Engine Values?

wastintime · 06-02-2002, 10:48 AM

Hey everyone, I'm getting ready to start parting out my car. I was just wondering if anyone could tell me what an average value for an engine is. I've seen some sold for $6k and others for $500. Mine was rebuilt 2500 miles ago, obviously it has fairly high compression. Doesn't burn oil... probably needs a new distributor, but it runs well, and produces a lot of power. I'll go over it much more thoroughly before I actually sell it, but does anyone know what a ballpark figure for the engine would be?

Thanks,
Andrew

P.S. If anyone needs any parts...

wwwcad · 06-04-2002, 03:22 PM

Hi,

I've seen engines yanked from running 912s with no major problems go for $400-600 on eBay. My local parts guy has one with 70,000 miles or so on it and wants $800 for it. Even rebuilt, you'd probably be lucky to get more than $1,000 for it based on what I've seen in some other BBs I belong to.

Good luck!

Bill

bmwloco · 06-05-2002, 07:59 AM

My complete rebuild was $9k, give or take a few bucks.

High? Yeah, but very right. Harry Pellow aka The Maestro did the work. At just over 8k miles, she's starting to get very sweet indeed.

It was worth every penny.

craign · craign's Garage

Andrew,

Is this the car you have been working on for so long?? Why are you parting it out and what are some of the details on the car?

Craig

wastintime · 06-05-2002, 12:16 PM

Craig,
Yeah... unfortunately this is the car that I've been working on for so long. 3.5 years and almost $20,000. To be perfectly honest, I'd never intended to get rid of the car, but it's finally gotten to the point where enough is enough. The specific reason I'm parting out the car is that the left rear tire blew on the interstate going 65-70 The car did a 540 and scraped (as opposed to hit) a sidewall. There was surprisingly little damage done to the car, just the left rear bumper, tail light, and some of the fender. The wheel was destroyed though, and the trim strip is gone. That was just bad luck, the tires weren't in bad shape, I wasn't going that fast... just bad luck.

My mechanic kind of pulled me aside and said he wasn't going to let me spend any more money on the car and I really had to agree with him, it's just getting ridiculous. I can't justify spending anymore money on a car that is no longer any fun to drive or own at all, and most importantly the car isn't reliable at all. In over three years it's only driven maybe 2,500 miles. Granted, with my luck I could sell it and someone would make it a daily driver for a couple hundred bucks.
The problem is the $20,000 I've spent on the car. I really need to get some of it back, and parting it out seems to be the best way to do that. I mean, unless I really wanted to screw someone I couldn't sell the car whole for very much. I don't know, maybe I'm being greedy, but I would like to try to get some amount f money back out of the car. I haven't really started parting it out yet, I'm trying to get an idea of how much I may end up getting and if people actually want the parts etc...

Overall the car is in pretty good shape though. There is surprisingly little rust on the car. Most of it is in the rear tail light housings. The floor pans were replaced 1.5 years ago. The paint is okay, but there are lots of primer spots. The interior is in great shape. All the body panels are in great shape. except for the paint of course.

The engine is the only really great point of the car. It runs and runs well, although I know green hates the carbs that are on it (44 webers). Through all of the car's downtime there has at east never been a point where the engine was te cause of it all. Lol, there is no way I would sell the engine for less than $1,000. I actually asked Harry Pellow about it, and he said about $3k sounded right.

Anyway, I don't know... I think I have to get rid of this car otherwise I don't know what I'll end up putting in the car.

Andrew

wwwcad · 06-05-2002, 12:32 PM

Hi Andrew,

Sorry to hear you're giving up, but $20,000 is a bit over the top. I saw a beautiful, spotless 1984 911 SC Targa yesterday with totally rebuilt engine for $24,000 and I'd buy it myself if I had the spare cash! I don't blame you, I'd hate to be in your position. As for engine prices, I gave you the prices in my earlier post for engine that were running, but not rebuilt. Sounds like yours might well be worth up to $3k. I know I'll have about $2k in mine by the time I'm finished and I'm providing all the labor.

Good luck selling it. I suspect you can do better parting it out then selling it outright intact. I might be wrong, but I'd do the same thing you're doing. If it's not in excellent condition all the way around, the parts sure seem valuable these days.

Best wishes,
Bill

cgarr · cgarr's Garage

As long as were all honest here and our wives are not watching this bulletin board, I purchased for 5K put about 3K in it so far and about 12K of my labor (which we dont keep track of rite?)=$20,000.00 sounds about right to me....I keep telling her it keeps me out of the bars at night*@%&#, she told me Its fine, I can go to the bars.

Craig

WFBowen · WFBowen's Garage

Just MHO, but I'd first try to sell it as a complete, running car. The problem with parting out, if you're not in the business and prepared to sit on a car for a couple of years, is that you can end up with a useless vehicle, stripped of all its desirable parts. I see lots of these here in SoCal - usually on the side of a house under a tarp & slowly rusting away. Most of them are on stands (the hubs/wheels/brakes sold) & are no longer rollers.

wwwcad · 06-05-2002, 06:38 PM

Hey Craig,

I sold my wife on the idea of the 912 by partnering with my 14 year old son. I wanted a project car that would teach him some auto mechanics, something kids don't learn these days like we did as youngsters. I had numerous VWs and was quite familiar with the air cooled engines of the 1960s. He enjoys the work on the car and we'll put a lot of hours into it this summer for sure.

Now, the 912 keeps us both off the streets! The only downside is I'll have to share it with him eventually when he gets his license in a couple years! I'm already planning on a second 912 then just for me! My Mustang will be paid off and I'll have some spare change then. Ain't life grand?

Bill

craign · craign's Garage

Andrew,

What year is this car?

Craig

cbbest · 06-06-2002, 08:48 AM

Hmmm... I don't envy your situation, but I think your right. Its time to get out. I looked for engines for a while,and good, running engines (here in Socal and on Ebay) would go for 1600-2200. Tired, dirty running engines maybe 1200 tops.

Personally, I would not part out the car unless you really need the money. Yes, you do have a surprising amount of equity in parts that seem to sell well on Ebay. Probably a couple thousand more than if you sold the car whole. But whats your time worth? This is what you have to look forward to. Waiting for people to come by to look at the parts (Usually on a nice Saturday afternoon, and most won't show up), removing all the parts, running ads on Ebay, boxing up parts and shipping them, a heart-wrenching shell of a car in your driveway for the next 6 months (maybe more) and the difficulty of getting rid of whats left. For some, this is fine, because because messing with cars is a hobby. Seems to me, though, you want to cut your losses and move on.

Good luck

Cb

wwwcad · 06-06-2002, 04:08 PM

Hi Craig,

I believe he said it was a 1967 in one of his other posts.

Bill

wastintime · 06-07-2002, 10:25 AM

The car is a '67 and the engine is a '69.

I do think I want to part it out, I've got a garage to store parts in and storage isn't too much of a problem. I guess once I sell enough parts I'll just sell whatever is left, or get rid of the shell somehow.

And the few thousand more than if I sold the car outright is obviously my main motivator... hopefully most of it will go towards a 911 fund.

Andrew

wwwcad · 06-07-2002, 11:59 AM

Hi Andrew,

Good luck, I'm sorry it didn't work out for you. Sometimes owning a classic car can be worse than owning a sailboat! As for the parting out strategy, I've sold a few things on eBay myself and it's worked out well. The only problem I would see is selling and packing large bulky items like body panels. But that's doable too if the price is right.

Hope it works out well for you.

Bill

Green 912 · 06-07-2002, 04:40 PM

Damm shame about your 912. WFBowen has a good point, you need to spend a lot of time and effort to part a car out for more than you can sell a running car for. And even then you have the empty hulk to deal with and there isn’t a big calling for stripped SWB tubs.

How much work to get it running/ drivable? Ugly and running is better than ugly and DOA. Don’t feel bad for getting in so deep on the car; it isn’t uncommon to have more in them than they could be sold for.

To your question, I have bought complete motors for $160 on up to the $5000 parts only rebuild on the one in the car now. (Caution, opinion to follow) If your motor is good and TESTS good as well, you should be able to get $2000 or so for it to the right person on the east coast. It is important that the motor be able to be run and tested to get max $. Anything other than that and it is a blind shot and there and lots of them to pick from.

Efrain68912 · 06-07-2002, 06:09 PM

Honestly, we're in pretty close to that on my car. What more work does it need done to it? It sounds as if it is more in need of TLC than money.

C. Clark · C. Clark's Garage

Hello Andrew and all,
This is an interesting thread, I believe that the reason myself and others work, restore and sometimes stress over these antique cars is for the fun and or joy of it. The financial reward at the end of the job is never there. I run with several show car people and their rap is the same as mine, it shouldn't be about the money, if you in this for an investment your in the wrong game, even with the market being so crappy you would have a better chance there. I do this for the pleasure of it, if anything good moneywise would happen to come of it so be it, but I sure as hell am not counting on that. I paid 4k in the beginning for my 69, 912. It was drivable, although it had been in a barn for 5 years, rats had stored dog food in the shifter tunnel so the throttle kept sticking getting it home. It has a good power train and the body and paint had been done just before the guy parked it, but the suspension pan was rotted out and the passenger side floor was shacky, I replace them both. from there it was pulling the engine re-sealing everything, sand blasting all the metal, power coating and adding webers, .050, wires, you get the picture. Then came new wheels and tires, lighting upgrade, shortshifter kit and a thousand other little time comsumming things. Recently I finished the interior and for now, knock on wood the car is 99.9 done. Brake upgrade would be great but the old ones still work fine.
I'm not sure but with my materials cost and my own labor cost I've got over $20,000.00 in mine and don't care.
It's sad but true, the money really should'nt be an issue, it's a hobby for me, one that I can actually use on a daily basis if I wish. For me the ability to do most of the work is the key, if your at the mercy of a mechanic and own a Porsche, in my opinion you need deep pockets.
Good luck Andrew with what ever you do.
Chas.

wwwcad · 06-08-2002, 07:07 AM

Hi Chas,

You put it into words perfectly. It's about doing and appreciating the work and effort, not the money. The day I finally pull mine out of the garage will be a real thrill for sure and it won't have anything to do with the money. Although, I have to admit my hope is NOT to put $20k into it just to have it running and presentable.

I don't count the labor in my situation since it's a genuine learning and "quality time" (I hate that term but couldn't think of anything better!) experience for my son and me. I'm really getting attached to this car, warts and all.

Bill

COLDBASS · 06-08-2002, 07:54 AM

Andrew,

Geez, stories like yours leave me sleepless at night. I am at the $22k+ level (and rising, car is having a small "resto", and complete "Hi-po" engine and trans build, dont have the final bill yet). I passed the "point of no return" shortly after purchasing in Dec 2000.

I could never keep my vehicles if I had to rely on one source of income. I just couldn't justify it in my own mind. I realize that at best I could only hope to recover 50% of my investment.

Dont get me wrong, the car was in perfect running order and the PO was very anal about maintenance. I just cannot leave things alone without trying to re-invent the wheel...

My advice is to take a step back, reassess the situation. Keep in mind that you may be trading one set of problems for another. A freind sold his 2001 accord as it had been rearended 3 times in 13 months. He purchased a Saleen Mustang and has had it almost a year now with no accidents...go figure.

Perhaps a second opinion is in order? WTF, change tuners...I finally hooked up with the right person. That may work for you, search for a catalyst to change the current chemistry. Don't throw in the towel due to a string of bad luck, it may be a temporary thing.

Hope things changes positively for you...Good Luck...

Bob