Is it easy to "flip" a classic

[Porter68]

I have an opportunity to buy a 1966 mustang project car. Its a 289 c code with automatic transmission. Originally that light blue color with white interior (ugly in my eyes). The car is complete and a very solid car. Has been stored inside for many years. It has seen its better years but an in all would make a nice cruiser when done! It needs paint and the interior needs work for sure. I'm really not sure on the condition of the engine, trans, rearend but the owner said it ran about 4 years ago. My personal belief is that with a little work it should run and drive! I am able to do everything myself and my thought its take the car apart and paint it like it should be painted. I want to have a quality paint job and have a good looking car when its done. My questions are what is something like this worth now? What is it worth when its finished considering its in good condition? To maximize my profits should I restore the car back to stock or should I "hot rod" it? What would be a good color to paint the car if I dont go back original? Keep in mind my motive is to restore this car to make a profit on but yet still doing a good job in the process! Or am I just completely nuts thinking I can make money on this '66? I figure I could have the car done by spring time since that is usually the best time to sale! Thanks guys..

[22GT]

Flipping these cars rarely works out to big profits, or even small ones. Do it because you want the car, or because you like projects. If you want profits, a second job would be a better bet.

[Boom]

It sounds like a great car. Do the hobby a favor and let it be and hopefully someone who wants to own a classic will find it. No offense but no makes me madder then seeing these cars hacked up or bondo-ed and sprayed with cheap paint to flip. Heck, a good paint job alone is a few grand....not seeing where you could make a big profit flipping them.

[Mark9]

Funny you should ask that.
A couple months ago, before I bought my car, I almost bought one that was on CL about 7 hours from me, price was $7,250.
I see the exact same car this week on CL (different pictures), looks like nothing has changed, other than it's now about 4 hours away listed in a different city for $10,000.
Obviously the guy bought it and is trying to flip it.
More power to him.
I think people do it all the time.

[Porter68]

By no means would I slap bondo on it and just spray it in a weekend. I have restored a 68 before so I know what it takes. That car took me 3 years to build and the paint job was about $3500 which I paid to have done. I was thinking about investing about $1000 in some good paint and clear coat and doing the work myself. I have painted a couple doghouses and they turned out fine so I figure it cant be that hard. I really don't want to make a killing on the car I just dont want to be upside down on it...like I was the last one. Messing around with cars is my hobby a I love the looks of these classics!

[Greg'66 5.0]

I think the majority of us don't restore our cars with the thought of making a profit on a future sale. Even by doing all the labor yourself and not adding that into the price of car, you will probably still be in the red, depending on how much you put into a quality paint job, solid structure, and a solid drivetrain. I am fairly certain there is no way I could ever sell my car for more than the price of just the parts that went into it - and I'll never get anything for the years of labor I put into restoring it. I do it because it's a hobby, not a business. Guys that do this for a living and do good work can make great money, but there is a small number of people who are willing to and can afford to pay for that kind of work.

All too often these days, a flip ends up being nothing more than lipstick on a turd. It may look good on the outside, but if the structure was never fixed, it's just a good looking turd. Same thing with houses - people buy a house to flip and they put in new carpet, tile, paint, etc. but never address the plumbing, electrical, and structural problems because that's where the greatest expense comes as far as repairs go. Instead of doing it right, people just want to make a quick buck and someone gets saddled with a piece of junk. The same thought can be applied to a classic Mustang. New paint, interior, etc. is all well and good, but if don't address the rusted cowl, rusted floor pans, quarter panels, and so on, that nice looking paint job will soon start bubbling and the car will fall apart.

If I was in the market for a car and knew it was a flip, I would walk. Anyone that knows where to look for rust on a classic Mustang will instantly spot a poorly done flip. As far as whether to go back to original or "hot rod", that all depends on the buyer. A "C" code '66 coupe is nothing special as far as being rare, so you could go either way.

I'm with Boom on this one - don't give the hobby a bad name by trying to make a quick buck by selling someone a turd. I'm not knocking your abilities since I have not seen your work and you might very well be capable of quality work.

If you want to make a small fortune by restoring and selling cars, the easiest way to do it is to start with a large fortune.

[bartl]

They're really easy to flip. Just crank the wheel all the way to the left and floor it until you hit the opposite curb and over they go.

Seriously, the only ones that you can make money "flipping" are the unique ones that you can get for a steal, like a barn find K-code that nobody else knows about and the owner doesn't know what it's worth, or a highly-optioned desirable '67+ that has documentation.

A plain jane '66 hardtop in VERY nice condition is not going to bring much more north of ten grand and if it needs paint and interior, plus mechanical restoration, is going to cost more to make right than you'll be able to sell it for.

IMHO the best "flip" candidate is a very, very, nice car that for some reason is selling cheap, like a distressed sale where someone needs cash QUICK, or divorce, death, etc. Sometimes you'll find something that's almost done or had had all the hard work done that somebody's sick and tired of where you might find a deal.

[blueovalfan68]

just buy it and enjoy it.

i think flipping it just drives up prices for the rest of us. just my humble opinion.

however, to answer your question, I would just fix it to factory spec. Not that I care for "originality" or "factory correct", but it gives the next guy or gal a good blank canvas to work with to modify to their liking.

[Fast68]

There is more money to be made in selling parts than cars Especially in a buyers market right now I think!

[GT350R Klone]

I keep track of every penny I spend on my project cars. I have made money on all my project cars (20?) except one '66 mustang coupe. I do cars because I enjoy doing the work, but also like the challenge of building a car that I like, that also has market appeal.

The answer to your questions are; it depends.

You need to know your target market, buy right, watch the $ spent and market the car well when you sell.

[Dogface GI]

Originally Posted by GT350R Klone

I keep track of every penny I spend on my project cars. I have made money on all my project cars (20?) except one '66 mustang coupe. I do cars because I enjoy doing the work, but also like the challenge of building a car that I like, that also has market appeal.

Am I correct that if you were to take the profit for each car and then divide that by the number of hours you put into each one individually, you did not make more the $1 an hour? Obviously talking about typical vehicles, not awesome barnyard finds. I am not knocking! I plan on doing the same some day, but not to get rich, more to enjoy the hobby.

[buflash]

I think when anyone makes money on a flip, the majority of the money is made during the purchase. If you can buy it for well below market value, then you have some room for profit. Otherwise, as 22GT said, you are much better off getting a second job because you will be paid pennies for all of your labor. I would imagine the ideal situation would be if you could find a project where someone competently did all of the rust repair and painted the car but then just ran out of time and money and didn't put it back together. If you bought something like this for really low $$, you could come out ahead.

[TJH]

So you are contemplating flipping a c code coupe with auto trans & no options. You can flip it all day long but if you want to make money you should look for something else - maybe an A code car, a car with some options or ...? If you want to make money on a coupe I agree with the previous post - you will make it when you buy the car. If you can not buy it right then you can still flip it but you will make little/ no money. If you enjoy the work & want to break even I would say do it & enjoy yourself. If you want to make money at it buy a rare muscle car not a common one. I buy them because I like them and so far I have never sold one (although that time is coming).

[69bossnine]

With a fairly normal 65-66 Mustang (i.e. not a hi-po or Shelby), the prospect of being able to fix it up decently and then take a profit is highly unlikely, unless you go against your stated-goal and cut a ton of corners...

I think you're underestimating the snowball effect of how much money it REALLY takes to restore an interior (without putting a bunch of tired, worn shabby parts back into it), replace all the weatherstripping, there's probably not a bushing or joint underneath that doesn't need replacing, and so-on...

If you value your time, there's just no real profit in there. If you went the custom/restomod route, maybe the car would be worth more to the right buyer, but you'll have alot more in it (driveline and chassis). It's a wash.

The BEST money to be made in a "flip" is when you can buy something on the super-cheap, not lay a finger on it (even if it's a project in-need), and then sell it for a fair-market price to a hobbyist intent upon restoring it for themself.

Talk to any dealer who buys/sells classics for a living... The moment they start wrenching on it, or doing cosmetic improvement/replacement, even if they're doing the work themself, is the moment their potential profit starts riding off into the sunset.

There are exceptions, sometimes you'll stumble upon a car that you "know" can be pumped up significantly with just some minor work and not much in the way of cash or parts. I call such cars "sleepers", knowing that just a good detail, and replacing of some easy cosmetic items and some tuning/tweaking, can transform a car from duck to swan.

Anyhow, I'm just giving random rambling thoughts. What you are pondering carries significant risk. What if it doesn't run, what if it was parked because it was a mechanical nightmare? What if all the machinework done for the last engine rebuild was crap? It may run, but it may have "issues" that blow up in your face. Any flip-project can snowball on you, so are you willing to take the gamble that it'll be a low-investment job?

[Alaric]

Originally Posted by buflash

I think when anyone makes money on a flip, the majority of the money is made during the purchase. If you can buy it for well below market value, then you have some room for profit. Otherwise, as 22GT said, you are much better off getting a second job because you will be paid pennies for all of your labor. I would imagine the ideal situation would be if you could find a project where someone competently did all of the rust repair and painted the car but then just ran out of time and money and didn't put it back together. If you bought something like this for really low $$, you could come out ahead.

I know it's anecdotal, but thought I'd throw in on that vein. I got my '67 C-Code fastback just after "the sky fell" in late winter/early spring of 2009. It'd been taken down to bare metal so there was nothing to hide. It had everything brand new from the cowl forward except for the fenders. There was a bad brazing job done on the point of the driver side fender that took an hour and a half to cut and patch weld. It needs doors, a hood, a gas tank, and a trunk lid. Other than those, it's ready for reassembly. Got it for $5k (which I thought was a pretty good find) then picked up an original fold down assembly from a '66 for $100 (yes, $100....I ran the pictures by Sam and he thought I got a great deal)

We're "holding" until my wife and I can get our student loans completely paid away. Then I'm dumping cash into it until it is done (slated for late 2013 through 2014)

But, $5100 for a rust free C-Code fastback ready for some final body assembly and then finishing touches. I thought that was a pretty good get.


I'd say that with your information, if you can get the '66 for under $3k and you're just looking for a winter project that will pay for itself, you'd probably come out alright. But there were 607,568 Mustangs made in 1966. It was the highest production year of the first generation....and you've stated that it is fairly ho hum in its equipment. So "not so special 1966 notchback being flipped in a buyer's market" does not sound all that conducive to profits to my ears