73 Conv

[Centurion717273]

Hi

[The German]

The car looks quite good, Kurtis. Okay, not highly optioned but if mechanic and engine / trans are working as they should you could buy it. Main thing is : you have to love it as it is. Otherwise you would have to invest more for things which you want to add or change and then I guess it should be better searching for a car which HAS all what you want to have.

The prices are really low these days but still the range is high, so that it´s hard to say what you could accept to pay for this car. You can find ads for sale of nice high optioned convertibles for 7-15 K US$ (for example : http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270469749111&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT ), sometimes more but I hadn´t seen them going for the high prices this year. A low optioned car with poor paint and bad front seat should be in the range of 5-7 K US$ - just my guessing based on what I have seen this year at Ebay. However it also depends on how many miles the car has seen. - Start your offer with 3.5 K US$ and you will hear/see the reaction of the seller. Then start the discussion about the bad things and the missing options and go higher and so on … . The reactions will make you feeling where the sellers price idea is.

Two years back the car would have had a worth of 6-9 K US$ and if the economic developes better prices will go up again. So this discussion is a very, very difficult one. The worth of a car depends on the market and the market is made by seller and buyer. Try to make the market and the worth of that car yourself, pay only what the car would be worth for you !

Center covers with the helmet I have seen only for sale at Ebay; guess they are after market design, but don´t know. Hope some of the other more experiened guys here will give us more information about them.

[73 Centurion]

Thanks for posting the pictures! Photos can't tell the whole story but they are much better than just a description.

If you want a Centurion to restore or turn into something special the most important aspect is the body. The mechanical bits can be fixed much easier and often cheaper than bodywork. If you want a fun car for a couple of summers this might be a good option. If you want something more you should have an experienced bodyman look it over and give their opinion.

You say the bodywork was done a while ago and not well. At least they left all of the trim in place. Often the stainless around the rear wheels is discarded when rust is repaired. The interior is messy but it doesn't look unusually torn up for a 36 year old car. They didn't cut the dash for the radio which is a big plus.

The roof is a cheap job and will need to be replaced soon. Call around and get estimates for replacing the roof. Tell the shop it is a scissor style top (some shops don't like to work on these). I wouldn't shop by price, but by reputation. A poorly installed top will need to be replaced sooner and doesn't save you any money. The top should come in 2 peices, 1 has the rear window glass and the other is the rest of the roof shell. In New England replacing both would be approximately $4k. The part with the glass lasts longer than the shell so if you have the car for a long time the next top replacement will probably be half of that.

These cars are a blast to own. They are very reliable, very comfortable and they draw a ton of attention. It's got a full size rear seat and there's nothing better for taking out a group of friends.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

John