Will our cars become classics?

[l67ss]

One thing is to build em, another is to buy them. Nobody buys someone else's project. I've been there done that (not to an extreme modded extent) and I have come to learn that you usually have to redo a lot of things the person owner "fixed" or "did right".

once it gets to the point where the only real available versions are bone stock econo versions that some old person think should be on bj or hopped up versions and they aren't at every corner gravel used car lot the custom versions will have more appeal. and if the custom version has well integrated added in features usually only found on much newer cars..... anyway luckily for our broke asses as w bodies only ceased production 2 years ago itll be a long while before they shoot up in in price lol

[Nas Escobar]

once it gets to the point where the only real available versions are bone stock econo versions that some old person think should be on bj or hopped up versions and they aren't at every corner gravel used car lot the custom versions will have more appeal. and if the custom version has well integrated added in features usually only found on much newer cars..... anyway luckily for our broke asses as w bodies only ceased production 2 years ago itll be a long while before they shoot up in in price lol

They actually stopped in June of this year. The W Impala limited was still produced for fleet sales after the super epsilon was introduced.

 

I think the values are gonna be on brand cachet. Obviously the Pontiac and Olds will be the most valuable because you can't get new ones anymore.

[cdn_olds_94]

The comments on that are they way I see public opinion on our chassis, I still say there won't ever be any value to them as collector cars.

Our cars are "accidental" finds for most people and they fall in love or hate with them but the average person only has passing knowledge of them at best.

It's their loss really, the W-Body has so much to offer and so many different directions they can be built.

Everybody has a story about the time they got smacked down by a CamEro or some other "Sports" car: "I ran with it", "I would have had it but...", "That thing wasn't stock", to this day I've never been with a group of guys where somebody admitted having their ass handed to them by a W-Body out of embarrassment. But we all know it happens and with some frequency.

 

I like the term " accidental finds ". That is how I got my 94 Olds Cutlass Convertible. I liked the vert in the Valvoline commercial a few years back, and thought that If I ever came across one at a descent price I'd think about buying it. Well, my son's friend from high school's father pass away suddenly two years ago. He owned a 94 vert. His kids didn't want it so they offered the car to my son for 1000 dollars, and he bought it. This car was in amazing shape. Never winter driven and just a bit of surface rust on the back quarters. But it was in need of a new convertible roof. My son put the car in storage for the winter, and in the spring offered it to me for what he paid for it. Since getting the car, I've fixed the quarters, and replaced the roof. and fixed a couple of other little things on the car. I love this car. It drives great and once on the highway, the 3.4 DOHC really kicks in and she just sails along. Yea, some parts are hard to find, but I haven;t had any problems finding everyday stuff. Body parts are another thing, and I've been thinking about looking for another one for a parts car.  Will these cars be collectors items ? Who knows, maybe, maybe not. But I'm having fun with mine.

[94 olds vert]

Thats what it is about, enjoying the car. There are not too many US made convertibles anymore.

Edited October 5, 2016 by 94 olds vert

[rich_e777]

Not terribly kind, a bit insulting imo

 

 

http://jalopnik.com/for-5-500-could-this-wide-body-1996-olds-cutlass-proj-1784697934

HE IS SELLING THAT CAR AND DIDNT EVEN POST HERE!!??

 

I wonder if $4000 cash money would get it in my drive way?

[Mark 1997 Cutlass Coupe]

It's hard to say with any certainty what will or won't become collectible. I know when I go to my local cruise night with my triple black 97 Cutlass Coupe that almost every time someone stops me to ask about it, or relate a story when they had one. I still enjoy driving it, it's reliable, paid for, and looks good. That's good enough for me.

[Mark 1997 Cutlass Coupe]

It's hard to say with any certainty what will or won't become collectible. I know when I go to my local cruise night with my triple black 97 Cutlass Coupe that almost every time someone stops me to ask about it, or relate a story when they had one. I still enjoy driving it, it's reliable, paid for, and looks good. That's good enough for me.

[Heartbeat1991]

HE IS SELLING THAT CAR AND DIDNT EVEN POST HERE!!??

 

I wonder if $4000 cash money would get it in my drive way?

It was for sale for quite a while.  He sold it last month.

[Galaxie500XL]

You're likely talking about a very small group of people that would be interested in paying serious money in the future for W-bodies.

 

Convertibles will likely be more valuable, because they didn't make many, and convertibles typically sell for a premium even today.

 

TGP's likely won't be far behind, because of limited production.

 

It's pretty hard to predict these things, though--who would have imagined that some people are paying 30-50K for Edsel convertibles?  There was a time you almost couldn't give one away.

['93RegalGS3800]

I guess I should not be surprised to see this kind of thread come up. The oldest W's are over 20 years old now. I would appreciate if a company started to make reproduction interior parts as I'm not sure where to easily locate a new dashboard or other small pieces.

 

As for collector status it's really a gamble. lots of "regular" cars from the '70's-'80's are a hard find as they were cars people just drove and got rid of for something newer. (Other reasons can be added here.) Right now it takes a special kind of person to be into W's as most people see these as commuting appliances. I have yet to see one that has been modified out in the wild. Only modified cars I know of are on this forum.

 

I'd like to restore my car to keep the originality of the car intact. That means keeping the #'s matching drivetrain and staying with how the car rolled off the assembly line. If I make any modifications then it will be for the durability of the drivetrain. From the outside everything will look factory stock. Weather doing this helps the value in 10-15 years or not is in the air. It really depends on if people begin to desire these cars as classic or project cars.

 

For now I'm just gonna do what I plan to with my car and not worry about weather or not it becomes a sought after classic car. I really don't care how much it is worth as I enjoy it very much. It's a great driving car and does what I need it to. I also can't complain about how efficient it is for as old of a car it is.

[Nas Escobar]

I like the term " accidental finds ". That is how I got my 94 Olds Cutlass Convertible. I liked the vert in the Valvoline commercial a few years back, and thought that If I ever came across one at a descent price I'd think about buying it.

 

I never seen the valvoline commercial. I remember the Firestone commercial from 2013 or 2014 with the blue convertible. I remember about 8 years ago or so, I had seen a red one with purple HID lights. Not sure what happened to it but that one made me realize they had made these cars. I had completely forgotten about them until I was looking for a G body Cutlass and ran into my 94. I honestly wanted a 82-86 with T tops. Anyways, I went to look at the 94, test drove it, felt decent enough and took it home. Ever since then I ended up with 3 W body coupes.

 

Thats what it is about, enjoying the car. There are not too many  convertibles made anymore.

 

Fixed it for you.

 

I guess I should not be surprised to see this kind of thread come up. The oldest W's are over 20 years old now. I would appreciate if a company started to make reproduction interior parts as I'm not sure where to easily locate a new dashboard or other small pieces.

 

As for collector status it's really a gamble. lots of "regular" cars from the '70's-'80's are a hard find as they were cars people just drove and got rid of for something newer. (Other reasons can be added here.) Right now it takes a special kind of person to be into W's as most people see these as commuting appliances. I have yet to see one that has been modified out in the wild. Only modified cars I know of are on this forum.

 

For now I'm just gonna do what I plan to with my car and not worry about weather or not it becomes a sought after classic car. I really don't care how much it is worth as I enjoy it very much. It's a great driving car and does what I need it to. I also can't complain about how efficient it is for as old of a car it is.

 

28 to be exact. In 2 years the first W's will be 30 years old. Very scary imo. As far as interior parts, junkyards are your friend. The dashboard can be taken out and rewrapped to fix it if it's cracked or warped. I was going to do that with a spare Lumina dashboard I had. It's nothing more than foam and vinyl on top of a plastic molding.

 

Anyone who cares about a car's value plans to sell them at one point. I for one don't plan to get rid of my Cutlass unless something catastrophic happens. I honestly don't care for its value. It's a project car of mine and when I'm done it will probably be retro- modernized. It won't have a screen radio or anything like that but my plan is to clean it up and make it actual triple black, not black and charcoal/navy gray. A lot of vinyl will be involved and that's good. New carpet, new paint, it should look pretty nice.

[l67ss]

I never seen the valvoline commercial. I remember the Firestone commercial from 2013 or 2014 with the blue convertible. I remember about 8 years ago or so, I had seen a red one with purple HID lights. Not sure what happened to it but that one made me realize they had made these cars. I had completely forgotten about them until I was looking for a G body Cutlass and ran into my 94. I honestly wanted a 82-86 with T tops. Anyways, I went to look at the 94, test drove it, felt decent enough and took it home. Ever since then I ended up with 3 W body coupes.

 

 

Fixed it for you.

 

 

28 to be exact. In 2 years the first W's will be 30 years old. Very scary imo. As far as interior parts, junkyards are your friend. The dashboard can be taken out and rewrapped to fix it if it's cracked or warped. I was going to do that with a spare Lumina dashboard I had. It's nothing more than foam and vinyl on top of a plastic molding.

 

Anyone who cares about a car's value plans to sell them at one point. I for one don't plan to get rid of my Cutlass unless something catastrophic happens. I honestly don't care for its value. It's a project car of mine and when I'm done it will probably be retro- modernized. It won't have a screen radio or anything like that but my plan is to clean it up and make it actual triple black, not black and charcoal/navy gray. A lot of vinyl will be involved and that's good. New carpet, new paint, it should look pretty nice.

funny you say that.....I got the monte while gearing up to build a 383 for my cutlass lol

[Nas Escobar]

funny you say that.....I got the monte while gearing up to build a 383 for my cutlass lol

 

I assume you were looking for a G body Monte as well?

['93RegalGS3800]

28 to be exact. In 2 years the first W's will be 30 years old. Very scary imo. As far as interior parts, junkyards are your friend. The dashboard can be taken out and rewrapped to fix it if it's cracked or warped. I was going to do that with a spare Lumina dashboard I had. It's nothing more than foam and vinyl on top of a plastic molding.

 

Anyone who cares about a car's value plans to sell them at one point. I for one don't plan to get rid of my Cutlass unless something catastrophic happens. I honestly don't care for its value. It's a project car of mine and when I'm done it will probably be retro- modernized. It won't have a screen radio or anything like that but my plan is to clean it up and make it actual triple black, not black and charcoal/navy gray. A lot of vinyl will be involved and that's good. New carpet, new paint, it should look pretty nice.

 

It's actually scary when you think about it. Kinda makes me wonder if people will even remember these cars or not in the next 10 years. By then the 2nd and 3rd gen cars will be peoples daily beaters and the sight of a 1st gen will be unusual.

 

I'll have to keep that in mind about re-wrapping the dashboard. I did not know you could repair a dash like that in one of these cars. I'll probably investigate that further once I'm ready to start my restoration.

 

Looks like you have a good plan for your Cutlass. Keep us updated as you begin and go through restoring it.

 

I'd really hate to have to get rid of my Regal too. I find it's a great driving car and rides good. It's too bad when you think about how people look at an old car and just think it's a POS because it's old. If taken care of then these are great cars.

[l67ss]

I assume you were looking for a G body Monte as well?

actually no lol. wasn't even looking for a car period. was just offered the monte on too good a deal to pass up. actually not too fond of other generation montes other than mine

[GnatGoSplat]

I think in 10-15 years, these cars will be about as sought after as an AMC Matador, Dodge Diplomat, or Ford Granada.  Well, maybe not, those were at least RWD...

[Grandprix1]

It's hard to say with any certainty what will or won't become collectible. I know when I go to my local cruise night with my triple black 97 Cutlass Coupe that almost every time someone stops me to ask about it, or relate a story when they had one. I still enjoy driving it, it's reliable, paid for, and looks good. That's good enough for me.

Your exactly right! That's why I love my Grand Prix. When I first bought it I had a guy ask me if id want to sell it. This is right after being pulled out of a garage for 14 years so it looks totally mint. He had no clue that was the case and thought the wheels were brand new. Nope 14 years old haha. When I show it at the local ice cream shop during the summer not many people look at it but every now and then someone comments about how they had one and loved it to death and that it was a very fun car. Its great for not catching attention when doing performance things on the road. Can't beat 40k miles. Hurts me to see one that's not taken care of.