's a bonus, but only if you can get a perfect match on the silver. If you want steelies, maybe consider some "artillery style" wheels in silver to match the body with the small center caps, maybe with the Ford logo? A nice single or double red pinstripe around the wheels would set them off nicely, too. Car would be killer, to my eye!

This is what I mean about centering the wheels in the fender 'rebound' arch on my '31. I do have fairly large tires in comparison to many but they are not lost in the wheel wells, front or rear as so many fendered cars that I see at cruises or shows. I do like steel wheels on some cars, especially if they don't have a nice disk brake arrangement(no, the caster and camber are not 'off', it's the way I photographed the car).



As far as paint - I'm still seeing fairly recent paint jobs such as yours. At this point, for sure wouldn't do a repaint vs return on that investment, especially at the cost of materials these days. Mine is a 'standard' Ford Mustang color, Venetian Orange and at 2009 pricing was ~$650/gallon x 2 gallons for DuPont ChromaBase plus 1.5 gallons of not inexpensive SPI clear coat

Unless you stick to a reserve , it could sell for anything, no matter what you change. I agree with Jerry and take it to shows to show it off and maybe catch the eye of the next owner.People who come to auctions are looking for a deal too, not to pay full price.