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54 100-4 with fiberglass panels

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ERC

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I'm looking at a very nice restored 100-4 but noticed it has fiberglass front and rear fenders as well as the front shroud. What is your take on how much fiberglass devalues the car or if it has no effect at all?

I'm new to this forum and I currently own a '74 TR-6 in Magenta(Barney Purple). Hello!
 
ERC said:
I'm looking at a very nice restored 100-4 but noticed it has fiberglass front and rear fenders as well as the front shroud. What is your take on how much fiberglass devalues the car or if it has no effect at all?

I'm new to this forum and I currently own a '74 TR-6 in Magenta(Barney Purple). Hello!
Click to expand...
It greatly devalues an original car, INHO, unless it's a "nasty boy". You should be able to see the fiberglass pieces but aquiring the original aluminum and steel stuff will be expensive and then they would have to be fitted to the car....ouch(pocket book).
Patrick
 
Hey ERC,
Welcome to the Forum ! It's a great bunch of folks and you'll get a lot of help
and advice. As to your 100-4. Here's what the correct steel fenders and
aluminum shroud would cost you from the UK ( AH Spares) in pounds.

Front fenders - 575 lbs each x 2
rear fenders- 465 lbs each x 2
front shroud - 1845 lbs

That's 3925 pounds and at a recent exchange rate of about $1.55/lb you
are looking at $6084.00 more or less before you pay freight over here which
would probably cost another 20% at least, maybe a lot higher. Then you have to
fit them - a big deal, then paint so you can see you're looking at a lot
of money. Maybe you could find nice used pieces but still have the same issue
of fit and paint to deal with.

However if you're not worried about originality and it looks good to you,
then great. I would just factor in the reduction in value/sales price on
this 100-4 as if you pay what a nice one would bring with the correct sheet
metal, IMHO you will have paid way too much. I'd deduct $10k for the glass
panels off of whatever price he is asking as you'll have that much in it
by the time you're done.

Good luck,
Mike
 
Run...as fast as you can....with all those panels being replaced expect to find more problems with the car than you can imagine.
 
Bighealeysource, when I first read your post, it threw me, saw lbs.& thought you meant weight(ha,ha, heavy) than saw pounds. got a guy in Jersey that wants to buy a spare 100-4 frt shroud from me, what would be best(cheapest) way to ship? cheers Genos2
 
Greyhound freight. I have used them many times shipping shrouds and they are excellent. All I did was put a brace between the bottom/front of the shroud to the top of the shroud. Wrap it in shrink wrap and send it off. Very inexpensive.
 
I will chime in with a different point of view, certainly the fiberglass detracts from the value and originality of the car, but on the other hand all these cars are (to me anyway) special and beautiful, 100s are hard to find (in many parts of the country and the world) 100s are hard to afford for many, if the car is otherwise solid and running and a decent price it may be a nice car you can enjoy for years to come, if you are patient and resourceful used panels come up for sale from time to time as well, for much less (sometimes) than the price listed for new.
 
A large part of me would very much like to have a set of fiberglass fenders and a glass shroud. I want do some minor cosmetic things and some things to to improve airflow.

So far, all of the modifications that I have made are reversable. I hate to cut a good original shroud and wings.

Tim
 
glemon said:
I will chime in with a different point of view, certainly the fiberglass detracts from the value and originality of the car, but on the other hand all these cars are (to me anyway) special and beautiful, 100s are hard to find (in may parts of the country and the world) 100s are hard to afford for many, if the car is otherwise solid and running and a decent price it may be a nice car you can enjoy for years to come, if you are patient and resourceful used panels come up for sale from time to time as well, for much less (sometimes) than the price listed for new.
Click to expand...

Well said: :iagree:-------------Keoke :driving:
 
If you like the car and it's chassis and driveline are solid, buy it. You can have a lot of enjoyment with it. If you want to put it back to original panels you can do that later. In the meantime, drive it till you get all the panels together.

Ask yourself one question...will it make you happy?
 
Though I agree with the posters who say that the car can certainly be enjoyed while you are gathering the $$ to replace the FG pieces with correct stuff (if that be your intention) there is a reason why they were put on there in the first place.

It sounds to me like the car was probably involved in a front-end collision serious enough to have damaged the original panels to where they were not repairable. Check the frame carefully for straightness, etc. If the car is crooked it will not drive correctly no matter what you hang on it!
 
If the car is crooked it will not drive correctly no matter what you hang on it:

Not even a Jules frame?----Keoke- :devilgrin:
 
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