Carmine
Old Man with a Hat
New thread since he last one got a little gunked up.
Ok, trying to find some humor in this, thus my title. Seeing (owning) the car in person kinda makes me sad. Somebody put a lot of work into this machine. The unburnt paint is like a mirror (over restored actually) and the details look "sharp". What I can see of the under body looks clean. This might make me at least throw a cheapie fire extinguisher in my cars.
If you're dying to know the details, I'll give them to you in the interest of establishing the value of a burned-out 440 C-body. I purchased it a shop that specializes in late-model stuff, but the owner likes vintage Chevys (Chevelles, Camaros, etc.) Pretty cool guy actually. He went to a salvage auction in Lansing (real GM territory) and didn't even know much about it, but I'm guessing he heard some chatter about "440" etc. He bid it to $600 and towed it back to his shop just outside of Detroit on the ironically named Plymouth Road.
One day on Craigs at $2800, revised to $1800. For some reason I had a mental block about buying this car... "Ehh, I only need a subframe, not a whole car.... I already have an extra 440/727... I don't want an immobile, stinky beached whale in my garage all winter..." (The last item being fairly logical.) But then I started thinking it sure solves a lot of problems at once. Like the low-rider stance of the project I bought in November.
Instant drivetrain upgrade (my extra 440 hasn't run in a decade). 8 3/4, driveshaft, new exhaust, new fuel tank, KYB shocks, brakes that have functioned within the last 20 years, radiator, hopefully good hoses, newer Edelbrock carb and perhaps patch panels if I need them. Once this all sunk in, I realized I would be an idiot not to look at it... Especially since the stubframe (alone) I was considering was a helluva lot further away in West Virginia. (A note on that... I feel kinda bad for changing plans after inquiring about that one... I'll try to make it up by bumping his ad.)
So I offered $1200 which I figured was fair for a 440/trans. He came back at $1300 + towing to my house, so a deal was made. It arrived at my house last night, thankfully under cover of darkness. I really wonder what the old folks who live around me think, lol. I don't leave any visible junk outside the house, so they must think I push them into a sinkhole in my back yard. (Not really my yard, but not that far either!)
I will be selling off what I don't need, once I can access what I need. I'm pretty sure I won't need the roof/window channels, so if that holds true I'd pretty much give that to any local that wants to cut them off (no roof would make things easier). I'd like to see as many cars get saved as possible. Trades also welcome... Perhaps you've always dreamed of converting your Polara to a Monaco and have a nice '73 bumper? Come get the Monaco bumpers and clip! I'll post a few pics that I took, but I seriously need to dedicate some vacation time to painting my 2nd floor, so there won't be much car-work the next few days.
Ok, trying to find some humor in this, thus my title. Seeing (owning) the car in person kinda makes me sad. Somebody put a lot of work into this machine. The unburnt paint is like a mirror (over restored actually) and the details look "sharp". What I can see of the under body looks clean. This might make me at least throw a cheapie fire extinguisher in my cars.
If you're dying to know the details, I'll give them to you in the interest of establishing the value of a burned-out 440 C-body. I purchased it a shop that specializes in late-model stuff, but the owner likes vintage Chevys (Chevelles, Camaros, etc.) Pretty cool guy actually. He went to a salvage auction in Lansing (real GM territory) and didn't even know much about it, but I'm guessing he heard some chatter about "440" etc. He bid it to $600 and towed it back to his shop just outside of Detroit on the ironically named Plymouth Road.
One day on Craigs at $2800, revised to $1800. For some reason I had a mental block about buying this car... "Ehh, I only need a subframe, not a whole car.... I already have an extra 440/727... I don't want an immobile, stinky beached whale in my garage all winter..." (The last item being fairly logical.) But then I started thinking it sure solves a lot of problems at once. Like the low-rider stance of the project I bought in November.
Instant drivetrain upgrade (my extra 440 hasn't run in a decade). 8 3/4, driveshaft, new exhaust, new fuel tank, KYB shocks, brakes that have functioned within the last 20 years, radiator, hopefully good hoses, newer Edelbrock carb and perhaps patch panels if I need them. Once this all sunk in, I realized I would be an idiot not to look at it... Especially since the stubframe (alone) I was considering was a helluva lot further away in West Virginia. (A note on that... I feel kinda bad for changing plans after inquiring about that one... I'll try to make it up by bumping his ad.)
So I offered $1200 which I figured was fair for a 440/trans. He came back at $1300 + towing to my house, so a deal was made. It arrived at my house last night, thankfully under cover of darkness. I really wonder what the old folks who live around me think, lol. I don't leave any visible junk outside the house, so they must think I push them into a sinkhole in my back yard. (Not really my yard, but not that far either!)
I will be selling off what I don't need, once I can access what I need. I'm pretty sure I won't need the roof/window channels, so if that holds true I'd pretty much give that to any local that wants to cut them off (no roof would make things easier). I'd like to see as many cars get saved as possible. Trades also welcome... Perhaps you've always dreamed of converting your Polara to a Monaco and have a nice '73 bumper? Come get the Monaco bumpers and clip! I'll post a few pics that I took, but I seriously need to dedicate some vacation time to painting my 2nd floor, so there won't be much car-work the next few days.