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November 14, 2008

(Drivetrain Extra)

h/t

Posted by Kate at November 14, 2008 12:58 AM
Comments

Seems how I'm the only bidder, $7.45? I'm not being tight! Think of the freight....

Posted by: Eye from Oz at November 14, 2008 6:32 AM

With antique furniture, I've heard that you can seriously lower the value of a piece by trying to remove the effects of age. Do similar considerations apply with antique cars? Just curious.

Posted by: RSP at November 14, 2008 7:41 AM

I like the wag that said for $226,521.63 US you should get all of GM these days.

Posted by: rockyt at November 14, 2008 9:59 AM

My friends dad tipped off a guy who had a hemi dart, thought it was more then just a hemi dart.

Turns out it was the car that a renowned racer owned. Eventually the guy flew to Winnipeg, checked out the car, and said "yup it was mine".

Keep in mind the car was completely unrestored, but even before this information it was worth quite a bit of money.

I think he eventually traded it for a fully restored hemi dart, saving him the time and hassle of restoration.

Posted by: allan at November 14, 2008 12:43 PM

I saw one similar to this in Calgary last Monday. It was red, and seemed to be in mint condition.

I'm surprised this one sold so high with no drivetrain. Once you lose that, it's hardly "original". The "Superduty" had a 389 tri-power engine that would be very difficult to replicate.

RSP- Old cars are worth more in "unmolested" condition, but only if they're not damaged. If they're rusted away, they lose their "survivor" status.

Posted by: dp at November 14, 2008 12:44 PM

In this case RSP the car will be worth more after a full restoration is done, but I gotta agree with dp, I am not sure what the lack of original drive train would do to the price. This may be a case where a resto-mod (restoration with modern modifications) is more practical and desirable than a full restoration.

In a car like this, "numbers matching" is the holy of all holys.

Posted by: AtlanticJim at November 14, 2008 12:55 PM

This is truly amazing. When I bought my acreage I had 42 old cars and trucks "ranging from 1950 to 1970" scattered about in the bush. Since I am not into old relics, I gave them to junk dealer to crush up. Makes one wonder, but we gained enough money for a hills hoedown with pig roast supplied.

Posted by: Merle Underwood at November 14, 2008 1:40 PM

That`s not a Canadian model!! If automatic, it has a Powerglide transmission. (Remember, you slip and slide with Powerglide.) Some of the mid sized Pontiacs had solid driveshafts, they were noisy as hell! I`ll take a Ford Fairlane w/289 and 3 speed "Fordamatic" any day!!

Posted by: Heavy Chevy at November 14, 2008 2:45 PM

That`s not a Canadian model!! If automatic, it has a Powerglide transmission. (Remember, you slip and slide with Powerglide.) Some of the mid sized Pontiacs had solid driveshafts, they were noisy as hell! I`ll take a Ford Fairlane w/289 and 3 speed "Fordamatic" any day!!

Posted by: Heavy Chevy at November 14, 2008 2:45 PM

I like stories like this. JUst goes to show the old saw id right. Your junk may be someones dream.

Posted by: Revnant Dream at November 14, 2008 4:27 PM

I've been trying to find parts for a 67 cutlass for 10 years. Good luck with an oddball like this one. I suppose anyone with a quarter million to waste can have almost anything remanufactured.

I've been having second thoughts on whether to believe this story. There are lots of scams on ebay, kijiji, etc. I'd like to see a follow up story on this one.

Posted by: dp at November 14, 2008 5:09 PM

HC

""""I`ll take a Ford Fairlane w/289 and 3 speed "Fordamatic" any day!! """"


guy next door has a fairlane for sale, but I think he's may have a 302 in it now

Posted by: GYM at November 14, 2008 8:16 PM

Criminee! I had a rusted old beater complete WITH DRIVETRAIN that I would have sold for half what this guy paid.

Posted by: Woodporter at November 14, 2008 9:34 PM

dp,

Sounds very fishy to me too.

I can see no obvious signs of this once being a serious drag car, with the possible exception of the rear suspension. Also, without the matching numbers drivetrain, the historical value of this car is even questionable.

Where is the rollbar? Where are the faded sponsor markings? Why does it still have two front seats installed? Even serious racers of that era understood the need to shave every ounce of weight off a car. And mentally healthy people don't waste money converting full-blown racecars back to stock.

A daily driver/weekend racer.......maybe.

The "the fastest drag car in 1963".....bullshit.

Posted by: Canadian Observer at November 14, 2008 10:07 PM

Well, I did some research. The 421 CI superduties that were built for drag racing had aluminum fenders. I see rust on the fenders of this beast. They also had "swisscheese" frames to lighten the car. There were only 11 Tempests in this configuration.

Even if this was one of the last cars, there's still something odd about this story. Pontiacs have been struggling to bring in the big bucks. I saw an auction last year where someone tried to sell a pair of mint condition Pontiac racecars. They went for a lot less than predicted, and the car market isn't what it was a year ago.

Posted by: dp at November 14, 2008 11:20 PM

Not many of those old cars like that left before OPEC cut off our gas. NEXT TIME OPEC CUTS OFF OUR OIL WE SHOULD CUT OFF THE FOOD TO THEM MAKE THE PAY TRIPLE DIDGETS FOR THEIR KFC

Posted by: Spurwing Plover at November 15, 2008 3:53 PM
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