Trying to figure out a price to ask for a car I am selling

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Well, I would like some opinions on what I should charge for my 1979 AMC Spirit project. It will need a rocker panel on one side due to collision damage, has a small hole in the floor and a few small holes in the body due to rust. The body will need paint, but is generally straight and not a rust bucket. It also has a Spirit AMX rear spoiler on it. The engine is a freshly rebuilt 1973 AMC 360 V8 with a Comp Cams 268H cam and lifters, 2.02 dogleg heads, an Edelbrock Performer intake, Edelbrock 600 CFM carb with electric choke, Electronic ignition (debating throwing in the MSD 6AL and 3 stage timing retard box), Milodon aluminum water pump (new), Carter high flow mechanical pump (new), Powermaster mini starter (nearly new) and an almost new set of Hooker Super Competition headers. The exhaust is also new with 2.5 in duals and Flowmaster Delta Flow mufflers. The transmission is a Torqueflite 904 with a factory floor shift and console, and the rear end an open diff AMC Model 20 with 3.54 gears. It has the rare, proper V8 mounts and suspension crossmember, and the V8 Spirit AMX suspension as well. The radiator is a recored stocker with 3 cores in it, and an external transmission cooler. The fan is a giant electric pusher (18 in) and came off a V8 Mercedes Benz and is run off a Bosch relay from the ABS system of a Cavalier. I also removed the A/C from it and replaced it with the proper non A/C heater box. As for the interior, it has a crappy CD player, and the carpet is in poor condition, but everything is there except for the sound deadening which I removed to save weight. There is also a Auto meter monster tach on the column with a programmable shift light. The battery is currently in the trunk in a Moroso box with a cutout switch behind the license plate, but I will probably put it back up front as it never liked to start with the trunk mount setup. The wheels are 15x8 Dodge Diplomat cop car wheels painted Chevy Rally Wheel argent silver with a set of AMC rally wheel centers and trim rings. The whole brake system down to the hoses was replaced several years ago, but probably needs freshening now as it has been sitting for a few years. Oh, the car has manual brakes and power steering.

The engine has never been run and will be installed next week. I plan on breaking it in properly with a few days of sorting followed by a week of pizza delivery before selling it. Yes, there is a ton of work in this car, probably even more than in my Cutlass. However, it needs a lot more too. I will be selling it with all my extra parts including a set of fenders, a door and another engine. So, what does everyone think I should ask for it? Would $3,000 be too much?

 

[pontiacgp]

those are rare cars and there are quite a few american motors fans out there....I think $3,000 would be on the low end and the price of a a good roller , I'd go for double that

 

[TURNA]

Sell the motor by itself then take off the spoiler and console and other so called "rare" parts. Sell those seperatly.

Throw the trans in as a bonus to the person who buys the engine to keep him/her from chewing you down to much.

Since the 904 Torque-Command or TorqueFlite in Dodge's, was the trans designed for the slant 6 and then used behind the tiny 273, it is the weakest and less sought after out of the Dodge lineup it really is no loss.

There is a real 79 AMC NON rusted,straight body, back halfed with a 4 link, coil overs, and a dana 60 no engine or trans and it just hit 500 bucks with only 2 days left. Granted it is not stock but the body is straight.

I am an AMC fan and a plain jane Spirt or 79 "WANNABE" AMX is definetely not on my list to own.

If it was one of the other smaller cars like the Gremlin, Gremlin X, Pacer, Pacer X or even if the body was in good shape. Maybe then it would be a different story.

Rocker panel replacement (if you can find it), rust, rust holes and sitting for a couple of years. Do not make it a car in good shape.

If you have the paperwork to show where the engine was built and what was done to it, and it has a decent set of heads on it.

Then you might have a good chance selling the engine for decent money. No proof......junkyard motor cleaned and painted.


Other parts like the tach or MSD keep for your current ride or trade for parts you need.

Times are tuff these days, I want the best for the least!!!!! If I was buying, these would be things I would be pointing out to you and using to chew down your price.

 

[KrisW]

Dude, I'm gonna go a little off on a tangent here...

You must know that this is not a mainstream seller for a car; it will have a targeted and focused audience. People who know this stuff will want this car, most people don't even know what it is.

I am one of those weird guys, so I love it, but I am not thrilled that the AC was intentionally removed in FLORIDA. Its hot there! heheheh

So, I think you have to fall back on some different avenues. Ebay motors is one, where people like me find their ideal "weird" projects, and maybe an AMC forum or group where you can advertise.

The real downside is the economy. People who are buying are looking for deals because they know it is buyer's paradise out there. If I were you, I would total up the investment you have in parts and dump the labor you have in it as a loss financially. Start the bidding at what you have in it (or set the reserve) so that you don't lose on the parts and then let it go for whatever you can get at auction above that.

Hell, my last few auctions I have just started at nothing and let them roll. I have found that people are more excited and bid more when there is no reserve. There still is a risk to losing though, so you have to be ready for that.

Oh, and you probably already know this, but interiors sell most used cars. People plan on body and paint to their liking, and even stereos somewhat to the same extent, but the interior needs to be nice.

Just some thoughts. I am not sure if you would get 3 grand for it, but by all means try. I DO think it is worth a little above that, but that doesn't mean that someone will buy it, you know?

 

[breeaad]

I grew up with parents owning a used car lot, going to auctions, and buying and selling all kinds of cars. Here are my thoughts: The value of anything is what you can get for it. For popular or mainstream items that can be easy to appraise. But for something like this "what you get for it" can vary greatly depending on who, or how many people want it. The best thing to do is to advertise it to a large audience. Ebay could serve for that, or a national magazine. I would also try some AMC forums to get some ideas there. Just get as many people as possible in your target audience aware of the car and you will get the best price for it.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Well, the thing is that I do not want to take the time to part it out. I really only need $1,500-$2,000 out of the deal ( I probably have $5,000 in it as it sits) so I can fix my porch roof and anything more is gravy. At this point, I have owned it for 20 years, it is my first car and I really just want to be rid of it. I need to move on from that part of my life and it is doing me no good to keep it. As for the A/C, the A/C parts go with it, but I don't have all of them as the car was originally a 232 L6 car. I also have 2 AMC Torque Command 727's, one of which is currently in the car. However, these headers hit the trans pan on a 727, so I was putting the 904 in it just to make it work. I also have a bellhousing to use with a Ford T-5, and the Ford Mustang 5.0 T-5, and most of the clutch linkage as well. That may go with the car too just to get rid of it. I think I do have the receipts for the engine, but I am really not sure. It was built a long time ago for another project that fell through. While the car has been sitting for a few years (far less than the Cutlass was before I put it back together), it has been sitting in my garage and not outside.

Here's the thing too: I need to be rid of it to fix the roof. Once I fix the roof, I can refinance my mortgage 3-4 points lower than I am paying now, and drop my mortgage payment by $160 a month (I pay a 9.375% fixed now). The only program I can get into without proof of income requires the house to be in perfect condition, and the roof is the only thing holding me back from that. So anything I lose by selling it low I can make up by having the lower payment. Plus, the sooner I get it out of the garage, the sooner I can park my Cutlass in there. That way, I can take the tags off of it and stop paying $80 a month to insure it. Either that, or I will get collector's insurance on it which is a third of what I pay now to have it on my commercial policy. However, the collector's policy is not available to me if the car is not parked in a locked garage. Between those two things, I can save $240 a month which is substantial when you survive on what I make delivering pizza part time. I also want to have all these loose ends tied up by January when I go back to school. Having all these projects that need doing distracts me too much and ruins my peace of mind. It's why I quit school until I could get them done.

 

[Oldsmoletick]

Too bad you are so far away, I would gladly take the AMC spirit off your hands .