I found this little Club Coupe the other day. I don't know a thing about shoebox Fords other than I've always liked them. This one is all original...everything except for the tires. The current owner got it from his Grandad about 10 years ago and used to drive it around every so often but hasn't had it started in a year. He put a new battery in it and the starter will hit but won't crank the engine, even on a jump. The body is super clean with the original paint and no prior body work. There is some rust bubbles starting on the rockers and the body supports under each door are rusted but that's all of the rust. The interior is all original and is torn a bit up front and the top of the rear seat is shredded. The headliner is intact and there is aftermarket carpet in it. The floorpans have zero rust. All lights and gauges work. The underside of the car has zero rust and is basically clean. There are no brakes at all other than the emergency brake. In fact, they've been disconnected. The tires are dry rotted. The glass is perfect and the windows roll up and down and the rear windows open. The fella that has it knows zero about cars and I suspect has never done a single thing to it in 10 years but drive it. Ther were no oil spots under it at all and you can tell it's been in the same spot a long time. The oil is clean and so is the coolant. He wants around $4000 for it. What do you think???? In it's current state...it's kind of a pig in a poke. If I dink around and get it running (which probably won't take much) he might not be as flexible on price but I don't want to screw the guy either as I don't think he really knows much at all about older cars.
That seems like a good price to me. Better buy it. But first, remove the plugs put it in neutral and see if you can turn the crank with a socket and wrench.
If you are going to keep it for your self, At 4 grand It's a fair deal for both of ya. but for resale or profit with out it running, you might want to back away. Otherwise he would be asking for more if he could get it. And I really like that car.
I just bought a shoebox coupe a little while ago and I'm pretty up to date on what people are selling for (or at least what prices they're asking). People don't seem to sell coupes cheap even if the car doesn't run. I think if you can get it for 3 grand and it's rust free, you got a pretty good deal. To me, being rust free is a very important thing but, I'd like the car to run if I were going to buy it.
If it's really rust free underneath, it's worth all of $4K, and if you can get it roadworthy and safe for less than a grand, you won't have to do anything else to it. Is it a V8?
grab that thing slam it wide whites and cruise it,,if you dont run with the big dogs you sit on the porch..
$4000 is a lot for a car who's motor won't crank over - did it throw a rod or something? The brakes are somewhat negligible, but why are they disconnected? What's bad? You can probably figure on doing everything - lines, hoses, wheel cylinders, master, may as well convert to a dual-chamber master while you're at it. Yeah, it looks nice, but these things are dirt common and it's not hard to find another one just as nice for not a lot of scratch. Unless you already have a line on a motor for cheap, I'd offer no more than half the asking.
Go and buy that shoebox and take it home before I go and buy it and have another one sitting in my driveway . I have a 49 & 50 Ford ! Trust me , if the floors are there , the trunk id good , the quarters ore good and the rockets aren't rotted out yet , then you have a damn nice car for $4000 clams ! Retro Jim
That's a decent deal. If it's stock, it's a 6 volt system, so don't try to jump it with your car. I bought a totally stock, running 49 a few months ago for 7k. That one looks pretty good!
Thanks fellas for the input. I do need to makes sure that it's a starter issue and not a stuck motor. I love the looks of these shoeboxes and the fact that it's basically close to home is worth some too. Yes...it has a flat 8 in it and I have a couple other vehicles that do tooand a lot of spare parts for them. The brakes and tires would be the biggest expense if everything else checks out.
Anywhere between 3500-4000 is a good deal. Out here in CA everybody sells their shit for a lil higher $$ cause they watch Barfet-Jackhole and think their beater is worth a mint, so that price looks great to me.
Buy it. I paid 4K for a running one (a '51) in about the same shape in 1987 and have never regreted it.
Who cares whats wrong with the motor. Its fixable. For me a good body is what to look for. (cause I cant do body work worth a hoot.) Know what you can do, cause even a good deal can be bad if you are in over your head.
Around here in the rust belt they would want more for it than that. I'd offer 3500 with the cash in my hand for him to see and turn down but the other 500 would be in my back pocket. You never know until you ask.
I have always had a '49, '50 or '51 Ford in my garage. Started in high school in 1963 when I paid $100.00 for a '51 convertable in great condition and last year I paid $10,000.00 for a nice '51 sedan. For the price he is asking you should grab it before someone else does. Like someone else said, slam it down, wide whites and a some mechanical work on the engine and brakes and you have a great cruiser. Coupes have usually been only second to a convertable and now a woody wagon. I saw a nice clean stock coupe (busines-no back seat) last year for sale for $12,000.00 which I thought was too much...it sold in two weeks for the asking price! Good Luck, and keep us posted.
IS it a v8 or 6 cyd. and with the brakes disconnected I would plan on a complete overhaul. I would offer him half of what he wants. 4k is alot for a car that does not run and you will probly have to put another 2k into it to get it driveable.
I agree on offering $2000 or $2300 and looking to get it for $3000. $4000 is even a good deal, but the extra $1000 would hopefully have your engine and brakes up and running. I'd still go over there with $4000 and a trailer. He got it for free and drove it for 10 years and doesn't have any attachment to Grandad's car so he's ready to move on. I agree with 19Fordy; pull the plugs and turn it over by hand, but don't get it running or the price will stay up. You said the kid knew nothing about cars and never did anything to it. You said the oil and water looked good. Maybe he ran it out of water or oil, messed up the motor and refilled the fluids? Maybe someone sabotaged the engine and brake system (see if there's oil in the master). Chances are that the car is ready for a full mechanical rebuild. You'll have to hope the neging/trans only need minor work and not a full rebuild. CYA on the body with a magnet test. Be sure the "original paint" is for real. It may have taken a huge hit 40 years ago, had some crap body work done and the paint matched.
Thanks again to everyone for your advice. I went back over to inspect it further. I ran a magnet over the whole car. There is no filler that I could find. The car has very little rust anywhere. I popped the plugs and the turned it over by hand. The motor is free. The starter might just be hanging a bit and not engaging. So...I took a risk and told him that I needed to do some calculating and that I'd get back to him. He called about 15 minutes later and said to make him an offer. I told him in it's current state that I'd go $2000. He said $2700 and we finally agreed on $2500 cash. I'm going to gather it up this weekend. In the meantime, I'm going to order a complete brake rebuild kit to at least get that coming and I'll have to start thinking about tires too. I'm pretty excited as I've always wanted a shoebox. I really didn't need to spend the money or get another project as I have too many but at that price and the fact that it's close to home, I hated to pass it up. Thanks again for the advice, I really appreciate it. The HAMB is like having 80,000 Dads and smart ass big brothers!
Motors are easily fixable, a rough body takes alot of time and/or money to resolve. I would pay $4k for a car with a solid and straight body any day over a car with a rough body that's running. You did good!
That was a steal. $2K offer was a ballsy move but it paid off for you beautifully. I bet he found something he wanted to buy and was ready to move. Well played.
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