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TR4/4A What does one do with a $94,000 TR4?

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This has been bugging me ever since the memorable sale of that $94,000+ TR4 early in the year at Barrett-Jackson. What does one do with such a car? Leave it on blocks in a climate controlled storage facility? Drive it? These babies with self-destruct even in a perfect environment in a vacuum.
I realize that there are plenty of fortunate fools out there with dot-com monies, inherited fortunes and just brilliant or hardworking zillionaires, but what does one do with such an acquisition?

I suppose I ask this question because I removed my battery this morning and discovered a bit of efflorescence around the base of my battery bracket. Another week and rust would be flowering. Constant maintenance.

This second pot of coffee has me dizzy.



Bill
 
You look at it, love it, and take your time paying for it.
 
reminds me of top gear episode,guy had expensive v12 sports number, he had no hesitation in taking to track, in snow,(drove it to track aswell!)and giving it large. managed to cause ÂŁ5000 damage to rear spoiler.car had stone chips galore,his philosophy was that why own a car like that and not enjoy it as it was made for.check out racetorations list of for sale cars, tr6 up for ÂŁ40 or ÂŁ50,000.(well was last time i looked.)the time we spend,and cash we spend,on our cars, figure most of our cars would be paper valued at around starting figure. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/lol.gif
 
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reminds me of top gear episode,guy had expensive v12 sports number, he had no hesitation in taking to track, in snow,(drove it to track aswell!)and giving it large. managed to cause ÂŁ5000 damage to rear spoiler.car had stone chips galore,his philosophy was that why own a car like that and not enjoy it as it was made for.

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/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/iagree.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/iagree.gif
If I can't drive it is only a paper weight.
 
You <u>don't</u> want to count my rock chips. Saving them up to fix all at once.


Bill
 
Maybe he goes to shows to find out how unoriginal the car really is. Or he takes it to car cruises and wins "best paint" awards.
Maybe his ex-wife now owns it.
 
Probably the same thing that one would do who just bought a Playstation 3 for $1599 after seeing them go on sale later in the week for the normal price. But at least they can say they were the first on the block with a new toy. Not the case with a 40 year old car.
 
Doesn't Jay Leno have a philosphy of something like 'Restore it to 100 points... drive it until it's down to 90 points, then restore it to 100 again'.

Now that sounds like a way for someone with means to enjoy a car.
 
Charles Runyan, owner of The Roadster Factory, has pretty much the same philosophy...and practices what he preaches!

For that matter, so do I. Granted I never have and likely never WILL take a car up to Concours-winning standards. 1. I can't afford it; and 2. I'd much rather be driving it as much as I possibly can. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif
 
I love watching Barrett-Jackson, but I ask this same question with virtually every car that they sell. Cars are meant to be driven. Some are truly works of art, but they are moving art. I wouldn't buy a car that I could not drive, and that is why I will never want or buy a concours car.
 
Went to a small local car show recently and chatted with a nice older couple that owned a concours-quality '60s custom pickup hot rod (if there is such thing); they even wore neat custom airbrushed his/hers T-shirts with a rendition of their rod emblazoned on the front. They sat in their lawn chairs and chatted with the curious about their baby. Weeellll, till they chatted with me. I finally figured out after throwing a few tech questions at them that they had no idea what they had. They simply wrote the check. Didn't have a clue. Kinda felt sorry for them but I guess it was their thing. They should've left the T-shirts at home and just hidden in the crowd. I guess I rained on their parade.

That's ok, I got my just due...I entered my TR6 in the same local show, could answer any question thrown at me, actually felt like a circus barker trying to entice people to come see my baby. They all thought it was an MG!

Hicks.



Bill
 
I was once lucky enough to own two TR3s. I bought a wreck to rebuild and after a year bought a scruffy driver so that I could at least use one of them. After nine years of rebuilding the first car to concourse condition at vast expense I sold it and kept the scruffy one. I figured that the concourse car had only one way to go - downhill. And I wouldn't be happy seeing it deteriorate. I have great fun driving the scruffy TR and don't worry about it getting scratched or chipped.
 
Personally I think the prices fetched on B-J are absurd, even for the really cool stuff.

If I had the start up capital ($80K or so sitting around) I would do NOTHING but churn out 'Cuda clones with crate 426 Hemis! Sending them to B-J would easy give me 110-120K all day long.
 
I think Barrett Jackson is a bit of a spectacle. I wonder how many of those absurd transactions actually take place? I remember when the GM Futureliner "sold" last year for something like 3 or 4 million. ...The original buyer backed out, and it sold for much less.

I live about 10 miles from Auburn, home of the Kruse International Auctions. I've been to the auctions numerous times, and I've noticed a trend in the last 5 years. A majority of buyers aren't regular people anymore, but they are strictly dealers and speculators hoping to raise the prices to what they want. Why are mid 60's Chevelles fetching 50-60K?????? Please....it's because a whole bunch of gold-chain wearing, cigar smoking, leisure suit wearing dealers say they're worth it.
 
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