Value of European Horn Grille Fog Lights?

[competentone]

I'm looking for some input on what my set of horn grille lights are worth.

They're on a '70T which was originally not a U.S. designated car -- I don't know how/when the car ended up in this country.

This older thread and others have me pretty sure they are original European lights (the 4-5/8 lense size for the Euro light is mentioned):
Vintage 911 restoration question ('69-73)

If you look at the other pictures (some high resolution) you can see the condition; the horn grilles have serious chrome loss (the reflection of the flash make them look somewhat worse than when viewed in person, but the chrome is still "poor"). The lights themselves are in good condition, but as of now, untested (I haven't powered the electrical up yet on the car). The yellow on the left light is noticably lighter than the yellow of the right.

The other pictures are here:
http://home.earthlink.net/~jaegan23/Porsche911/FogLights/

I'd include the dash switch (still have to determine which one it is) if I sold them; if that makes any difference in the value.



Thanks for any input!

--Joe

[Joeaksa]

Joe,

Would be interested in the lights, mount, and switch. Might take the grill if you do not need it or trade you for some that are not cut out for the lights.

Had these on my European 72 model and was thinking of putting them on my backdated 85 car. As for value, it really depends on the condition and such. Lots of these lights corrode or rust internally and thats why you do not see them so often. Also lots of people do not like the look so they get tossed. Your grills look like my old set and they do not last long in many cases.

Thanks,

Joe A

[70SATMan]

Joe,

You have an email for my offer on the lights and brackets.

I don't need the switch. You could easily sell that seperately.

Cheers,

Michael

[swbsam]

the condition is key to the value on items like these many times I see people asking prices that are way out of line for stuff that should almost be thrown away, under the chrome those horn grills are pot metal and to try to restore them to new is almost impossible, they can be cleaned up and re-plated but they will never look NOS as for one light being brighter then the other it's more than likely that one of the reflectors has gone bad, if you remove the lights and open them up you will see how time has taken it's toll on the coatings that when new made these reflectors a mirror finish, again an item that is almost impossible to restore to an NOS look, never the less Euro 118 through the grill lights are not easy to find and even though some people don't care for them they are one of those optional items that makes one's car stand out and if it were me I would not part with them, if they came as part of the car then they would be listed on the cardx and if your trying to keep the car original it's not a good idea to sell off things that are original to the car, on the other hand if originality is not your thing and you don't like the way they look on the car or just would like to use the money you would get from them to help fix up the car then why keep them, as for value a complete through the grill set up lights, brackets,horn grills,switch and wiring in the box NOS today 1800.00 to 2000.00 for stuff in the condition like yours 600.00 to 800.00 of course the best way to see how desperate some people are for this kind of stuff is to put it on E-bay I'm always amazed at how much people are willing to pay for stuff on E-bay, people will buy stuff like this pay 1500.00 then spend another 500.00 plus there time restoring the stuff and it will never look NOS, they would have been better off waiting for an NOS set, but everyone today is in a hurry, Hey it only took me three years to find my through the grill driving lights.

[competentone]

Originally posted by swbsam
... if they came as part of the car then they would be listed on the cardx and if your trying to keep the car original it's not a good idea to sell off things that are original to the car...

Sam,

Thanks for all your comments; your response was exactly the sort of input I was looking for and what makes this board such a great place!

Regarding "keeping the car original"; the car has cancer which is terminal . It's been "worked over" enough in the past that even if someone was brave enough (probably more like "crazy enough") to attempt radical reconstructive surgery the final costs and result really wouldn't be worth the effort.

The car has been sitting for a number of years; I bought it knowing it could be converted into parts and generate more $$ than what I paid for it. I'm keeping it together till I can get the motor running, but am willing to sell off some "non-essential" parts if the price is right -- the horn grill lights fit that catagory.

--Joe

[JCF]

Joe- I might be interested in that switch can you send a pic?

John

[competentone]

Originally posted by JCF
Joe- I might be interested in that switch can you send a pic?

Hi John:

I tried to send you an email, but you've chosen the option to not accept emails through the site.

If you give me an email address I'll get a picture -- within a week or two; the car is just a hobby so things happen around it at a leisurely pace.

--Joe

[JCF]

Joe;

Did my e-mail address get through?


John

[competentone]

Originally posted by JCF
Did my e-mail address get through?

Yes, John, I've got it; I just tried emailing you to tell you it may be a few days before I have a picture, but my hotmail account is messing up. (I can't complain, they just upgraded the account to have 250MB of free storage -- guess they're working the bugs out.)

I'll be in touch.

--Joe

[JCF]

Joe , thanks - no hurry.


John