'36 Coupe no motor no trans would bring around $10K. Pontiac 455 from a Firebird with the right numbers/codes on it is $1500 and up. Should be easy to bluebook the Corvette and take a look and see if they're selling for enough to try to flip it. I'm down to one Pontiac 455 and I plan on owning it until I'm dead, though.
Dont do it. Its a pain to sell anything these days. And, you already have something cool that with some work will be worth more when its done. If you do decide to do it then do as brad chevy above says...tell him to sell his first and buy yours for $18K.
Actually the wife says they are a chick car, she would like to have one, but she still says that they are a chick car. I would be afraid of starting to wear a thong if I had one very long. This has no bearing on whether this is a good deal or a bad deal but I am always a little leary of someone who shows up at my place asking a ton of questions about my stuff or wanting to trade or buy something that I have not advertised for sale. I guess it is just my basic distrust of people in general.
Lots of advice here..........most being what the poster himself would do....you need to do what's right for you. "The time to sell anything is when you have a willing buyer" If you are interested in moving the '36...... IF you come out ahead financially 1. Find out if there is a loan with a lien on the Vette.....or does the guy own it free and clear....if there is a loan, can the buyer actually get a clear title? Depending on what he (maybe) owes, his bank may do a 'substitution of collateral'...if not able to get a clear title, this deal's going nowhere...assuming this works out...then 2. Do the CARFAX as suggested 3. Take into consideration any official fees you may incur, i.e. title fees, sales/use taxes etc. 4. Contact a few dealers in your area and get "buy bids" on the Vette. You will be expected to tell them what you want for the car. Do some homework first, but be realistic. 5. Unless you REALLY want a Vette, if everything else has checked out and the bids are satisfactory, you may be money ahead to sell it now, in the selling season, take your money and run. Ray
Pretty good advise from Ray here. I had the option to buy a Chevy truck once that needed a tranny but it was a sweet deal for sure and I had a tranny. I showed up with money and the fella wanted me to go to the banck with him to take over payments. All at once it was not such a good deal. You just never know untill all is said and done. Could be that the fella just really wants an old coupe.
my high school sweeties dad had a shebly aluminum bodied cobra, a real one mind you, in 1965 and promptly traded for a split window vette. at the time he made out pretty good, in the long run he is kicking himself in the ass... I promise you it seems real good now but lick all the red off of it. or better yet replace the clutch in the vette... lets see how much you like it then you may make a little bit of money but if your coupe is solid, stay the course and be stoked that you have 5k in a solid 36!!!
You might only have 5K in the 36, but how much would it cost to replace it? One other thing, if it sounds too good to be true there is probably some catch. Unless you know you could sell the vette for X amount of money and buy a better '36 for that amount don't do it. But my personal valuation of henry tin versis GM plastic is probably a little biased. Mart.
This is a non-question in my mind. The 1936 Ford stopped depreciating in about 1970, the 2004 Corvette will stop about 2038? Unless I had a ready buyer for the 'Vette, I wouldn't ever consider letting go of a running, driving 1930s car. -Dave
if you have any friends that work in a used car lot ask them to see what the vette would bring at auction and how they are selling there. If you know you would make a buck and thats why you built the 36.....But you know the guy is gonna make it into a gold chainer car. Do you really want to do that to the 36??? LOL
If a good running '36 like yours is worth $15,000 and the Corvette also has a possible worth about the same.Then lets say you didn't own either one yet and you had $15000 burning a hole in your pocket to buy a new ride, Which would you buy? I could add a lot more to that scenario but I think you get the idea. The '36 has more potential for value/profit and is cool and will get cooler and more valuable the longer you work on it and improve it. Vettes are a dime a dozen and lose more value every day no matter what. And my opinion New corvettes are not cool! BUCKD
Lots of "ifs" here... as in "if" someone wants his particular car (or motor) and is willing to pay that sort of money for it. It could sit for years waiting though. I know several people - one guy in particular - who have their completed projects up for sale and have lowered their asking prices dramatically in a market where the economy sucks. I recently purchased an entire school house - my old Jr High to be exact - worth of desks, filing cabinets, and teacher desks basically just to scrap out. I sold many of the desks before I even was able to back my trailer in and load up. I sold many of what I purchased for $3-5 each, and many people were thrilled to buy them, and I sold over $150 worth of them before I ever loaded one on my trailer! I then hauled over 10,200# worth on 5 separate trailer loads to the crusher for a value of over $660. I managed to pay a total of $16 for all that I crushed, but had people asking me 'What did you pay for them?" when they were inquiring about the desks. My response was that "It doesn't matter what I paid for them, but I'm selling them for this price. Buy more and I'll give you a better deal." The reason I told them that is we stopped at a gas station and had a girl behind the counter ask my buddy what they were and what we were going to do with them, and he told her that I paid almost nothing for them. She wanted us to 'give' her two desks, and couldn't understand why I wouldn't give them away since I was just going to crush them anyway. Where am I going with all of this? Obviously you bought the '36 to sell for a profit. Any time *I* trade, I always try to 'trade up' into a better deal for me. It sounds as if - at having $5000 into the '36 - you are going to make a profit off of it by trading it for a running and driving vehicle in the Corvette. Even if you sell the Vette for $10,000, you've still effectively doubled your money on the '36. It doesn't matter what you paid for it, but what you can get out of it right now. I also guarantee that if you parked the project '36 next to the running/driving Vette and priced them both at say $12,000 the Vette would sell 10 times before the '36. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bagging on a '36, as I'd love to have one too, but lets all be realistic. Lots of good advice above, and I'd pay attention to the Carfax and a solid inspection of the vehicle as well. But if I weren't in love with the '36, I'd definitely be cruising around in a nice '04 Vette!
key question for me would be is the '36 coupe "the car", and if not, will the profits generated by flipping the vette be enough for "the car"?
lots of good advice and points well made here. Thanks, people. The 36 isnt my dream car but it was fun to build to where it is and drive around some. I did it on the cheap mostly with parts I already had which makes it easier to let go of to. The guy with the vette is an older gent who wanted a 35 or 36 coupe in high school but never got to it. He saw mine and it lit a spark i guess. last night i took him for a ride and scared him pretty good but he came out of it smiling! The car gets no traction at all and spins out easily, lol, would make a good drift car! The corvette has a clear title and he is the original owner. No issues I can see with it. My daughter wants a turn driving the vette awhile so of course she is all for this trade! it was her firebird that the 36 drive train came from so she earned the right! When we have had our fun the vette will be sold to finance something cool. Either get her 53 ford done or buy something else to build. Always wanted a 58 chevy myself. Bottom line I think both parties come out happy here, but i thank you again for your collective wisdom.
I would guess that there are more guys with corvettes that would want a '36 than the reverse. It might be easier to find a 2004 'vette later on if you change your mind.
Had a solid '36 5wd project in the 80's and always wished it was a 3wd.....someone else wanted it and bugged me 'til he got it....then I saw what Rick Dore did with a 5wd turned into a carson topped custom roadster and have kicked myself ever since!....stupid is as stupid does...
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