63 Impala SS - What to do? [pictures]

[willdogs]

My buddy has this car in his tow yard, the owner of the car died years ago.

He doesn't have any paperwork for the car so we are going to put it up on ebay for "Parts Only"

Here are some pics of the car, the interior is great! No tears or anything (as you can see), but the front end has some damage to the right fender, bumper, and hood.

Pics:

http://www.compugenius.com/impala/

How much do you think we can get for this car on ebay? I am trying to decide how much to set the reserve at. Many people have told us that these cars can go for a couple of g's but I am clueless.

Also, can anyone give me some more info on the car for just looking at the pictures? Does it look like it is in good condition? Does it matter if i don't have paperwork for the car?

Anyone know about these cars and the value of them?

thanks

[Pontiac59]

Some states do not require a title for the older cars and it is relatively easy to get paperwork for them - here in NY a notarized form indicating the registration is lost, is about all that is needed - a new reg is nontransferrable for 6 months while they check the VIN to be sure it's not reported stolen somewhere. Because the car was a tow, it may be possible to apply to a state for title on that basis as well. Certainly if the car has been there a long time, your friend has a right to the car on the basis of whatever his daily storage fee is on a car. This would take research with your state's DMV and perhaps some advice from a lawyer. If the original owner is deceased and the car has always changed hands in a legitimate manner, a new owner should be okay getting papers for it.

The shifter is not stock and there are a lot of modifications underhood which tells me the motor and transmission may not be original to the car. I see an aftermarket air cleaner/valve cover dress up kit and aluminum performance intake. I also see an add-on electric fan, HEI distributor and the car appears to have a set of headers installed, as well as braided hoses and lines. It looks like a considerable amount of work went into this car - it's possible someone rebuilt that engine and a toss up as to wether or not it's original. Don't believe '63 cars had alternators yet either. You'll want to check and include the engine numbers in your auction. The car appears to have had factory air judging by the large vents on each side of the dash, but the system is not present under the hood. I dont have a Chevrolet guide but you might be able to hit a bookstore and look in the Krause Standard Catalog of Chevrolet to determine if the engine number should match the car VIN if original, or other means to identify it.

Figuring this car as a #5 - needs complete restoration - the guide I have (Old Cars Price Guide Magazine, found at any larger newsstand) gives a base value of $3360, plus add 15% for the Super Sport option, and add 15% for factory air conditioning. So that gives a value of about $4000 - with the underhood air parts gone I would add about half of the 15%. If the motor is original to the car, head casting numbers may help as having a factory 'power pack' option also adds to the value.

The car is nice, it will help if you measure the wheelbase on both sides or lift the car up and take some X-measurements and try to determine if the frame is bent or not. But it would appear that with another front clip the car should be easily restorable.

I would recommend listing this car in the regular car categories on eBay (antique and classic) and paying the $80 in fees on it. Search the previous auction listings for the same kind of car and see what they sold for - see if there are any rougher cars, or cars in similar shape and use those as a guideline to know what to expect on this. State in your auction the car was a tow-away and has no paperwork. I would take more photos of the engine compartment, try to get something underneath to show the transmission too.

I wouldn't be surprised to see this go $5000 or more - the more details and facts you can include about this car, the more it's liable to be bid. You can either start it cheap, like $500, and let people bid away, or run a reserve price on it if you feel like you need to get a certain amount from it.

Good luck -

[Mr.Pushbutton]

My 63 Chevy II has an alternator, it's in the shop manual and parts book. I think that 62 was the first year for chevy. The car looks like you could get a front end off of a biscayne station wagon and with some work have a nice car, providing the frame didn't get too bent in the collision.