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So I know I'm relatively new here and don't post much, I figured you'd be a good bunch to ask for advice on this. Sit back for a short wall of text....
My father is elderly and one of his passions in life has always been the classic muscle cars of the 60s and 70s. Growing up watching him work on our vehicles then is most of the reason I like to work on my own today. He still has a couple of old vehicles at his home but he's in his 70s now and just doesn't have the energy he used to. A few years back he began work to try and restore a 64 Pontiac Grand Prix. He made some decent progress for a while but my brother and I agree that he's never going to finish it now. We're of the opinion that, in his mind, if he finishes it then he won't have anything else to ever do. He's even admitted he's sort of lost interest in finishing it up
My problem here is that I have to face the reality of one day dealing with his estate and all the property in it, which includes these vehicles. He was always a Pontiac guy, he still has the Grand Prix I mentioned, a couple of early 70s Grand Ams and a 69 Firebird. Growing up I didn't have quite the passion and appreciation for these beauties as I do today, but even still I don't think I necessarily consider myself some hardcore classic car fanatic. I do remember fondly growing up out in the country with all sorts of backroads and pull a quick attempt at a quarter mile...those engines were pure sex on wheels. I can still remember the feeling sitting in those seats as those 2 ton beasts roared on up past 100 pushing my ass back.
To make matters worse, the vehicles are in terrible condition. The Grand Prix I mentioned could continue to be restored to proper working order, but just how much work is needed I don't know the details of. All of the others have sat out in barns for...hmmm...damn probably 20 years I guess it's been. I'm sure all of them could be restored, it's just a matter of time and money. Part of me wants to relive that driving that Firebird.
The other more logical part of me realizes that I don't have the garage space to store even one of those vehicles, nor do I have the time, even over the next few years, to even attempt to restore it myself. I also know that if I did make an attempt, it would save me a lot of time to just withdraw a lot of money from my bank, set the cash on the ground and light it on fire. Realistically if I did restore one of them I'd have very little time to actually enjoy it. I stopped by Streetside Classics a few months ago and one thing they mentioned before they'd sell a vehicle it has to be running and in decent condition and my dad's vehicles are nowhere close to the inventory they have on display. Even checking out the price on a similar Firebird they had there, about $30k, hell I'd probably break even if I did restore it and was able to make a sale.
It really does pain me to think of just selling them off for maybe $500-$1000 as is, likely to end up as scrap. I haven't really done a lot of searching to see if there is interest from collectors for this stuff in the terrible condition they are now...at least a collector or enthusiast might put my mind at a little ease. I'd just need to have some info available for when the time came. He's not dead yet and hasn't expressed interest in selling them now but I need to at least try to be prepared.
My father is elderly and one of his passions in life has always been the classic muscle cars of the 60s and 70s. Growing up watching him work on our vehicles then is most of the reason I like to work on my own today. He still has a couple of old vehicles at his home but he's in his 70s now and just doesn't have the energy he used to. A few years back he began work to try and restore a 64 Pontiac Grand Prix. He made some decent progress for a while but my brother and I agree that he's never going to finish it now. We're of the opinion that, in his mind, if he finishes it then he won't have anything else to ever do. He's even admitted he's sort of lost interest in finishing it up
My problem here is that I have to face the reality of one day dealing with his estate and all the property in it, which includes these vehicles. He was always a Pontiac guy, he still has the Grand Prix I mentioned, a couple of early 70s Grand Ams and a 69 Firebird. Growing up I didn't have quite the passion and appreciation for these beauties as I do today, but even still I don't think I necessarily consider myself some hardcore classic car fanatic. I do remember fondly growing up out in the country with all sorts of backroads and pull a quick attempt at a quarter mile...those engines were pure sex on wheels. I can still remember the feeling sitting in those seats as those 2 ton beasts roared on up past 100 pushing my ass back.
To make matters worse, the vehicles are in terrible condition. The Grand Prix I mentioned could continue to be restored to proper working order, but just how much work is needed I don't know the details of. All of the others have sat out in barns for...hmmm...damn probably 20 years I guess it's been. I'm sure all of them could be restored, it's just a matter of time and money. Part of me wants to relive that driving that Firebird.
The other more logical part of me realizes that I don't have the garage space to store even one of those vehicles, nor do I have the time, even over the next few years, to even attempt to restore it myself. I also know that if I did make an attempt, it would save me a lot of time to just withdraw a lot of money from my bank, set the cash on the ground and light it on fire. Realistically if I did restore one of them I'd have very little time to actually enjoy it. I stopped by Streetside Classics a few months ago and one thing they mentioned before they'd sell a vehicle it has to be running and in decent condition and my dad's vehicles are nowhere close to the inventory they have on display. Even checking out the price on a similar Firebird they had there, about $30k, hell I'd probably break even if I did restore it and was able to make a sale.
It really does pain me to think of just selling them off for maybe $500-$1000 as is, likely to end up as scrap. I haven't really done a lot of searching to see if there is interest from collectors for this stuff in the terrible condition they are now...at least a collector or enthusiast might put my mind at a little ease. I'd just need to have some info available for when the time came. He's not dead yet and hasn't expressed interest in selling them now but I need to at least try to be prepared.
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