1936 Hupmobile 4-door sedan - Looking for recommendations

[StretchRcr]

I’m looking for some guidance here. My dad passed eight years ago and left me a 1936 Hupmobile 4-door Sedan. I think it’s a 618 G based on pictures I’ve found on the internet. One of his many projects was this restoration and I helped him from time to time. Unfortunately, he only got about 90% done and over the years since he died, I haven’t got around to finishing the job. At this point, I’m trying to decide if I’ll ever have time to focus on it so I’m considering my options. If I decide to sell it, I’m wondering if anyone has a suggestion on where to list if. Also curious what you think it might be worth. Below is as much of a detailed description as I can provide.

 

My dad had his own ideas about how to make the Hupmobile something that could be driven. I do have all the original parts though in case I or a future owner wanted to return it to its original form. It has a I6 GMC engine (my dad loved those), a Turbo 400 trans, and a Ford 9 in rear end. He also installed a complete front end/axel with coil over shocks and some sort of late model steering column. He did all new interior and top and it looks really nice. It’s also been painted but that was ten years ago and I don’t think it was ever fully finished and buffed out. Some of the trim has been cleaned up and some, like the grill was completely remade.

 

Appreciate any guidance.

 

Brent

[JFranklin]

It doesn't look like it needs much to be finished. If you want to sell, I think your energy should be in getting it running and drivable. So far it is a nicely done hot rod. 

[Gunsmoke]

I like it as well. If you don't plan to keep it, I would do as JF says, insure it is running nicely and see what it sells for, likely in the $15K-$25K market area. It can be listed on many sites (like the Hupp forum here), cars for sale here (it would sorta fit the sites criteria) kijiji, eBay etc.  You can also likely find a local or regional car club that may get you a lead. This is a very nice car, but the modern drivetrain may turn off Hupp lovers (although it could be brought back by a keener if price is right), but attract resto-mod lovers. good Luck.

[Hupp36]

Wow,  as a Hupmobile Guy,  I  am overwhelmed, another 1936 Hupp Model G 618 . As a charter member of  the  50 year old  Hupmobile  club, I  am  asking  Brent, the  owner  to  P M me before  he  decides any  action  on  this car.  P M is a private message. Thank you 

[46 woodie]

Stretch, it looks like a very nice car. Although it's not original, it's what's known as a resto-mod and looks like it was built well. The Ford 9" is a bullet proof rear end. The front end is probably a Mustang II or a of a variation of one. I agree, to get the best money for the car, it should be finished or at least be able to start and move under it's own power. Many people are hesitant to purchase a non running car for obvious reasons. Don't be in such a hurry to sell it and start around $25K and if someone gives you an offer that you like then sell it. I don't know how many Hupmobile cars have survived, Hupp36 can answer that question, but I think it might be pretty rare, so that might be a good selling point. Good luck!

[auburnseeker]

Someone had a stock one mostly restored,  including new chrome, fully assembled with nice paint but it needing some work to finish (I can't recall what it was)  for I believe about 10G and it sat a long time.  I assume it sold as I stopped seeing it listed.  I believe it was about 2 years ago upstate NY.  A rod may bring more,  but it will need to be running and driving.  The only downfall with some rods is they never get really finished and dialed in so they really never are any better than the original(sometimes even worse)  as they often still have driving issues the originals wouldn't.  Some easy to correct others not so much. The trick is finding guys who know what they are doing to diagnose what the problems are.   Some kind of a build sheet is a big help when selling as well, because it's hard to fix stuff that's been changed unless you know what you are dealing with.  What front end,  what engine,  what are the specs on the engine, etc. 

Good luck.  Neat looking car. 

[StretchRcr]

Thanks everyone, lot's got good advise here. I'm going to speak to Hup36 a little later today. Sounds like he will be able to answer any question I can think of. Just to add a little detail, it does run and drive although it's been parked for a while. Might need to clean out the carb (CA gas doesn't age well). Auburnseeker's guess is pretty close, this car never got dialed in and unfortunately my dad had a lot of memory issues towards the end and couldn't tell me much about the what he still needed to do on the project. I have no idea what front end is, other than I remember him telling me how great it was.  The engine is an old i6 Jimmy truck engine. My dad absolutely loved those and built many of them over the years. He ran them in dragsters in the 50's and in dry lake cars up till about 2010. He built this one for this application so it's nothing wild like the race engines. I think it's pretty stock. The biggest issue the car has that I notice is it's under sprung. It sits too low and bottoms out easily. Whoever sold him the front end didn't realize how heavy these cars are. I already cranked down the preload on the coil-overs but I think it will need stiffer springs to work the way it should. The carb may be an issue as well. It's an old Holley. When I first started it, the carb was leaking bad. I rebuilt it and it doesn't leak now, but it doesn't even have a choke and seems like it's seen better days. I kind of wonder if he put that Holley on it just to fire it up and planned to get something a little more turn-key later on.