Images below added

10 years ago I used to ride my bike through this old neighborhood and would always look to see if this chrome bumper car was still sitting in the garage, and it always was. I couldnt tell what year exactly, all I could ever see was the rear end. I no longer live on that side of town but thought I would take a ride today and see if that car is still sitting there, and it was. So I went up to the door and asked if it was for sale, and to my surprise he said yes actually. But he has no idea what to ask for it.

Its a 1972 Warbonnet coupe with 79k actual miles. Automatic with A/C and brown deluxe interior. The seats and the rest of the interior is pretty nice, no tears. All numbers matching and the guy is the second owner. The paint is old and faided (just the way I like it) but the body is super straight and tight. The doors and hood close and line up perfect and the t-tops fit nice and I couldnt see any rust on the windshield pillars. As much as I could get under the car, I could tell that the frame does have some rot. Just what you'd expect from sitting in an old garage with a concrete floor. Im sure its the base motor with 360 ft lbs and he said it runs great, strong and the car is very tight.

It needs exhaust and one of the headlights dropped down he said. I paid $8500 for my numbers matching 1968 L79 4-spd 3 years ago in similaur condition. So I compared it to that and told him from what I can see Id give him $7000 for it. What do you guys think?

I might head back over to take a few photos after work, Ill keep ya posted.

PS: Is there anything cooler than walking up to a C3 and standing over it admiring the body lines?

 

HEHE...get noticed every damn day with my '72 rag top....top up OR down....and my car has a 20 y/o paint job that is in reality very tired, but so am I so it and I agree to be tired together....;-)))

the pix lie....it's a 20-20 car.....

 

Depends on how bad the frame rot is. It's usually going to be far more severe than you imagine. Costs around $5k to replace a frame, which is what you should consider in the purchase price. It's also hard to inspect the birdcage (including the windshield frame) without the car being stipped to the bone. There are plenty of folks here who will tell you their tale of woe upon removing the windshield trim. There are some signs that can lead you to that problem, but those signs can as easily be missed and you could still have the problem.

You'll also have to consider the cost of replacing every piece in the brake system as well as new seals for the transmission (though one sitting this long would really need a complete overhaul), rearend, and maybe the engine seals as well. The engine may also need an overhaul due to rust in the cylinders, stuck rings, and pitted bearings.

A barn find is really a very bad way to buy a car due to the way systems deteriorate from non-use. In most cases, you're better off with finding a beat to death daily driver.

Honestly, I'd have a hard time giving more than $8k for a car like this and I'd have to go into it with an understanding that this is a very long term project car. But I'm not you and I'm not looking at the car.

 

Thanks guys. Well, I guess its not exactly a barn find. The guy said that he hasnt driven it much in the last 5 years. It has 06 tags and he does start it up and drive it once in a great while. I think he said the last time he drove it was 6 months ago because of the exhaust.

He's going to call me monday and let me know if my offer is good. Then Ill go from there, back it out of the garage, take my jack and look it over & under better. Then maybe make a second offer depending on what I find.

This would be a long term project. As far as Im concerned right now, I just want to fix the things that it needs to be road worthy and drive it now and then, and go look at it every night before I go to bed and smile.

 

Funny you mention barn finds. A few days ago I was driving around a local military base and saw a chrome bumper C3 sitting in a vacant lot with tall grass growing around it. I didn't stop but everytime I drive by it's just sitting there. The bumpers are still shiny chrome. There is also another older car, a boat, and some other odds and ends.

 

I also know where there is a 1969 427 4-spd car just sitting out next to a farmers barn. Its red, you can see it from the road. I got his phone number off a truck he had for sale in front of his house and called to ask him about the car. All he said was "I doubt you want to pay what Id want, thanks" Thats all the further it went. Its still there.

 

How come this stuff never happens to me??
All I ever see are Edsels and Yugos rotting away...

 

I think it's worth it. If it has a rusted frame, oh well. Of course it will cost money, and lots of "While I'm at it's". You drooled over this car 10 years ago, and it is still there. The story alone is worth the work to put it together. If you feel it is a fair price, and you can accept the amount of work to replace the frame (if needed) then it is worth the money.



... I may be biased, I pulled a 1948 chev pickup out of the bush to restore. It had been there for probably 20 years and needs a ton of work. I have rough estimates of over 30K to get it to driving condition; all work to be done by me.



Kursed56: What a jerk, I'll bet you hung up and all of a sudden had lots of whitty responses to tell him.

 

Thanks guys. Rexx78, thats how I feel. I cant get the car out of mind. Ive been looking for a complete 68-72 for a while and this thing is exactly what Ive been looking to find.

I should hear something monday and Ill keep you posted.

 

Dang! Too good to be true. I checked out the 72 today and the looks decent. That was until I looked underneath! Where the frame and the trailing arms meet, oh wait, they didnt meet! It was gone and rotted away! Surprisingly the car drove very good and tight except for the thud when Id hit a bump.

I asked him if would come down on price since when I offered 7000 I hadnt seen the frame rust. His reply was that he had been checking on pricing and now he thinks its worth 12k!

I think its still worth 7 and I know a guy who has a couple frames that he might let go. The motor and trans seemed really smooth. The guy really doesnt know much about it. Heres 2 photos I took before my cameras batteries gave up. So Ill have to think about it tonight

 

Looks exactly like mine in 1984...

 

I doubt that he will get 12K for a car that desparately needs a frame and isn't safe to drive.

Will you do the body exchange? If you think about it, every piece of rubber on the frame will need to be replaced and every bit of steel is going to need cleaning, painting and re-installing on the new frame. Then you need a paint job, alignment, complete brake rebuild, etc, etc. This is a full time project for a serious restorer and definetly not a weekend project.

Gary