any info on this girl?

[C.R. Patton II]

Hello Spyder

To provide you with a comparison a buddy, Dave Morehouse just sent me an available 1939 LaSalle 5027 Craiglist ad from Portland.  This car appears to be a number 2-3 condition vehicle with 3,531 manufactured and 45 listed in the 2014 CLC International Directory.  You can assess the amount of work to be done on both.  I implore the other contributors to this thread to also view and share their opinions.

We exist to assist.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Boy, that is a very nice Coupe.

http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/cto/4433040696.html

Bruce.

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

C R has nailed it - cutting straight to the heart of the matter with a concrete example:

http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/cto/4433040696.html

Case dismissed.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

But, the Two Door Sedan body shape does look good.

Bruce.

[Glen]

Why is it so important to dissuade him from getting this car?  Are you guys going to lose something if he buys it? 

If I was Spyder I would leave the CLC and never come back. 

[Steve Passmore]

Well put Art.

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Why is it so important to dissuade him from getting this car?  Are you guys going to lose something if he buys it? 

If I was Spyder I would leave the CLC and never come back.

The OP has solicited advice regarding a potential acquisition and posters have responded to the best of individual knowledge and experience, openly & candidly and without ulterior motive.

I could not find no evidence of the slightest disrespect shown to the OP, nor cause for offense.

Eric

 

[Smedly]

I would go for. And if I could not afford to "Restore" it then I would Hot Rod the thing using a newer donor car with SBC. Keep the body as close to stock as possible so in the future it could be turned around to a "restoration". Do what you can afford, Drive it And Have Fun Doing it.
Sheldon Hay

[Spyder]

WOW! What a thread. My background is irrelevant. I have owned many many cars. From Ferrari to rat rod. All I asked was what should I pay for it in this condition. He wants $1600. It doesn't run. It's a rough car for sure but I thought a car that is one of 997 was worth more to save than rotting away or making it a parts car. And a retro restoration with a combination of original parts and old would be an option.

[Dan LeBlanc]

I think the popular opinion here is that the car is worth little more than scrap value - there are some who are highly ambitious individuals here who have and would again take on a project of this nature.

Perhaps the only thing those offered opinions here are guilty of is offering sound advice.  And yes, background is key.  If you don't have the financial ability or at least have the ability to offset the lack thereof with the ability to perform the tasks yourself, the attempt to save the car will progress to a certain point until resources have been exhausted and the failed project ends up scrapped.

Most of us here are speaking from years of expeirence and are just trying to look out for you, that's all.  I do detect a bit of a sense of your mind was already made up as to what the OP was going to do with the car prior to asking the question.  That's the bit of salt in the wound - debating something that has a predetermined outcome.

[Spyder]

I'll pass on car. Take care

[Spyder]

lastly, I can't believe its only worth $500.00, some of the parts alone are worth more than that......

[INTMD8]

 I don't think it's worth much and I personally wouldn't attempt to save it, especially after seeing that Portland car.

In the end the decision is up to you. If you want to buy it and make something out of it than do whatever makes you happy.

[Dan LeBlanc]

One could conceivably sit on these parts for years while they deteriorate further. It's not like we're talking a 1957 Chevy here. It's good that the car is rare but it's also bad that the car is rare. Makes for a very limited market. While one part may be "worth" $500 finding the person who wants that part and wants to pay $500 may never occur. Over time, the $500 part becomes the $400 part, which becomes a $300 part, and eventually a $50 part because it's either deteriorated further or you get tired of tripping over it in the garage.

Nothing about this car makes sense.

[Dan LeBlanc]

I don't think it's worth much and I personally wouldn't attempt to save it, especially after seeing that Portland car.

In the end the decision is up to you. If you want to buy it and make something out of it than do whatever makes you happy.

That speaks volumes right there. Jim, you've taken on some pretty daunting projects with great success that aren't for the faint of heart.

[INTMD8]

That speaks volumes right there. Jim, you've taken on some pretty daunting projects with great success that aren't for the faint of heart.

Agreed on not for the faint of heart, not sure about the great success part but thanks LOL.

But yeah, for a project like this car you must really LOVE it.  For me that would mean something like my Grandfather bought it new and passed it down to me, not that I just found it in someones yard.

Tons of work here and just not worth it when you could be driving that nice survivor car today for a little over 20k.  (a point I believe Eric has made in the past)  It is more fun to be driving around on a nice Sunday rather than grinding and welding, as rewarding as that may be.

[Spyder]

I guess the saving it thing was lost in this thread,  I'm not rich, but i thought a 2,3,4....10 year slow restoration/ retro restoration was better than it's current fate.  I love all cars and motorcycles.  I Kinda saw it like an old dog that needs to be rescued from the pound, not put down.  I'm 46 years old and I like driving around on Sundays just as much as anyone, but a car collection should be eclectic and I like stuff that not everyone has.  Surf the Internet there are lots of pictures of the 2 door coupes but I couldn't find one of the 2 door sedan. 

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

I guess the saving it thing was lost in this thread,  I'm not rich, but i thought a 2,3,4....10 year slow restoration/ retro restoration was better than it's current fate.

Sure, it would be better for the car; the point is what is better for you. As much as I wish it were not the case, not every car can be rescued; this is but one of thousands in a similar purgatory.

My father used to be fond of saying, "A junkyard Corvette [costs] more than a new one on the showroom floor", and he was 100% correct. In no time, nickels & dimes add up to thousands and thousands. Like Art, I have also witnessed firsthand the despair, the misery, the regret and financial perils of what those ambitious souls have gone through once they have found themselves in over their head in a never ending & hopeless project. It is akin to the Chinese death of a thousand cuts. 

That said, I have actually seen far worse than this restored to absolute perfection, but those cases usually involved ultra rare, 1 of a kind, high end exotic classics, value inestimable, backed by those who don't write in the top half of their checkbooks. This is simply not the case here. (Concerning the car, that is)

All you can do at this point is put a wreath on it. 

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

I think we are all losing the point here.

Is it worth saving?   Yes.

The owner wants $1,500.00 for it.

Who is willing to pay the asking price?

As for the cost to rebuild it, or refresh it, that is not the question.

We all know that a restored car is never going to make a financial return, and it appears to me that the seller doesn't really want it moved.   Just price a replacement Grille.   That would cost more than the purchase price alone.

If the car was down here in Tasmania, I would buy it in a heartbeat.   I have a nice 500 and TH400 to go in it.

Bruce.

[Spyder]

Well said Bruce