Yet Another What's It Worth Question

[Jazzop]

Man, I've let my Landy fall to the bottom of the vehicular honey-do list (5th place out of 5). I feel quite depressed about this, but there's nothing to be gained from wallowing in a pit of woe-is-me-ism. It's time to think critically and objectively about my choices.

Background: it's a 1965 IIA 88 hardtop RHD 2.25L. Drivetrain is removed and partially rebuilt. Frame and bulkhead were determined (by me) to be unacceptable for reinstalling the drivetrain. I was going to get a galvanized frame and repair or replace the bulkhead before reassembling the vehicle, but got distracted by "life".

As I see it, I have the following main options:

1. Part the vehicle out as it sits now.

2. Restore the vehicle as I originally intended to the condition that meets my personal standards (think "near-concours"), which would definitely involve buying a new frame and bulkhead.

3. Restore the vehicle to some intermediate state which maximizes the ROI for the extra work beyond simply parting it out.

The questions I have are:

a. What is the approximate "value" of a complete IIA 88 in parts, minus a frame and bulkhead?

b. What is the median sale price of such a vehicle in a mechanically awesome condition, but with the undercarriage rot?

c. What is the going rate for a well-restored version, whose only "flaws" would be a new paint job (no "patina") and the non-original frame/bulkhead? I ask just in case I have to sell it when I finish doing it the way I want.

I fully appreciate that the answers to these questions involves a lot of variability and overlap. I'm coming from the position of being in a LR coma for the past 7 years, with nary a peek at websites or magazines, so a rough overview will be helpful. It seems that these things are commanding much higher prices than they did when I was using mine as a daily driver 10 years ago.

Thanks in advance.

[o2batsea]

Here's my take on your plight...
1. Total pain in the neck. Removing, boxing, shipping, and keeping track of what goes to whom. Gets old quickly and you will not feel like it was worth it. Plus, you won't sell everything and still be stuck with a now-completely-useless pile of random LR bits.
2. This will cost you 20 grand, if that's what you are prepared to spend, go for it. Best option if you plan not to sell ever.
3. The old "rolling resto" option. Thing is, it never gets done.

a. The most valuable pieces are the ones that are difficult to obtain; wings, bulkhead, doors, tail light lenses, some interior pieces and badges. Couple hundred for the wings and several hundred more for the rest, since you don't have a good bulkhead.

b. couple thousand max. But realistically less than a grand.

c. This is too vague a question. A perfectly restored (with new paint, galvy chassis, restored everything) might fetch 20 or even 30 depending on the day, the auction, the cuteness factor, etc.
If you do the restoration yourself to a professional level, you will spend way way more than you will ever get out of it if you sell it. That assumes that you will not drive it after it has been restored.

All in all, you will not have a chance of recouping your expenses. If it's a project, sell it as a project and take whatever hit you must to get rid of it. If you want it restored, plan on keeping it forever or at least long enough that you feel like you can part with it and not feel like you ripped yourself off.

[Jazzop]

Here's my take on your plight...
1. Total pain in the neck. Removing, boxing, shipping, and keeping track of what goes to whom. Gets old quickly and you will not feel like it was worth it. Plus, you won't sell everything and still be stuck with a now-completely-useless pile of random LR bits.

This may not be as bad for me as you think. I'm cripplingly ****-retentive, so all my spares and removed bits are already cataloged and stored neatly in plastic bins. I have a complex system of spreadsheets for tracking eBay listings and other such stuff. The leftovers and rare bits I don't want to sell would just remain in storage until I found the Landy that I truly wanted to keep forever.

2. This will cost you 20 grand, if that's what you are prepared to spend, go for it. Best option if you plan not to sell ever.

Normally I do not plan to sell any of my cars, ever. However, I bought this LR in college, without a lot of research on the different variants. I definitely still want a Series IIA or earlier, but I don't think I want this one. That's the only reason why I am considering anything other than the full frame-up restoration.

3. The old "rolling resto" option. Thing is, it never gets done.

Not quite a rolling-resto, because if I choose this option it would be strictly to make it drive well enough to sell. So it would not be dragged out like a typical rolling resto (which I swore off years ago, after personal experience). But for a max sale price of $2k as you suggest, I'd rather part it out.

This situation reminds me of essentially every time I break up with a lady. There are better models out there than you, and I'd rather cut my losses before spending a bunch of money and time fixing you up. But there's nothing fundamentally wrong with you. I'm just not that into you.

[luckyjoe]

I definitely still want a Series IIA or earlier, but I don't think I want this one.

This statement sums it up pretty well. You need to decide what you want. Putting effort into anything less is futile...