Help 1935 Chevy Sedan

[JCrace]

My father recently passed away from Covid and had started restoring this 1935 Chevy Sedan.  The paint was done, the upholstery is being completed beyond that I don't know what other parts he has or if it is running.   Where is the best place to sell this and any ideas on the value? 

[Dave39MD]

I am sorry for your loss. It looks like he was making good progress.

 

You would probably get the best price if you put it together and got it running even if it is not finished. There is a big loss in value for a non running project car since the buyer will presume the worst. More pictures and details would help. 

 

I would also ask over on this site dedicated to Chevrolet's https://vccachat.org/ubbthreads.php/forum_summary.html

 

Good luck

 

Dave

[padgett]

" Where is the best place to sell this" Hershey.

[John S.]

 JCrace, I am so sorry for your loss. There is a Chevrolet Forum here, where you may get the information that you need. John

[C Carl]

23 minutes ago, padgett said:

" Where is the best place to sell this" Hershey.

Well, yes, but with Hershey being 10 months, (hopefully not 22 months) , out, this may not be an option. Brings up another factor : where are you and the car presently located ? Always so difficult to deal with parent’s possessions. Perhaps there is a friend of your father who can help, maybe even get the car running. Could be something very simple. Also, might be one of our helpful sympathetic members living nearby. We here are friends.

 

Having lost both of my parents, from experience, please allow me to offer what may give you some comfort: Your father, peace be upon his soul, was very fortunate to have had you as child and friend.   -   Carl

[JamesR]

I would also like to offer my condolences.

 

As Carl said, friends of your Dad's who shared his interest in cars would be an excellent place to start. Even if they don't help complete this project, they may have knowledge of what stage it was at. Or be willing to spend an hour or two looking over the car and parts and provide a fairly accurate assessment of what still needs to be done. That will help determine the value and sell the car.

[Larry Schramm]

7 minutes ago, JamesR said:

I would also like to offer my condolences.

 

As Carl said, friends of your Dad's who shared his interest in cars would be an excellent place to start. Even if they don't help complete this project, they may have knowledge of what stage it was at. Or be willing to spend an hour or two looking over the car and parts and provide a fairly accurate assessment of what still needs to be done. That will help determine the value and sell the car.

 

Just get two or three of his friends to come over by them selves and give you an opinion before you make any decisions as to what you want to do.  

 

Currently involved with a customer who's father just died and there are individuals moving cars and parts off of his property and locations where he has vehicles stored. And he just passed 8 days ago.  I have them on security video on my storage lot in the darkness of the morning.  When confronted, they claim they own the cars.  Not my big problem, just letting the police sort it out with the heirs of his estate, and he passed without a will or any documents.  This could last years.

Edited December 16, 2020 by Larry Schramm (see edit history)

[wayne sheldon]

Your dad's friends may also be able to help identify pieces of the car in the garage or shop, or other possible hiding places if you can show those areas. The more of the car you can show that you have, the more interest there will be for others to take it on and finish it. 

Half done projects are tough to sell, and usually do not get very good money for them. The better you can make the car look? The better for you, and the better for the car.

Our condolences on your loss.

[JamesR]

5 minutes ago, Larry Schramm said:

Currently involved with a customer who's father just died and there are individuals moving cars and parts off of his property and locations where he has vehicles stored. And he just passed 8 days ago.

 

 

Yikes! That's pretty mercenary. Maybe even predatory. Also possible that they were beneficiaries of "free storage" arrangements...which can get very tricky when someone dies and leaves no records. That reminds me: I loaned a friend a pretty valuable guitar about a year and a half ago. I should probably get that back.

[rocketraider]

Truly sorry for your loss, especially losing him to this pestilence.

 

Good advice here. Was he associated with AACA or other old car group?

 

I don't know what your situation is, whether you have the capability or desire to see this restoration thru, but if the car meant something to your dad, maybe you can complete the car and enjoy it. 30s GM vehicles were actually pretty modern for their time and can be a very enjoyable car. Plus as a Chevrolet it has plenty of club and parts support.

[JCrace]

Thanks for all the responses and advice.  I live in SoCal and the car is in Minnesota and I don't think I have ever seen it in person.  I don't know if this is a recent photo even.  So I don't know what else needs to be done and I am not sure I want to ship it out here.  I doubt he was part of a club and to my knowledge he was having the work done since he was not very mechanical.

[JFranklin]

2 hours ago, JCrace said:

  I doubt he was part of a club and to my knowledge he was having the work done since he was not very mechanical.

I think you might get some usable info from any shops that were doing work on the car.

[knee-action]

$3500, based on the "what you see, is what you get" rule of thumb. Please, consider this an estimate not an offer.  Sorry for your loss.

[JFranklin]

1 hour ago, knee-action said:

$3500, based on the "what you see, is what you get" rule of thumb. Please, consider this an estimate not an offer.  Sorry for your loss.

That is Really the gist of the problem. If there are parts to complete, add a few thousand depending on condition. If it runs and drives well there is another 2K+. Upholstery if nice another grand. And so it goes.

Edited December 16, 2020 by JFranklin (see edit history)

[Bloo]

Sorry for your loss. I second Dave39MD's recommendation to post this on the VCCA forums.

 

http://vccachat.org/

 

 

[pont35cpe]

Also, your car is a "standard" not a "master".

[CarlLaFong]

I'm not a Chevy guy but the color seems non stock. That could devalue the car to a restorer, Reminds me of a "T" that I went to look at. As I walked up to it my thought was "sold!!" until I got close enough to see the ugly red, crushed velvet, interior. I beat a path to my truck with my money

[Digger914]

17 hours ago, JCrace said:

Thanks for all the responses and advice.  I live in SoCal and the car is in Minnesota and I don't think I have ever seen it in person.  I don't know if this is a recent photo even.  So I don't know what else needs to be done and I am not sure I want to ship it out here.  I doubt he was part of a club and to my knowledge he was having the work done since he was not very mechanical.

Sorry to hear of your loss.

 

I'm not a pre war Chevy guy, but if the upholstery work is being done within twenty miles of me I probably know the shop owner and I can spare a couple of hours to take a look to see how close it is to done. If the car isn't to far outside of Minneapolis, I know a guy who knows these things upside down and sideways, he could look at this and know in minutes what parts are right, wrong, or missing. Don't think he could take a couple of business hours out of his day this time of the year, pretty sure he could spare an hour sometime in the next couple of weeks. 

 

 

[JCrace]

31 minutes ago, Digger914 said:

Sorry to hear of your loss.

 

I'm not a pre war Chevy guy, but if the upholstery work is being done within twenty miles of me I probably know the shop owner and I can spare a couple of hours to take a look to see how close it is to done. If the car isn't to far outside of Minneapolis, I know a guy who knows these things upside down and sideways, he could look at this and know in minutes what parts are right, wrong, or missing. Don't think he could take a couple of business hours out of his day this time of the year, pretty sure he could spare an hour sometime in the next couple of weeks. 

 

 

Thanks Digger.... I see what I can find out but it might not be until spring.  The car might be at Spears Customs in Mora...atleast that is who is doing the interior from what I understand. 

[wayne sheldon]

If the car is in a professional shop? You really need to resolve at least some of this quickly! If your dad prepaid or made progress payments? There may be dollars at serious risk. Many, more likely most, shops once work comes to a halt for any reason such as death of the owner, or not receiving progress payments, can and/or will begin tacking on storage fees. I don't know what his state may allow, but such costs can be expensive enough, that in only a few months, a marginal car will owe more in storage fee than the car is worth unfinished. If the car is sitting in such a shop, it may already require more money to liberate it than it is worth. If this is the case, the sooner it is resolved with the shop the better. I have known of several cars being sold by shops to recover what amount to their losses.

These problems are so much more difficult to take care of from a couple thousand miles away. One of the downsides of our modern upwardly mobile society today. Again, old friends close to the situation may be able and willing to step in and help. A few phone calls to the shop owner/foreman may be able to resolve this, or not. 

As already mentioned by others, the value of this car in that condition is not great, likely below $4000. It could be somewhat more, IF it has been mechanically rebuilt (and done well?) and/or the upholstery is nearly finished , looks proper and nice. If the shop already is expecting a couple thousand dollars for work already done? It could even be much more than that if your dad hasn't paid much if anything already? The car could already cost more to get out than it can be sold for? If storage fees are tacked on, it will likely reach that point quickly even if it isn't already there. With the distance issues complicating things, you should find out about this before the problem becomes much bigger.

[wayne sheldon]

Some words about this hobby, since you appear to be new to it.

Of course, we long-timers in the hobby think it is one of the best hobbies in the world! And, there are good reasons for that. Of course, in this hobby as with anything to do with human beings, there are the bad apples, some liars and thieves. Can't seem to get away from those no matter where you go in the human world. However, antique automobiles tend to attract people that care about history, and not for selfish reasons. They care about what other people did, in other times. They care about the remnants of those times because they understand that keeping in touch with history does matter. So this hobby has a tendency to attract good people. This hobby also has a way of chewing people up and spitting them out. A person can spend thousands of dollars buying and restoring a car, drive it for a year or two. Then plans are made for a "meet of a lifetime"!  (These do come around almost every year?) Going to a wonderful place, to drive around in the car you care about and truly enjoy driving. A couple days before time to load the trailer and go, something in the car breaks , and cannot be fixed in less than a month or more because of parts not available! It has happened to me, and I have seen it happen to dozens of my friends. No time to fix it. No time (or money?) to get another car. It happens. Maybe you go anyway and hitch a ride with friends? But that is never quite the same as driving your own car (I have carried friends a few times after their car broke down). Good people stay with the hobby anyhow.

Those a some of why this is a good hobby with good people.

 

While good money can be made by good craftsmen working on other people's cars for hourly pay? And people that earn a living that way in this hobby are usually very good people? It must be remembered that this is a "hobby". And it is not a cheap hobby. One does not have to be wealthy to be active in antique automobiles. I am far from being wealthy, most of my closest friends are not considered wealthy. I do have good friends, even a couple I consider close friends, that are wealthy. They treat me like an equal. They have many non-wealthy friends that they treat like equals. They do not owe me anything. And I do not expect them to pay my way or give me anything just because they have a lot of money and I do not. Most people in this hobby either work, or are retired from a lifetime of working, for a living.

 

As hobbies go, antique automobiles are far from the worst hobbies, financially speaking. While very few "hobbyists" ever make money in this hobby, they generally do not lose as much as many other hobbies can lose. One buys a car, usually paying a bit more than anyone else was willing to pay for that car. For all practical purposes, no antique automobile ever needed nothing. Whether a full restoration of everything, or fix a messed up clutch or bad radiator? Work will be done. Money will be spent. That work will very likely cost considerably more than it will add to the dollar value of the car. 

A car needing full restoration will be purchased, and then taken apart. The minute one obvious part is removed from the car, the dollar value of the car goes down. Every piece removed in the beginning drops the dollar value more. A fully disassembled unrestored car could be worth as little as one tenth of what it was worth before it was disassembled. Once pieces are repaired and painted, the value starts going back up, slowly. A car will likely be nearly half done before it reaches the point of being again worth what was paid for it, not counting what was spent getting it half done. Only in rare cases will a car ever be worth its unrestored purchase price plus the costs to restore it. The real value in the restored car is the well earned pride of the accomplishment, and knowing that you did something few people can do.

An antique automobile can be very expensive, or not, depending on the whats and hows of it. The value retained in the process can be very low. Maybe even less than ten cents on the dollar. On the other hand, a hobbyist that understands the hobby, and the car's values, if he can do much or most of the work himself? Might almost break even. A lot of hobbyists can manage to retain about seventy to eighty percent of what they spend on the cars. Not hard to do, if one knows what they are doing.

How many other hobbies can retain that much value? Boating? Between dock fees, license fees, insurance, storage, maintenance, and other costs, coupled with massive depreciation? Most boaters are lucky if they can retain twenty percent. Golf? Can be done cheaply. However serious golfers can spend thousands of dollars on clubs, and thousands of dollars in travel and fees to play every year (I have known some!). After a few years, be lucky to get $200 for the clubs in a yard sale. Percentage dollar retention? Single digits. Try flying a plane for a hobby (I know a few of those also).

Basically, unless one wants to sit and whittle scraps of wood to pass the time? Whether a few dollars or millions per year, hobbies cost money. And antique automobiles are not nearly the worst that way.

 

 

[Digger914]

1 hour ago, JCrace said:

Thanks Digger.... I see what I can find out but it might not be until spring.  The car might be at Spears Customs in Mora...atleast that is who is doing the interior from what I understand. 

Mora, about half way between the Cambridge and Hinckley exits and about a 3 hour round trip drive from where I am. Know the area fairly well as my dads uncles and cousins once owned Chevy dealerships in those small towns. I know the Spears name, but I have no idea where Spears Customs is and I would need to make a call to find out if it is a new brick and mortar business, or a home garage shop. 

 

Best not to wait till spring to find out whats going on, Wayne is right about how fees add up quickly and Mora isn't the hand shake, mans word is his bond, little town that it used to be. 

[JCrace]

15 hours ago, wayne sheldon said:

Some words about this hobby, since you appear to be new to it.

Of course, we long-timers in the hobby think it is one of the best hobbies in the world! And, there are good reasons for that. Of course, in this hobby as with anything to do with human beings, there are the bad apples, some liars and thieves. Can't seem to get away from those no matter where you go in the human world. However, antique automobiles tend to attract people that care about history, and not for selfish reasons. They care about what other people did, in other times. They care about the remnants of those times because they understand that keeping in touch with history does matter. So this hobby has a tendency to attract good people. This hobby also has a way of chewing people up and spitting them out. A person can spend thousands of dollars buying and restoring a car, drive it for a year or two. Then plans are made for a "meet of a lifetime"!  (These do come around almost every year?) Going to a wonderful place, to drive around in the car you care about and truly enjoy driving. A couple days before time to load the trailer and go, something in the car breaks , and cannot be fixed in less than a month or more because of parts not available! It has happened to me, and I have seen it happen to dozens of my friends. No time to fix it. No time (or money?) to get another car. It happens. Maybe you go anyway and hitch a ride with friends? But that is never quite the same as driving your own car (I have carried friends a few times after their car broke down). Good people stay with the hobby anyhow.

Those a some of why this is a good hobby with good people.

 

While good money can be made by good craftsmen working on other people's cars for hourly pay? And people that earn a living that way in this hobby are usually very good people? It must be remembered that this is a "hobby". And it is not a cheap hobby. One does not have to be wealthy to be active in antique automobiles. I am far from being wealthy, most of my closest friends are not considered wealthy. I do have good friends, even a couple I consider close friends, that are wealthy. They treat me like an equal. They have many non-wealthy friends that they treat like equals. They do not owe me anything. And I do not expect them to pay my way or give me anything just because they have a lot of money and I do not. Most people in this hobby either work, or are retired from a lifetime of working, for a living.

 

As hobbies go, antique automobiles are far from the worst hobbies, financially speaking. While very few "hobbyists" ever make money in this hobby, they generally do not lose as much as many other hobbies can lose. One buys a car, usually paying a bit more than anyone else was willing to pay for that car. For all practical purposes, no antique automobile ever needed nothing. Whether a full restoration of everything, or fix a messed up clutch or bad radiator? Work will be done. Money will be spent. That work will very likely cost considerably more than it will add to the dollar value of the car. 

A car needing full restoration will be purchased, and then taken apart. The minute one obvious part is removed from the car, the dollar value of the car goes down. Every piece removed in the beginning drops the dollar value more. A fully disassembled unrestored car could be worth as little as one tenth of what it was worth before it was disassembled. Once pieces are repaired and painted, the value starts going back up, slowly. A car will likely be nearly half done before it reaches the point of being again worth what was paid for it, not counting what was spent getting it half done. Only in rare cases will a car ever be worth its unrestored purchase price plus the costs to restore it. The real value in the restored car is the well earned pride of the accomplishment, and knowing that you did something few people can do.

An antique automobile can be very expensive, or not, depending on the whats and hows of it. The value retained in the process can be very low. Maybe even less than ten cents on the dollar. On the other hand, a hobbyist that understands the hobby, and the car's values, if he can do much or most of the work himself? Might almost break even. A lot of hobbyists can manage to retain about seventy to eighty percent of what they spend on the cars. Not hard to do, if one knows what they are doing.

How many other hobbies can retain that much value? Boating? Between dock fees, license fees, insurance, storage, maintenance, and other costs, coupled with massive depreciation? Most boaters are lucky if they can retain twenty percent. Golf? Can be done cheaply. However serious golfers can spend thousands of dollars on clubs, and thousands of dollars in travel and fees to play every year (I have known some!). After a few years, be lucky to get $200 for the clubs in a yard sale. Percentage dollar retention? Single digits. Try flying a plane for a hobby (I know a few of those also).

Basically, unless one wants to sit and whittle scraps of wood to pass the time? Whether a few dollars or millions per year, hobbies cost money. And antique automobiles are not nearly the worst that way.

 

 

Thanks for the reply and yes I get it.  I'm part of the Jeep community and we spend endless hours wrenching.... upgrading and fixing.  We also dump in $$$$ and know that in the end it rarely increase the value.  I guess the value is in the community and the friendships that are built, which are priceless.

[JCrace]

14 hours ago, Digger914 said:

Mora, about half way between the Cambridge and Hinckley exits and about a 3 hour round trip drive from where I am. Know the area fairly well as my dads uncles and cousins once owned Chevy dealerships in those small towns. I know the Spears name, but I have no idea where Spears Customs is and I would need to make a call to find out if it is a new brick and mortar business, or a home garage shop. 

 

Best not to wait till spring to find out whats going on, Wayne is right about how fees add up quickly and Mora isn't the hand shake, mans word is his bond, little town that it used to be. 

I spoke to my brother who lives in Hermantown and travels to the Twin Cities often.  He is going to try to get ahold of the guy and at least stop in and see it.  Then we can start formulating a plan on what we should do with it.

[60FlatTop]

One of my frequent comments is about the importance of legal ownership. Since the car is not finished it may have paperwork in the name of a previous owner, one a few owners back, or none. Find that first and take the steps required to put it in your name or the estate's.

I write this because there may even be some giving advice without legal ownership of a car they are sinking money into, at home or in a shop. I can look from my seat into the next room and see the drawer my car paperwork is in. That includes disassembled and parts cars I have brought home. Everything gets transferred to my name because I never know what the final disposition will be.

 

From the looks of the car I would guess there is about 10 years of work in it at a hobby level. Remember that time and money were not an investment. It was enjoyable recreation for your Dad. He got all the benefits of ownership and the car served him well. Nothing is owed.

Bernie

[padgett]

I have reached my tag limit of eight cars and is really about two too many (anyone interested in a pair of SLK Mercedes retractibles (nice 320 and not so 230 ? Under $10k for pair)) but all are tagged, titled, and insured.

 

Even a parts car is titled. It really saves a lot of trouble later and I pass on cars without a clear Florida title.

 

[Paul Dobbin]

Like Bernie says:  First thing is to get the ownership question resolved.  Untill you own it there is not much you can do.

If that is unclear, get the will probated and establish who owns it now and get the paperwork to prove ownership.  Find

the cars file or location of receipts and restoration records. That will be a source of contacts to help you.  Your brother

may be your best bet for detective work.  The will will tell if he's working for you or himself or for other relatives.   It's not

something that easy to do long distance.   I've done estates for years and each state is different, expect a can of worms

and be happy if it's not.  If you are the executor, start at the County Clerks Office to find the requirement in your fasthers

county.  They can be very helpful.   You need authority to do anything in most states, the County Clerks office will tell

you how to get that authority.  Will or no will, they have the rules and ability to guide you.  Good Luck.

Edited December 17, 2020 by Paul Dobbin (see edit history)

[JCrace]

My step mother is still alive so she is the owner but she is 75 so I am helping her with this.

[Paul Dobbin]

14 minutes ago, JCrace said:

My step mother is still alive so she is the owner but she is 75 so I am helping her with this.

  I'm 75 too, so don't hold that against her.  You and your brother can do the leg work for her and maybe one of

  you can keep the car.   It's a wonderful hobby and has been enjoyable for me for 50 years.  Your father chose

  a good car for drivability.  Car looks to be close to usable, I even like the color!  (Mine is a 34 Ford)

 

Edited December 17, 2020 by Paul Dobbin (see edit history)

[Bloo]

5 minutes ago, JCrace said:

My step mother is still alive so she is the owner but she is 75 so I am helping her with this.

 

I will just throw in that I believe when some of these guys say things like "establish ownership" they aren't really referring to your step mother who may own it, but to TITLE.

 

Title threads on this site are a quagmire because it is worldwide, and even if we restrict the discussion to USA the laws vary wildly among the 50 states. Opinions vary wildly, because people have had wildly different experiences with the state DMV, depending on where they have lived.

 

"Establishing ownership" in this context means not so much that she owns it, but that she can provide the title, or paperwork necessary for the new owner to establish ownership, and to buy licenses for the car.

 

Some states are easy, some are not. The truth of the matter is that with any collector car there is a good possibility that the buyer could be from out of state, and even if you live an a state that does not use titles, the lack of one limits your market, and also lowers the value significantly.

 

If you want her to get the most money she can, help her get her paperwork in order, and the sooner the better.

 

[Larry Schramm]

On 12/16/2020 at 6:56 PM, wayne sheldon said:

Some words about this hobby, since you appear to be new to it.

 

Of course, we long-timers in the hobby think it is one of the best hobbies in the world! And, there are good reasons for that. Of course, in this hobby as with anything to do with human beings, there are the bad apples, some liars and thieves. Can't seem to get away from those no matter where you go in the human world. However, antique automobiles tend to attract people that care about history, and not for selfish reasons. They care about what other people did, in other times. They care about the remnants of those times because they understand that keeping in touch with history does matter. So this hobby has a tendency to attract good people.

 

One does not have to be wealthy to be active in antique automobiles. I am far from being wealthy, most of my closest friends are not considered wealthy. I do have good friends, even a couple I consider close friends, that are wealthy. They treat me like an equal. They have many non-wealthy friends that they treat like equals.

 

What Wayne says is true about the majority of the individuals in this hobby being good people.

 

As for being "wealthy", I sure wish I knew what that number is. 

 

But what Wayne says about needing to be resourceful in both time, talent to do your own work, and money is very true.  It is a balance of the three items.  Some persons have more money and not able to fix anything, or any increments of the three.  I personally do a lot of the work on my cars myself to save money.  I have the time, talent & tools, and some very good friends to help when needed.  We swap off helping each other.

 

A lot of the car hobby is the "network" of friends that can help both with physical help & mental help on thinking out solutions to problems.

 

Overall, the hobby is not for persons that are faint of heart or wallet.

 

Best advice is to buy the best vehicle that your budget will allow and enjoy the ride.

Edited December 18, 2020 by Larry Schramm (see edit history)