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It is truly unfortunate that the owner failed to foresee the monumental task someone would have to complete. Your dedication and loyalty to him and his wife is admirable.
I do not know if the frame number on the 63 chassis matches the VIN tag. I may try to determine that, or may not. The VIN tag on the car is clean, with no issues.
The VIN tag for this car as pictured is riveted. Unmolested 1963-4 VIN tags are spot welded. Is that not an issue?
The VIN tag for this car as pictured is riveted. Unmolested 1963-4 VIN tags are spot welded. Is that not an issue?
I guess it depends on your definition of "issue". It would not pass judging like this, but that does not mean that there is something legally wrong here.
Chevrolet advised dealers back in the day that if VIN tags became loose because the spot welds broke, to just rivet the tag in place. I have seen the bulletin advising dealers to do this, but the bulletin did not specify what size rivet needed to be used.
This tag was, at one time, spot welded, so it could be just that simple.
The real question is does the number on the VIN tag match the number on the frame? I do not know that yet; that is one of my tasks now that the owner has decided to sell it.
But even it if doesn't, so long as both VINs come up clean (and the number on the VIN tag is clean as far as I can tell), there is no legal issue.
It is truly unfortunate that the owner failed to foresee the monumental task someone would have to complete. Your dedication and loyalty to him and his wife is admirable.
Like most of us, he thought he would have plenty of time to deal with all of this. He retired from his day job, and started his restoration business (which he called "Classical Glass"), but that is about as far as he got
The car is headed for Craigslist Huntsville (North Alabama, Central Tennessee area) this coming weekend. The asking price will be $12,500 OBO.
I found most of the parts for the car, and everything except the body tub is in much better shape than I originally thought. The chassis and birdcage are beautiful, and were definitely restored at one time. The drivetrain also appears to have been restored. The body was then set back on the chassis, and the whole thing has sat for about 30 years.
The chassis is a 1964 convertible, with a VIN that looks like SI06966, so it would have come from 40867S106966. It is definitely a mixed bag, with both 1963 and 1964 parts.
A nice set of 1964 doors complete, a set of re-chromed front and rear bumpers, etc. come with the car.
There are some parts missing. I never did find the seats, the rear axle half shafts. The dash that was bought for the car by the husband many years ago has disappeared, so no dash either, but it does have a 1964 instrument cluster.
Here are a few pictures of the car with the parts included.
Notwithstanding the VIN Tags proven to be clean; even with the "additional" parts, their condition is so deleterious, the $12,500 asking price is both ambitious and hopeful.
Realistically, all you have there is a "collection" of dilapidated parts cobbled together to resemble a car, mutton dressed up as lamb; bit deceptive really. - GV
Originally Posted by jv04
I guess it depends on your definition of "issue". It would not pass judging like this, but that does not mean that there is something legally wrong here.
Chevrolet advised dealers back in the day that if VIN tags became loose because the spot welds broke, to just rivet the tag in place. I have seen the bulletin advising dealers to do this, but the bulletin did not specify what size rivet needed to be used.
This tag was, at one time, spot welded, so it could be just that simple.
The real question is does the number on the VIN tag match the number on the frame? I do not know that yet; that is one of my tasks now that the owner has decided to sell it.
But even it if doesn't, so long as both VINs come up clean (and the number on the VIN tag is clean as far as I can tell), there is no legal issue.
Looks like $20-$25K plus 400-600 hours personal labor, maybe more to bring it back from the dead. It is a project car so if it does bring $12.5 the end cost $37.5. It would have to be sold to a person that really wants a project and not a fairly completed car. You never know, better to ask high and start reducing the price over a period of time. Hope she is satisfied with the outcome, GLWTS
The buyer saw the same thing that I saw, a rock solid chassis and birdcage (yes, it does have some surface rust after sitting exposed for 30 years). A restored chassis and driveline that will need to be looked at / touched up again, and parts that have been stored out of the weather for the last 30 years.
Both doors are complete, the fiberglass on them is beautiful. The soft top frame (again stored inside) is also solid. The hardtop is in good shape.
None of this stuff is perfect mind you, but the doors fits the openings nicely, the deck lid fits the tub nicely.
I am a bit disappointed that the dash that was stored for this car disappeared (and I suspect it was an inside job).
And also included with this are a complete set of re-chromed bumpers.
Yes, there is a lot of work to do to get this car back on the road, but assume for a moment that the drive train gets running with little effort. I took a close look at the front control arm bushings. The exposed edges of the rubber are showing signs of deterioration, but the bushings still look very usable.
Best case, the new owner just does a quick refresh on the paint on the chassis, and that is good enough.
The major effort is, of course, the body. But what has been done so far appears to be quality work.
I am not sure what direction the new owner will go with regard to the front clip. I would probably look hard at a one piece front clip, but I am not sure that a jig assembled, press molded front clip is justified in this case.
The new owner wants a decent driver, not a show car. Numbers matching does not mean anything to him. He is on a budget, but he can do most of the work himself, including the fiberglass work.
There are lots of little parts and pieces to locate, but nothing that is ultra rare or unobtainium.
The new owner also gets the opportunity to go back through the school bus where the parts were stored to see if we can locate any more parts. I already know that the wiper motor is in the bus (I saw it the other day).
The buyer is a repeat customer, he bought a 1957 Chevy 2 door Bel Air body (no chassis) from the widow about 3 years ago.
And finally, the widow told me that she needed the money out of this car, so I did push the price up a bit.
Buyer and seller are both happy with the deal. That sounds like a win win to me., and I hope I never have to wrestle a set of doors out of a school bus again.
I am amazed that this worked out. You never know. Hopefully it doesn't come back to bite you. (worthless son mentioned earlier smacks of meth and crime and suspicion and issues in the family...BTDT and it never ends well for the well-intentioned, who will get blamed if anything goes wrong or is perceived to go wrong). From what I saw, I would have paid to have the carcasses hauled off. Truly impressed at the cash generated, and you did a good turn for sure!
I am amazed that this worked out. You never know. Hopefully it doesn't come back to bite you. (worthless son mentioned earlier smacks of meth and crime and suspicion and issues in the family...BTDT and it never ends well for the well-intentioned, who will get blamed if anything goes wrong or is perceived to go wrong). From what I saw, I would have paid to have the carcasses hauled off. Truly impressed at the cash generated, and you did a good turn for sure!
The widow is happy with the deal, the buyer is very happy with the deal. He wanted to buy the car back when he bought the 57, but the widow was not ready to sell it. He would ping her about every 6-8 months to see if she changed her mind.
He saw the Craigslist ad (he is in the Birmingham, AL area) and immediately asked about the car. His first two offers were rejected, and he said he understood but did not have any more money. Then he called me Sunday and said he had arranged a deal with some family members and made another offer. The number was what the widow was looking for.
The buyer has seen the car up close and he liked what he saw. He sees this as a way for him to get into a C2 without a lot of money by trading his sweat equity.
I personally am hoping we can find more of the missing parts when he comes to get the car on Friday.
As for the son in law, I won't say any more, and I won't disagree with anything that has been said. But I do not care what he thinks, I work for the widow.
Well done, JV, proves there is a butt for every seat.
If I was 10 years younger AND
if I was in better health AND
if I was looking for a nice project that I could handle AND
if I had not agreed to not buy anything from the later husband's estate...
I would already own that car.
There is a lot of car there that you cannot see in the pictures.
It was not a steal at that price, and yes, it was closer to top dollar than not, but it is still a decent price for what the buyer is getting.
I looked at these cars on Ebay as part of my research on pricing on this project. Given the amount of damage to each car, and the prices they sold for, I am frankly quite surprised at the amount of negative comments about this car at $10K
The 63 / 64 convertible has been loaded up and is now headed for its new home.
The buyer was very pleased with what he saw, and we did scrounge around and locate a few more parts.
The widow has asked me to sell a 1962 body from the firewall back. I will be working on that in the next couple of weeks. No idea on price yet but it does have a steering column with a VIN tag. No chassis.
In the meantime, here are a few more pics of the 63 as it heads to its new home
01-14-2019, 01:06 PM
