Nate49 Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 I am looking for help determining an asking price for my 1919 Mitchell E40 5 Passenger Touring. It is very original and is in excellent unrestored condition. The odometer reads just shy of 23,500 miles which I think may be accurate as it was in storage from 1956 to 2002. In 2002, it was sold by the long time owner and a substantial amount of work done by the new owner to get it running and roadworthy again. I have not had the time to drive it and take to car shows like I planned to do and have decided it is time to pass it to someone who can enjoy it. Apparently there are very few Mitchells still in existence and therefore it is difficult to establish the value of one. I don't have any other experience with vehicles this old to draw on either. Any opinions,or suggestions of reference books to check, etc. would be greatly appreciated. I have a lot more pictures if they would be helpful. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intimeold Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 You say You haven't driven it yet; does it run now. That will help someone; to figure somewhat of a price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9 Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 (edited) Getting it running and reliable will mean everything in value. The pics look great but the power of the resale is gonna be in a running and driving vehicle. Edited September 2, 2021 by Steve9 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wetherbee Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 As I recall, this car was sold at the New England Auto Auction put on by the Owls Head Transportation Museum in 2002. The hubcap face being used for a radiator emblem is giving it away as the same car… I don’t remember what it sold for but I remember it as a super original car with great potential. With the more recent interest in preservation of very original cars it should sell well if it is roadworthy as stated. Any mechanical issues will detract from both the value and desirability. Putting a value is going to be extremely hard but basing it against other similar sized and condition cars I would think $15k to $18k would be the max. A great car and I wish you luck with the sale of her. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Bond Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 5 hours ago, Mark Wetherbee said: As I recall, this car was sold at the New England Auto Auction put on by the Owls Head Transportation Museum in 2002. The hubcap face being used for a radiator emblem is giving it away as the same car… I don’t remember what it sold for but I remember it as a super original car with great potential. With the more recent interest in preservation of very original cars it should sell well if it is roadworthy as stated. Any mechanical issues will detract from both the value and desirability. Putting a value is going to be extremely hard but basing it against other similar sized and condition cars I would think $15k to $18k would be the max. A great car and I wish you luck with the sale of her. Dittos to Marks response. Actually I almost replied late last night too. What it's got going for it is the wonderful unrestored condition it seems to be in. If its a good running car, much better of course. There are some negatives though. It falls into a "gap" between the brass era and later when most cars came with 4-wheel brakes. Its usability is somewhat limited but it would be a great ride for an AACA Vintage Tour or a Glidden. Pics don't indicate what condition the top might be in. As a driveable vehicle, Marks guestimate is right on in my opinion. Terry 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickelroadster Posted September 3, 2021 Share Posted September 3, 2021 Show some pictures of the engine and is the wheelbase 120" or 127"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate49 Posted September 4, 2021 Author Share Posted September 4, 2021 Sorry I haven't replied earlier - been a busy week. Very impressed you guys remembered this car from an auction almost 20 years ago - do you have photographic memories?? or were you interested in it? Yes, I was told this was sold at an Owl's Head auction around 2002, so it is the same car. It was a running, driving car when I bought it about 7 years ago, and I did drive it some after I bought it. I don't think it will be difficult to get running again - so it sounds like I should do that before trying to sell it. However,one of the reasons I want to sell it is that I have never got the knack of getting the spark adjusted to start it.... It is a 120" wheel base and I have included a couple pictures of the engine. Thanks for your help and information. I might post back looking for guidance on getting it started if I continue to have trouble with that - which I probably will! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kings32 Posted September 4, 2021 Share Posted September 4, 2021 Are you going to sell ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 On 9/4/2021 at 9:59 AM, Nate49 said: Sorry I haven't replied earlier - been a busy week. Very impressed you guys remembered this car from an auction almost 20 years ago - do you have photographic memories?? or were you interested in it? Yes, I was told this was sold at an Owl's Head auction around 2002, so it is the same car. It was a running, driving car when I bought it about 7 years ago, and I did drive it some after I bought it. I don't think it will be difficult to get running again - so it sounds like I should do that before trying to sell it. However,one of the reasons I want to sell it is that I have never got the knack of getting the spark adjusted to start it.... It is a 120" wheel base and I have included a couple pictures of the engine. Thanks for your help and information. I might post back looking for guidance on getting it started if I continue to have trouble with that - which I probably will! Never underestimate the power of the AACA forum clientele, LOL. Looks like a really great car. GLWS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate49 Posted September 5, 2021 Author Share Posted September 5, 2021 On 9/4/2021 at 12:20 PM, kings32 said: Are you going to sell ? Yes, I plan to. Hope to get it running in the next few weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMoneyPit Posted September 6, 2021 Share Posted September 6, 2021 (edited) On 9/4/2021 at 9:59 AM, Nate49 said: Very impressed you guys remembered this car from an auction almost 20 years ago - do you have photographic memories?? or were you interested in it? I remember seeing it too at some point. What I thought was most unusual were the headlights mounted on the side of the radiator. Other than Lexington and a few larger commercial vehicles I don’t think I have seen that on any medium size cars… Edited September 6, 2021 by TheMoneyPit (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1912Staver Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 It looks like a very good example. Unfortunately; as others have pointed out, this era is a bit of a hard sell these days. But for someone actually looking for a nickel era car this one would be hard to beat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 Shake a couple of vacuum cleaner bags over it and use the key words "barn find". Every search engine in the world will hit your offering. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karasmer Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 So whatever happened to this car, I am looking at one right now, not the same one though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron hausmann Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 Nate, I have experience with 1917 to 1919 “Nickel-era” cars. Mine are Kissel cars. One original limo, one light delivery truck recreation, and one convertible hardtop Sedanlette restored 100 points. Although a Kissel is a little more of a speedy/ luxury car with more frills than a Mitchell, these rare marques might be a good “comp”. For your original zmitchell, I would think that if you got your car running, with decent tires, you would be able to get $15,000 to $20,000. So a starting price would be around $18,000. Who ever in the previous comments suggested that nickel era cars are a tougher sell, I would agree. Normally nickel era cars are slow, hard to brake, and often use unique pieces which make repairs hard. Kissels however are quite fast (60-70 max if you are crazy) and have huge rear brake drums. So I’ll stick with those. Ron Hausmann P.E. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABear Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 ron.. This thread was started in 2021, OP posted three times all in this thread, I suspect the OP has had time to figure out a price/value and perhaps even sold the car by now.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Bond Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 Yes, I see he has not even visited the forum since his last post. He must have already had a buyer waiting. An antiques dealer once said "everything has a price. Just gotta figure what that is." Guess the OP got his info so no further need of any of our input. Terry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 "karasmer"s post bringing this one back up may likely be a different Mitchell. He/she asking what happened with the OP's car? I guess nobody so far here knows the answer. The Mitchell automobiles were fairly low production, and are considered somewhat rare (a greatly overused word generally speaking), but were well built automobiles in their day. The HCCA regional group I have belonged to for about three decades had several brass era Mitchells in it. Probably the only local car club that would have more than one Mitchell show up for the same club tour from time to time? While I have known about five people owning brass era Mitchell automobiles, the post brass era Mitchells are even less common. They are good nickel era cars, but rarity does not always mean dollar values. Someone wanting a good and unusual nickel era car could do well with a Mitchell. If the price is reasonable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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