Another what's it worth

[rumlyne]

I've been a very longtime lurker on the board. I mean like from It's
start. Rarely ever posted. You guys are responsible for this build!!
I've owned this car since 1994. After following Jack Olsen's BBI & BBII
builds, I decided I needed something like that.

ON to the car

1981 Euro SC
no ac
no sunroof
Polybronze all round
offset balljoints
cambermax adj.
car weighs 2406# on digital cb scales
Bilsteins valved to match weight
2 set of wheels 7&8" 15&16" Fuchs
RS door panels
930s steering wheel
10 foot paint job
no rust that I know of
Corbeau FX1 seats as well as stock
DAS bolt in bar with diag.
72 row mocal in front end as well as 28 row euro oil cooler
stock brakes with proper ducted cooling
still have most all stock parts that came off
22/28 bars

MOTOR
1997 VRam 3.6
I haven't done a leakdown since last year numbers were great
This motor is a pleasure, it uses no oil,not a wisp on startup.
I drove from NC to Watkins Glen did a three day DE drove back
didn't use a full quart of oil!
Car has about 50 de track days on it.

Transmission
Has the usual 1st gear syncro delete option.
I have never had any issues with the box at all.
But it is stock and in front of a 3.6

All in all It's been a wonderful car. It's taken me from my first ever
track day to getting ready to go racing.

Thus the question
Whats it worth. I value this groups opinion over any other.
ask questions fire at will

[misterwaterfall]

Awesome car, almost like the twin of my 77. I am however jealous of that lack of sunroof.

I didn't see mileage on the chassis or motor.

[rumlyne]

The odo has been broken since about 2000, The first owner is now an inlaw.
It had 28k km when imported. Odo broke at 47k miles. Chassis should have
100 125k but can't be verified. all wheel bearing, cv joints and other wear
items have been replaced at least once. Car has had a couple of good
wal-Mart dings but It has never been wrecked.
I hit a damned raccoon a few years age and I replaced the driver side
fender. It was a trophy coon!!
Motor had 85k with a claimed recent top end job shortly before I got it.
Downside is I can't prove any of this except by leakdown no's.
I planned on keeping forever and have no rec's.

[rumlyne]

This beast has been an ongoing proj. for years.
The pedal cluster has been rebuilt with bronze bushings
all shift bushings
couplerwhisperer u-joint
86 or 87 sways I don't remember which ones, the biggest that came on
the g-bodies before the G-50 tranny.
Stock exhaust, car does have manual heat.
Instant-G happy crab muffler.

This board built this car. About the only thing I haven't done is
up grade the brakes. Every time someone contemplates one of
these builds everybody piles on and says you have to upgrade the
brakes. BULLSHIES, I have turned 2:17's at VIR, 2:16's at the glen
And I have never had so much as a soft pedal. Patrick Long might
need better brakes. I have proper ducting thru the IROC front end
Proper backing plates, Hawk HT-10 pads , Motul660 fluid.
If you cook these brakes you either need to learn how to use them
or consider IMSA.
Those times were with Hoosier R-6's

[misterwaterfall]

Because most of the work is unverified I would say something like mid 30's, maybe a bit higher if you can find a buyer looking for exactly what you have. Chassis mileage wouldn't scare me, but engine/trans would be in the back on my mind as they could have 100k+ on both and in need of a refresh in short order (though leak down/compression results and oil analysis would prove engine health with reasonable confidence).

Things I would want to know off the top of my head. I just went through this process buying a similar car and these were big items on my checklist that you haven't covered.

When were the suspension upgrades performed? Approx mileage sense.
Recent maintenance? Buyers like cars that are ready to go with all new fluids etc.
Has the trans ever been refreshed? Any LSD mods?
Interior mods/condition?
Original paint? Any over spray? Have you measured with a paint gauge?

Things you can do to help your case:
Get leak down/compression numbers. Maybe even stick it on a dyno to see what it is producing.
Get a good PDR guy to take out all of the little dings
Get it detailed to clear up any scratches

[rumlyne]

Thanks for the response.
I've seen a lot of these conversions done but rarely see any come up for
sale. AS to your points.

Car has always lived in garage on lift.
Above average maint. Polybronze greased several times a year
sometimes more. I've even drilled and safety wired the CV bolts.
oil changed every track event.
Brakes flushed every event
Polybronze 8yrs old no issues ever, still tight
shocks were rebuilt 4yrs ago
Transmission has never been opened. new swepco changed every year. no lsd
two cracks in dash, headliner perfect usual rs door panels.
rear seats removed when bar went in. still have all stock parts.
Door pockets were in fair/poor shape
few if any dings, 1 good scratch.
paint is probably biggest neg. It's a good 10 footer but It's spent the
last 8 yrs or so on track.

I always said when I quit tracking it , if i hadn't wadded it up I would
repaint it and turn it into a nice GT car. As far as resale goes do you
think the cost of a good paint job would be returned?
Iv'e owned this thing for almost 28yrs I don't really know if I could part
with it.
The first 18 or so years it was a garage queen weekend car. Wife got
me a PCA DE for my birthday. Been a track whore ever since. I mean more
track miles than street miles!!
Haggerty sold me a 45k agreed value policy without an appraisal.

Racing is expensive, even in a MIATA (I have 3 now, their like rabbits and
It's been a good spring)
At any rate she's retired from the track. First time out with the Miata
It was an uplifting experience. Amazing how much harder you can drive
when you simply don't care about the car.
sorry for being so long winded.
I'll wait for a few more responses then chime back in with my for sure
biased opinion.

[misterwaterfall]

Good luck, if I didn't just fill the garage space I would be interested. I come from a Spec Miata background, say no more lol

As far as repainting it just to sell, I don't think you will see any return on that investment. It already has some paint work so not all original, but let the new owner decide IMO

[Macroni]

35ish

[NYNick]

I must say, this car has me drooling a bit. Street hot rod, done deal. Little bit of work and this baby could be just the ticket for someone around town. Beast to be sure.

If it were me, I'd take it to my mechanic and pay him to go over it for HOURS checking every last detail. It sounds very well taken car of, but $500-1000 worth of his time would be a quiet my nerves. Track time is hard time.

At that point, I'd be happy to pay $35K.

[trader220]

This car would fit the idea for what I am looking for too. I would be interested if it comes to market. Keep me from cutting up my 65k mile 88 coupe.

[Malaz]

I'm also looking for a car like this, and I like this one a lot. I agree with the others. I feel comfortable mid 30s. With no receipts and lots of hard miles, if the number had a 4 in front of it, I'd be much more hestitant.

I'll be at ViR over Labor Day weekend. I'd love to check it out if you're going to be there.