I am new to the Buicks and have some questions. The car I have, from what I know has been kept all original. My best friends dad used to own it and was always real proud to tell people that it was all original. He had a shed full of parts for it that he picked up in various places. The car does not have a matching #'s motor any more. When he got the car the block was cracked. So as far as fixing things up. The water pump I put on, belts, hoses, rear coil springs. Does finding original parts make it worth more? The car was appraised at $9,500. The appraiser told me that original did not matter as far as value goes with a car like this. I would like to hear some opinions on this subject please.
Casper Original cars, #'s matching or not, are always worth way more than monkeyed up modified incorrect cars.
Does that mean buying only 67 factory parts vs going down to NAPA and getting a thermostat or water pump? The buickfarm.com has some radiator hoses, would I be better off to purchase those and put those on instead of the ones I have?
You don't have to use NOS parts unless you are showing the car in a concours class. The items you are looking at replacing are regular wear items, go to NAPA or your local parts supplier and get them. You will not reduce the value of your car by doing so.:Smarty: Things that will reduce your cars value: chopping up the interior to "pimp" it out, big rims, funky paint jobs, hydraulic suspension modifications, wild stickers/graphics, swapping in a non buick engine, adding a wing to the deck lid!:eek2: Fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror are OK:TU: Enjoy your ride and keep it looking the way the factory intended it to!
For hoses and such, I would go to a local parts store and buy new. I wouldn't trust a NOS stock hose or belt for driving. Think about it, a NOS hose or belt will be 25 years old at best. Even if it has never been used, rubber degrades with time. Like Matt said, if you are having it judged in a concours class that's one thing. :beer
imo, build it to please your taste and build it to enjoy it. i can say one thing, my buick isnt going to be a radical resto, but it isnt going to be a showroom lookalike, i bought a basket case so i can do what i want to do with it instead of buying a nice one.
ive been told it doesnt matter what you do to the car under the hood. its all about condition of the car itself. right? but adding a few bucks here and there does hurt either!
I watch the market on 67's. If I sell my Skylark I may get $8K for it. It's solid and in very good cond..If I make a clone 67GS400 or leave it looking stock but with different wheel well moldings and a 455 I will get at least 5K more. If I add a 4 gear another thou..That is the plan to finance the GS400. A high quality paint job sells a car!!! And if the interior is mint the car will sell for big bucks. People want clean cars. Not rotted junk. Depending on the org. engine in the car if a BBB is used rather than a SBB it will bring more $$$. When people see a Big Block in a car for sale it sells for more $$$. A plain jane 67 Skylark or Special will sell for more money with a BBB rather than the org. engine. Exception might be a GS340 car. Ray
In my opinion, as long as it used original Buick parts, it can be considered original. __________________ Buick Engines - Original engine in Buick Performance Parts Catalog by TA Performance
Keeping a 67 Rivy GS all original is going to keep the highest value for it. If it were a plain jane Rivy it would probably bring more if modified up to GS level. Same with skylarks being modified to the level of the more scarce GS and GSX and Stage One type cars. If done correctly a skylark could double in value. However its a toss up as to the amount of time and effort involved to do so. You probably are not going to make any money buying , modifying and selling them, as a clone is and always will be just that.
i say do what you want, because my dad is always telling me not to do stuff to my car, but as long as if i do it right and not just rig it to work every now and then, then it will be worth money. But im not building my car to sell it, so does it really matter what i do to it then? i dont think so, but i still love a car that is all original.:TU:
So the board member thats done 5 or 6 and sold them on Ebay isn't making any money ? He must like building high quality replicas so others can enjoy them on his dime . I bet he makes more of a percentage than someone that does a 100K resto on a good rare car , I bet the return percentage is less . If you bought a Stage 1 GSX 10 years ago for 15K then you might be able to come out . I see one thats pretty nice and close to stock for 85K send it to JW or Kliner and spend upwards of 50K or more and try to make the return . I bet it doesn't happen . Case in point that 72 Stage 1 4 spd convert on ebay . over 100K spent and highest bid is in the 75K range . I say build it the way you want as long as its reasonable GM options , paint color , original stryle interior.
John, I'm just saying if you actually bring a skylark to the point where someone of knowledge would have to read the VIN you will be basically spending more money than the car will bring as a clone. By the time you buy correct year block and tranny, GS hood, grille, dash plaque, air cleaner, rallye wheels, gauge pkg. 24 hour clock, spoilers front and back, hood tach, etc. it adds up real quick. And thats before you add in the paint and striping pkg. I know how much it has cost me personally to even get near this point and I see what they bring on assorted market bases. Just an observation really and an opinion which is what was asked for. A lot depends on your availablity to the needed parts.
>>I've been slowly building my 71 GSX 350 clone for about ten years now. Purchased the Skylark for $3,000 originally, GS hood for $250, 15x7 rallye wheels for $200, $2000 for the painting of the GS hood installation of rear spoiler and the GSX striping, $300 for the NOS sport steering wheel, $150 for the GSX dash plaque, $150 for the air cleaner, $300 for the bucket seats, $150 for the shorty console, $450 for the 3.08 posi rear. So yeah, things definitely add up but I do one or two major projects a year and it has not been overwhelming - just a lot of fun. I would never sell my car and although I wish I could afford a real GSX - or even a really nice GS, that does not seem to be a possibility with the quickly rising prices so I am settling for the next best thing and building my own car to suit my taste.
