[Goin' Topless]

I'm seriously considering selling my 1970 Lemans Sport convertible. It's all done except for a paint job. All the body work is done and it has a coat of black epoxy primer on it. It basically needs a blocking and paint.

I'm getting advice from both sides of the spectrum: (A) Paint it and sell it afterwards as a finished car. (B) sell it as is and let the buyer finish it the way they want it. I'm just seeking advice on which way I should jump. Right now, I think its a solid $10K car, with some sources saying it's worth $20K-$25K finished.

What do you guys think?

THE CAR:
Body: GTO hood with functional scoops, new full rear quarter skins, lower front fender patches, NOS front and rear bumpers, new 3-piece trunk and new windshield, top and pads were replaced as well as hydraulic lines.

Driveline: .030 over 455, ported 96 heads (250 cfm @ .500), CAT forged rods, ARP bolts, Crower 60243 cam, lifters & springs, Scorpion roller rockers, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake manifold, Holley 800 double pumper, HEI distributor. 400 Turbo with BTI 11" converter and an extra clutch added to the clutch pack. new Eaton 10-bolt posi carrier with 3.23 gears.

Electrical: All new wiring.

Suspension: All new tie rods, ball joints, a-frame bushings, boxed control arms, new springs front and rear. 4 wheel disc brakes, fronts with Scarebird's brackets and assembled from his part list, rears from The Right Stuff.

[KS circutguy]

IMO=Nice ride sell as is .Save the money let the buyer pay the rest.
BTW;sorry to hear your selling it .
Post it up on PY
BTW;Love your sig!
Post lots of pictures of the build too.

[poncho-mike]

When I first got out of college many years ago, I bought a car in primer and I'll never do that again unless the car is dirt cheap.

The body was supposed to be "ready for final sand, then shoot". I took it to the painter who I was planning to use, and he told me the body was nowhere near ready to paint. I took it to several other painters to quote finishing the paint, and all told me the work had been poorly done. The first paint guy was a friend, and he told me to put a T-shirt on my palm and run it down the side of the car, which would show the ripples. After being shown some of the short cuts the previous owner had taken, I bailed and ended up selling the car at a loss.

I think most people will be suspicious of the underlying work and you may have some difficulty finding someone to paint over another person's work.

[63gpman]

My opinion is that you should paint the car. I am not sure that you will get your money out of it, but would guess that you will be able to sell it easier. you open your market up with paint. Fewer people looking for a project than people looking for a car that is done and ready to go. If I were to go after a project, i would want the entire thing done my way. Again, my opinion on this. Sounds like a nice ride per your post GLWTS!

[Txbobcat]

Finish the paint. Every time I see a black primer job I figure that they are hiding a lot and I have no interest in it.

[The Boss]

Unless you can get it painted cheaply and it still looks good, sell it now. I got 15k for this car when I was done with it, the Lemans, even a convertible won't get the dollars you want.

[77 Canamman]

You won't be able to get what you think out of it. I had a 1972 LeMans Sport Convertible, Red on Black, black top. Numbers matching 400/4 speed M22/ tach/disc brakes/14" Honeycombs. The car was a solid, original car with good paint, new rear bumper, no rips in the original interior, non cracked dash. I started out at $12,500 and nobody wanted it because it had the LeMans nose, not the GTO endura nose. I ended up selling it for $10,500 after several months just to get it out of here. If it isn't a GTO, the value just isn't there unless it is a real desirable oddball combo such as a 455HO or such..

[Old Blue 66]

I don't know if the market is different for a 70 vs a 66, but I just got done scouring the country for a 66 vert LeMans last fall.

Average asking pricing for a nice driver vert with original motor was in the upper teens. A modified car done well was just slightly above that in the 20 - 22K range (including clones).

Paint and curb appeal is everything with these cars.

Every time I see a black primer job I figure that they are hiding a lot and I have no interest in it.

Well said. You have to weigh in how much work you want to do with the car vs the return. Id much rather buy a car with a nice body and have to do motor work. Seems like the motor may be done in this case which is why I would take it to Maaco and throw a cheap paint job on it just to get some color. Many here swear by their work. The car would be much easier to sell.

[71SportRagtop]

A buddy mine did a 67 Chevelle on a budget. He's got a decent job but also has a mortgage and 3 young kids, so extra money isn't flying around.

He scored the car as a project with new 1/4's and floors in primer. The interior was complete but not perfect. By shopping at swap meets and scouring craigslist hard, he was able to build a nice clean car. It now has a healthy 350, a T-350 trans with a shift kit, and a 10 bolt posi rear with 3:55 gears. He drove the car for 2 years as a primered runner and finally made the decision to take it to Maaco for a paint job. He paid for the best paint job they offer and you know what, the car looks damn good. We did all the major work of removing all chrome and trim. We took the car to Maaco on a buddy's car trailer so all they had to do was mask, some light prep work, and shoot.

He was at a lot of shows and cruise nights with the group of car guys I hang with all last season and not once did anyone say anything to him about the paint. I think he got the whole job done for about a grand. It couldn't hurt to get an estimate from Maaco.

As far as selling the car. I had a 71 Lemans Sport convertible for years and the one thing I can tell you is that the thing that really hurts your Lemans is that it's a Lemans. Meaning this: GTO's have such and aura about them that it hurts the value of a Lemans. People simply want a GTO. I know I was there. This is my 71 Lemans Sport convertible:



That being said, the fact that a finished GTO sells in the mid $30K range could net you $10-$15K for your Lemans. Here's what I'd do: clean it up as best as you can. Take LOTS of detailed pics. Put together a complete list of everything you've done to the car, and then toss it up on eBay. You can protect yourself with a reserve price so the car won't sell for $5K, and then just see what happens. Basically the buyers will determine the true value of your car. If there's a guy out there who desperately wants a 70 Lemans Sport with a healthy 455 he may pay your price.

Good luck with whatever decision you make!

[69goatboy]

My worthless .02 would be to paint it.
Original color, if it's a "good" one.

If not, well then they don't call it resale red for nothing.

[63gpman]

I think we need to see pics of the car in its current condition.

[Bob Dillon]

Paint it.

[Old Blue 66]

Originally Posted by 71SportRagtop

A buddy mine did a 67 Chevelle on a budget. He's got a decent job but also has a mortgage and 3 young kids, so extra money isn't flying around.

He scored the car as a project with new 1/4's and floors in primer. The interior was complete but not perfect. By shopping at swap meets and scouring craigslist hard, he was able to build a nice clean car. It now has a healthy 350, a T-350 trans with a shift kit, and a 10 bolt posi rear with 3:55 gears. He drove the car for 2 years as a primered runner and finally made the decision to take it to Maaco for a paint job. He paid for the best paint job they offer and you know what, the car looks damn good. We did all the major work of removing all chrome and trim. We took the car to Maaco on a buddy's car trailer so all they had to do was mask, some light prep work, and shoot.

He was at a lot of shows and cruise nights with the group of car guys I hang with all last season and not once did anyone say anything to him about the paint. I think he got the whole job done for about a grand. It couldn't hurt to get an estimate from Maaco.

As far as selling the car. I had a 71 Lemans Sport convertible for years and the one thing I can tell you is that the thing that really hurts your Lemans is that it's a Lemans. Meaning this: GTO's have such and aura about them that it hurts the value of a Lemans. People simply want a GTO. I know I was there. This is my 71 Lemans Sport convertible:



That being said, the fact that a finished GTO sells in the mid $30K range could net you $10-$15K for your Lemans. Here's what I'd do: clean it up as best as you can. Take LOTS of detailed pics. Put together a complete list of everything you've done to the car, and then toss it up on eBay. You can protect yourself with a reserve price so the car won't sell for $5K, and then just see what happens. Basically the buyers will determine the true value of your car. If there's a guy out there who desperately wants a 70 Lemans Sport with a healthy 455 he may pay your price.

Good luck with whatever decision you make!

True but not everyone can afford GTO money. When I bought my GTO last fall, I was actually looking for a LeMans vert. This car fell in my lap. The seller needed cash fast and thought he could get rid of the car quick by pricing it cheap (he owned it 25 years). It worked because I bought it the next day. GTO's are expensive.

Nice Lemans by the way.

[Dennis H.]

Pretty easy decision, figure out what you want in its present state and advertise it for sale. If you have no takers you then can see about getting it painted. The worse thing you could do is dump more money into paint now and find out there is not really any interest out there for the car.

[Goin' Topless]

Ya, I hear ya guys. Sadly, there's no Maaco around here and Earl Scheib is long gone (lol). I'm at the point that all I have to do is buy materials, block it down and shoot it.

The reason I ask is that my father died and left me a 70 Chevelle SS 454 that I'll need to make room for in the near future.

I priced the car in my head around $7-$8K before I started checking car values and it seems that this thing has jumped a little bit in the last year. Seems that 20-25K is the high end of the market nationally and 15K is a more realistic max for this area. From a money standpoint, if $500-$700 in materials yields another 5K in value then it's a no brainer. I was wondering if there was any merit to the logic of selling it as a car that can be finished the way you want it. I guess you could call it a high-end project car.

I'm in no rush to sell it. I've put a lot of time and money in it over the years and there's an endless list of things I'd like to try on it. It's a dream to drive, I just don't have room for two musclecars.

[Bob Dillon]

Originally Posted by Goin' Topless

Ya, I hear ya guys. Sadly, there's no Maaco around here and Earl Scheib is long gone (lol). I'm at the point that all I have to do is buy materials, block it down and shoot it.

Got a local community college in your area? We do, and my car was painted there. Had all the tools and equipment necessary for the body work, a very cool instructor, AND a heated booth.

[Goin' Topless]

Hmmm, now there's an idea. Our community college has an auto body educational center that does pretty good work. I'll have to stop by. Like I said, I'm in no hurry so I got time to think and ask around.

[Andre]

Convertibles are a lot easier to sell than hardtops, and I would guess that is true even in Iowa. That being said, I don't think you are going to get $20K after paint.
Now typically, I would say that this car would be easier to sell if it was painted, and that is still true. However, you haven't tried to sell the car as is, so maybe it will bring $10K as is, and you won't have to mess around with it any further. Maybe it sells at $8500. Depends on what you feel you have to get out of it vs dealing with tire kickers.

[arbys]

If I were to buy another car I would steer away from a car in primer because 95% of the cars I've seen in primer were that way reason. And it wasn't because they were getting ready to paint it it was that they were hiding something. If the body is any good then paint it.

[Bob Dillon]

Originally Posted by Goin' Topless

Hmmm, now there's an idea. Our community college has an auto body educational center that does pretty good work. I'll have to stop by. Like I said, I'm in no hurry so I got time to think and ask around.

Glad to help. My initial idea was to just ask to have a student there paint the car, but the instructor said "no," and why didn't I just take the course, learn some skills, and do it myself?

So I did. I've never regretted it. Check them out.