Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin in NJ
Some thoughts on value.
Assuming you just want a fun reliable to drive play toy and not a points show car.
WOOD. It is a wood frame as you have been warned. Open the doors and see if they are loose. Pull up the carpets and look at the condition of the sills. Go under the car and look at the condition of the sills. The sills are the base frame of the body and what you can easily see.
Mechanicals. Ask questions about who did what. If they show you receipts that the engine was built by a known good engine builder then major plus. If not then assume you will need to get the engine rebuilt at some point. Take the JS with you and if a lot of the car is wrong then assume they did not pay much attention to details in building the car. Is there rust dust coming from the springs, perches or other bolted areas. That indicates stuff the needs to come apart and be fixed.
Look at the front brake levers are they angled forward some (15 degrees)? If it is vertical then you know something is not right.
How is the front axle. Can you see about 1/2 of it when you look from the front. If you can not see the axle and the shackles are pushed way out then you know the spring is bad.
Does it have shocks? Do the shocks actually work?
Driving...
How does it drive. It should feel comfortable to drive at 55 or above. When you stop on the brakes at speed it should stop confidently. Remember it is drum brakes and will take more effort then the 2 toes your modern disk brake car takes.
If the car does not have shocks and does not feel like it is going to jump off the road once you get above 25 MPH then you know the suspension needs to be rebuilt.
How bad does it vibrate. It should not vibrate a lot.
Can you talk to another person in the car while driving. Do not laugh. I know of a professionally rebuilt car that was so loud you could not converse. They professional put used pitted bearings in the tranny.
If it is only a 45 MPH car then you know it needs around $10,000 worth of work to become a safe reliable car. ($6000+ for the engine, a few thousand for brakes plus what ever else you find on the way).
Some people may differ on my fact based comments. They have a right to their opinions. I grew up with A's and they were always run 55+ with stock drive lines.
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Thank you!!! That is alot of valuable info!!! I know about sagging doors and boards, but your other points will help me a great deal.