good or bad BE find?

[smaceng]

Hi,
My name is Scott and I have a problem! I have the disease, you know the one, "I have to have a british sports car and I have to have it now!" I've had it before, as I've owned two MGAs, one BJ8 and a BE. I left the island for a while, owning an Alfa, a Porsche SC and still own a suburst Miata.
You get the picture....
So the owner of a 60 BE "reportedly" has a rust free chassis which has been sprayed Old English White. He has a "ton" of new parts from VB. All the parts are supposed to be there. All I have to do is "the reverse of the disassembly!" He wants $5000. Should I run or go look at it?

 

[Sarastro]

Can't hurt to look at it, heh, heh, heh.

$5K might or might not be good, depending on exactly what new parts come with it and exactly how good the old ones are. If all the parts are there, in restorable condition, that's important. Buying new basic stuff can get expensive fast.

Also, of course, it depends on how ready you are to undertake a project.

 

[Whitephrog]

I agree with Steve. It just depends. If the body is in great shape and the current owner has photo documentation of the restoration it may be worth the $$ just for the tub and bonnet. You'll spent more than that to buy and restore a typical tub. Get him to list all the "parts" and whether they are new, old restored or old unrestored. Engine and transmission type and condition can make a big difference in value as well.

 

[Glen_B]

If all the parts are there and of decent quality, it looks like a deal. You can knock out a bugeye reassembly in a few weeks of evenings and away you go. If, however, you aren't the one who took it apart, your assembly time may vary. They're very simple cars and easy to assemble once you've done one.
I looked at that ad and if I didn't have a Morris truck "kit" occupying me at the moment.......


Glen

 

[JPSmit]

Just bodywork and paint on mine was more than 4k

 

[jlaird]

The tub untouched no rust is worth 2K the body work and paint is worth 3 to 5K. Parts if all there are worth another 5K at least.

Engine if rebuilt is worth 2K.......and on and on.

 

[Glen_B]

To finish Jack's math above:
unrusted tub.............2,000
body work and paint......4,000
Parts....................5,000
Engine...................2,000
______________________________

total value after aassembly..........~8,000

Math sucks, eh?

Glen

 

[jvandyke]

To finish Jack's math above:
unrusted tub.............2,000
body work and paint......4,000
Parts....................5,000
Engine...................2,000
______________________________

total value after aassembly..........~8,000

Math sucks, eh?

Glen

total value after driving through the rolling hills on a crisp fall day: priceless

 

[JPSmit]

you beat me to it

 

[jlaird]

A well done Bugeye 90% orginal is worth about 16K.

 

[spritenut]

Having done at least one a year for the past decade, the one we finished last week, the Holy Sprite, total costs were $5600. (car included)
The only work sent out was media blasting and custom tonneau cover.
But I did the body and paint, I also made the interior.
5k for a painted shell is fair. It is a deal if he does indeed have all the new parts. All the parts and body work supplies and paint materials are what cost over 5k. And we used a good running engine and trans, the only work done to those were cleaning the outside and painting them with a spray bomb.

 

[smaceng]

Ok,
You have convinced me, I will go look at it!
Thanks for all your good advice.
Scott in CA