1959 thunderbird coupe in Australia

[hunty]

1959 Ford Thunderbird 352 FE and cruise-o-matic auto with B&M shifter

the car has a brand new custom blue over silver paint job with all rust professionally cut out. paint job alone cost $20,000.

while the thunderbird was being painted the motor was removed and rebuilt, the 352fe is now 40 thou oversize, new timing chain and gears, it has a 272 crane cam and valve springs, the were heads rebuilt with new valves and seats to suit unleaded.

it also has a new 1411 edelbrock 750 carbie.

the cooling system was redone at the same time with all new hoses and the radiator and water pump were reconditioned

most if not all of the car has been rewired using a fuse holder, back in 59 they didn't fuse anything.

it still runs drum brakes so it doesn't stop the best but it looks cool doing it

the tyres are really good and the 20in 100 spoke wheels really give it a great look.

the only part of the car that lets it down is the interior, the seats are dirty and the foam isn't the best, and the door trims are in need of a recover as the vinyl is peeling off on the bottom. the dash is also cracked but it has a cover so it cant be seen. all of this can be seen in the pictures.

this car has had all the hard work done so you can just get in and drive, it turns heads everywhere it goes

located in Victoria Australia
looking for $35,000 Ono I'll be sad to see the girl go, but it is a house deposit just sitting there

[hunty]

ok guys so it's not getting much interest so I'll ask what's it need to sell? have I got too much on it? or would the interior br putting people off?
I'd like to know so feel free to be critical.
thanks andrew

[simplyconnected]

AU$35,000.00 converts to roughly US$26,000.

Generally speaking, a classic that looks totally original will fetch the most money. If your car doesn't sell, the asking price is too high. I cannot judge your car without going over the whole package. I see no pictures of the rockers, engine bay, trunk, etc.

I can tell you that a T-bird coupe over here can be much cheaper whereas a convertible may fetch that price, depending on the field of buyers.

To me, your car is still a project because it needs extensive interior work.

You can cut your losses and keep lowering the price or keep pumping more money into improvements. Eventually you will pique the interest of someone who is into wild street cams and paint jobs. This setup is a novelty that caters to certain people. It has departed from stock (that everyone can identify with) and is not conservative enough to be in a funeral procession or for seniors to attend church so the buying field is very narrow.

Classic cars are a very poor investment and they need to be enjoyed for what they are. Typically, the next owner will modify to suit his fancy but the 'starting point' must be close unless some celebrity owned the car. - Dave

[Dakota Boy]

Change the wheel/tire combination to something that matches the Watson-style paint job; chrome steelies and wide whites for example. Early 60's vibe.

[jopizz]

A custom paint job may look cool to you but it will most likely turn off 90% of your potential market. People will compliment you on how great it looks but in reality they wouldn't buy it for themselves. Everyone has their own taste. Your interior needs at least $1700 worth of parts to make it look presentable. Plus the work involved to replace everything. Dave is correct. Here in the states coupes are plentiful and the prices are very soft. $12-15,000 will get you a very nice show ready car. Only convertibles will bring over $20,000. Never put money into a classic car that you can't afford to lose.

John

[bird 60]

Hi Andy, like Dave mentioned it's pretty hard to price it without more pictures. Firstly, not everyone likes the Watson look & I'm one of them. However,
I do appreciate. When I buy cars, Classic or otherwise, I don't only look as to what I pay for them but how much I'll be spending on them as well. Send a few more pix on the full interior, trunk, & engine bay & I'll give you my opinion on it. My experience with Yank Tanks goes back to 1964, with my first a 1956 Ford Customline. At present I own a 1960 T. Bird & a 1979 Cadillac Eldorado, which is my 17th over the years.
In Adelaide, Historic rego is out of the question as it's not original, & I don't think to many people would want to use it as a daily driver. Rego in S.A. is around $1,000 a year. Historic $117.00 for 90 days usage.
By trade I was a Fitter & Turner, Toolmaker.

Chris......From OZ.

[Guest]

Being in Australia unfortunately the demand for these cars is unfortunately pretty low, even though they are very rare here.
It costs ridiculous amounts of money to restore them as there's no parts market so everything needs to come from the states.
Unfortunately the paint job(which I think is pretty cool by the way) really puts it in a niche market for buyers as anyone who is interested and wants something more tame will need to factor in at minimum another $10000 to change the color for something a bit less wild.
A couple of tips might be though is one, try and get it out on Facebook for starters, lots of thunderbird pages there with lots of members.
If you don't have Facebook and would like it advertised let me know and I can do it for you.
Secondly, with the interior, maybe spend a weekend in the garage, buy a few cans of vht vinyl dye and do your best.
I've used heaps in my build due to not having the money to retrim and it's made a huge difference.

I think the hard part is that the market is quite poor at the moment and unless your selling a mustang or camaro it can be pretty tough.
Chris.

[hunty]

thanks for the input guys, the paint was done by the guys that had it in the states I just got it redone. it's actually on here in the pictures section before it came over. I get its a little over the top though.
it's far from original, from what I could find originally it was a 430 not a 352 it was gold with tan interior. so I suppose anyone looking for originality wouldn't even begin to look at my car.
it had white walls and chrome wheels but they were terrible to drive on and were too expensive to replace. might have to change the wheels.
I thought the interior needed to be done, might have to just get it done so it sells.

[stubbie]

I'm with the other guys on the paint. If it was all blue or all silver I think you would stand a better chance of selling.