nick8086 Posted December 25, 2020 Share Posted December 25, 2020 (edited) https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1954-kaiser-darrin-2/ It is a mess but for 1950 dollars.. Not to bad.. Edited December 25, 2020 by nick8086 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted December 25, 2020 Share Posted December 25, 2020 Unfinished projects are bad, unfinished disasters are worse. That is shame. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted December 26, 2020 Share Posted December 26, 2020 10 hours ago, alsancle said: Unfinished projects are bad, unfinished disasters are worse. That is shame. To give alsancle's comment some context, here's one of the comments from the Bring-a-Trailer comment section on this car: "Merry Christmas to everybody. When the eggnog wears off, I shall give a long sad narrative on a car that deserves so much better than it has received under my stewardship! I will say that, when I bought this car in 1997, it was an all original complete unrestored Darrin. The engine and frame you see in in some of the pictures are original to the car." So in other words, this Darrin - in it's current form - is out of the "Every old car is a hot rod" and the "Every old car mechanic is Chip Foose" schools of thought. Yes, that is a sad story. The good news is that the major components still look salvageable to my untrained eye. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick8086 Posted December 26, 2020 Author Share Posted December 26, 2020 The good news is that the major components still look salvageable to my untrained eye. Not sure about this.. If you have to make parts or you can not find them..You may have a lot of money in this.. The car is worth 10k to 12K just to have a car title and the shell to the car to the right person.. All the car frames are junk, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted December 26, 2020 Share Posted December 26, 2020 Just think. If he had just done a decent job of storage and not touched it he would probably be looking at a 30-40k car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimkf Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 Having owned a couple of these cars, I've learned that you want to buy one as complete as possible. Almost nothing unique to a Darrin is available in the aftermarket except for a few gaskets and window seals so if you're in the market and don't have the skills to fabricate everything from the missing pot metal parts to brake, clutch pedal and convertible top assemblies, then look for a better example. This car is missing quite a few bits and pieces so it will be an ambitious but not impossible effort to restore it to its former glory. The Willys supplied engine and transmission pictured is not original to the car, despite what the seller says, but can be used with minor modifications. If the serial number and trim tags are present and the title matches, then I think this is a good $8K car. And I agree with an earlier comment, if the car still sat on its original frame, unaltered, it would be worth much more. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Cole Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 35 minutes ago, jimkf said: Having owned a couple of these cars, I've learned that you want to buy one as complete as possible. Almost nothing unique to a Darrin is available in the aftermarket except for a few gaskets and window seals so if you're in the market and don't have the skills to fabricate everything from the missing pot metal parts to brake, clutch pedal and convertible top assemblies, then look for a better example. This car is missing quite a few bits and pieces so it will be an ambitious but not impossible effort to restore it to its former glory. The Willys supplied engine and transmission pictured is not original to the car, despite what the seller says, but can be used with minor modifications. If the serial number and trim tags are present and the title matches, then I think this is a good $8K car. And I agree with an earlier comment, if the car still sat on its original frame, unaltered, it would be worth much more. The seller said he lost all the data tags. Bidding's at $3.5k, with 3 days to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick8086 Posted December 29, 2020 Author Share Posted December 29, 2020 (edited) All you need is the frame number.. The seller said he lost all the data tags. Post a picture of it.. Edited December 29, 2020 by nick8086 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classiclines Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 Wow - sold for $36,000 - little more than I anticipated - Happy New Year all !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick8086 Posted January 1, 2021 Author Share Posted January 1, 2021 (edited) Here is the one in Hawaii. Not sure if he restored it. He called me on a few parts but I never sold him anything.. That is a project.. I found a post card of this car from 1956. Edited January 1, 2021 by nick8086 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick8086 Posted January 1, 2021 Author Share Posted January 1, 2021 (edited) I think we paid 24k for this?? Will have to find our records. In year 2000? Edited January 1, 2021 by nick8086 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick8086 Posted January 1, 2021 Author Share Posted January 1, 2021 (edited) Here is another part of the car.. Edited January 1, 2021 by nick8086 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick8086 Posted January 1, 2021 Author Share Posted January 1, 2021 It took me 8 years to find this a brake cable.. So I picked up two of them.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimkf Posted January 1, 2021 Share Posted January 1, 2021 I was extremely surprised to see the BAT Darrin fetch $36k. For a car that will need every part restored or replaced, there's not a lot of room between the purchase price and its value when done. But, someone saw something in it that most of the rest of us didn't so I wish them luck in their quest. I'd call that very, very well sold. When in Hawaii many years ago I got a chance to see two Darrins. One, painted blue, was parked in a garage not far from my hotel and the other is the pictured unit. The salt air had totally destroyed anything without a heavy coat of paint. Lastly, the front brake cable on a Darrin is almost the same as was used on the Henry J. The latter is an inch or so longer and can be used without modification. They're not hard to find. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted January 1, 2021 Share Posted January 1, 2021 I really like the Darrin and it is one of the 1950s cars I would consider if one was thrown at me. But 36k for that car seems insane. I'm no expert on them, but wouldn't 99k for this one be 10 times a better deal? https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/kaiser/darrin/2437097.html 1954 Kaiser Darren, number 317 of 435, original-has never been restored, 22.032 miles with original motor, everything works, garage kept, lime green, very good condition original car. $99,000 John 480-226-5111 Price: $99,000 Negotiable 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now