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So I met this guy last year at my local Saturday morning car who had a 57 olds and it was very nice with the rare j2 engine not just the carbeuration. He told me he spent 100,000 dollars on it and today he tells me he sold it for 31,000 and bashing the car saying they are not great. I own a 57 olds and I love it! Too bad some people don't know what they have, this is a picture i took of his car last year.
I think the cams came from Engle or Isky but I have never seen any camshaft specs. He must have had the adjustable rocker arms and dimpled valve covers also.
Maybe he spent $100k on a $10k restoration. Money spent is irrelevant, compared to the car's value. It does look like a cool ride, but not 100k cool.
Say you're tooling down the highway, and cop pulls you over. "Do you know how fast you were going?!. I had to do 90mph to catch you." Well, what does that have to do with how fast I was going?
Great car, probably worth a bit more than he got. But you NEVER get back all the money you spend on a restoration on an old car. Well, sometimes, if YOU did all the labor, and had some good luck finding parts, and calling in favors.
He's probably a new guy and pissed because he thought he would make money restoring a car. Hahaha!
If it was a 69 ZL1 Camaro or similar unicorn car he may have been able to make money by only spending 100K on a restoration. Nice looking Olds, though. 57 was one of my favorite 50s looks. That grille looks so cool.
Anyway, if he spent 100K above and beyond what he bought it for, and only got 1/3 of his restoration money back, he should feel lucky. It probably could've went for $40 or plus that a bit, but demand is what it is. It's a shame people get disenchanted with car ownership when they view everything through the eyes of trying to make a profit. Restoring cars ain't one of them you can do that with. They are hungry money pits that are usually at least 3 times as expensive as what you budget, minimum.
Most people want a classic for the memories of what they used to have, not to make money. Most of us are just regular working car people enjoying our cars not trying to make money on them
Great car, probably worth a bit more than he got. But you NEVER get back all the money you spend on a restoration on an old car. Well, sometimes, if YOU did all the labor, and had some good luck finding parts, and calling in favors. He's probably a new guy and pissed because he thought he would make money restoring a car. Hahaha!
To be fair, there are still a fair number of"old fools" out there too.
I saw a post recently that referred to a car as being "investment grade". I thought I would sit back and watch, to see what I have been doing wrong.
These cars are meant to be enjoyed and not for making money but too many knuckleheads out there don't know that. It's all about the phone excitement of driving these cars and remembering
When I get behind the wheel of my car I feel like a are I feel like a million dollars there's nothing like there's nothing like it for me. I feel like the king of the road
Great car, probably worth a bit more than he got. But you NEVER get back all the money you spend on a restoration on an old car. Well, sometimes, if YOU did all the labor, and had some good luck finding parts, and calling in favors.
He's probably a new guy and pissed because he thought he would make money restoring a car. Hahaha!
Chopolds hit it right on the money !! I made money on my 64 BelAir and I know I was extremely fortunate when I did, but like he said I did all the labor, bartered, called in some favors, got great deals on parts because of some connections with suppliers and was very lucky. I don't think these days you could or should go into a resto project expecting to make money.
I love my 56 Olds but if I had my choice I would opt for a 57 because that's what my Gramps had and it may be the vehicle responsible for my love of cars, that being said if that 57 is as nice as the pics to me it would be a steal at 31 k, may have had to come with a female 25 year old statuesque chauffeur to have been worth 100k but if he paid that so be it, sure looks like a beauty that color looks great on that car.
P/S if he doesn't think that Olds is a great car I wonder what his definition of a great car is ?
He told me he spent 100,000 dollars on it and today he tells me he sold it for 31,000 and bashing the car saying they are not great.
"they are not great"... I have never heard those words uttered about a Oldsmobile by an enthusiast... ever! Particularly 1964-1975. And my guess is those words make no sense with regards to models from decades prior as well... I'm leaning that the previous owner may not have been an Olds guy. In-turn he threw money at a make that has a following that is generally repellent to maximum spending. Olds guys are always looking for a good fair deal because the models were born a good fair deal. Cant speak for 1950s models but I'm figuring the pattern still holds.
Originally Posted by chopolds
But you NEVER get back all the money you spend on a restoration on an old car. Well, sometimes,
I agree almost never and the almost is so rare never fits best...
Originally Posted by 69HO43
If it was a 69 ZL1 Camaro or similar unicorn car he may have been able to make money by only spending 100K on a restoration.
Agreed, specific original muscle era Mopars come to mind as well...
Originally Posted by 69HO43
It probably could've went for $40 or plus that a bit, but demand is what it is.
Agreed again. Whenever I hear about 50k restorations, prices in the 20k area is usually what follows when a sale has taken place. Obviously double that and your looking at 40s...
In the end its a great looking car and I'm sorry he felt that way.
If the top went down the car might have been worth $100,000. The guy overpaid and then didn't understand what he had and probably sold it to the first person to come along. They will probably flip it and make some decent money. I hope it winds up with a good home. Nice car.
The j2 had issues from the get go but could be made to work and with all that has been done to it it' needs all three of them . If setup correctly I would be making close to 380 HP and remember this is in 1957.....Tedd
1957 had a run of engines with soft cams and the lobes wore down.
The J-2 had vacuum linkage that was a problem. Complaints of not working well or poor gas mileage were the major ones. There were two solutions. 1. Remove the end two barrels and install blocking plates if poor gas mileage was the complaint. 2. Replacing the vacuum linkage with progressive mechanical linkage if poor performance was the complaint.
The J-2 was a formidable engine and would perform well. With the "over the counter" (parts department) solid lifter cam, adjustable rocker arms and dimpled valve covers made more power. The cams came from either Isky or Engle, I don't remember which. It had about the same lift as the standard cam,but the duration was about 260 degrees.
According to an Olds afficianado, Oldsmobile experimented with larger Rochester 2G carbs on the ends, but nothing was ever released.
Before you knock the guy. Many shops will tell a customer that is having a car redone. That they will get what they spend back at time of sale. It is a lie, but is how shops rope people into a 100k resto job.
Not ALL classic car owners are car guys/gals. THEY just want what they had when younger As it brings back the memories of a more care free time in their life.
Many get talked into going overboard by shops, on vehicles that will never EVER bring what the shops bill will total out to.
The hobby is odd.
I mean, what did a rusty, banged up, dents in almost every panel green mustang sell for in 2020, just because it was in a movie and an actors butt was in the drivers seat. how many millions?
The car auctions on tv don't help. As a person sees a 57 olds cross the block that is like the one they own, but the one that sold for silly money was a 1of 3 . or what have you.
Sadly, many put zero value/worth into the enjoyment of driving the vehicle.
The buying pool for 50's era cars is getting smaller every year. Those with an interest in owning them are passing on, or down sizing to a over (age) complex and are not part of the buying pool anymore.
Muscle car years will be next to hit the wall. many already have
