New member looking at 27 Whippet

Hello everyone, Ill try to keep this short. I am looking at 1927 Willy's overland Whippet and I am hoping to get some insight on a fair price to pay. The car is very solid and has a complete interior, but it smells very must from sitting out side for too long. The vinyl roof is missing. The paint looks original but is peeling and has some surface rust. It also has new tires on the original wood spoke wheels. The current owner told me the car was running when he purchased it a few years ago but it has sat and no longer runs, the engine will crank but not stay turned over. He is asking $7000 because that's what he paid for it. I'm curious what the value of it is as it sits and also any recommendations for restoring or maybe just turning into a custom rod. Ill try to get some pictures posted soon to help with the price estimate.

 

Welcome to the HAMB from Illinois.

Whippet is a rather unusual car. Anything that needs replacing will be VERY difficult to find.
If it was worth $7,000 when it was running and in better condition than it is now, it is currently worth quite a bit less.

I'd be quite concerned about the condition of the wood wheels as they would be nearly impossible to replace.
Just my thoughts.

 

Thanks. The wheels look good and the tires were actually replaced recently. I’m most concerned with carburetor. The owner said there is a problem with the one on the motor now but an extra one will come with the car but no guarantee that it work either.

 

...Like Phil @pprather mentioned, it's an unusual car so parts availability is going to be difficult going forward. Unusual doesn't always translate to valuable. $7,000 is a lot of money. Pictures would help to determine some sort of value.

 

Just my honest opinion, I honestly believe the current owner paid too much for the car when he bought it and it certainly hasn't appreciated, fact is it's lost value.

If you plan on building a hot rod you would be paying out a lot of money for parts you won't be using and there is not a big demand for 1927 Whippet parts.

Any particular reason why you want a Whippet? HRP