a buddy of mine got an old topolino race car body and wants me to sell it for him. can anybody get me in the ballpark on what these things have been selling for ? i'm still working on getting pics.
steel or glass ...? if glass chopped , unchopped , stretched , 1pc with nose , 2 pc . opening door ..??? etc... lots of possiblities.... brandon
it's a steel '37 model. basicly the body shell with the doors tack welded and a grill shell. there is also a bare frame with a roll cage and set up for a straight axle. i haven't seen the car yet (this guy lives 18 miles past the boonies) but i plan a trip this weekend to get some pics. right now i'm just trying to get a feel for the market. i've found some topolino race cars for sale (large bucks) and some restored drivers (medium bucks) but no sheetmetal or parts cars for sale.
Good luck on finding a value. The market fluctuates so much on niche cars that it is hard to determine what something might sell for.
A bare bones lightweight race glass body can be had for $500 new. A cut up steel one with no fenders or hood about $2000 if it's nice. Chassis is a huge ?? mark Is it moly?Is it mild steel? Is it certifiable.Is it useable at all?
What's it worth? Put it on e-bay and find out! The true bids will reflect current market value. If you just wanna move it and maybe give someone a deal while helping your friend out, put a number on it that reflects your investment (time and effort) plus a few bucks and let it go to the first one with cash!
send me a link to the 500 dollar new fiat body......i'd be in the market for one of those...... a new rod and race body is around 1900 ...with out shipping... brandon
G'day, We do new fibreglass Topolino bodies here in Australia. $1800.00 Aus Dollar plus crating and shipping. We have shipped many of these Worldwide. Cheers,
I picked up an original steel Topolino last summer that had been sitting outside for a few years for $1300. It was all there, doors work, the outer body is nice, but the floors are swiss cheese and it was on ebay under parts cars, but I still think it was a deal.
That was a deal and a half. Down here it would have sold for $4000 Australian. Guys are lining up for steel 36-48 Topolino's. What are your plans for it?
My Rod 'n Race 'glass Fiat body cost about $800 7-8 years ago. It is a one piece (no doors) race only body. I did use it on the street(along with occasional test and tune runs at the strip) with a 406 sbc in it. I believe that is about as cheap as you can get into a Fiat body.
I'd heard there was a guy on the east coast making a glass copy of the van The is one of 11 Simca 5 vans produced in 1947 Just thought you might like seeing a different Topo There were also little four seaters built
I paid $3500 for the body, ford 9", a couple front axles, gas tank, and some other not too valuable stuff. Most of the money was for the body. I also got the fenders but wont be using them.
I wish the grill on mine was in better shape, maddog you got a real good one, along with some other good stuff, you stole that one for $3500.00
Here is an $800 rod and race body http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=232245&highlight=topolino
Just a small note that might explain some of the price variation in glass bodies. The more expensive bodies generally have some stiffeners in key places.(header over windsheild area and around roof openings). The cheaper ultra lite race bodies have no stiffeners in 'em and consequently cost less. Without the stiffening they are to tender to climb in and out of without exercising great care.One slip and the body is wounded or at the very least cracked pretty bad.
Here's a couple shots of the steel coupe I bought in 2000 to be used to pull a mold for our street rod body at Rod 'n Race. It was found in the Washington DC area and cost $1000. I then had to buy a pair of doors, grill shell, rocker panels, and 4 fenders from Ezio Casagrande @ Topolino-Parts in Switzerland. The additional parts and freight was more than the body shell. Add to that the cost of the metalwork to take the little mouse to a level worthy of pulling a mold, and I estimate I had over $8,000 invested in the plug. Cost of making the mold was another $20,000. That's a pretty steep investment before the first sale was ever made.
Hi Rich, Just curious, Where did that Fiat coupe end up? It turned out real nice from what you started with. Bob
My second steel Fiat came from an E-bay find in 2003. It is of course the unknown in the US Furgone, or Sedan Delivery. This one was in very good overall condition, the price was only $700, but the ride in a container from France to Baltimore was a cool $5,000. As it was after 9-11, the customs folks were all over me and the truck...and they charged me a tidy tax for allowing them checking it all out. Somehow I've filed the photos of it while it was in France so well, I can't find them...damn old fart disease. Take my word, the truck didn't need any major metal work. We did spend some time on the roof and rear door, but no real metal replacement was required to get the shell ready to pull the mold. Doors are the same as the coupe, so we saved some money by being able to use the door molds for both bodies. The last 2 photos are the same truck. first as it looked in the shop ready to be taken to Spring Carlisle, and the second as a completed rod at a show in upstate New York. The original steel truck is also in New York and hs owned by a HAMBer who posts on most of the Fiat threads.
It was sold to a fellow in Ohio before we made the mold...he was willing to wait for us to be finished with the mold making.
Rich, Don't blame "old farts disease" you gave them to me. This is what it looked like in France. Bob
i recently picked mine up...rear tail needs a lil work and i need a grille, but other then a weak right rocker, it's a pretty damn good shell i think...doors are mint, swing perfectly, has the upper grille inserts and they're really nice condition,my door handles and latches work nicely, and other then the turn signal impressions being bondoed in, it is bondo free...just a shell but .....the body in your pics is still savagable, imho, the frame is old and depending on what ones intent is with it as to what it adds to the value....you could always do like most do....throw it up on evil bay with an insane reserve and go from there basicly it is going to come down to how much one wants a topo......i've looked for over 20 years to find mine....and i think the seller realised my passion for the car...i'll die owning mine
I paid $500 for this one in 2003 at a junk yard two miles fom home. The only problem was it was to far gone. the body was like swiss cheese. After buying rockers and lower trunk piece, stripping, sandblasting and putting it in primer I had $2000 invested altogether. In 2006 my home and business were severly flooded. A guy stopped and offered me $1000 for it and away it went.
The Jalopy Journal
