nick8086 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 (edited) Just found this on line.. Maybe Ebay.. Not sure why it is so low.. Edited January 10 by nick8086 (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 https://www.ebay.com/itm/276273599413 prices are soft everywhere. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malo48 Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 Someday I will own one. Gotta save up the pennies first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 The pictures are not great but I'm willing to bet the condition is probably why the price is what it is. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 A collector I know who owned two restored '54 Kaiser Darrins plus a couple more complete cars in need plus remnants of others, observed that people paid a lot of money for what was a slinky fiberglass body on a Henry J chassis powered by a Willys F-head six. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deac Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 That car is located in old town Orange which is about 5 miles from where I live. I am going to mosey on over there tomorrow and take a closer look! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick8086 Posted January 11 Author Share Posted January 11 (edited) 3 hours ago, 58L-Y8 said: A collector I know who owned two restored '54 Kaiser Darrins plus a couple more complete cars in need plus remnants of others, observed that people paid a lot of money for what was a slinky fiberglass body on a Henry J chassis powered by a Willys F-head six. Who has two of them? Edited January 11 by nick8086 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 13 hours ago, 58L-Y8 said: A collector I know who owned two restored '54 Kaiser Darrins plus a couple more complete cars in need plus remnants of others, observed that people paid a lot of money for what was a slinky fiberglass body on a Henry J chassis powered by a Willys F-head six. The body is fantastic and the platform mundane. Such a shame. They could have used used their bigger engine with the blower and it would be been much cooler. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarNucopia Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 11 hours ago, nick8086 said: Who has two of them? Is that a Jarama I spy there on the right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumBob Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 There's a Darrin up here in Sussex County at Space Farms, a local kid's attraction. It's been there for years and needs work. It's a stationary vehicle in their museum. They have a zoo, and have reportedly been cited many times for mistreatment of animals. The family has a reputation around the county for being "eccentric." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusty Trucker Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 The Edsel was once described as "an Oldsmobile kissing lemons." ...wonder what the Kaiser Darrin was kissing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotiveLensPhoto Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 On 1/10/2024 at 6:36 PM, alsancle said: The pictures are not great but I'm willing to bet the condition is probably why the price is what it is. This is the only color I can remember seeing this car in, not that I've seen many. Nice to see it in other colors as well. Regardless how well built they were, I do like the look of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick8086 Posted January 12 Author Share Posted January 12 2 hours ago, DrumBob said: There's a Darrin up here in Sussex County at Space Farms, a local kid's attraction. It's been there for years and needs work. It's a stationary vehicle in their museum. They have a zoo, and have reportedly been cited many times for mistreatment of animals. The family has a reputation around the county for being "eccentric." Found it on line.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumBob Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 8 hours ago, nick8086 said: Found it on line.. Yes, that's it. They have a museum on their property, with cars, wagons and other ancient forms of transportation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brasscarguy Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 I have a friend that had 2 Darren's in Seattle. One was all original and the other had a blown engine. My friend was an incredible mechanic and fabricator. The blown engine Darren ended up with a 6 cylinder twin cam Maserati engine and transmission installed. That combination made the ol' Darren get up and scoot. Not sure what happened to it after he passed. brasscarguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classiclines Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 As far as market data points, this one just sold on BAT yesterday... https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1954-kaiser-darrin-12/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotiveLensPhoto Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 How did this car compare to others of its time for dependability, driving enjoyment, etc.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryankazmer Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 The difficulty is that the Darrin and the 53-4 Corvette had the looks but not the chops of true sports cars such as the XK Jaguars 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotiveLensPhoto Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 2 hours ago, bryankazmer said: The difficulty is that the Darrin and the 53-4 Corvette had the looks but not the chops of true sports cars such as the XK Jaguars Weren't they in significantly different price ranges, though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick8086 Posted January 16 Author Share Posted January 16 (edited) Not sure if I have 75k or 80K for my car insurance on them.. They very fun to drive.. If you have the over drive working you can drive this car at 70 mph. It does not have any problems. It is all hood since you sit so low and you at the back of the car.. It will not do burnout.. Just FYI - I was told 30 years ago one Kaiser Darrin had a Jaguar motor in it.. I try to track in down with no luck.. Edited January 16 by nick8086 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kfcarguy Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 On 1/11/2024 at 9:35 PM, Crusty Trucker said: The Edsel was once described as "an Oldsmobile kissing lemons." ...wonder what the Kaiser Darrin was kissing? Dutch was an artist. As with many artists, they in corporate "signatures" in their designs, e.g. Salvador Dali had a small bug in all of his paintings. Ergo, Dutch put an image of a heart in his, i.e., "scalloped" windshield on Kaisers and rear window on the Henry j. For the Darrin, it was the turn signals and the grille. Get it? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryankazmer Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 10 hours ago, MotiveLensPhoto said: Weren't they in significantly different price ranges, though? Approx numbers: Corvette $3500 Kaiser $3700 XK 140 $4000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 I really like the style of the Kaiser Darrin and wish the engine was bigger. In fairness, have never driven one so maybe it is perfectly fine? I have put lots of miles on a XK140 and I can tell you that car will go as fast as you want, especially with the optional racing head which 50% of the US cars got. Btw, I think the market for all three 54 cars is fairly close right now. 75K gets you a nice driver across the board. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotiveLensPhoto Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 4 hours ago, bryankazmer said: Approx numbers: Corvette $3500 Kaiser $3700 XK 140 $4000 Well that REALLY surprises me. I would assume the Jaguar would have been significantly higher. Either way, that Kaiser sure is a nice looking car, although if I could afford any I'd always take a vintage Jaguar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 12 minutes ago, MotiveLensPhoto said: Well that REALLY surprises me. I would assume the Jaguar would have been significantly higher. Either way, that Kaiser sure is a nice looking car, although if I could afford any I'd always take a vintage Jaguar. 4k was a lot of money for a car. Especially a toy. In 53 the base model Chevy was around 1500 bucks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryankazmer Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 52 minutes ago, alsancle said: 4k was a lot of money for a car. Especially a toy. In 53 the base model Chevy was around 1500 bucks. Agree. For a couple of other reference points, a Cadillac 62 was $3700, a Packard Caribbean $5200 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leif in Calif Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 6 hours ago, bryankazmer said: Agree. For a couple of other reference points, a Cadillac 62 was $3700, a Packard Caribbean $5200 1953 Porsche 356/1500 Super "Pre-A" Coupe had a price of $4,284 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusty Trucker Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 $3,000 in 1954 is worth $34,209.59 today $3,500 in 1954 is worth $39,911.19 today $4,000 in 1954 is worth $45,612.79 today $4,500 in 1954 is worth $51,314.39 today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick8086 Posted January 17 Author Share Posted January 17 They drop the price.. to 64500.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leif in Calif Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 11 hours ago, Crusty Trucker said: $3,000 in 1954 is worth $34,209.59 today $3,500 in 1954 is worth $39,911.19 today $4,000 in 1954 is worth $45,612.79 today $4,500 in 1954 is worth $51,314.39 today I think these mathematically adjusted old values are misleading...it's just such a different world today. These were expensive cars when they were new, but I looked it up and the average transaction price for a new vehicle today is around $47K. That's an AVERAGE price. In 1960, my parents sold our very modest house for $15,000. The formula used above says that would equate to about $151K today, but Zillow says the house worth $875K. Makes me glad I'm old, and don't have to deal with this stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusty Trucker Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 1 hour ago, Leif in Calif said: I think these mathematically adjusted old values are misleading...it's just such a different world today. These were expensive cars when they were new, but I looked it up and the average transaction price for a new vehicle today is around $47K. That's an AVERAGE price. In 1960, my parents sold our very modest house for $15,000. The formula used above says that would equate to about $151K today, but Zillow says the house worth $875K. Makes me glad I'm old, and don't have to deal with this stuff. Maybe that's why young people are living in rented apartments stacked six high and not able to buy new cars, much less afford room to store and rebuild a project car. The California home my folks bought new in 1946 is now "valued" at $1,250,000 and is basically the same 3 bedroom, 1 bath subdivision house on a 50 foot lot, except it's now nearly 80 years old. like me. Go figure. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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