Barn Find vs. Grain Elevator Find; - Cost to Restore??

Cost to Restore;

  • Based on the pictures, I feel the Tudor Sedan will cost significantly more to restore.

    Votes: 7 7.4%

  • Based on the pictures, I feel the Sport Coupe will cost significantly more to restore.

    Votes: 42 44.2%

  • Based on the pictures, I feel a restoration on either car would be similar in cost.

    Votes: 46 48.4%
  • Total voters
    95
  • Poll closed .
Based solely on the pictures (not considering body styles), I would say no, not significantly less for either one.
 
I don't see a signifigant amount of difference in the cost. Depending on afew factors I think the Sports Coupe may be slightly cheaper to restore. Sometime engine turning over as in the case of the tudor in the grain elevator means it was too worn out to freeze up. That has been my experience. Rod
 
BRENT - I bow to your vast knowledge and experience: Following the close of your poll, I would be most interested in YOUR thoughts.
 
If you are going to restore either of these cars, you are looking at about the same cost. To do it properly, plan on about 10k in materials, parts, etc for both to START.

The first time I restored my 28, it was in better shape than either of those cars and it cost 17k in parts and materials alone.

Hope this helps.
 
the sports coupe seems to be original and mostly intact (minus the decklid)
The 2 door seems to have been pieced together over the years
chassis would be the same cost (as long as the parts are there and restorable)
cost more for paint on the 2 door
i think the interior is more on the 2 door also
so i'll go with sports coupe
tk
 
Assuming both have to be restored by someone other than the owner, doing it themselves, it would be far cheaper to purchase an already restored car .
 
Depends on what your skill set is and what tools you have at your disposal. For someone who knows the ins & outs of the driveline and is experienced in the black art of rebabbitting a locked up motor may not be a big deal. Ditto for an experienced body paint man on a basket case body.

With my limited skill set, I always try to find the best body I can find...engines, while not cheap to rebuild seem to be much easier to come by than a pristine rust-free body. That being said the tudor looks like it has a better body, but I'd never buy a car by those pictures alone.
 
I would go with the sport coupe. I feel that it would cost less to restore. The top would be the big issue.
 
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Tom Wesenberg said:
Does this include the original purchase price......FREE vs. $8,000?:confused::D
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Nope, just the cost of the restoration only. (I do think you see where I am going with this though!! ;) )


Big John said:
also depends on the length of restoration wanted... driver and nice.... or national level judging.....
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John I don't understand your comment. I am asking for thoughts if the same type/level of restoration (whether it be a Driver or Fine-Point) were done to either vehicle.
 
Don't forget to factor in the initial investment. The asking price of the sedan is 8 thousand and the coupe is free. I wish my coupe had looked as good as this one when I found it.
 
dankurth said:
Don't forget to factor in the initial investment. The asking price of the sedan is 8 thousand and the coupe is free. I wish my coupe had looked as good as this one when I found it.
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Actually Dan, that is NOT what this exercise is about. What my hope in all of this was to point out is it really does not matter which car it is, I find the restoration costs will be very close between the two. I also say this figuring the Tudor could be made to driven out of the building whereas the Coupe would need to be pulled out with a tractor.

I will go on by saying it does not matter whether someone is a bodyman or a machinist, the costs for that person to do either of these cars should be about the same. And remember in this poll we are talking significant cost differences.

I might also point out this poll shows exactly what I tried to explain in that other post regarding people often get caught up in buying a car that looks like it needs little work to be restored. Granted there will always be exceptions but if all things are similar, it will cost the same amount to rebuild the engine in either car. Therefore does it really matter if it is running or not? Comparing the Sedan to the Coupe, yes the Tudor still has paint and the other is rusted but both vehicles will still need to be stripped to bare metal before bodywork. Therefore does it really matter if it has paint or not?

Therefore my experiences have been that what generally significantly changes the cost of a restoration is how thorough of Restoration someone is desiring, and the quality of work they willing to accept. People often talk about how varied prices are for restored Model-A's. IMO, it always boils down to the cost should reflect the quality, ...and visa-versa.
 
Cost of restoration will be a wash. Both cars need a full body, interior and mechanical restoration.

Assuming the rust is not much on either car and the tudor has not had too much old creative restoration work.

If anything the sport coupe will have some added cost due to putting the top on the car. A sport coupe all the cost and trouble of a cabriolet and the top does not go down. But the tudor has the extra interior parts.

What people do not realize is there are two categories of driver. The ones that most think of where they make something work and have some new parts. Top speed is usually considered 45 MPH. Then there are drivers where the mechanicals are restored to factory tolerances and can run 60 MPH if the driver wanted. Full mechanical restorations are not cheap to do and is a lot of work. Keep in mind that I am not talking any JS level restoration, either could have fixed up rusty bolts and parts that are not correct for the date of build.
 
I agree Brent, stripping it to bare metal is the same cost. Some people see some surface rust and say the car is unrestorable. They tend to liken it to the deep set pitted rust they see along the coast. When all it means is the paint has worn away. Cost to strip to bare metal is identical. actual body work very much the same. Mechanicals done right, will be the same. I have noticed the longer into the day this pole goes the more people chime in that bought it restored vs earlier it was the people who have actually done alot of their own work. Just an observation. Rod
 
I have restored over the years, [2] - 1931 Tudor Sedans and a 1930 Sport coupe. I 'll take restoring that Tudor Sedan over the Sport coupe any time. The Tudor Sedan is about $4,000.00 over priced.
 
peters180a/170b said:
I have restored over the years, [2] - 1931 Tudor Sedans and a 1930 Sport coupe. I 'll take restoring that Tudor Sedan over the Sport coupe any time. The Tudor Sedan is about $4,000.00 over priced.
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Again, this is NOT about the initial purchase price.

There are always plusses & minuses to either/any bodystyle! Comparing these two, there is probably a little more surface area for paint & bodywork to be done on the Tudor. The cost to do the britework on the 28/29 usually costs more than what it does on a 30/31 even counting the cowl band. The Tudor has more interior to do as the seats are a little more labor intensive. Then factor in the roof of the Tudor vs. the Coupe top that is difficult to do. On the Tudor, there are two more pieces of glass to cut, window channel & glass to install, window frames to paint, and regulators to rebuild too. Think about the wood between the two (and remember the drip rail wood on the Tudor). Again, for every area of one bodystyle, there will probably be something that offsets it on the other body.

The ONLY thing that I think would be difficult to do on the S. Coupe is find/make some authentic looking top material.
 
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