True value of a 1955?

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Steve1955

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I'm attempting to purchase my first T-bird and yesterday inspected a 1955 at the Beverly Hills Car Club in Los Angeles. The asking price is $22,750. I crawled in and around it, found a little rust but nothing too egregious. The engine runs but makes some valve sounds, they have both the hard top and soft (bad condition), no skirts and the steering wheel is loose. I've only seen a price guideline in Hagerty's which puts the car (fair condition) at $20k. Hoping someone would have a little advice for me. Thanks
 

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Steve1955 said:
I'm attempting to purchase my first T-bird and yesterday inspected a 1955 at the Beverly Hills Car Club in Los Angeles. The asking price is $22,750. I crawled in and around it, found a little rust but nothing too egregious. The engine runs but makes some valve sounds, they have both the hard top and soft (bad condition), no skirts and the steering wheel is loose. I've only seen a price guideline in Hagerty's which puts the car (fair condition) at $20k. Hoping someone would have a little advice for me. Thanks
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If you're going to do anything except drive it as is, beware. There is no such thing as a little rust, and body work/paint alone will cost $15K minimum. You can easily add another $15K in parts/mechanical fixes assuming you do a lot of the work yourself. Then there are cosmetics (interior, chrome,etc). I suggest you contact a Thunderbird restoration parts supplier (Hill, CASCO, Larry's, Concours to name a few). Request a printed catalog (more complete and better pictures than on-line). Look through one and make a list of all the things you think you will need. Add something for the stuff you don't know about now.
Given that you will never get your money back, consider buying some else's time and effort. I haven't looked lately but I can guarantee it will be less than what you'll spend unless you're doing most of the work yourself.
Having said all that, nothing beats spending a few hours wrenching on a project with the ballgame playing in the background.
Caveat Emptor and good luck.
 
Thank you very much. My thought was that I was going to enjoy the journey and make it into a weekend driver fully aware that it will be a money pit. I just didn't want to start too high. Thoughts on the 22k?
 
Sorry, I'm not really up to date on 55 values. My guess is its a fair deal if there isn't a lot of body work to be done. Good luck!
 
Did you see the one listed here for 15,500?
 
Steve1955 said:
I'm attempting to purchase my first T-bird and yesterday inspected a 1955 at the Beverly Hills Car Club in Los Angeles. The asking price is $22,750. I crawled in and around it, found a little rust but nothing too egregious. The engine runs but makes some valve sounds, they have both the hard top and soft (bad condition), no skirts and the steering wheel is loose. I've only seen a price guideline in Hagerty's which puts the car (fair condition) at $20k. Hoping someone would have a little advice for me. Thanks
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Never pay the sticker price and don't be afraid to make an offer after you tell the seller about the issues you detected and possible costs and concerns. If they are not willing to deal, keep looking. I'm sure they did not pay that much for it, probably did nothing to it, and are trying to make as much as they can for it.
 
Thanks Gbird, I curious if people here stick true to the Hagerty's price guide. It puts a fair condition car (1955) at 20k to start. If its missing the soft top, it says to immediately drop the price by 6k. One of the vehicles Im looking at does have upgrades (disc brakes, upgraded powertrain) so I would add some back in. The second car is complete but needs some work. Just trying to determine if the market supports a 20k offer or is that still too high. The prices on similar cars have been all over the map.
 
Steve1955,
One other member already mentioned it - you will put a lot more $ in than you will ever get out of it. I think this is true for most hobbies. With that said, do your homework (as you are) on values of cars for sale based on the condition, shop around, and take your time. If you rush and make a hasty decision, it may be costly.
 
I bought my avatar in April at just under 25k. 1955 with a 57 312/automatic in it. I have both tops (neither is perfect) with factory wheels and full wheel covers and the mags in the picture. I also have the skirts. The car has a fresh (nicely done) interior, power windows/seats/steering and brakes. Still 6V (and will remain) working restored radio and clock. Tach replaced with a vacuum gauge/tach. The paint is about 40years old but looks 10-15. Never any rust and no sign of bodywork. Good deal? I don't know, but it is a get in and drive with pride car. I get compliments wherever I go.
 
Critterpainer said:
I bought my avatar in April at just under 25k. 1955 with a 57 312/automatic in it. I have both tops (neither is perfect) with factory wheels and full wheel covers and the mags in the picture. I also have the skirts. The car has a fresh (nicely done) interior, power windows/seats/steering and brakes. Still 6V (and will remain) working restored radio and clock. Tach replaced with a vacuum gauge/tach. The paint is about 40years old but looks 10-15. Never any rust and no sign of bodywork. Good deal? I don't know, but it is a get in and drive with pride car. I get compliments wherever I go.
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And she is a beaut! Your description makes me think I have some wiggle room....much appreciated.
 
I generally don't use any car price guide because most of them are too high. Start looking into some local car clubs. Look at cars on small auction sites like bat. Alot of these cars can be had between 20-27,000 that are really exceptional cars. To me 15,000 is high for a real project. Don't forget c-list also!(for example there's a '62 conv on there for 5k, fresh eng but a project. Better car than mine)
 
74 Harley said:
I generally don't use any car price guide because most of them are too high. Start looking into some local car clubs. Look at cars on small auction sites like bat. Alot of these cars can be had between 20-27,000 that are really exceptional cars. To me 15,000 is high for a real project. Don't forget c-list also!(for example there's a '62 conv on there for 5k, fresh eng but a project. Better car than mine)
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Im not familiar with c-list? Which site is this?
 
I think he is referring to CraigsList.
 
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