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VALUE OF 1952 AERO LARK LIGHNING-6 MOTOR AND TRANS WITH EVERYTHING INCLUDED


Guest 52aerolark

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Guest 52aerolark

hey everyone, i have decided to put the aerolark on an s10 frame so i will no longer need the lighting-6 and trans. also everything else included of course (water pump, carb, driveshaft, 6 volt electronics, etc)

i posted the ad on my local orlando craigslist but did not post a price, i have no idea what i should be asking for everything. it has not run in a while because of the wiring but it did run and you can spin the flywheel with your hands still.

also if anyone has any info on how to actually do the s10 frame job i would appreciate all the info i can get to do the best job i can. i am still a few weeks away from having the frame in the garage but when it does get there i need to get it on the frame to get the space back asap. but i need to do the job right so i am going to do as much preplanning as i can. i will be starting a separate thread for this also but I just wanted to get my question out to as many people as possible.

thanks everyone

Edited by 52aerolark
figured out how to upload pic (see edit history)
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The AACA is dedicated to the preservation and restoration of original cars, not hot rodding. Posting your question on this web page is like going to an AA meeting with the intention getting assistance to finding the best way to become a drunk. I doubt if you will get any serious assistance. For me, I would bid about 'A dollar two ninty eight less the shipping cost to OH.

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Guest 52aerolark

there is just too much rust for me to tackle going on beneath, i doubt i would get it all without cutting it all apart and making the car unsafe. this is the best option for this particular car. I am preserving the car, maybe not 100% but most people would not even take on this project, i just like the body style and need it to be safe to drive in and safe for the other people on the road. call it hotrodding if you want but I'm keeping a classic car on the road safely.

i was hoping to get the parts into the right hands of someone that would like to have the original parts, thats why i am posting here. these parts are hard enough to find and this is the only forum that i can find that has willys people looking for original parts, that would make them more knowledgeable about my particular question than any "hotrod" guys. Are you telling me i should take my original parts and go elsewhere?

its funny how everyone wants off work for veterans and memorial day but will just be as rude as possible to people that they know nothing about. this is why i did not stay active duty, you are just one of the many rude people that we should be sending overseas instead of good americans that contribute to their society in a positive way, the forum is an online society. you should act in the forum as you would at a car meet. if your that unhappy to be on here then log off and come back when you wish to learn something or help someone

also this is a father son project that i never had a chance to do with my dad growing up since our house did not have a garage, I'm sure that the aaca would be ok with me keeping my car on the road and car guys everywhere would appreciate and respect that. and who knows maybe someone will use my parts to finish their aero to "your" standards

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On the HOME page, the following defines the goal of the AACA. "Since 1935, AACA has had one goal: The preservation and enjoyment of automotive history of all types." The key word is preservation. When you are looking for information on custom modification, there are other web pages better able to assist you. One of the difficulties with the antique car world are people who take a good car and strip it down to put the body on a modern drive train. Then they sell the parts to finance the custom modification and the vehicle will never be original again. As with most uni-body vehicles, rust is a major problem with structural safety. Your original post said nothing about rust driving your decision.

Yes, having a car in Parts Car condition will drive you to sell off the parts which is much better than junking and loosing them. I agree they you are doing a service to other Willys owners by listing the parts here. If you don't know the prices, list it on ebay and post it here with a link.

You might go to the GENERAL DISCUSSION page and search for "New guy with questions".

Your Post "its funny how everyone wants off work for veterans and memorial day but will just be as rude as possible to people that they know nothing about. this is why i did not stay active duty, you are just one of the many rude people that we should be sending overseas instead of good americans that contribute to their society in a positive way," As an Army veteran serving from Building of the Berlin Wall to Cuba and Viet Nam, I believe your comment is rude and ignorant. I will not comment further.

If you wish for advice, I suggest you think about a Ford Model A as a first project. There are a wealth of cars in all stages of restoration and parts are available everywhere. There are several companies with parts catalogs, Mac is just one of them. The Model A club is very active and tours together on a monthly basis. Once you finish it, you can drive it to California or where ever. Locally, in 6 weeks, a Model A owner & his wife drive 5,000 miles from Ohio across Death Valley to LA, San Fransisco, Yellow Stone, and back. His only problem were several flat tires. He took a water pump and generator along with some electrical parts using some of them.

Are you aware of the AACA Winter Meet in Lakeland Feb 21, 22, & 23? There is a 'Car Corral' where you can check out what is available. The car show on Saturday is well worth the 55 mile trip and starts about 8:00 AM. The brochure can be viewed at the following link:

http://www.aaca.org/images/meet_brochures/2013_Winter_Meet_Brochure.pdf

In the AACA, vehicles are not judged against each other but against a set standard. There is no "My car is better than your car." The test is does your car meet the standard. Many people will show their car as a NO JUDGE status.

The following photo is a DPS car but could be a HPOF category car. All cars look better in photos than real life.

post-41405-143139337855_thumb.jpg

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The value of your Lark chassis, engine and trans depends on whether you can find someone who needs it. The Willys cars, while rare and interesting, are not well known and have little collector interest. Therefore they do not command a big price.

This is a roundabout way of saying, that even if you find someone who needs the parts, they do not have a high value. I'm thinking $200 or $300. Maybe more if it is a real good running low mile engine with good compression. Possibly $500 or thereabouts.

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Having owned several Willys Aeros over the years, I can relate to 52aerolark's decision to go the route of the hot rod. Willys Overland used Murray to build the Aero body and rust prevention must not have been part of the contract. I had the opportunity to buy a very low mile 53 Aero but because it sat in a dirt floor garage for 20 years, the pan was so rotten we were afraid to jack the thing up. I ended up passing on the deal. Unit body cars can be very costly to repair and the Aero seems to be worse than many.

You might want to shop the drive train around to the Willys Jeepster crowd as they used the same engine. For that matter, so did the 2wd station wagons and trucks.

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The AACA is dedicated to the preservation and restoration of original cars, not hot rodding. Posting your question on this web page is like going to an AA meeting with the intention getting assistance to finding the best way to become a drunk. I doubt if you will get any serious assistance. For me, I would bid about 'A dollar two ninty eight less the shipping cost to OH.

The guy is offering the original driveline and related items to restorers. What more do you want? With a response like that, if I were him I'd take it all down to the dump but he had the courtesy to mention it here and is simply looking for a respectful answer or an offer.

Purist restorers sometimes have their heads so far in the sand that they alienate other parts of the hobby. And that hurts all of us.

That's my 2 cents and I think those driveline item cores and more are worth at least $350.

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  • 3 months later...

The Lightning 6 was a Willys designed and built engine. It started life at 148 cubic inches but was soon stretched to 161 ci. The Hurricane 6 was the 226 engine and that one was built by Kaiser who purchased the rights from Continental.

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So I had a '53 Aero. It's not a body on chassis car - it's unibody. I expect sooner or later you will see the entire car being parted out when OP finds it much more work and well beyond his skill level to convert a unibody car to use an S10 frame - but not before he's ruined the car beyond repair.

In fact, the stock suspension is more advanced than an S10 and similar to what Fox-body Fords use with front struts. Was I going to all out cut one up for a rod project, I would use an 80s or 90s T-bird as a donor and do a full floorpan transplant.

As for what this motor and trans is worth? The overdrive trans might be worth $100 to a guy who needs one. The rest? Whatever scrap iron is going for by the pound this week.

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