https://www.mecum.com/lots/FL0121-44...FW91lzXai5z7Y4

I just looked at the pictures and didn't read anything but right away a couple things jump out at me which is hard to not see:

Is it me or is the front bumper bent?
How about the exhaust, do you think it could be better installed rather than hanging like its gonna fall out, scrape a speed bump or trumpets sticking out like that?

W-30 stripes at front of fender and rear quarter too?
I am not trying to diminish the car but as an admirer of the machine and someone who can appreciate the efforts that go into trying to restore things to their original condition, it seems like someone just gave up at some point?
Im sure there are other things that you guys see that I dont right away but for a real one of these cars you would think a little more attention to detail would be appropriate?

Just nit picking I guess but what the hell?

 

the left tail pipe is hideous,it does amaze me after all the hours that were put into that car that you could overlook glaring defects .

 

Looking more, how about the front end alignment? Does something look off?

 

At least it has original red inner fenders and not shiny, amorphous repros.

 

Yes the side shot especially is a travesty

 

I see they look to be real but I can't see the edge around the A arm because the A arm seals were put on wrong and cover the edge.

 

The way the stripes are painted makes the car look like it's sagging in the middle!! No open face alternator & it's not "clocked" correctly, no hold-off valve for the brakes, and like Joe said it has the original red inner fender wells & does have correct "flat" '70 fenders. That exhaust system definitely needs some work!! Somethings going on with the drivers headrest, maybe white underneath???

 

Lack of attention to details is a warning that other things have been covered up or not attended to.

Yes, the passenger-side front tire has atrocious negative camber.
The side stripe ends are squared-off instead of rounded.
The front of the car sits too high relative to the rear.
The front bumper is pushed in at the center, which raises it too high relative to the hood tooth. The tooth is pushed back to clear the bumper.
The battery is incorrect, the gauge of the wiring is too small, the clamps are incorrect, the routing of the negative cable is wrong.
The oil filler cap is incorrect for a 1970--makes you wonder if the engine is the correct year.
The engine lift strap and coolant outlet on the intake manifold should not be painted.

If this were a $10k car, all of this would be nits. But for a $100k car, these are significant problems.

 

Ad also says power brakes were added? How do you do that because I dont see a vac pump or brake booster and if the cam is correct it shouldn't produce enough vac right?

 

A few underhood crappy things I spied was an incorrect windshield washer cap, wrong radiator cap, and a parts store rebuild alternator it appears, and a yellow wire crimp on the end of the negative battery cable ground wire that doesn't appear to go anywhere. Front bumper appears bent down on both ends, more on the driver side. Rear bumper tilted slightly downward toward the passenger side, and trunklid appears to not line up very well as well as the 442 trunk numbering is spaced evenly, which is incorrect. All the flaws I've seen except the paint stripes and emblem alignment can be fixed fairly easily, but then, you shouldn't have to be fixing a car at that hopeful price point between 100-125K.

Driver headrest looks like either some goo is on it or it's been re-dyed and some color is coming off. Body stripes are definitely tilted further up on the ends than I'm used to seeing. And the W-30 emblem alignment is off on both fenders. Kinda look stupid, actually. And that exhaust pipe. That is such a visual turn-off. Those seem like rookie mistakes right there. If nothing else, get a custom pipe bent up properly at the local exhaust shop. Doesn't appear all the research had been properly conveyed to the person painting the stripes or assembling the exhaust.

That's just a cursory once over look. I'm sure it could be picked apart further. If you want a turn-key 442 W-30 convertible for the money they're hoping to get, that one ain't it. There's more work to do.

I guess I'm too old to not be enthralled by a car's rarity any longer. To me, any decent 50 year-old car is rare nowadays. Still looks like it could be a fun car.

For that kind of money, I'd get on the 2022 Z06 Corvette waiting list. It's only 600 HP with an expected starting price at $85K.

 

Sorry, but I can't get excited by the "transformers" styling. I don't think I'm the target demographic. I guess the only advantage is that from the driver's seat you can't see how ugly it is.

 

I too noticed most of what has been pointed out, but I like the car, any four-speed W-30 convertible 4-4-2 is worthy of praise - I don’t love the restoration work, the lack of attention to detail is telling, and alarming. And certainly don’t love the pricing /inflated sales estimate.

It’s the perfect 20 footer auction car, the auctioneer will whip the crowd into a frenzy, the top will be down, and all the right questions will not be asked. Someone with more dollars than sense will smile ear to ear after they overpay, then text their buddies “check out my new four forty-two”

 

No need to be sorry. Ugly is a personal perspective. But since you brought it up, I'm probably the only person on earth that thinks the 1970 442 grilles are some of the ugliest ever molded and do nothing pleasing for the front end. Not that it would be a deal breaker, but still...

I probably wouldn't buy a C8 either because it's not a great looking car to me, but the main point was, if you're going to spend that kind of money, you're likely better off finding something else than this bag of tricks unless you were chasing your dream car and emotionally spending the money. Because spending 100K plus for a 70 442 W-30 you're most likely going to turn it into a 1:1 model car and just look at it or to obtain bragging rights of "I own a 70 W-30 convertible 4-speed". Not many would be interested in investing another 4 or 5K or more to fix the car's problems, and then still sit and look at it. I appreciate the attempt they made on this car, but the end result isn't worth the money they seek. Just my opinions. Spend your money on what you want.

It takes all kinds to drop that sort of coin on something that needs more help, but I'm not that kind. You can be a bit more forgiving on the flaws if they weren't looking to make a killing off of it. They expect more, so I would expect more.

 

Car probably was nicer before the “restoration “.

 

No argument. I'd rather spend $20-30K on a really nice car that I can drive, not a paint dab and chalk mark showpiece that gets devalued if you have stones in the tire treads. Power Tour in the rain was way more fun than any static car show.

 

I looked again at the pictures and noticed multiple items that are not from 1970 model year...

Seat belt buckles
Air cleaner (lacks hole for NA9 elbow in the inlet snorkel)
Emission sticker on radiator top plate
Radiator
Coolant overflow tank
Coolant outlet on intake manifold

That's a lot of things wrong with a 15,000 mile car. Did they even start with a 1970?

Other errors
Vinyl radiator overflow tube (shows water as coolant--ugh)
Hood hinges bare, rusting, not phosphated
Aftermarket master cylinder
Hood fits too well (therefore not an original, probably a Thornton)
Stripes between wheelwells are about an inch too high
Stripes ahead of and behind the wheelwells are angled incorrectly (the angle should match the top of the side marker lights)
Excess clearance between bottom of stripes and top of wheelwells
Stripe ahead of wheelwell lacks taper
"Keep Your GM Car..." air cleaner label from a Pontiac (code PP)
Wiper motor not original or just painted incorrectly

 

I cant speak to alot of the more specific issues, but the exhaust and alignment issues are easy enough to address, and would help the presentation immensely!

 

This makes it sound as if the power top was an option on this vehicle, and "standard" equipment would be a manually operated top. This is obviously incorrect as all convertibles had power tops.

Options inside the car include a power motor for the black convertible top,

 

I think the bent bumper makes it appear as though the tooth is bent further back than usual. The tooth is going to be angled inward from the factory.

 

My turn:
Car was assembled in haste.
The exhaust may not have been tightened on final alignment and rattled out of alignment during transport before the pictures were taken. No way those clamps are tightened to the final position. Ray Charles could have done better with a virtual robotic arm.

"rotisserie-restored" then dropped from 30 thousand feet.
Front end alignment is a **** ton off both toe and caster/camber. Way too much toe-in and negative camber. Crunched frame not squared perhaps?
I have witnessed many body off frame restos where the frame was not first put on a table to check for square. Amatur move.

Where is the documentation?

Panel gaps not fine-tuned at all.

I'd expect to see these amateur moves on a 10-12.5K car not 100-125K.

Embarrassing to say the least.
Adding this to my pic library of what not to do with exhaust...GAH!

 

How do they explain the canvas conv. top ?????? Supposed to be vinyl.

 

I wasn't going to click the link, then I did. Now I'm crying. This poor car.

 

Sadly it’s not unlike my neighbors beautiful mid twenty-ish daughter, hanging with the wrong crowd, drugs, alcohol etc. Saw her this week home for the holidays - she looked twice her age, and really really rough. I felt very sad for her - knowing the elegant young woman that she once was, but I also know she can become that again, with proper love and care...