Follow Up On The 61 Chevy Impala --->> Whats It Worth
 

So a week ago or so, I asked if anyone knew how to price old cars .. I just got a chance to take some pics of this thing today ... He is wanting to get 3k for the car. It starts, runs and all the body panels are in good shape.

I looked on e-bay like some here suggested and they are really high priced (20-35k).. Is it worth my money (he will sell it to me for $2500.00) to get a new paint job, some rims and a bit of interior work to turn it around and sell it for 13k or so ?? Here are the pics. The car has 75k miles on it and he started the thing right up and it sounded nice. I guess it has a 327 v-8 in it... I think it looks like the bat Mobile lol..


http://www.zuzanadesigns.com/drew_ca...ready/6101.jpg

http://www.zuzanadesigns.com/drew_ca...ready/6102.jpg

http://www.zuzanadesigns.com/drew_ca...ready/6103.jpg

http://www.zuzanadesigns.com/drew_ca...ready/6104.jpg

http://www.zuzanadesigns.com/drew_ca...ready/6105.jpg

That car is hot as hell!!

Thay are pretty rare.a paint job is only cosmetic. it all depends on how the interior is and what the running gear is like and how much work is required.would be a good restoration project

What is crazy is I only see 2 door cars ??

I LOVE THIS ONE !!!

http://www.zuzanadesigns.com/61/wow.jpg

Whatever you do, please put some nice looking (no chrome) 18's+ on it, old cars with modern rims are sexy as fuck.

Edit: OK, didn't see the post above me until now but you have the right idea! :D

Looks like the body is in relatively good shape. I would personally go for it, you can't lose if you have the money to fix it up a bit before trying to flip it.

4 door is going to be worth a lot less than a 2 door. Make sure you get someone to check the floorboards, bottoms of the quarters, drivetrain. Its going to take a LOT of work more than just a paint job and some interior work to get that close to a number 1. My dad has a 62 4 door he is in the middle of restoring. Between my father and I we've restored many Studebakers. Here is a pic of my fav. Yes this one is mine, but I keep it up in PA. I did the full restore on it, other than the interior and engine was sent out (but I've done full engine overhauls in the past too), that includes all the body work, paing and finishing work. Oh and the Chrome of course was sent out to be redone.

http://www.bbwbj.com/HPIM0205s.jpg

Thats actually a 60 imp with 3 piece bumpers. Nice looking car, heres mine.

http://www.lowrodder.com/impalapics/...s/IMAG0068.jpg

more build pics.

http://www.lowrodder.com/impalapics/gallery/index.html

So it is a 1960 ?? Very nice car.. you did alot of work !!!

It's a good deal for 2500 if it's solid meaning hasn't been filled with bondo in the past and painted. I don't think it's something you will 'fix" up and sell for more money.. In most cases people spend more redoing the car than what they can sell them for. Specially if you can't do it your self.

2 Door version are more desirable. 4 Doors aren't worth as much but can still be worth something.

The only thing he said was not working was the trunk latch ... If I can spend 2500.00 to make 4k or so it may be worth it.. I posted his 1964 up for sale and it has no motor no title and people are going crazy for it ....

http://www.zuzanadesigns.com/drew_ca...ready/6401.jpg

http://www.zuzanadesigns.com/drew_ca...ready/6402.jpg

http://www.zuzanadesigns.com/drew_ca...ready/6404.jpg

http://www.zuzanadesigns.com/drew_ca...ready/6405.jpg

sounds like a big risk to take on something you dont know much about, stuff like that ALWAYS ends up costing more than you want to spend. it might be a good idea if you wanted to fix it up to have because you liked the car, or if you could find someone qualified to do the work that would want to do all the work and you finance it and split the profit.

Listen to what Sticky says. I used to work as a classic car appraiser and a 4 door can often be worth half as much or less than a 2 door version of the same car. If it has a lot of rust you could spend a lot to restore it and never see the return on your investment.

How long has the car been parked?

That would be a sweet car.i'm thinking no handle suicide doors with a blower.it has potential but unless somebody is looking for it,you'll be stuck with the rust bucket in your back yard

Do you have any pics of the interior?


:GFYBand

They came out really dark :( I will take a few tonight..

A proper paint job will cost you in excess of $8k. A Maaco paint job on a classic can be spotted from a mile away. To be done properly you need to remove everything, patch and sand, prime, put on many coats and then clearcoat it to death. Looking at that car there is more than surface rust.

Also, the roof, hood and cowl area is pretty rusty. What's under the car? How are the trunk pans? How are the floor pans? Retinning isn't cheap.

Can you get pics under the hood? Does the engine pass the compression check? What type of interior work do you think it needs? I know, you can't get it on a lift to take pics, right? But you NEED to .... get a mechanic to go over it with you. Let him/her crawl under and inspect from the gas tank forward. Let him/her check the engine, tranny, wiring and frame. A qualified mechanic will know where to look for rust, i.e. bottom of doors, rocker panels.

Don't go by eBay. Those are most likely concours restorations, rotisserie restorations or just done almost correct. They are also generally overpriced.

$4k is what you plan to spend? Triple that and it's not even done. Been there, done that.

And remember, at $4 a gallon of gas, a V8 drinks gas like an alcoholic at an open bar. Classic car folks are not as apt to cruise around in a V8 due to the price of gas. At the cruise nights I go to weekly the talk always centers around the fact so many guys can't afford to just take out their cars and cruise as they did in years past.

Impala is fucking hot! I would try! :thumbsup

Thanks Pam, I guess there is alot more to it then just buying it and painting the car :( I have a mechanic going to look at it this afternoon and give me a price on all the work it needs to be restored, and what I could turn around and sell it for .. It looks to me that you really need to find a buyer that is super interested in that year, which I also found out it's a 1960 lol.. I was also told if I do buy it to keep the color one of the colors the car came in to keep the value higher..

Even if I don't try and restore it I may still pick it up for $2500 and turn right around and resell it for 5 or 6k..

Have the VIN number checked to make sure its not stolen.

cant you make some pics when its light outside? not much to see on those pics

I will later tonight. it was close to 9 when I had a chance to look at it ..

I could be wrong but at $2500 I would think that if you had to just part it out (even on Ebay) you'd make a decent profit.

I hate living in a snowy country where the roads are worst then a war zone. There is no chance in hell a sweet car like that will survive here :(

I want one.

night photos? are you planning to steal it? LOL

as always, pornguy is spot on! You have no recourse if the car is hot (as in the bas hot).

check the tunk as well, underneath the spare tire area...

My dad had that same year and car with plush red interior.

Check out anything Chip Foose has done for cosmetic restoration ideas. Also take a look at the Barret Jackson site.

You have excellent taste, for 2.5K you have a decent starting price.

I purchased an 1984 Porsche 944 for 3.5K, put about another 2K into it (never upgraded the paint however) and drove it daily for al,ost 4 years.

AM going to get another nexy winter and have it ready for next spring.

5-10 grand buys a great toy.

ALl this until I can afford to fully restore a 1971 Olds Cutlass Supreme rag top.

Best of luck. America should still be in the auto industry. Has been too long since they were.

http://www.chipfoose.com/profile.aspx

http://www.barrett-jackson.com/

This what $5K bought me:

http://www.channel4.com/4car/media/c...4-1982-f3q.jpg

They all said you have a great ass:

http://cherriehotrodrepair.com/images/61_impala_4.jpg

Damn that car would look hot as shit restored :pimp

its probably not worth all the work needed to make a few grand. Now if its a car you will love and keep for years, then that is a different story. Especially if you know someone or can do some of the work yourself but hiring out to do all the work will be expensive. There are always things you don't think of that need attention on cars that old.

I just found out the 64 is an SS (super sport)

Check out the bible : Hemmings Motor News

http://www.hemmings.com/

long time ago, I used to collect cars ...

- A '57 vette ( I have some pics of that one somewhere )
- A 1938 V12 Lincoln Zephyr convertible
- A 1963 Chevelle convertible SS ...

My brother in law still does ( about 10 cars from a chevy Roasdter 32 to 1938 Firetruck ...)

if you come with that car I'd pay 20,000

What he said. It would be a waste of 12K (or more) on a 4-door car.

I don't think you will resell it as it is for $4 or $5k.. 4 doors are not that valuable. That 2 Door with no title would be the better project IMO.

I would not even bother with the 4 door.
For the cost of restoration you are crazy to not find a two door to start with

I'm not too well clued up on US restorations, most of mine have been UK cars but, as a word of warning - even if the car checked out ok mechanically and the you could get a reasonable paint job priced up, the biggest headaches tend to be the unseen areas.

For example, like when they remove the windscreen for spraying and find the bulkhead all rotted out lol. Or sourcing parts like the proper clips to hold in the chrome, chrome replacements and rubber seals/grommets etc. That stuff can get very pricey and before taking on a project I would seriously advise you check availablility and prices on some of those items....they seem insignificant but it would be sad to be left with a project that you cant finish due to prohibitive cost or non-available parts.

I spoke with a guy here today that restores these older cars, and he said he would buy the car for $6500 (The 60) But he really wants the SS 1964 2 door. So he is getting me a price for the 2 and I may just flip them for some fast cash...

The 4 dr wouldn't be worth much, but the 2 dr has potential

She. Classic muscle car chick. Gearhead.

:)

Sarah, if the restorer does all aspects of restoration, you're on the right path. Some only do certain things like retinning (replacing sheet metal like trunk pans and floor pans), others are engine experts, etc.

But you really do need a mechanic to get under the car, under the hood, into the engine. I can not tell you how many rusted heaps there are on eBay, Craigslist and in the backyards of all the farms around here. People "think" they are worth a fortune but unless you find a rare Yenko or Shelby (and if you do, tell ME!), they cost a lot to restore.

Just remember the high prices you see are mostly due to Barret-Jackson and other auctions where the cars, for the most part, are totally original or concours restorations that cost upwards of $100k.

Hemmings is a great resource, and also find forums on the particular car and then ask the guys what they think.

And keep us updated ... if you do restore it, take pics of every step (which I do) so I can see :)

I looked at the hemmings site last night. Very cool.. My neighbor has a 55 Mustang he restored over the last 10 years. It is super nice. The paint looks amazing (bright red). He is interested in the Impalas too. I will try and get some pics of the stang today for you Pam. I think it is right up your alley :) What year car is the one in your avatar? And what is the model and all, I love that dark green, it looks tough !!

55 Mustang?

You must mean '65 ... '64.5 is the first year but they call it 65, unveiled in 1964 at the New York World's Fair. I love my pony and the i6 gets great gas mileage, too. Get pics ... please! I love old Mustangs

The avatar is my '67 Firebird, color is Verdoro Green which I hated on sight but fell in love with after a few months.

Going to a local car show later today and will take pics if I see any Impalas.

Yea I'm sorry He must have said 65 lol .. He just took it out for his saturday drive.. Yea take some pics PLEASE of all the cars THAT WOULD BE GREAT HUN :)

Had a corgi one back in the 60s when I was a kid :)

http://www.theoldtoyguide.com/Images...29-Detail3.jpg

so I bought them both :) I will resell later this week and let you know what I made ...