barn find in the barn

[austinsailor]

more

[austinsailor]

one last one.

If anyone is interested in this let me know and I'll answer what I can and put you in touch. It's rough, and somewhere between $500 and $2200 is a possible selling price. No title.

It is actually rougher than it looks in the pictures. All the metal is thin, there is no paint, it's rusted everywhere. I don't believe it was in that barn those 40 years, I think it sat outside most of them, although to answer a previous question, pole barns were in this area more than 40 years ago.

Edited August 22, 2012 by austinsailor

[T120]

Good you found your ramp on the way home.Too bad the car isn't in better shape.With all the paint gone and the metal being a bit thin,it would be expensive to restore.At least the car had been moved and you were able to inspect it properly without the additional work.It can be difficult and take some time to get cars moved from their resting places.Thanks for the additional photos and info.

[old-idaho-iron]

$2200 is pretty high for sure,I would have guessed it would have been considerably less, but it looks like all ya need is a good 4 door parts car and you'd be set. Hope somebody does it justice and puts her back on the road. Glad to hear you found your ramp too, I've had the same thing happen but wasn't so lucky as to find it again!!

[Robert Smith]

Rough!

Too bad, those are really nifty coupes. :-( I'd be interested in the glove box door lock for my '40! :-)

I think those tires are lesters.... They look identical to the tires on my Dodge! It's amazing they still hold air after so many years!

Man, if someone told me $2200. I think I'd have forgotten my self and laughed out loud... What brand is that guy smoking? It's not a Ford or Chevy. Even at that point it wouldn't fetch that much for such a project.

Oh well, he must not really want to sell it bad enough yet.

[austinsailor]

I met his father there. The fellow who actually has it is trying to figure out what it is worth. The father seemed to think it was worth more than my $500 offer, and I'm sure he can get more than that from someone if he finds the right guy. I'd looked at it quite a while when he told me his son was asking $2200, I hadn't made an offer yet. I told him I was trying to decide whether to offer $500 or just pass. In the end, I did say I'd give $500, but realized it wasn't going to happen.

He told me that his son might try craigslist and ebay, I told him ebay would probably get a better price, but in my experience, maybe half the buyers on ebay for something like this never follow through.

I also suggested the buyer should really look at it first, as there might be some really unhappy people who drove 1000 miles and found it was much worse than it looks.

He did say that in the end my $500 might be the best offer he gets, time will tell.

We talked about the possibility of parting it out. The two parts I think have any value are the steering box and radiator. Radiator would bring, what, $100? in scrap now? maybe a little more sold as used? Steering box $100 to maybe $200 if in good shape? Glove box door is now in the picture, I guess. The rest $250 at the crusher? So my $500 might even be low as a scrap price.

I did mention that if it was a 40 Ford business coupe, the $2200 might not be unrealistic, as someone would probably pay that.

Tires have no cracking or dryrot, look good. I wouldn't trust them for a drive to town, though!

I have mixed emotions. I'd love to have a business coupe like that, but it's more work than I'd prefer to take on. At least I don't have to fret over whether I should have gone up another $100 or not.

I guess this is the end of the story unless I get a call from him, or someone here tells me they are interested.

Edited August 22, 2012 by austinsailor

[Young Ed]

If you left a number you might very well get a call saying your $500 is acceptable. Thats how Dad got his 54 plymouth. He talked honestly to the guy told him it was basically a parts car and left his #. A week or two later the guy called and said you were the only one who made any sense when you talked to me. The scrappers will give me $50 if you want it for that come get it. We almost scrapped it out too but ended up patching up the engine and putting some metal in the floor.

[austinsailor]

He's got my number, I told his dad if he had any other thoughts or wanted to talk about it more, just call. I won't say it'll never happen, but it's unlikely I'll have this car. It's ok, I don't need it. I'd just have to decide on another to not ever do, as I have more now than I could ever finish.

My wife is wanting to take off on our sailboat for the Caribbean again, so that would certainly cut out a lot of car time in the rest of my life. Too many choices.

[Roadkingcoupe]

We talked about the possibility of parting it out. The two parts I think have any value are the steering box and radiator. Radiator would bring, what, $100? in scrap now? maybe a little more sold as used? Steering box $100 to maybe $200 if in good shape? Glove box door is now in the picture, I guess. The rest $250 at the crusher? So my $500 might even be low as a scrap price.

The most valuable and hard to find part on that coupe is the rear quarter body moldings.

They are by far the most valuable and dearest part on that car.

I am refering to the moldings that extend from the rear of the door towards the back of the car that are the extension of the belt moldings.

Since they are stainless they dont rust and can be repaired even when dented.

Easily worth $250 - $300 FOR THE PAIR!!!!

[Robert Smith]

If you pick up the car and decide to part it out, I call dibs on the glove box door lock And maybe the radio speaker behind the dash. :-)

Is there a way to recondition the metal on the body from fatigue? You mentioned it was "thin".

[austinsailor]

I say "thin" because the surface is rusted pretty uniformly and as a result is thinner, also with a rough surface. There would be a day or two per fender to straighten the rears, and an unknown amount of time repairing - or fabricating new - door skins. I'm sure the doors are it the same as a 2 door sedan, and the probably are not the same as a 5 passenger coupe, so replacements would be difficult to find.

[Roadkingcoupe]

Busi Coupe doors are different from two door sedans.

Most noticeably at the top of the door at the rear.

Two door sedan doors are near vertical along the rear of the door

Coupes are raked forward .

[austinsailor]

Typo alert! Beware of I phones! I meant not the same, not sure how that appeared, but it must have been my lost fingers! I don't know how "not" became "it", but so goes my typing.

From a quick search of pictures , it looks like the 5 passenger and business coupe are the same.

[hkestes41]

Since it is so far gone, I say snatch it up add a straight axle, a 440 with an A-833 and a 8 3/4 rear.

Voila, a sick all Mopar Gasser like this one. You would not have to feel bad about cutting up a good rebuildable car and being a race car the body / paint would not have to be pristine. No interior to speak of so that helps keep costs down. Buy a Speedway front axle kit for about $500 and a donor car for the engine / trans / rear for $2000. Sell off the trim and misc parts off the 40 for $500 and you are into the Gasser for about $5000. I just love spending other people's money.

[RobertKB]

Too bad it is not better. That car kind of reminds me of "Miss Belvedere", the '57 Plymouth buried in Tulsa, Okla. It looks like it might have been sanded down to start a paint job and then left. Sitting in a wet barn did not help and is very hard on any vehicle. Pretty much a parts car but anything can be restored if wanted enough.

Edited August 22, 2012 by RobertKB

[Flatie46]

It reminds me of the 47 club coupe parts car I sold a few months back. It's a shame people just leave 'em to rot. I was going to build that 47 up like an old race car but a friend needed so many little things to get his car squared away I just let him have it.