Must be rust free in floors and truck. Prefer builder to restore or original car.

Thanks

Mike Blankenship
MTBjudge@gmail.com

 

here is a super 88 in Northern California..... Not mine ....Tedd...http://sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/4426087382.html

 

here is a super 88 in Northern California..... Not mine ....Tedd...http://sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/4426087382.html and another thats pretty much finished.....https://sacramento.craigslist.org/ctd/4426163007.html

 

Thanks Tedd,

I am really looking for a Ninety Eight. I appreciate your response.

Mike

 

I wish you much luck. I wonder how many restoration candidates are still sitting around waiting for someone to buy them and take on the task.

These cars are so sought-after and valuable that even examples not much better than parts cars fetch five figure prices. It seems that all I ever see anymore are the two extremes: either a fully restored one worth $100K or one that's so far gone, it's barely a parts car. There's few in between.

In running condition but needing complete restoration, one of these cars, if it could be found at all, could easily be worth more than $20,000.

 

Yep I would agree with you. I am always up for a challenge. I was told I would never find a 4 speed Judge convertible 1 of 162 made to restore a few years. I found more than 1. I figured I would start my fishing expedition here. I definitely hear what you mean. Time has been very bad on the 56 98 convt survival rates.

Thanks
Mike

 

I would actually think the opposite. Convertibles in general are usually more preserved than other body styles over the years, so I would think the number of '56 98 convertibles still in existence as a percentage of the number originally made would be pretty high, relatively speaking. But because they're such sought after vehicles, I would have to guess most of the restorable candidates have been found and restored, and what's left are the ones in too poor a shape to restore. Of course, there's always the potential proverbial barn find waiting to be discovered, but barn storage usually isn't very kind to cars, and, as I said earlier, most anything found, regardless of condition, would likely be quite expensive just to acquire, let alone restore.

 

I looked it up, and production of 1956 98 convertibles totaled 8,581. Figure on a very average survival rate for a very average car of perhaps 1% of original production after 25 years (it tends to level off after that), and you're talking maybe 80 to 100 of these still in existence. Double or maybe triple that because these are convertibles, and maybe there's 300 of them still around. Of that number, I would guess 290 of them have been restored or parted out to restore other ones. (Just a guess!)

That leaves ten of them still to be found. Good luck!

 

It's been my experience that convertibles actually degrade at a faster rate than hardtops. Seems that the first owners keep their car up for the first 10 years or so then it is sold off or handed down to a kid or relative (who doesn't have a garage) and who also won't put the money in to a new top that by now is leaking and getting threadbare or needs a rear window. A few years later the floors and upholstery are toast and from then on it's just a parts car...I've seen a bunch of them to rusted to save.... Tedd