35 cars to sell...been sitting...how do I get them running?

Speaking from experience on cars i have been holding on to for a few years,just recently trying to "get them running and driving" for a more" lucrative sale" its been a pain in the ass,and a lot of unneeded expense.Its a lot easier to sell them as is ,as people have stated.just getting a motor to run or turn over good with a battery,may not be too big a deal,but brakes,fuel,fuel lines,most likely fuel pumps,filters,rubber and steel lines all most likely will need replacing,not to mention,the ones I have just done,plugged brake lines,finally get fluid to gravity flow,only to find out all wheel cylinders shot,the parts kids nowdays....It took four weeks to get the brake system done on a60 chevy,back and forth order master cylinder,rubber lines,wheel cylinders,because even in a city with 100,000 people,the parts stores do not have them on the shelve....My advice is to clean the cars very nice,power wash,get them smelling good,rolling good,and they will bring good money,Anyone buying a car that has been sitting for 10 years or more,will expect to replace all this stuff.If the car is clean and complete,it will sell well.like other people stated,The car may run move into gear and even stop decent,but the steel brake lines can be rusted in pockets,as well as the fuel lines sucking air somewhere,and youll be chasing down leaks for days,your really better of letting the buyer decide how much he wants to start replacing.just my two cents,but theres no way I could see myself getting 30 cars to that point even if I had all summer,without spending a lot on each car.easily 3 to 7 hundered dollars and a lot of time and hard work,just for the basics...

 

If your asking that question "been sitting...how do I get them running?"
You might not be the man for the job.
It's a very common thing for most old car guys. We just do it.

 

if they really are low milage cars, just air up the tires and clean and detail them all up nice and shiney to make that first impression a good one, the wow factor. you'll probably be selling these cars to car guys, so they'll understand what needs to be done to get these cars up and running, good luck and pulleaze post some pics.

 

I see over and over on here guys laughing about someone saying "ran when parked" Most people seem to treat that as a joke. It is not expensive to attempt to get a car running, you've received some good advice already. Take the time to drain the existing gas if someone hasn't suggested it already. If you can't get it running you're not out much. Take your time and good luck.

 

Wow, I love the maybe-you're-not-the-man-for-the-job comment. That's some bad mojo. Anyhow, yeah, I restored a rusted out 60 Impala in my driveway for most of a year, everything, myself, outside, in the winter and now it's my rad daily driver. So, please, gimme a break on the street-cred thing.

I've never had to deal with a car sitting so long (that isn't mine to take a chance with) so I thought I'd get some advice from the HAMB...and plenty of good advice it was. The story is, I worked for a man who recently passed and he owned all these cars. I still work for him in a sense dealing with all his stuff. As part of that I am going to sell the cars for the benefit of the estate. I know the family and I'm getting paid. I'm just lucky enough to have the task of cleaning up a bunch of cool cars and getting the best price I can for them.

I'm not going to replace brake systems and all that...like I said above, I just want to assure buyers that the car starts and runs. I'm not restoring them. Not that they need it...they're cherry (in appearance, anyway...we'll see how they run after their long rest).

 

I'll admit to greedy thoughts and say that getting them running and have them cleaned / detailed would be the best money for each more than likely.

Get yourself set up with a pump situation to pull gas out of each and 3 universal (side and top post) batteries. You might be able to have a truck bring in a load of gas (or someone who has an aux tank in their pickup) for reasonable so you can refuel several of them.

With a new battery, see what each one does. Don't get too into it. If it has fuel and it has spark and it's not starting and you're not Super Diagnosis man, hand that car off to a well-aged local wrench and get the next one going for sale. A sold running car is better than one that's had hours of diagnosis and doesn't run.

It sounds like you'll have a few that will run fine. I've started some up on 5yr old gas but wouldn't try much older than that so you'll have your hands full. Look fwd. to pics of them?

 

Thanks for all the advice. since there have been many requests, I'll start a thread when it is time to start selling so I can post pictures. Even though they mostly aren't old cars, it is still a mouthwatering sight to see them all packed in a big garage.

 

use standard price guide grading system ..
use list below and more the better

overall grade 1-6
clear title with keys !
year
make
model
mileage?
# doors
color
completness... glass, dents, int., rust ...spare parts
outstanding features
history?.. flood . salvage ,owner,state of origin
last license date
rolling
running


good luck

 

Putting fresh gas into a tank that has/had sour fuel in it without boiling the tank out is a real good way to cause severe engine damage. IE stuck valves when the shelac from the dead fuel deposits on hot valve stems.

 

Someone buying an old car would just be happy to see the complete engine sitting in the engine bay. Knowing it is not siezed is probably more important than knowing it runs.
Getting them out in the open, tyres pumped up, dust and cobwebs cleaned off, good pics of the condition of the body and interior will sell them more than knowing the engine runs.
A gearhead buyer would then be able to spend plenty of time prepping the engine to run - to his own procedure, and would probably get a kick out of it too.

Drag em out, dust em off, snap em and sell em.

 

If by increasing the sale price of the cars you personally make more... Well get on that.

Phase I
I think anything that can roll out plus you can turn the lights on, that's a great start.

Phase II
As far as starting the engine, if it's not been run in 20 years you obviously should worry about whether the engine is stuck (cylinder walls) plus removing the old gas.

Seems to me that you should only do phase II on cars where that would really make a difference in price.

 

decide how far you will go to get them running. then dont deviate.
I suggest selling them as is OR Car Runs but its up to buyer to get them driving

You could start by disabling ignition and seeing which cars turn over.

Fuel - you could rig up a can to feed fuel pump,

Battery - use one for all the cars see if theyll fire

Oil - if its turning over start it on the oil thats in there, depending on condition.

Trans - raise the tires off the ground and see if the trans will engage / shift

You can show potential buyer the car runs for a short time, the rest is up to them, at that level of mech condition they will be easier to sell. much deeper youll spend a lot in parts. there will probably be a few cars you put more time into but the majority you can sell as running but needs lots of attention.

Id get some help. are there any tech schools close to you, talk to the teacher get a guy thats good and will work cheap to run thru some of the stuff.

 

Clean up the cars. Wash them, clean out the interior and trunk. Air up the tires and fix those that are flat. That is it. Visual impressions go a long ways.

Don't try to start any of them. Represent them as "ran when parked". Let the perspective buyer imagine how well they will run. The old ones will need the carburators cleaned and points filed or replaced. New ones will have electronics and fuel injection to deal with.

In theory, the ones you get running should be worth more but the ones you can not will be worth less, not counting what gets broke, parts and time.

I like buying surprises.

Again, the buyer will imagine that the car will run better than you can get it to run.

 

2 years ago, I had the opportunity to go look at a 77 Mark V Lincoln.
It actually had been sitting on jack stands for 10 years.
I took a gas can to prime the carb, a battery, and an air bottle and jack.
Made sure it had fluids, oil tranny fluid, Power steering and anti freeze.
Hooked up the battery, splash of gas in the carb.
It started up, and stayed running.
Stunk to high heaven of skunky gas, but kept running.
We got it off the jack stands, aired up the tires and drove it onto the trailer.

When home, I ended up replacing 2 tires, and a couple vacuum lines.
changed the fluids, had to replace the shocks, but no belts and hoses yet.

You could get lucky!

If it is an estate sale, and they don't run.
They are unknown quantities.
When you can hear them run, that's a whole different ball game.

By the way.
I paid $500 for the Lincoln.
Long story, but it had to go within 2 days, or it was going to scrap.


My wife was there with a flash light looking underneath to make sure nothing was gushing out.

 

Remember that most of them will have probably have rusty wheel cylinders. If you apply the brakes the rusty pistons/wheel cylinders will lock up the brakes and you will have another problem.

Charlie Stephens

 

why don't you upload some pics of the cars? personally, i'd save one or two and sell the others.