Prices

["A. Foster" <monkeypuzzle1@xxxxxxx>]

Dick;
 I would bet you that the 58' Crown was probably a 100 point concours
trailer queen to get anywhere near $48,000 dollars. One thing that should be
pointed out is that you really have to love a car to commit to that kind of
restoration. In order to make a 100 point car out of a 1958 Imperial, or any
other fifties car in its original price class, you would have to put at
least $75,000 dollars into its restoration.
 The car has to be completely taken apart and rebuilt from the ground up.
Everything off that car has to be either restored or replaced with N.O.S
parts. All trim parts have to be rechromed with show quality chrome, which
is better then new and about 30% more expensive then replating with factory
grade chrome (A lot more buffing between steps)
 The paint job has to be flawless, with no waves or ripples, so flawless
that they actually buff the sheet metal before they put the primer on. If
you read through Kerry's paint saga you will have a good idea of how much
trouble getting a good paint job is let alone a perfect paint job. The paint
job alone on one of these cars, never mind the body work, can cost $25,000.
  The upholstery materials have to be N.O.S, not reproduction. Just to give
you an idea some N.O.S factory pattern seat fabric can cost $400 a Yard! Any
vinyl used would have to be from similar sources. Leather has to be cut from
top grade hides from the same dye lot, no mix and match. If you were to use
the some padding the factory used, which involves latex foam, the cost would
be around $7.00 a board foot (12''x12''x1''). and we all know how big
Imperial seats are and the foam is 2'' inches thick. So figure, all in all,
about $10,000 dollars for an upholstered interior of this grade.
 I could go on but you can clearly see where this is going since I haven't
even brought up the cost of mechanical, or body work, or the cost of
disassembling and reassembling, or acquiring those N.O.S parts, which
includes fan belts and radiator hoses BTW. Yep, making that $48,000 dollar
imperial is a false economy, buying it already done is another story.
However it is no measure of value for most of our cars which might receive a
$25,000 dollar restoration if we are lucky. But then again we own Imperials
because we like them not because we need an investment for retirement, who
cares what they are worth.
Best Regards
Arran Foster
1954 Imperial Newport
Needing A Left Side Taillight Bezel and other trim parts.
P.S $71,500 dollars is actually above par for a 47' Town and Country, the
going rate for a real good one, according to Hemmings, is about $65,000.
That was in reviewing a similar car that went through the Barrett Jackson
auction in A.Z. recently.
----- Original Message -----
From: <Dickedo32@xxxxxxx>
To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2003 8:12 PM
Subject: IML: Prices


> Hi All,  Just rec'd my latest Cars and Parts and was reading about Dick
> Kughn's collection at auction at no reserve for the entire collection
(which
> I understand is quite large) and was pleased to see a 1947 Town and
Country
> Conv sold at $71,500 which is about par for the course or maybe a little
low
> as many of these cars needed refreshing, most had older restorations.  BUT
> what I thought was great and maybe an inkling of whats going on in the
> market, a 1958 Imperial Crown Southhampton hadtop  went for $48,400.  I am
> not familiar with the 58"s but must be a nice year, will look it up after
> posting this.  Hang on to your Imperials, clean them up and DON'T give
them
> away, I have always thought Imperials were vastly underpriced because so
many
> people were dumping them.
> Dick
> 67 Crown Conv
>
>