Pricing/Should i sell

[Matthew Goeke]

Hey guys! i just discovered this forum because i need some information about my gbody. i have a 1978 buick regal which is extremely clean, 22k miles on it but hasn't ran in years. the reason why i am telling you this is because recently i wanted to buy a 240sx but my grandparents said i have to get rid of one of their cars (most of them dont run) and i was thinking of restoring this regal as you see in these pics, i want to know what you would think is a fair price if i got it running and small problems (headliner) fixed! i want to know if it would be worth it to restore and sell, or just sell it how it is. below i am including loads of pictures. honestly i kinda fell in love just by looking at it and i might just keep it if its not worth much. EDIT: too many pictures for this forum so i posted them into an imgur.

http://imgur.com/a/9DZub

 

[565bbchevy]

It looks very clean, I say keep it and get it running and freshen it up with anything that needs replacing and then throw some nice 15" wheels on it and enjoy for what it is and since it appears to have a 305 Chevy in there you can always install a bigger small block with some power later on and have some real fun.

 

[Matthew Goeke]

It looks very clean, I say keep it and get it running and freshen it up with anything that needs replacing and then throw some nice 15" wheels on it and enjoy for what it is and since it appears to have a 305 Chevy in there you can always install a bigger small block with some power later on and have some real fun.

thanks for this info man, i really dont know a whole lot about it so even you telling me what engine in really helps.

 

[ck80]

I'll be honest, that's a nice clean car, but isn't worth much. Tag looks like it's been parked since 1993... so over 20 years?

It'd take a lot of labor to make reliable again, parts are fairly cheap. Figure entire fuel system needs going through, and, most rubber parts - hoses, lines, brakes, etc. May have some corrosion issues from antifreeze and brake fluid absorbing water. Engine may need to be gone through, rings, seals could (likely are) dried out from age as that car does not appear to have been started much if ever.

For someone buying it as-is, they're paying for the body to swap a drive train into. If you got $2 or $3k waiting a long time for the right buyer you would be doing well. A fast sale will be less than that.

If you had every thing gone through, the above plus getting it 100% running driving shape and safe, may require exhaust that could've rusted at seams from moisture, suspension work, new tires, carb rebuild, so on so forth... it's maybe a $5 to $7k car. But in time and cost, there's not profit in there to pay and do it all to sell.

It's a nice car with a nice story that i'd build and keep if it were mine. Nothing you'll get rich off of.

 

[Opie Knievel]

If it were me, I'd definitely keep it and get it running. Daily drive it for a while. You'll fall in love with it. If it's only got 22k original miles on it and no rust, it'd be a really nice car.

 

[Opie Knievel]

I see that you're young and may not have a lot of experience working on older cars but if you're willing to learn and give it a try there's a lot of people on this forum who will help you out. There's nothing like driving a good old American car. It's ultimately your choice but I bet you'd really like this car if you gave it a chance.

 

[MrSony]

I have to say man, that car is BEAUTIFUL. I would keep it. The landau top (vinyl half top) still looks new! If you can turn the engine over by hand with a socket on a breaker bar on the bolt on the harmonic balancer, that is a good indication it isn't stuck. Check all the fluids. If they look good and are full, try and start it. If you can get it running, and running GOOD put around in it. Don't go over a few mph incase the brakes don't work, but when you pull the car out you should figure that out soon enough. Yep, it has the Chevy 305 in it judging by the 5.0 badge and it not having an oil fill tube in the front of the motor, like an oldsmobile does. Give it a good hand washing (automated car washes will destroy that paint and the top), put some tire dressing on a rag and moisturize the top and the dash. It will soak it up over a day of sitting in the sun. KEEP THIS CAR! I have never seen a g body with that low mileage in that good of shape. It's a great looking car and if you were to sell it, there are only three things that would happen: giant wheels, demo derby car or scrapped. I'd sell one of your other cars to get that 240. Best of both worlds. Classic American luxury with a V8 and a carb on the Regal side and modernish styling with FI and ABS and what not with the 240. This is a really pretty car and you'd regret getting rid of it. A 350 chevy will drop 100% in place if you get tired of the 305, which admittedly is probably the worst part about this car.

 

[1evilregal]

beautiful time capsule you have there! any car is worth more running, but do you want to invest in the time/money it takes to get it up and going is what you need to ask yourself.

you said they have more than 1 car that isn't running, would any of them be a little closer to running status than this one? this regal may not be the highest optioned one out there, but it appears to be an all original car owned by older folks, and that's every classic car hunter's dream! they definitely don't show up very often anymore!

 

[lilbowtie]

Your probably thinking it's worth a lot more than it is - G bodys are just starting to pull better money and ck80 gave a good indication of $$ although I think $5000 is max. If it was a more desirable car(ss,442) instead of a plane jane it would be worth more, but it does have a v-8.

 

[64nailhead]

Everyone has told you the same thing, so I'll compliment their replies. G-bodies aren't worth anything - today - by car value standards. You're a young man and by the time you get to be my age (which isn't THAT old lol) that car will have increased in value by 5-10 fold. But if you are insistent on selling it, then $2K in this area is a stretch as it sits.

But, as you've already heard, if you want a great cruiser, that no one has, this thing has the potiential to be there with $1000-1500 of parts or less and could be a knowledge gaining experience that you might really enjoy. And the joy of them is that the basic parts - suspension, brakes, driveline - are really cheap and readily available. And if someday you want to build the ultimate sleeper, that grocery getter is the ticket IMO.

Good luck - Jim