Barnfind in Burbs?

[198686d]

Big Red Born is in middle of parking lot of red neck bar in expensive burbs of St. Louis. '74 MGB (purple or plum or something like that is under under cover behind cement mixer.
I know nothing from MGB's...have 61 BugEye, 04 Vespa, o4 Mini
coop S...and tr-4, midget peugeots and saabs in past. Rough life for transportation. Chrome bumpers and and door chrome all looked chromed=still.

MG seller knows nothing. Paint is good texture wise, very bad in color. All chrome looked good under flashlight in garage crawling over cement mixer in HSM black suit. Engine rebuilt a "few years ago", paint a "few years old (buta plum type color is pretty bad in any decade). Interior seems to be trashed with Auto Zone upholstery and cracked vinal

Going back with more informed friend next week. The owner doesn't like people in barn. Trust me, it's not his fear that you'll notice some problem, it's his fear that he'll remember one of his old problems.

I'll only have about 10 minutes,,,,,,,SO, WHAT SHOULD I LOOK FOR. WHAT $ IS A GOOD # FOR MAKING A PROFIT AFTER REASONABLE INVESTMENT? OR SHOULD IT BE KEPT.........LAST OF THE SHINY BUMPERS AFTER ALL................YOU INSIGHTS WILL HELP.

dave in st. louis
61AHBE Sprite
Vespa ET4
pasta: PEUGEOT

REAL SAABS

mG MIDGET
NUMBEROUS DIRT/TRIALS BIKES INCLUDING BULTACO 350t

 

[tony barnhill]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]WHAT $ IS A GOOD # FOR MAKING A PROFIT AFTER REASONABLE INVESTMENT?[/QUOTE]
ZERO!

 

[Bruce74B]

I agree...you won't make a profit on this one, but it might make a nice car for a real enthusist who wants a great car to restore and drive. Someone who has more than 10 minutes to look at it and decide if he is willing to raise it from an unhealthy environment and take the time to make it right again.

 

[glemon]

If the car is a medium dark purple it is certainly a matter of taste but this is considered desirable by some, I think it was called Aconite.

I am trying to sell an MGB right now, 1980 LE if anyone is interested, nice shape, I think the economy has people a little spooked about spending money on pld cars, had a avery intersted guy who disappeared (as a potential buyer) the week the stock market tanked.

Anyway, yes the making money part is hard, most important is rust free, most all mechanical parts readily available new or used.

I know a guy that buys MGBs, paints them and resells them for a profit, I don't know how much the profit figures out to as an hourly wage, I don't know how he does it, as just materials to paint a car these days run into the several hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

If you have to pay someone else to do any significant part of the work forget about the profit at all and think, draining the bank account.

 

[WA1KWA]

Agree with Tony. Unless you get it for nothing or next to it, you'll be upside down.

Bruce's point is well taken, good for an enthiastic person if the price is right. B's are the opinion of the British Car hobby, everybody has one.

You'll never put junior through Harvard speculating on MGBs. In any economy.

Could that color also be Tulip, if I remember correctly?

Mine was originally Tundra.

Shudder.

Colin

 

[Baz]

If you want to make $100 or so, PM me if you get a hold of it....
I'm looking for a junker B or Spridget.

 

[RickB]

You might be able to flip it if you get it for a low enough price.
If it's rust free, if it can easily be made to run (see Tony's "Waking a sleeping B"). In that case you would get it running, leave it alone (IMHO don't spend money on things like paint because your buyer wont have your taste) and sell it for a reasonable markup after you have detailed it.

Look for comparable cars in your area. Craigslist is pretty good for finding some that are for sale. This only tells you what people are asking, so a bit more legwork is required to find what they are selling for.

Be sure to give as much history as you can dig up about the car to the buyer.
Now is the time to push the current owner for that history. Any paperwork on things that have been done to the car. In the antique world this is known as provenance. It really does help with an older car, especially one that is (or is soon to be) a classic.

That's what really sold me on my current MGB. I have the paperwork that was given to the original owner. I have the metal tag that was punched. I have paperwork on work that was done over the years. Unfortunately a lot of it has faded to oblivion. Carbon Copies don't last forever people - if you are saving them you should look into some kind of preservation.

Or - get it and drive it and fix it up the way you like it. You never know - you might just fall in love with the beastie. :wink:

 

[tony barnhill]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]WHAT $ IS A GOOD # FOR MAKING A PROFIT AFTER REASONABLE INVESTMENT?

ZERO! [/QUOTE]
Lemme get back from my doctor's appointment & I'll expound on my reasoning - all based on your initial post.

 

[rick_ingram]

Agree with Tony. Unless you get it for nothing or next to it, you'll be upside down.

Bruce's point is well taken, good for an enthiastic person if the price is right. B's are the opinion of the British Car hobby, everybody has one.

You'll never put junior through Harvard speculating on MGBs. In any economy.

Could that color also be Tulip, if I remember correctly?

Mine was originally Tundra.

Shudder.

Colin

Aconite, Black Tulip, and yes, even Tundra, are great colours for an MGB...especially when maintained properly.

It's when they "go bad" that they become fugly.

 

[Mickey Richaud]

I believe the '74 color was Aconite.

Ours is a '73 - Black Tulip. (License plate is BLK2LIP!)

 

[WA1KWA]

Clever plate, Mickey.

Rick, we agree on Black Tulip & Aconite, I like those.

Can't agree on my Tundra & yes, I remember them new. Got to draw the line somewhere. Sorry. No disrespect to anyone who likes it.

Colin

 

[R6MGS]

Well. I tend to think you can ALWAYS make money on any cars, it's all about how cheap you can get it....if the cars a junker and you get it for next to nothing, then you can sell it for barely above nothing(usually without putting anything into it) and make a profit...if it's a decent car and you can get it for below what cars in similar condition are going for then you've just made money right there.

 

[tony barnhill]

Big Red Born is in middle of parking lot of red neck bar in expensive burbs of St. Louis. '74 MGB (purple or plum or something like that is under under cover behind cement mixer.
I know nothing from MGB's...have 61 BugEye, 04 Vespa, o4 Mini
coop S...and tr-4, midget peugeots and saabs in past. Rough life for transportation. Chrome bumpers and and door chrome all looked chromed=still.

MG seller knows nothing. Paint is good texture wise, very bad in color. All chrome looked good under flashlight in garage crawling over cement mixer in HSM black suit. Engine rebuilt a "few years ago", paint a "few years old (buta plum type color is pretty bad in any decade). Interior seems to be trashed with Auto Zone upholstery and cracked vinal

Going back with more informed friend next week. The owner doesn't like people in barn. Trust me, it's not his fear that you'll notice some problem, it's his fear that he'll remember one of his old problems.

I'll only have about 10 minutes,,,,,,,SO, WHAT SHOULD I LOOK FOR. WHAT $ IS A GOOD # FOR MAKING A PROFIT AFTER REASONABLE INVESTMENT? OR SHOULD IT BE KEPT.........LAST OF THE SHINY BUMPERS AFTER ALL................YOU INSIGHTS WILL HELP.

Let's look at what you described:

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]'74 MGB (purple or plum or something like that...Paint is good texture wise, very bad in color ...paint a "few years old (buta plum type color is pretty bad in any decade)[/QUOTE]
I wouldn't put it past being a Dodge Grabber grape color! Its been repainted so we don't know what color it should be or what's hiding underneath; so: consider the body a total restoration costing in the thousands (heck, its been sitting behind a concrete mixer, that says enough!)

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]Engine rebuilt a "few years ago", [/QUOTE]
...& might be made to run again but to sell it as a daily driver, expect to rebuild it again.

Definitely, you'll have to go through all the hydraulic systems, through the brakes, through the fuel system, through the cooling system

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]Interior seems to be trashed with Auto Zone upholstery and cracked vinal[/QUOTE]
Figure $3,000 for completely new interior & top/tonneau/boot to include a new daswh cover 'cause its probably trashed also! At minimum if you do most of the work yourself.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]it's his fear that he'll remember one of his old problems.
[/QUOTE]
In other words, he'll remember why he abandoned it & all the problems it was giving him!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]I'll only have about 10 minutes[/QUOTE]
That's not even enough time to study the exterior, much less the undersides or the mechanics.

Offer him $200 & walk away if he says "no"...read this before you go back: https://www.theautoist.com/buying_an_mg1.htm

 

[Stewart]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]WHAT $ IS A GOOD # FOR MAKING A PROFIT AFTER REASONABLE INVESTMENT?

ZERO! [/QUOTE]

I think the only way to make a profit on one of these cars is if they pay you the value of the car to drag it away.

 

[blueA]

I won a MGB in a radio competition, by the time we fixed it to a daily driver condition the money we spent was more than it's street value.

 

[R6MGS]

bah, who says you've gotta fix anything to driver quality....it's perfectly fine to sell it as a project car(especially if your in a situation where repairing it would eat away any potential profits)....I've sold tons of projects/non-runners, given that you can get it cheap enough.

 

[tony barnhill]

, WHAT SHOULD I LOOK FOR. WHAT $ IS A GOOD # FOR MAKING A PROFIT AFTER REASONABLE INVESTMENT? OR SHOULD IT BE KEPT.........LAST OF THE SHINY BUMPERS AFTER ALL................YOU INSIGHTS WILL HELP.

That's the sentence I pegged on to say "ZERO"....the phrase "After reasonable investment" is what caught my eye...I don't know of any MGB that a person can buy & attempt to restore that would make money, if that's the only reason a person bought the car - & its one reason I don't restore cars but only buy & sell as is or do minimal work to make roadworthy....or part them out!

Well. I tend to think you can ALWAYS make money on any cars, it's all about how cheap you can get it....if the cars a junker and you get it for next to nothing, then you can sell it for barely above nothing(usually without putting anything into it) and make a profit...if it's a decent car and you can get it for below what cars in similar condition are going for then you've just made money right there.

& I agree there - I've never lost money on an MGB (well, the restored Texas ebay car I bought is still questionable)....but, right away, before purchasing, I have to ask myself whether the car can be brought back to a respectful example & daily driver by someone at an expense they're willing to pay & still not be upside down on it; or is the car worth more by breaking it & selling the parts....I do that also; however, invariably, you always have some parts that won't sell and some parts that are just junk & have to be hauled off....if you can store them or have some convenient way of disposing of the leftovers, parting a car out is a way to make money, albeit not an easy way!

bah, who says you've gotta fix anything to driver quality....it's perfectly fine to sell it as a project car(especially if your in a situation where repairing it would eat away any potential profits)....I've sold tons of projects/non-runners, given that you can get it cheap enough.

Absolutely! The only way I go...I'd rather make a few dollars selling a good, solid project than go through all the hassle to restore it only to find everybody wants a cheap project!

OR SHOULD IT BE KEPT

There's the crux....do you want it? If you would like to add it to your collection & aren't afraid of tackling a complete restoration - emotionally or financially, that's your call! But, I wouldn't raise my price just because Iwas going to keep it.

 

[GB1]

It is very very hard to make a profit on these cars.

Sometimes I do (and get lucky), sometimes I don't,

But I have fun, "stay out of trouble" and learn.

It is more about the experience than the money IMHO....

Pat

 

[198686d]

Thank you LBC drivers:

It's off the radar scope. You saved me $ and pain. And, those 2 things I really value now.

dave from St. Louis, MO

 

[R6MGS]

Well said Tony....I agree with everythingi n your last post Unfortunately I don't have the ability to part out anything(I live in a residential neighborhood with close neighbors) but we've gone through over 60 LBC's in the last 30 years or so, most just for resale,and never lost money on a car