Look what showed up at a shop I use

[Fire-medic]

I have a friend who owns a collision shop, he lets me work on things there, and while I was working there yesterday, a new customer sent this over. Over the weekend, at an AACA meet in Miami FL, the shop owner was showing his 1967 427 Tri-Power Corvette, which won best of show for the Corvettes. The car is regularly driven, no trailer queen and that's how it goes to the shows, where it serves as a calling-card and advertisement for his business.

And because we all like projects, here's a project, not mine, which arrived yesterday at that shop I frequent. A show attendee was impressed-enough to arrange to drop off this candidate for a complete restoration. It certainly needs it! The guy had just cashed-out by selling his business and now wants to go through his lifetime acquisitions of muscle cars to be restored. Apparently he has a number of muscle cars. I have no idea if they are in similar shape. He didn't pay much for this one, he's had it for awhile, and it's nicely optioned. The 389 was used in the earlier GTO's, by the time this 1967 was built, it was a 400 cu. in. This car is a gas-economy model, it has a 2-bbl carburetor and PS, PB, AC and automatic transmission. "Anybody seen my alternator?" It even has the OEM 'Rally II' wheels. While it has some damage from the Tin Worm, it actually doesn't appear to be too-bad. When it's done by the shop it will be lookin' good.





Pics of the '67 427 Tri-Power, driven frequently. The paint is 11 years old.

 

[dannymax]

Love those old "Goats!' The 389 being a personal favorite but the 400 was a good motor also.
I could be forced to take that Vette home too! What a beauty

 

[ga_max]

I have a friend who owns a collision shop, he lets me work on things there, and while I was working there yesterday, a new customer sent this over. Over the weekend, at an AACA meet in Miami FL, the shop owner was showing his 1967 427 Tri-Power Corvette, which won best of show for the Corvettes. The car is regularly driven, no trailer queen and that's how it goes to the shows, where it serves as a calling-card and advertisement for his business.

And because we all like projects, here's a project, not mine, which arrived yesterday at that shop I frequent. A show attendee was impressed-enough to arrange to drop off this candidate for a complete restoration. It certainly needs it! The guy had just cashed-out by selling his business and now wants to go through his lifetime acquisitions of muscle cars to be restored. Apparently he has a number of muscle cars. I have no idea if they are in similar shape. He didn't pay much for this one, he's had it for awhile, and it's nicely optioned. The 389 was used in the earlier GTO's, by the time this 1967 was built, it was a 400 cu. in. This car is a gas-economy model, it has a 2-bbl carburetor and PS, PB, AC and automatic transmission. "Anybody seen my alternator?"It even has the OEM 'Rally II' wheels. While it has some damage from the Tin Worm, it actually doesn't appear to be too-bad. When it's done by the shop it will be lookin' good.


View attachment 82413View attachment 82416
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Pics of the '67 427 Tri-Power, driven frequently. The paint is 11 years old.

View attachment 82419View attachment 82418

Looking forward to the 'after' picture.

 

[Fire-medic]

Looking forward to the 'after' picture.

I suspect that will be almost a year down the road. I suppose it depends on what they can get of what they need. He will send out the engine to a guy who does that work for him, and the tranny too.

Here are pics of a VW Vanagon Westfalia camper he did for one of my former co-workers. Owned by the family since new. I helped with a few things on this.

 

[Parminio]

I always wanted a VW microbus. Those things are SO cool!

 

[twistedmax]

Great places to work ….
move had my share of fun in those shops

 

[Fire-medic]

Great places to work ….
move had my share of fun in those shops

That has a roofline like a Borgward Isabella coupe. It appears the wheelbase is 90 inches.

 

[DreamV4]

There is no better looking car than 04 Jaguar XK8 convertible.... Guess, who has one... It doesn't run, but that is minor flow...

 

[Pighuntingpuppy]

First, I am a GM guy. But I am not a goat fan. Hence the bad view and angle. They arent that rare around here and where this was, it wasnt the most unique vehicle there. Years ago, I worked at an exotic car shop and had my hands on very expensive, rare and exotic cars. Got to drive alot of them too. But behind this Morgan kit car is a GTO. From what I remember, the GTO was not stock nor a high valuable collectable. What this GTO was known for was it was Bruce Willis' and Demi Moore's GTO before they divorced. The person who owned it at the time went through a bunch of legal hoops to make sure he was able to keep the title with their names on it to prove that this was in fact their GTO.

 

[desert_max]

Looong journey ahead for that one.

I have always been a GM guy as well. I once had a very sweet '69 Ram air Firebird the 400, 4 speed (M21), orange with black interior.

Sold it for $1,200 and a pair of Cerwin Vega speakers.

 

[Tom Determan]

I've owned this 37 Chev coupe for about 47 years, waiting for the time and resources to tackle it. I added 42 ft to my shop last winter for a place to work on it. I ordered a FATMAN custom chassis for it last spring and was supposed to take delivery at Back to the Fifties here in MN in June but their trailer caught fire en route so that was delayed a couple of weeks.

I'm finally about ready to start in the next few weeks. The body is going onto a rotisserie shortly for a chop and the welding and I'll be ordering a small block crate 396 Blue Print engine / tranny package any day.

This will be my life for a while....... maybe someday it'll look like someone else's finished one.

 

[Fire-medic]

I've owned this 37 Chev coupe for about 47 years, waiting for the time and resources to tackle it. I added 42 ft to my shop last winter for a place to work on it. I ordered a FATMAN custom chassis for it last spring and was supposed to take delivery at Back to the Fifties here in MN in June but their trailer caught fire en route so that was delayed a couple of weeks.

I'm finally about ready to start in the next few weeks. The body is going onto a rotisserie shortly for a chop and the welding and I'll be ordering a small block crate 396 Blue Print engine / tranny package any day.

This will be my life for a while....... maybe someday it'll look like someone else's finished one.

Looks like a Business Coupe, otherwise known as a 'salesman's car.' A lot of work to resuscitate that, but doing it on a new chassis is an expensive way to go. Tremec manual or an automatic? Resto-mods are generating more $$$ at auctions than restored cars of the same type. By doing that, you should have something worth more-than a stock restored pre-WWII Chevrolet.

Pighuntingpuppy said:
"... behind this Morgan kit car is a GTO. From what I remember, the GTO was not stock nor a high valuable collectable."

Pretty-much anything like a muscle car can generate some decent $$$, these days, you just need to find the right buyer. It's a given that it needs to be in the category of being in good shape. One of my co-workers was in a Yamaha outboard motor dealer partnership with a guy who liked the GTO's, he had a couple of them.

I think if you do most of the work yourself, something like this as a starting point is doable for profit, but paying someone else to do it for you is often an 'upside-down' valuation by the end of the project.

Here are some projects in the shop where the GTO just landed.



R to L:
~1979 Maserati Merak mid-engined car. The shop owner bought this from another of his customers who has sold him other cars, I saw a circa 1980 Mercedes V8 coupe he got along with this, which the shop has completed. The Mercedes has a bit over 20,000 miles on it. The Maserati gets worked-upon in-between other jobs.

1957 Chevrolet Nomad. They built more 1957 Corvettes than they did Nomads. This has a non-stock 327 4-bbl and a TH400 transmission.

Trivia question: what was the first Chevrolet to have the name, 'Nomad?' "That's easy, the 1955-'56-'57 two-door station wagons."

"Thank-you for playing, but no!"

The first Chevrolet to use that name was a Corvette! And it was a six-seater!

That's a mind-blower!



Here's a pic from my personal collection of that built by GM Corvette Nomad.



I saw the Corvette Nomad at a SW Michigan auto museum. In the early 1950's, GM had a touring show called the General Motors Motorama and the Corvette Nomad was one of the cars built for that exhibition.

1969 small-block Corvette, been in the same family since new. This got a frame-off refurbishment, the bill for this is currently well-over $100,000. Trivia for your next bar session; the 'Stingray' name wasn't used for the introduction of the C3 in the fall of 1967, for the 1968 models. However, Chevrolet re-introduced the Stingray name for the 1969 model year.

 

[DreamV4]

del

 

[Fire-medic]

Good luck to all people, driving cars w/o airbag and ABS. Old cars do not have frame, engineered for accidents. (It is safe to keep pretty car in garage... )
I remember, driving on highway and passing some antique pretty car. When I was driving back, it didn't look pretty anymore. I don't know about driver.
I guess, antique cars are still safer than bikes.

And for heaven's sake, don't work at a job where you're meeting sick people all-day, or running into burning buildings, or mitigating hazardous materials spills! You could get sick or injured, or burned-alive!

 

[DreamV4]

And for heaven's sake, don't work at a job where you're meeting sick people all-day, or running into burning buildings, or mitigating hazardous materials spills! You could get sick or injured, or burned-alive!

Following all your 3 advices!
I used to skydive, paraglide and fly hang glider. I got smarter (or older???) I will stop riding bikes eventually if I get smarter...or older... When did you go swimming last time? Water is perfect in Miami all the time.

 

[Tom Determan]

Looks like a Business Coupe, otherwise known as a 'salesman's car.' A lot of work to resuscitate that, but doing it on a new chassis is an expensive way to go. Tremec manual or an automatic? Resto-mods are generating more $$$ at auctions than restored cars of the same type. By doing that, you should have something worth more-than a stock restored pre-WWII Chevrolet.

Pighuntingpuppy said:
"... behind this Morgan kit car is a GTO. From what I remember, the GTO was not stock nor a high valuable collectable."

Pretty-much anything like a muscle car can generate some decent $$$, these days, you just need to find the right buyer. It's a given that it needs to be in the category of being in good shape. One of my co-workers was in a Yamaha outboard motor dealer partnership with a guy who liked the GTO's, he had a couple of them.

I think if you do most of the work yourself, something like this as a starting point is doable for profit, but paying someone else to do it for you is often an 'upside-down' valuation by the end of the project.

Here are some projects in the shop where the GTO just landed.

View attachment 82486

R to L:
~1979 Maserati Merak mid-engined car. The shop owner bought this from another of his customers who has sold him other cars, I saw a circa 1980 Mercedes V8 coupe he got along with this, which the shop has completed. The Mercedes has a bit over 20,000 miles on it. The Maserati gets worked-upon in-between other jobs.

1957 Chevrolet Nomad. They built more 1957 Corvettes than they did Nomads. This has a non-stock 327 4-bbl and a TH400 transmission.

Trivia question: what was the first Chevrolet to have the name, 'Nomad?' "That's easy, the 1955-'56-'57 two-door station wagons."

"Thank-you for playing, but no!"

The first Chevrolet to use that name was a Corvette! And it was a six-seater!

That's a mind-blower!

View attachment 82488

Here's a pic from my personal collection of that built by GM Corvette Nomad.

View attachment 82489

I saw the Corvette Nomad at a SW Michigan auto museum. In the early 1950's, GM had a touring show called the General Motors Motorama and the Corvette Nomad was one of the cars built for that exhibition.

1969 small-block Corvette, been in the same family since new. This got a frame-off refurbishment, the bill for this is currently well-over $100,000. Trivia for your next bar session; the 'Stingray' name wasn't used for the introduction of the C3 in the fall of 1967, for the 1968 models. However, Chevrolet re-introduced the Stingray name for the 1969 model year.

That's a gorgeous Nomad and for sure way cooler than the 55-57 sedan versions ! I doubt it's for sale though huh ?! (Even with a profit ?)

I think unless one makes their living in the garage, making a worthwhile profit can be elusive if you factor in an hourly rate.

I decided to buy a chassis for several reasons but mainly 1) I got rid of hundreds of hours of research, sourcing and labor and 2) I wasn't excited about putting a 500 HP motor into the 85 HP original even after a Mustang 2 front end and all those other "fixes" to try and make those old chassis' work. For Fri night stoplight work it needs to stop as hard as it launches and occasionally corner too. The car won't have the CG of a Vette but will be similar in performance for street work and an occasional evasive maneuver might not be so scary with the suspension and brakes we specced out.

 

[Fire-medic]

Those all sound like well-reasoned thoughts. The '57 Nomad will probably be powered by a SBC about 2/3 of what you're going to have. Yes to updated brakes, steering and suspension, but yes, the chassis is a nearly 70 year old design. The final design could still change to something like you're doing, but my initial idea is to address the body, to add metal where necessary to replace significant rust and any perforation, and to do as mentioned. There will be a 'go-no go' point coming soon when we decide on whether we want to have a new chassis or not. We're close to separating the body/frame, and once we see where that takes us, we'll make a call on a new frame vs refurbishment. It's intended to be a cruising car, not a dragstrip warrior or a Hoonican.

I don't think I want to pay the price for a 'hands-off' build, so my labor is 'free.' Yes to farming-out some things, I am not a professional paint & body man, but getting things to a point where the paint is to be done is within my skill set. The idea isn't to turn a profit, it's to have fun with our son and the grandsons. I don't expect the car to be sold when it's done. When the time comes, it will look good in the procession carrying me to Our Lady of Perpetual Internal Combustion cemetery.

 

[DreamV4]

, I am not a professional paint & body man, but getting things to a point where the paint is to be done is within my skill set.

I painted lots of car body parts and bikes, any questions, let me know. I am not a professional painter. Beside glowing paint, I painted pearl, never painted candy. Painting is not complicated, pretty simple.

 

[Rollie]

There is no better looking car than 04 Jaguar XK8 convertible.... Guess, who has one... It doesn't run, but that is minor flow...

I came DAMN close to buying a Silver with Black rag top about 2 years ago with a LS1 Chevy motor and 4 speed transmission , converted by professionals , with paperwork . If the salesman had actually waited on me and moved it out of the tightly packed warehouse , I would have bought it that day ! I gave him 2 weeks notice that I was driving from Atlanta to Charlotte just to see and drive it. I called him the day before my visit to let him know I was in town , AT A HOTEL , AND WOULD BE BY TO VIEW AND DRIVE IT THE NEXT DAY ! He ignored me when I arrived , and did not have it moved out of the " tightly packed " parking space. Apparently , he was busy , elsewhere on the property. I was so mad , I just walked over to the sales manager and told him what I thought about his poorly run business and walked out.

 

[DreamV4]

I came DAMN close to buying a Silver with Black rag top about 2 years ago with a LS1 Chevy motor and 4 speed transmission , converted by professionals , with paperwork . If the salesman had actually waited on me and moved it out of the tightly packed warehouse , I would have bought it that day ! I gave him 2 weeks notice that I was driving from Atlanta to Charlotte just to see and drive it. I called him the day before my visit to let him know I was in town , AT A HOTEL , AND WOULD BE BY TO VIEW AND DRIVE IT THE NEXT DAY ! He ignored me when I arrived , and did not have it moved out of the " tightly packed " parking space. Apparently , he was busy , elsewhere on the property. I was so mad , I just walked over to the sales manager and told him what I thought about his poorly run business and walked out.

Mine is for sale as is, bad engine, I will deliver. 1900. Or I can repair it, not sure how much I will sell it for. 5k?
I used to have XJS12, it was nice car!!!