What's it worth?

[granitestategn]

I drove by a house last fall on a back road. I saw a Regal dressed as a GN sitting in the weeds next to a garage. I made a mental note of where it was located and today I was in the area so I swung by and it was still there. I stopped and talked to the owner and asked him it was for sale. He said he'd consider selling it. He got it from a friend who was moving and needed to get rid of it. I asked if we could look at it. He said "sure". He has the title. It's a 1985 but I don't think it's a GN. Solid grey interior. Michigan car. Pretty rotten. No rockers. Floor's rotten, interior is rough. No motor, no 200 trans. It's a roller. Supposedly has a 700 in the trunk. Aftermarket shifter. It has a Turbo Buick hood. Has correct rear spoiler. Hood and trunk lid don't look too rusty. Useable. Tail lights intact. Engine cradle has been replaced. Basically someone's unfinished V8 project car. Let's assume it has a G80 posi. What would you pay?

 

[conn84gn]

Depends on if it's a GN or T Type otherwise parts only, and not many parts.
I would pass too much rust and exposure to the elements.

 

[BRAD_PADGETT]

Nothing. Run away. Car has no upside.

 

[JadeMonkeyStang]

Sounds like a hood, rear spoiler, and maybe a (rusty) posi with a bunch of extra work around them. I'd take the value of those parts and whatever else is worthwhile and then subtract what it would cost you to store / dispose of everything that's rotten and the value of your time to do that. My guess is that it's probably a negative number unless there are some parts you need personally.

 

[TexasT]

I'm at $800. sounds like it is rotten and sheet metal has cancer. so rear end is all there is unless some of the interior has value.

 

[granitestategn]

Well, I do have my GN and I could strip it and junk the hulk. I can probably get it for 300-400 bucks. I need to look it over when I have a little time, check out the RPO sticker and figure out if I want to screw with it. If the diff is the correct 10 bolt and a G80, I'd be pretty tempted. It's not worth putting it on the road.

 

[granitestategn]

I took a few minutes today to take a closer look at this Regal. It's not an 85, as the guy stated, it's an 84 Regal Limited, base V6 car. Grandma's burgundy interior. Fake wood inlays in the doors, etc. This car was a guys street machine at one point. Chevy 350, 700 trans, Hurst floor shifter. I'm not sure what it has for a diff. Did the base V6 come with a corporate 7.5" 10-bolt? If it doesn't have the bigger rear end of the turbo Buicks it's worth less than what I thought. It has two sets of Chevy cylinder heads and a Edelbrock carb in the trunk with the 700 trans. Four mismatched Cragers, regular 5 spoke SS's on the front and a different style on the back. The bezels and tailights that were chromed were painted black. All the glass is good. I could strip it and junk it. I could probably get a decent stash of mic parts off it. I might be willing to pay a couple hundred. If the rear end is a 7.5", it's not worth much to me.

 

[xlr8ngn]

Sounds like you’ll break even.

 

[Chuck Leeper]

Sounds like you’ll break even.

Maybe!

 

[granitestategn]

Do either of you know what differential the base V6 regal came with?

7.5" corporate? If it came with the bigger TB/Hurst Olds diff it "might" fit a 59 El Camino. If it's a 7.5", why bother.

 

[V6sleeper]

Do either of you know what differential the base V6 regal came with?

7.5" corporate? If it came with the bigger TB/Hurst Olds diff it "might" fit a 59 El Camino. If it's a 7.5", why bother.

All the Gbody's came with the 7.5" 26 spline axles, except the Turbo Buicks, 84 Hurst/olds, and the later 442's that had the 8.5" 10 bolt.

 

[granitestategn]

All the Gbody's came with the 7.5" 26 spline axles, except the Turbo Buicks, 84 Hurst/olds, and the later 442's that had the 8.5" 10 bolt.

Thanks for the quick reply. That's what I figured. Unless the previous, previous owner put something else in it, it probably doesn't have any real value. There was no RPO sticker on the trunk lid, and even if it had one, the likelihood that it matched the vehicles VIN number was pretty low.

 

[TexasT]

so we are down to glass and trim? hard pass unless you just like scrapping cars.

 

[granitestategn]

Oooo.... I had an epifany...epifeny....epipha..... oh whatever. I had a thought.

What do you do with a clapped out 84 Regal NA V6 with a gross Limited Granny Edition interior and no drivetrain? You make a 80's NASCAR Winston Cup tribute car! Corporate V8 (SBC, which I have laying around), manual trans (need G body three pedal set up, F'n LOUD (cut-outs) rectangular side exhaust in front of the DS rear wheels, Cheap-ass cage that doesn't need to pass tech. Seat, window net and belts. Pull out the interior, dash (replace with alum), A/C, backseat, inner fenders. Leave the lights and glass in (roll down the windows). Lower it a couple inches. Sawzall the fender lips to radius. 15" Bassett wheels and Eagle fake NASCAR tires. Paint it in your favorite early-80's Cup car livery -Bobby Allison (Miller High Life), The King -STP (yes, he raced and won #199 in a Buick), Tim Richmond (Old Milwaukee), Ron Bouchard (Valvoline), et al. Driveway paint job. Sticker that baby up and piss off the neighbors. It would be a hoot for a cruise night car. There's a cruise every night of the week within 15 miles of my house in the summer. It would need a single plane and a lumpy idle. Maybe pull a plug wire Yeah, it would be a poser-mobile. It would still be fun. A money loser, but fun.