So what would you do?

I will chime here as well. I agree with 'Fred A' about the money situation. You are looking at a minimum of 15K for a total resto. Not to mention the time involved-and that is doing all/most of this yourself. If you farm it all out then the price goes up even more. So make sure you have the time and funding or are able to arrange everything and not jepordize yourself. Plenty of guys have had their cars for years and not done anything with them.

Now, with that being said if you do decide to sell it you will be giving up the following:
-Quality time with Dad, and or kids
-Learning about your car and what makes her tick (new skills?)
-Meeting new people and going new places with a different perspective
-Years of happy memories
-Oh yeah, and being really cool:)

If you have the time here are some things you may want to do. 1) Read '365daysofA', a blog about a guy in Mich. who is driving a 30 Tudor for a whole year as his only ride. 2) Join a local club and talk to people there and see if it is worth the effort. If the car means nothing to you then all you will have is frustration and poor resto job-if that. Just a thought or two.

Mike
 
I'll vote with those who say depends on the level of commitment. If you have no emotional attachment, sell it. A restoration is a time consuming financially loosing job. Only those of us who become emotionally involved to the point of ignoring those facts should attempt it. If you have the missing parts as you say, bolt them back on and attempt to make it run. A complete running car will be much easier to sell than a disassembled one. This will also give you enough experience to decide if you want to keep it and become involved.

The choice between selling to a restorer or a rodder will be made by the buyer. What they say and what they do may be miles apart.
 
Remember that once you sell the car you can probably never have it back again. When your parents pass away I would give you the same advice I would give anyone in that situation, if you can afford to wait don't do anything with anything for a year. You need that much time to get your head straight. I wish I had my father's Model A. He died in 1948 when I was 4 years old.

Charlie Stephens
 
I would say do what your heart tells you to do .If you want to sell it ,then do so .If not keep and have fun with it .It doesn't have to be perfect to enjoy it .JMO.:cool:
 
Guess a few questions would be: 1) are you retired, 2) do you have space to store the car, 3) do you have some "extra" money to invest in the restoration. If you have a positive answer to all three questions, then I would restore it. If you are not retired, and you have not place to store it, I would sell it. In watching EBay ads as of late, I would think your car may bring only $2 or $3K. Maybe more if a rodder is excited about it.

If you do have space to store it, below is what I stored for over 50 years and the end result of rebuilding something out of the pile of junk I had stored.

The start of the rebuild:
IMG_3873.jpg


The end result:
IMG_0224a.jpg
 
Fred: May I suggest that you get your front license plate mounted correctly and tight before it does damage to your radiator?
 
Id start with a good wash, then get it running. The wash will make it look way more atractive, and maybe then, your'll fall in love with it. Once you got the passion, its all just a case of schooling yourself, and have at it.
 
700rpm said:
Fred: May I suggest that you get your front license plate mounted correctly and tight before it does damage to your radiator?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advise. Shortly after this picture was taken, another person informed me of this problem. I did change it. Thanks anyway.
 
the answer is simple
1. if you have money and mechanical ability- restore it
2. if you just have money- pay someone to restore it to a solid driving car
3. if you want to make a profit- sell it now
4. if you don't have time to mess with the car- save the car, it will only appreciate in value
 
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