Making a sellable '36 Ford

Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post:

Making a sellable '36 Ford

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IMHO,I would sell it as is.

There is some value in what he has but the V6,Mustang II and the 4 doors are not the most appealing aspects of the car.

However,a 4 door 36 would make a nice family cruiser. HRP

 

Actually, if the work on the car has been done well and the stance is good he'll find a buyer for that car with no problem. I personally like the 4-door humpback a lot and if that car - in pieces or mocked up, either way - appeared in my area for sale I'd go and look at it...and if the price was right I'd bring money.

 

What was the reason he bought this car in the first place? Maybe he likes the 4 door hump, if so build it and enjoy.

 

Put it together...with full fenders half the people in the world won't care what's underneath. If the goal is to sell it just make it run and find someone who likes it.

 

I agree, Not enough value in the chassis to bother spending more money and time to get only as much money as the coupe or slantback body would cost. Unless he's willing to get it to the point of being a driver, flog it "as is"

 

Can you post a few photos of what it looks like?

 

You would have to spend a bunch of money to buy any 2-door body, coupe or sedan. Throw it together with what you have. Make it move but not road worthy and sell it. IMHO that is where the most bang for the buck is in project cars. You make it move and sombody else will imagine what it will look like done. If they want it pink it will be pink in their mind and you never spent a dime on paint.

 

Might as well sell it as is. You have to get rid of that humpback body in the end. Leave it up to the next guy as to what to do with it. Just my opinion.

 

I grew up in the back seat of a 4 door street rod with mustang II suspension. I have a pile of great memories. Sell it as is and save his/your time for something else. The chassis has plenty of value to the street rod masses.

 

I'd put it mostly together or at least mock it up . You can't depend on a buyer having imagination.

 

Bolt it together, and even get it running if it's not too difficult. A running car will always bring more than a roller.

 

If I were in his position I think I'd move it along, as is, for whatever its worth. Sometimes its just time to move on.

 

I'm with Dan Hay and Patmanta. Get it bolted together so it looks like a car in a picture, and wire the motor so a guy can at least hear it run. But don't buy any more stuff for it or put in any more work than that. Give yourself a time and cost deadline, maybe 20 hours and a few hundred bucks. That should get primer on some bare metal and a bolted together body. Then sell.

A pile of parts is hard to get rid of, but you might spend 10K extra on it to make it worth 10K total. I wouldn't part it out though. 4 doors don't part out well and the chassis would be a tough sell without a body. You'd end up selling off the dash and fenders/front end sheetmetal and getting stuck with the rest.

 

SELL IT

 

I'm a long time 35/6 guy. i grew up in a 35 5 window and have bought and sold more than i can count. I happen to be one of the few who likes humpbacks, but the sad truth is sometimes with these cars the parts are worth more than the whole. A super nice one sold not far from here last year for $1600 after being on the market for ages. Had i know how low he'd go id have bought it and parted ot out. But that's why you always find then missing the front clip. That's where the money is. The front doors will work with some minor modification on a 5 window, dash, garnish, header, tail light stands and although not hamb friendly the chassis still has a market in the street rod world

Does this help? Lol
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We each have our own set of experiences, so with that said I'd partially agree with those saying sell it, but with an "unless" attached. The very first thing to grapple with is getting your/his head right on what you've got is worth. Yeah, if the goal is to move the whole pile with the least amount of effort, sell it as it sits but be prepared to give it away for all intents and purposes.............think of it as paying the next guy for his labor to clear your "junk". If that doesn't taste so good, then how can you make the pile of parts more palatable to the next guy? Get a work party together and drop the body and fenders on and at least make it look like a complete car. Understand that all that labor won't buy you much, but might widen the field of potential buyers by a bit. To which I'll interject here, widening the field of potential buyers is critical to increasing your odds of increasing return of money sunk (but not likely recovering those sunk costs). You've got to advertise far and wide with great descriptions to attract buyers, remember, those that can identify with this kind of car (based on specifics you've enumerated e.g. V6, 4 doors, etc.) are literally a dying breed. I'll skip the next possible steps and go to the big one: find a reputable shop to complete the car to assembled/drivable condition. Doesn't have to be fancy, just functional. Yeah, it will cost more than the car is worth to the rest of the world, and you're already there as it sits.............but, don't forget about utility value. The ol' man will have a chance to complete his dream in some way or other, get enjoyment out of a car he once (if not still) desired. This last one makes absolutely no mathematical sense, it's purely a heart choice..............money be damned.

Now to mix in real life experience/outcomes. I've come into possession of a few of this kind of deal......the pile of uncompleted car/parts. I've spent hours doing spread sheets listing out every single part with description in the hopes of enticing a savvy buyer with my thoroughness to assure him just how much value is in that pile. Each of these abandoned projects had titles, fairly good and more desirable body styles than we're talking here (fortunately all Fords which are normally higher on the desirability scale in pre-war cars ) I've advertised widely practicing what I preach. Every time I've come up bupkus. Mailed out lots of pictures, spreadsheets, sales pitches............bupkus. In the end I always ended up selling them off in parts. The irony (or maybe not) of it is, if I'd tried to sell the complete package at a price of, let's say $10k, I'd end up getting $12-14k from the sale of the parts individually. But...........I earned every one of those extra pennies in additional labor in marketing, responding to inquiries, packaging and shipping. Nothing valuable comes for free usually. On this one you've probably got some good stuff. If it's got the "one piece" original grille, that's good for $1500 to the right guy. If it's an Argentinian repop......sorry. Front fenders fit all passenger models, hoods likewise. The dash waterfalls go for good dough, as do very nice ash trays. Gauges the same. Better condition, better money. If you set a realistic goal for what you want out of it and how much effort you/he can afford to put into it all will be well. It's all about doing your homework (which is what this thread is about isn't it?)

 

That would make a nice cruiser, especially with the right stance, paint, and wheels/tires.

Rich

 

Jay—I'll be "that guy" and ask this: is he looking to sell any extra parts? I'm looking for some stuff for my '36.

 

Is this listed anywhere for sale. Where is it? I would be interested.

 

An alternative plan: since it is already not original, consider replacing the body with a fiberglass 36 Ford roadster body, but use the steel front end. A 36 roadster, even glass body, will sell easy. Your FIL may just get excited enough and want it for himself.

Yes, it does require a bit of cash outlay for the body, and then you still have the 4-door body to deal with selling. But guaranteed there is a guy that wants a nice cruising roadster and will fall in love with a Chevy V6 powered, Must II IFS, Granada rearend drivetrain car with a nice steel front end. Let that guy do the finishing work, interior, wiring, etc. Just make it basically complete with the parts you have, have it hot wired enough to start and maybe drive if brakes etc. The only real cash outlay is the new glass roadster body. But the roadster will sell much easier for much more money than the 4 door would.

 

Thanks for all the sage advice fellers-- He literally just came to me and asked my advice. He's a real slow burner (hence the project still in pieces after all these years), but he has a fire to do something with it now. Stay tuned and I'll let you guys know once he has a plan.

 

I think he should buy a coupe,
After he sells the pile of parts.

A running driving enjoyable coupe!

Bolt what's there together so it resembled a car and move it on.

 

Sell it as is and cut thy losses

 

My own experiences say that No One buys projects anymore. All they want is a running, trophy-winning vehicle for half the retail price.

Cosmo

 

Lmao !

 

Plan "C" once he starts he will get the fire going and then looking back he would be glad he did.

 

Take him to some cruises/shows and he may get his own fires burning. Turn him on to the JJ/HAMB, that should be easy for you! Just my thoughts. Had a buddy with a '35 4 dr. hump beater and it was just a neat people mover(kids, grandkids, etc). Good Luck and keep us posted, Carp

 

Don't I know it. Sometimes instead of posting an ad for a project, I feel like I should just write "Here is a car I have. Please call me and tell me about a way nicer one that your buddy just bought for way less money" I think I'd get the same results.