A Playmate for Baby Blue?

[SaxMan]

I went over and took a cursory look at another '69 Sprite that was about 30 minutes from where I live. It's definitely intriguing:

The Good
The car appears straight and the floor pans and trunk pan are solid
It was a one-owner car before the seller purchased it. Owned by a Woman Marine
The car is 99% complete and basically original, right down to the AM radio
Being a '69, I can swaps parts back and forth between the cars if necessary
Also, in being a '69, it would serve well as a "cadaver car" to try out repairs that I've never attempted before. If I screw up on a project car, it's not going to ruin my weekend
It's a factory BRG car. Yes, it's cliche, but you have to admit there is something about a BRG LBC

The Not so Good
The motor hasn't run in 20 years. Spins freely, yes, but the seller can't get spark. I'm thinking it's a distributor issue
Almost all the body panels are going to need some degree of rust repair
The car has 131,000 miles...not too terrible for an "A" series, but it's getting up there.
The asking price is too high, in my opinion, considering the motor isn't running: $3000 is his start. I think he'll come down, just not sure how far to make this worth it to me.

The seller has had the car for well over a year, as I have seen earlier ads, and some of my friends have tipped me off when the seller trailers the car to bring to cruise-ins to find a buyer. I don't see the car moving imminently, so I think I have some time to sort through things. I'm currently involved in some litigation regarding my daughter's special education placement, so I can't even think about bringing the car home until that settles, which we're hoping will be by the end of August.

I took a few pics below. I really couldn't dig too deeply or get too many pics as I had my daughter with me and had to keep one eye on her. I thought she would have been impressed by seeing a "Baby Green", but she just wanted to get back into Baby Blue to finish her cruise. I think my next step is to go back in my "garage clothes" and really crawl through this car top to bottom. I'm hoping the seller will let me spin the motor to check compression.

Pics in the next post

 

[SaxMan]

Photos:

Under the hood:
DSC_0009 by David Cohen, on Flickr

Driver's floor pan. Yes, that is aftermarket green shag carpet. Ugh.
DSC_0010 by David Cohen, on Flickr

Trunk and trunk pan:
DSC_0011 by David Cohen, on Flickr

Interior. Door cards appear to be the item in the best shape on this car:
DSC_0012 by David Cohen, on Flickr

Dent and rust, right rear fender:
DSC_0014 by David Cohen, on Flickr

Rocker and the junction of the fender, hood support (?) and door panel. I'm thinking the door was repaired and repainted at some point.
DSC_0016 by David Cohen, on Flickr

Left rear quarter. You can see the paint mismatch between the door panel and fender:
DSC_0017 by David Cohen, on Flickr

 

[Boink]

A fair bit of work there... especially the body.

 

[oud272]

SaxMan,
I'm with you on the price being too high, lots of rust and filler on the front of the rocker panel and the rear quarter looks shot.
Just for reference, I just paid $500 for a '72 in the same condition body wise that runs and drives. Not sure if he will come down to that but you can always try.

Dave

I went over and took a cursory look at another '69 Sprite that was about 30 minutes from where I live. It's definitely intriguing:

The Good
The car appears straight and the floor pans and trunk pan are solid
It was a one-owner car before the seller purchased it. Owned by a Woman Marine
The car is 99% complete and basically original, right down to the AM radio
Being a '69, I can swaps parts back and forth between the cars if necessary
Also, in being a '69, it would serve well as a "cadaver car" to try out repairs that I've never attempted before. If I screw up on a project car, it's not going to ruin my weekend
It's a factory BRG car. Yes, it's cliche, but you have to admit there is something about a BRG LBC

The Not so Good
The motor hasn't run in 20 years. Spins freely, yes, but the seller can't get spark. I'm thinking it's a distributor issue
Almost all the body panels are going to need some degree of rust repair
The car has 131,000 miles...not too terrible for an "A" series, but it's getting up there.
The asking price is too high, in my opinion, considering the motor isn't running: $3000 is his start. I think he'll come down, just not sure how far to make this worth it to me.

The seller has had the car for well over a year, as I have seen earlier ads, and some of my friends have tipped me off when the seller trailers the car to bring to cruise-ins to find a buyer. I don't see the car moving imminently, so I think I have some time to sort through things. I'm currently involved in some litigation regarding my daughter's special education placement, so I can't even think about bringing the car home until that settles, which we're hoping will be by the end of August.

I took a few pics below. I really couldn't dig too deeply or get too many pics as I had my daughter with me and had to keep one eye on her. I thought she would have been impressed by seeing a "Baby Green", but she just wanted to get back into Baby Blue to finish her cruise. I think my next step is to go back in my "garage clothes" and really crawl through this car top to bottom. I'm hoping the seller will let me spin the motor to check compression.

Pics in the next post

 

[Jim_Gruber]

Bugsy I, my '68 Sprite similar body and an engine that would run if fed gas through carbs I paid $850. This is at most a $1k car. 131k engine will need rebuild, clutch, complete front end, brakes all around. Definitely do a compression test. This guy thought he had a easy car to flip, bought to high and still trying to make a profit. Caveat Emptor!

 

[longbridgehealey]

David, talk to the folks at Clustered Spires British Car Club, they've always got a good idea of what's available locally, and true value.

Larry

 

[JPSmit]

And, if I just point out that, if it is worn out on Baby Blue, it will be worn out on Baby Green. By all means if the price ends up right on it buy it as a project or yard art, but, I wouldn't assume it would make a good part source except in a pinch.

 

[Rut]

The most expensive LBC you will ever own is a free one! Down here thats a $200-$500 car...a non running rust bucket. If you've got a burning desire for another LBC there are much better choices out there for $3k.
Rut

 

[nomad]

The most expensive LBC you will ever own is a free one! Down here thats a $200-$500 car...a non running rust bucket. If you've got a burning desire for another LBC there are much better choices out there for $3k.
Rut

X2!

Kurt.

 

[HealeyRick]

Every dollar you invest in finding a rust free shell will be repaid a thousand fold over the course of a restoration. Even paying a $1,000 to have a solid car shipped to you is worth it in the long run unless you have welding, bodywork and paint skills

 

[SaxMan]

Thank you for the cold shower...I really needed it. Seriously.

The reality is that as much as I would like to tinker with a long term project like this one, I really don't have the workspace to handle this. I also don't have the income stream to realistically take this on while continuing to maintain and improve Baby Blue. Now, if the LBC gods chose to present me with an offering, though, who am I to refuse? :joyous:

 

[JPSmit]

The most expensive LBC you will ever own is a free one! Down here thats a $200-$500 car...a non running rust bucket. If you've got a burning desire for another LBC there are much better choices out there for $3k.
Rut

Guilty your honour. My club chided me for years "he got it for free and boy did he get ripped off." and "he got it for free and got exactly what he paid for."

The only two pluses were 1. I wanted to tinker and wrench anyways and, 2. once you got past the (slight) accident damage the body was in stunning shape!

 

[Bob Claffie]

Most everybody has the right idea. Thousand dollar car at best even up here in the great northeast where we EXPECT LOTS OF RUST.

 

[mightymidget]

being from the south I would run from that car, a lot of rust. I can see quarter panels,rocker panels, inner sills, A post, motor rebuild, new starter , clutch, flywheel resurfaced, rebuild slaves, new brake lines, radiator restoration, fuel cell reworked, gauges etc... it go on and on.

pay the 5K and get a decent car, that will hold value.
unless you love work,

 

[nomad]

To me that would be a parts car only. I bought one just like it for $500 and figured I got hosed. Supposed to have an overhauled engine and it turned out to have about a 0.030 ring groove. Transmission had been run out of oil and was toast so the only really good part I got was a 3.9 diff.

Kurt.

 

[SaxMan]

I honestly don't mind a project that may take years to get on the road, especially if I can hone untested skills on it before trying the same on Baby Blue (mostly bodywork related, where I am very inexperienced). I imagine, though, a project car needs to have a project price, if any price at all.

 

[aeronca65t]

For $200 less, you could have ~THIS One~ (and I would probably make an offer of $1500 on this depending on true extent of rust).

 

[HealeyRick]

Try looking into the auto body programs offered by a local vocational tech school. If your car is driveable you can usually work on it under the supervision of an instructor

 

[nomad]

Looking at that one it is apparent that it has had the rust skimmed over with bondo at least once. That tub, to me, isn't worth salvaging. I don't own a rusty car because I've had experience in the past! Personally I would be looking for a car in a area of the country where they are not so prone to rust...no guarantee's but with a knowledge of the rust spots you can get a pretty good idea. Look at the bottom of the A pillar, front of bonnet, mud trap behind the rear wheel's [crawl under!]. Also front of the rocker's. There are other's but if those spots are good you will have a pretty solid car. If it looks like a bubble try poking a pin through it to find out if its on the surface or deeper. A magnet in a handkerchief slid over the surface can detect thick bondo under paint.

Kurt.

 

[SaxMan]

I reached out to the seller again just to let him know that the litigation had ended (unfortunately not in our favor), however, I would not be able to take on a project like this. He responded that he sold the car last week. I'm not sure what the final price was on it. I hope whoever bought it surfaces here on BCF. It would be interesting to see the next part of the story.