Antiquelover703 Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 Hello, I found another interesting car - 1929 Mercedes SSK. The seller is asking $5500 for it. Is it a good buy? Any help is much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 Replicar and one of the uglier ones at that. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob47 Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 It would be a steal if it were a real 1929 Mercedes SSK. I am not sure what a replica is worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 (edited) If you parked it in my yard I would sue you for littering. Just think of it like a VW based dune buggy, it’s worth how much fun you can have with it. While it is a “replica” it is poorly done and not even close to the original. That doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with it and enjoy it, but unfortunately it will never be anything more than a poor attempt at making something interesting. Buy it if you like it, and pretend when your done with it you will throw it away, using that math, you can place a fair value on it. Edited May 8, 2023 by edinmass (see edit history) 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 Is it a Pinto or a VW Beetle? If you want to own either of those, it's a good buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Mack_CT Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 (edited) Matt, interesting point I think I know what your trying to say but will technically disagree on your observation. Early beetles are very cool cars and a nice original pinto is certainly a rarity. I would take either of those scenarios, or the sprite the OP passed on, over the replicar anyday. I think an early beetle would be a lot of fun, actually. ? Edited May 24, 2018 by Steve_Mack_CT (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 (edited) I bought an early Beetle a few years ago. It was fun. Drove it for a week and sold it to an old hippie for ten percent flip all in with paperwork and taxes. It was very fun to by , very fun to own, and was a terrific sale. There actually a lot of fun. But just a little bit slow for me In stock condition. Edited May 24, 2018 by edinmass (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejboyd5 Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 You will quickly tire of that toy. Why not rent it from the seller for a week or so to see what I mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digger914 Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 Something about the sound of an old VW that reminds me fun, but figuring out if the car is a good buy at $5,500 takes some number crunching. A perfect VW pan, motor and running gear is a couple grand worth of good parts. Wheels and gage set adds another couple hundred bucks and that gets you to about half the asking price. Safe reliable transportation is always worth something and good on gas is a plus. VW's don't cost much to run. The car looks good, but it's a knock off, from a distance and at the right angle a look alike, not a real 1929 Mercedes SSK. Real or not, it is an eye catching, stand out from the every car looks alike crowd and like knock off designer purses and counterfeit watches, there is always someone who can't afford the original who will buy the copy and that means the replica body in great condition is worth a couple grand to someone. Personally, I don't think the car is a good buy at $5,500, but if it runs as good as it looks it's a fair asking price and somebody, somewhere, will pay that much to have that car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzcarnerd Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 7 hours ago, Matt Harwood said: Is it a Pinto or a VW Beetle? If you want to own either of those, it's a good buy. Front suspension says VW. To quote somebody - "My God that's ugly!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pluto Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 (edited) It sounds like you are new to the hobby and maybe not particularly mechanically inclined, all of which is fine. If you want an old car of some type and most any type will do, find something that is: fun for you to look at, reliable, good club support, straightforward to repair, fun to drive, fairly affordable, parts are available, fairly easy to sell when you’re tired of it. If i was advising someone, I’d suggest a Buick anywhere from 1937 to 1957. Buy a mid-range model and get the very best condition you can afford. Edited May 24, 2018 by Pluto (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C Carl Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 The facsimile is strikingly accurate! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curti Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 Matt, I just about always agree with your taste, reason and logic. In my eyes the car in post#1 has no resemblance to the Benz in post 12 . The tan MB is a strikingly beautiful car in every way. The same can not be said about the car in post 1 . I am working very hard at being diplomatic here....... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michel88 Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 I am pretty sure that Matt is joking! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pluto Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 B. Ecclestone had a half dozen of those, more or less. Not the ersatz ones, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antiquelover703 Posted May 25, 2018 Author Share Posted May 25, 2018 Thank you all. I think I really need to take a cruise trip with my family now. Never meet a real deal in my neighborhood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Henderson Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 Whenever I see "replica" cars of this one's ilk I think Phony Baloney. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 Maybe there's a nice Beetle out there with a good body that needs a replacement engine. That might be the target market for it. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Mack_CT Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 Hope OP remains interested upon returning from the family cruise. If you widen search area, usable hobby cars under $10k are absolutely out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 15 hours ago, michel88 said: I am pretty sure that Matt is joking! I was definitely joking, Curt. You might need to re-calibrate your sarcasm detector! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 Imagine what the original purchaser of the pictured show car would have thought if offered Campbell's GP 10. Same period car but a different culture. That Gazelle, as they called them, is a 1980's cultural statement more than a car. If you are spending an evening in your garage fixing an art deco toaster, turning around an looking at your Gazelle would be pleasant. Maybe a gas streetlamp converted to an incandescent bulb would help light the place and span a couple of eras. We had a few owners of those VW and Pinto based cars around here when the cars were popular. Most owners were 70ish, wore snap on caps, most were tall (tall guys always had extra money because factory jobs picked the tall ones for bosses). Yeah, that car would be just the thing for a tall guy in a leisure suit with leather accessories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff_a Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 (edited) Some of the replicars are collectible in their own right. The Glenn Prey Cord, the Samco Cord Royale are two. My Dad & I looked at one of the latter for sale at Royal Chrysler in D.C. in 1970. If you find a nice 1966-69 Mercedes SSK Replica built by Excalibur Motors at that price, buy it. Some of them looked and performed well. This one in Post 1 might be neat for a kid's first car...they might not be going over 60 much. The one for sale at least is in presentable condition as far as the body, top and tires. Maybe it's a fair price if it test drives well and is close. A few of these replicas were build-it-at-home kit cars of indifferent quality and powered by V-W or Pinto fours, but the early Excaliburs were designed by Brooks Stevens and had 300 hp V-8s. I did hear of someone who saw an ebay or craigslist ad for an SSK replica, and it turned out to be the Real McCoy....as in you could put all your kids through Harvard on the net worth. Edited May 25, 2018 by jeff_a (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike6024 Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 I think the OP is interested in an early open (convertible) sports-car for weekend drives like the Austin Healey Sprite initially posted about. That would be a good option, except that particular one was rather over-priced. Maybe for $5k instead of the asked for $8k. I would continue looking for something like that. or maybe a Triumph TR-6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 There was a decent looking MGB here on the buy/sell forum a few weeks ago for pocket change--about the same asking price as this, um, "Mercedes." There are plenty of affordable 2-seat open cars for very little money that aren't embarrassing to own and drive. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Mack_CT Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 Funny how perspectives change. I kept a fiberfab MGTD brochure from age 14 to 17 or so, basically wore it out! My teenage reasoning, i cant afford a TD, but I can build this! Not so much looking to fulfill that dream today! An MGB, or if budget allows, TR are a couple of options that may not make you rich. But shouldnt break you either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 When you're a kid, the dream is often better than the reality but if you had suddenly found yourself knee-deep in the construction of the thing you were lusting after, I suspect that even as a teenager you would have felt pangs of regret sooner or later. We had a neighbor, oh, in 1977 or 1978 or so, when I was 7 or 8 years old. He had one of those gawdawful Gazelle things in his garage under boxes and quilts. He came over one day after seeing our Model A roadster in the driveway and told my father he had a 1930 Mercedes in his garage. Wow! So we went over and looked. Even to my 7-year-old eyes, that thing was an abortion of a car. There wasn't a right line anywhere on it. There's no way it would ever pass for a real Mercedes and even I knew that it was some kind of fakery. When my father asked what was under it (as I did up above), he insisted it was a real Mercedes. My father didn't argue, and that was the first time my father shared his most important piece of advice with me: a wise man smiles at the fool. I was just a kid but I knew the car was crap and not a real Mercedes. The neighbor continued to claim he was going to restore it some day, but I have to believe he was lying to himself as much as he was lying to us. With the benefit of 40 years of hindsight, I believe he bought it not knowing it was a goofball fake and probably paid too much and now he had to make it into what he thought it was, at least in his mind (and hopefully ours). Had he had the benefit of this message board as the OP does, he would have quickly learned that such things are the Zimas of the collector car world. The only people who don't recognize these as crap are people who don't recognize anything as crap. TV shows, clothes they buy at Wal-Mart, cheap electronics, whatever, and there are plenty of such people. They are unable to differentiate quality from crapola mostly because almost everything in the world is now junk and there's no real difference anyway. That's OK, I suppose, but trying to sugar-coat the fact that the car in post #1 is a piece of shiat isn't helping anyone. The guy doesn't own it, you don't have to be nice. In fact, we are trying to save him from a mistake. We all know it's a piece of crap and we should not be afraid to call a piece of crap a piece of crap. Hedging our comments like "VW Beetles are fun and this is sort of like a VW Beetle" and "some replicas can be collectable," and "at that price it could be fun," changes nothing about the inherent awfulness of the thing. It is awful. We all know it. It's OK to say so. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 I had to figure out what the Zimas was. I got it. Sometimes I like crap. It will just hit me right and I like it. I am sure if anyone walked around my house and garage they would either tell me or the next person they saw. Maybe this worn World of Warcraft mouse pad above the keyboard. I know there are a few "home accents" that I brought home from yard sales. My Wife wouldn't let them stay in the house. A few pieces are in the garage. I could never sit and list the crap I like, but if another person told gave me a list of what they think I would pick some stuff out. And even though crap is a word from this topic (my term might be colloquial but it fits), I do label some boxes: Extra crap Misc. crap Goodwill crap Fragile crap and on it goes. I have a couple pieces of Druid crap to remind me of my ancestral heritage, my Wife really hates them. The Matriarchs of the O'Brien side told me about the difficulty of the concept of Zero in early Irish math. Things were tallied up according to the amount of crap one had. And everybody had some crap. Then comes along zero... no crap. Unbelievable! The concept of one having no crap. No crap is like no start and no finish. So just to keep myself grounded I like to have a little. Yeah, without crap it would be hard to feel at peace deep inside. Bernie 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Mack_CT Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 Matt knowing what I know today I wouldnt take one free, but always compliment the guy with one asking if its ok to join in mg talk. Heck, I am just lurking as one real world car still on the want list is a T series. Of course, some have told me thats not the brightest move either, but the number of 4o year ownership periods for those cars sure points to some love... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 The "K" in SSK is for "Kurz" or short. The real pictures of the S & SS Mercedes above don't actually show an SSK. A real radiator ornament from an S or SS or SSK would be worth more than the Gazelle in the original post. Enough negative things have been said about it so I don't know if I could add anything more negative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 +1. It is obviously an SSKL (Licht) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C Carl Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 That THING in alternative skin may be Kurz , und may be Licht enough too, but it looks like a mechanical alligator to me. Neither S , nor SS to my 20/20 corrected eyesight. But I may have a warped perception due to astigmatism. - CC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C Carl Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 This "Nice Classic car" is listed for $4500 on Seattle Craigslist. I don't know VWs, so I can't offer to check this one out. Yer on yer own, guys. ?. ?. - CC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bush Mechanic Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 1 hour ago, C Carl said: This "Nice Classic car" is listed for $4500 on Seattle Craigslist. I don't know VWs, so I can't offer to check this one out. Yer on yer own, guys. ?. ?. - CC A gentleman in LA tried to sell me one of these, with a hard hit in a front corner. Absolute bargain. I bought his rusted out '61 tri-carb Austin Healey instead. Sometimes you get it right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C Carl Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 Do you still have the A.H. ? - CC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bush Mechanic Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 4 hours ago, C Carl said: Do you still have the A.H. ? - CC Hi, Carl. Yes, I do still have that car, 25 years later. Shipped it home to Aus, after cleaning the squirrels out of the engine bay, and the bags of deer manure from what was left of the seat frames. 2 year frame up resto, and have had a lot of fun with it. Still smiling. Mick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 This is a classic example of the "DUMBING DOWN" of the hobby, piece of crap advertised as something it isn't and the cellphone addicted public reads and believers wwhatever is posted. Sad, very sad. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pluto Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 11 minutes ago, Bush Mechanic said: Hi, Carl. Yes, I do still have that car, 25 years later. Shipped it home to Aus, after cleaning the squirrels out of the engine bay, and the bags of deer manure from what was left of the seat frames. 2 year frame up resto, and have had a lot of fun with it. Still smiling. Mick. Bush, I see you have the rare optional combination crash bar/muffler on the Cub Cadet. Healey looks great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 Here is a picture of one with all the letters, SSKL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 Is there a general term you would use to describe the pile of items on the left side of the A. H.? In my garage piled items like that keep falling over and I keep saying "There are too many items around here!" or something like that. Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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