Classic car project - pricing and best place to sell?

bgaidan

bgaidan

Red Skull Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2020
Member Number
2322
Messages
3,373
Loc
NC Triad
I need to move the '38 Chevy coupe that came with my house. As much as I'd love to build it, there is no way I'll have time any time soon and I have several other projects I'd rather take on before this one. And I need to free up some shop space for my other project(s).


Before I just throw it on FB or CL and start dealing with the idiots, what are the go to places to sell classics? And where do I start to figure out the value of this thing? I've been told anywhere from a couple grand to upwards of $9k.

It's a '38 "Business Coupe". Has VIN tags and title/paper trail dating back to the mid-80's.

The PO had it acid dipped. There's some cancer in the usual spots - front corner of hood, very bottom of fenders and rockers - but it's really not bad for the age. There's also a box of new body panels that I believe will take care of all or most of those parts. I believe all the glass, window frames and other little pieces are in there. Headlights are there. Only thing I haven't found is the grille - there was actually a grill that I thought went it, but it's for a Plymouth or something....probably worth more than the one for this thing!

The frame has been chopped and appears to have a later model front half on coils - thinking possibly from a mustang (need to take a closer look). Looks like a 10-bolt rear.

Also has a truck 348 "W" motor and 833 trans that I think he intended to put in it. (I think these are the less desirable versions of the 348 and 833).



So where's the best place to figure out a value of this thing and sell it?



20200811_121643.jpg
 
rugger said:
How complete is it? What you see is what you get?
Click to expand...

I listed most of it out in the OP. I'm guessing maybe 90%. All the glass and frames are there. Looks like all the trim and little pieces, other than the grille. I probably need to pull everything out and see if I can figure out if anything major isn't there.
 
Going by the front wheels, probably has a 2nd gen Camaro or Firebird front subframe...wheels are Pontiac snowflakes...
 
I'd go craigslist priced super high with a million pictures. Drop the price every couple weeks and you'll start getting calls from real people when your over the target.
 
Not a mustang front clip unless its an aftermarket Mustang II setup. Based off the TA wheels its either a Camaro/Firebird front clip or possibly an S10 clip.
 
Get a good inventory, get your 24 pictures, including the awesome shop, people want to buy rich people toys, not hack hillbilly projects, back drop matters

then post it on cl locally, and farther away, picking target areas based on demand, wealth, and salted roads

when I list clean 4wd dodge diesels, I get calls from WA state, so the next one I sell is gonna get listed there. When I needed to move my 4wd van, I posted in PNW and Denver, got a lot of interest from Denver and SLC, so that's my market

Tucson is all single moms and tattoo artists, so anything more than a regular boring car gets posted to Phoenix 90 minutes away, 5x the people, 1.3x the per capita income, and, because of its location, the smaller mountain communities in the north get tagged, and they are buyers of my brand of merch. Tag the right keywords, make my location, and the ease of the drive real clear, that I've shipped cars all over, am easy to work with for serious buyers and can provide references if buying sight unseen.
 
Unka-Boo said:
Going by the front wheels, probably has a 2nd gen Camaro or Firebird front subframe...wheels are Pontiac snowflakes...
Click to expand...

SLOWPOKE693 said:
Not a mustang front clip unless its an aftermarket Mustang II setup. Based off the TA wheels its either a Camaro/Firebird front clip or possibly an S10 clip.
Click to expand...


I'll try to get some pics of the front clip tonight. A friend of mine was looking at it and I think he threw out mustang II, but that may have just been speculation.

The 10 bolt rear would suggest a matching gm front.
 
Projectjunkie said:
Get a good inventory, get your 24 pictures, including the awesome shop, people want to buy rich people toys, not hack hillbilly projects, back drop matters

then post it on cl locally, and farther away, picking target areas based on demand, wealth, and salted roads

when I list clean 4wd dodge diesels, I get calls from WA state, so the next one I sell is gonna get listed there. When I needed to move my 4wd van, I posted in PNW and Denver, got a lot of interest from Denver and SLC, so that's my market

Tucson is all single moms and tattoo artists, so anything more than a regular boring car gets posted to Phoenix 90 minutes away, 5x the people, 1.3x the per capita income, and, because of its location, the smaller mountain communities in the north get tagged, and they are buyers of my brand of merch. Tag the right keywords, make my location, and the ease of the drive real clear, that I've shipped cars all over, am easy to work with for serious buyers and can provide references if buying sight unseen.
Click to expand...

Good points.

I'm close enough to VA/Martinsville and Charlotte that there are a lot of car people nearby, but I haven't really paid attention to the classic/hot rod market.
 
bgaidan said:
Good points.

I'm close enough to VA/Martinsville and Charlotte that there are a lot of car people nearby, but I haven't really paid attention to the classic/hot rod market.
Click to expand...

This stuff is hot right now, lots of bored people with money chasing too few project cars, but the smallest financial downturn will scare people, a great time to sell IMO.
 
A few picks of the front clip. Hard to get a decent shot. Anyone recognize it?

20210113_180521.jpg

20210113_180515.jpg

20210113_180457.jpg

20210113_180630.jpg
 
Patience or a low price.

that type of sale is nearly all emotional. Someone had to want it to buy it. Like really want it. Or it has to be cheap.
 
This is the worst of the cancer. Pretty typical, and I think there are new panels there to take care of most of it.
20210113_180710.jpg

20210113_180818.jpg

20210113_180721.jpg


Gotta pull all the stuff out that's stored inside. That big box going back to the truck in new quart panels.
20210113_180749.jpg


He left this grille with it. I didn't look at it very closely until I got settled in. I had assumed it was for the car. I guess he was planning on hacking it in somehow. Anyone know what it's from? It may be worth more than the one for the car!

20210113_180906.jpg
 
Bump. Anyone recognize that front clip? Going to list it this week and I'd like to be as accurate as possible to head off the inevitable questions that come with a FB listing.
 
bgaidan said:
Bump. Anyone recognize that front clip? Going to list it this week and I'd like to be as accurate as possible to head off the inevitable questions that come with a FB listing.
Click to expand...

Looks like a GM to me, which GM I couldn't tell you for sure. Possibly a metric, '78 to '89 IIRC. Measurements would probably lead you in the direction of the make and model.
 
im not sure this is helpful, but i know a lot of guys used S10 front clips on some of these types of builds. maybe a quick WMS measurement could rule that out?
 
Bgaidan there is a want add on wv Craig’s list under wanted for a 1938 Chevy coupe.

I will spend the reward money on red skulls :grinpimp:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Back Refresh