Olds 442 Convertible
Sometimes the value in a top end collector car is in how it was brought back to life. Do you know how many beautifully restored cars never get driven and waste away in storage? Here is the story of a “trailer queen” that needed to be brought back to life even though it was once restored by experts.
A Kentucky collector just listed his 1970 Oldsmobile 442 Convertible for sale. He finally has it driving as nice as it looks. When he got the car it looked show quality, but he says it was not in acceptable driving condition. Click the link to view photos and a five-page description of what he went through to get it to drive and run as well as it looked. “I’ve spent several hundred hours and several thousand more dollars returning it to the way it was when it was manufactured,” he says. Now that he has the “bugs” worked out of it it is the kind of collector car you want to own. “It now pulls hard, steers and stops straight.” In fact, he has added Ram Air and tuned it to W30 specs with a W30 cam.
The 442 you see here comes with a sport steering wheel, Rally pack instruments, remote rear view, courtesy lighting package, updated stereo, power steering and power disc brakes. He says the paint, top, interior, chrome, glass, trim and weather stripping are all a 9.9 out of 10.
The seller did an interesting thing when he prepared his Slide Show ad. He included a five-page explanation of how he researched and worked through the issues. It is a good read. He shows great determination in tracking down the source of each problem and finding the solutions. These are the things that make car collecting challenging and fun.
New Listings
New Listings Page Click this link to see all of today’s new listings.
Linked above are the New Listings to the Cars-On-Line.com website. The page is updated in real time.
Classic Car News This Week
Raleigh Auction Results
Well, that’s a wrap on the classic car auction season for 2023. Last week’s Raleigh Classic Winter Auction was the final event on our calendar year. This year the top cars were dominated by classic 1950’s Cadillacs. No surprise. Cadillacs are always a big draw at the Raleigh Auctions. A 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible was the top classic car sold. It went for $285,000 on Saturday. Not only does the color combo make it valuable, but the low miles were significant on this one. This car was reported to have just 27,459 actual miles. Here are some of the other top sales at the Raleigh Classic last weekend.
- 1959 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible $165,000
- 1968 Shelby GT500 $160,000
- 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible $127,500
- 1957 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible $125,000
- 1959 Chevrolet El Camino $120,000
Sunliner Inspection Report
We always tell our buyers to make sure to “Inspect Before You Buy.” That’s why our Cars-On-Line Inspection Service is so important to the collector car hobby these days. A buyer from the Midwest wanted to buy a 1959 Ford Galaxie Sunliner from a dealer in the next state over from him. Although he had already seen the car himself, he wanted an independent third party analysis to find out if there were problems he couldn’t detect. These are big cars, but the inspector noticed that the braking was a little slow even for drum brakes. For the price, the car runs out nice and handles well. The inspector did notice some waviness and orange peel in the quarter panels. You can read the whole report at the link above. Now the buyer knows the rest of the story.
Buying a collector car without a pre-purchase inspection could be a mistake. The difference between a No. 3 condition daily driver and a No. 2 condition near show car can be a matter of tens of $1,000’s of dollars. You can find out more about pre-purchase inspections here at this link.
This Weeks Featured Stories
1951 Merc Custom
They say this 1951 Mercury Custom had an unlimited budget when the build was started. The goal was to build a national show winning custom to compete at shows like the Detroit Autorama and to be displayed at SEMA. Most important, this was not to be a “trailer queen” but a car that you could get in and drive on Woodward Avenue. It is being offered for sale this week at Classic Auto Showplace in Troy, Michigan. They say it currently has less than 2,000 miles on the build. Look through the gallery of photos at the link. You can see that the paint, body and interior are all of a high level of quality. The undercarriage is beautiful considering that they drive this classic custom. What is significant to consider is that the asking price is only a fifth of the cost to build.
Kaiser Darrin Roadster
Here is a very rare classic 1950’s car to find for sale. It is a 1954 Kaiser Darrin Sports Roadster, the car that was designed by legendary stylist Howard “Dutch’ Darrin for Kaiser Motors. Many consider it the first two-seater American sports car since it was premiered ahead of the Corvette when it was first announced for production. It is being offered for sale out of the collection of Ellingson Motorcars in Rogers, Minnesota. They say the odometer currently reads 35,703 miles. It is as clean underneath as it is on top. Click here to watch a full presentation in video by Ellingson’s. Scott tells you all about the history of the Kaiser Darrin as he shows you the unique features designed by Darrin, such as a complete fiberglass body, or the unique sliding “pocket door.” This one has the inline 6 cylinder Hurricane engine. The red three-position convertible top is said to be in fantastic condition and they said the interior is stunning.
Camaro Show Mod
A 1968 Camaro “Show Mod” custom was just posted for sale by Classical Gas Motors in Texas. Built on an Art Morrison chassis, they tell us this is a fresh build with only 7 miles since it was finished. It took 13 years to bring the Camaro to this state. If you buy it you can have a full custom show car ready to take to the Grand National Roadster Show or Detroit Autorama. You will wow the crowds with its Rockford sound system and strobe ground effects light show. Then put in your ear plugs as you start up the built 427 with Cloyes timing chain, forged crankshaft, Moroson studs, Eagle H beam rods, Pro Comp aluminum heads 2.19/1.88, Jessel shaft rockers, Probe forged pistons, Milodon deep sump pan and fluid-damper crank. Balanced and blueprinted, this monster engine puts out a reported 1150 horsepower. It uses a Hughes TH400 automatic with street-strip valve body and stall converter. And there’s more. Read the whole description at the link.
Video Ads
Green Hornet Stunt Car
You’ve seen the Green Hornet stunt car in this newsletter before, offered for sale at Ideal Classic Cars in Venice, Florida. But today they have a cool video walk-around tour online. Click the video window above to listen to a complete tour of the car with all of its bells and whistles. This is the stunt car from the 2011 Green Hornet movie with Seth Rogen. It is based on a 1966 Chrysler Imperial. How would it look in your collection?
Have you seen our CarsOnLine.tv Classic Car Video marketplace? To feature your car on CarsOnLine.tv, just add a video to your Cars-On-Line.com ad. Video ads have become the most important development for internet sellers. Just upload your video to YouTube and we’ll embed your video in your Cars On Line.com ad at no extra charge.
Here are a few more ads with interesting videos:
Collector Cars with Low Miles
1978 Cadillac Eldorado
We don’t know how they do it, but Orlando Classic Cars keeps coming up with amazing low miles collector cars for sale each month. This week they listed an elegent triple white 1978 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz for sale. They say it has only 1,300 miles. This ad is a little bit of a tease in that they do not have it in-house yet but it is set to arrive soon. Contact them for first dibs. A big luxury car like this one with low miles … that’s a collector’s dream.
Here are more recent Low Miles additions:
1984 Ferrari 308 Quattrovalvole, Classic Auto Showplace, 15,700 miles
1980 Chevrolet Caprice Landau, Orlando Classic Cars, 21,000 miles
1985 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham, Unique Classic Cars, 27,395 actual miles
2002 Corvette Convertible, Classic Auto Showplace, 20,230 miles
1987 Chevrolet Caprice LS Brghm, Orlando Classic Cars, 39k miles
1968 Ford Thunderbird Landau, Orlando Classic Cars, 35k miles
2006 Dodge Magnum SRT8, WeBe Autos, 11,029 miles
You’ll find these and hundreds more in our Low Miles Section online now.
Project Vehicles for Restoration
1927 Pierce Arrow
It is a great week for finding project cars for restoration. (Our Project Car Section is our most popular section on the Cars-On-Line website.) This 1927 Pierce Arrow Model 80 Sedan was just listed by the Classic Auto Mall in Morgantown, Pennsylvania. (They just told us they have over 1,000 cars in their inventory this week.) This one will need work in every aspect, bodywork, interior and drivetrain rebuild. Have it inspected to find out if the bones are right for restoration.
The following are just some of the cars available in the Project Car Section this week:
1969 Dodge Charger RT, Classic Auto Mall, PA
1954 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith, Gullwing Motor Cars, NY
1959 Jaguar XK150S Roadster, Gullwing Motor Cars, NY
1963 Ford Falcon Futura Convertible, Unique Classic Cars, MN
1965 Jaguar XKE Coupe, Gullwing Motor Cars, NY
1954 Jaguar XK140 Drophead, Gullwing Motor Cars, NY
1966 Alfa Romeo 2600 Spider, Gullwing Motor Cars, NY
1968 Jaguar XKE Series 1.5 Convertible, Gullwing Motor Cars, NY
Find hundreds of project cars for sale in the Project Car Section.
Price Reduced
1965 Chevy El Camino
A private party seller had listed his 1965 Chevrolet El Camino which had undergone a complete restoration on a rust-free southern car. With only 500 miles since the redo the car/truck still has only 55,377 original miles. This rare find comes from an estate sale. Understandably the El Camino had been priced at $69,500 for a fresh restoration. However, just yesterday the seller dropped the price to $59,900. Have it inspected to find out what kind of bargain that price represents. Appraisals are included.
Here are more vehicles with price cuts this week:
| Vehicle For Sale | Original Price | Reduced To |
|---|---|---|
| 1964 Plymouth Savoy | $35,000 | $21,000 |
| 1989 Olds Cutlass Ciera | $11,000 | $10,500 |
| 1969 Chevy Nova SS | $28,000 | $23,000 |
Pro Touring and Resto Mods
Street Rods
See more great deals in the Street Rod Section, or watch the the New Listings page.
Rock n Roll 50’s
Find more in the Off Road Section on Cars On Line.com. There’s even more on the New Listings page!
Find more in the SUV Section online. You can see all the fresh ads on the New Listings page.
Fresh ads appear first on the New Listings page.
Fresh ads appear first on the New Listings page.
You can see all the fresh ads as they are listed each day on the New Listings page.
You can see all the fresh ads as they are listed each day on the New Listings page.
Vintage Motorcars
You can see all the fresh ads as they are listed each day on the New Listings page.
Chevy Muscle
Corvette
Find more in the Camaro Section of our website.
Find more in the Ford Muscle Car Section, or watch the fresh listings as they appear on the New Listings page.
Check the Mercury Muscle Car Section. Or you can see all the fresh ads as they are listed daily on the New Listings page.
Check the Pontiac Performace Section for more. See all the fresh ads listed on the New Listings page.
Check the Oldsmobile Muscle Car Section . See more listed each day on the New Listings page.
Check out the Buick Muscle Car Section. More listed daily on the New Listings page.
Late Model Sports Cars
You’ll find many more modern sports cars listed by year in the Late Model Sports Car Section.
Late Model Trucks
Scroll through the Trucks & 4x4s Section for more. The newest ads come in on the New Listings page.
You’ll see more for sale in the Customs Section and on the New Listings page.
Classic Pickups
See more for sale in the Truck Section or watch for fresh listings on the New Listings page.
See more great deals in the Luxury Section or on the New Listings page.
See more great deals in the Mustang Section and on the New Listings page.
Muscle Car Clones
1968 Camaro SS Tribute
Streetside Classics in Phoenix just listed a 1968 Camaro with a built big block motor and Super Sport badging. It has a monster 489 ci V8 rated at 520 hp mated to a Tremec 5-speed transmission. It puts the power to the road with a 12-bolt rear end built with Richmond gears and Eaton Posi. This is a real deal muscle car that exceeds the performance of an SS.
The following are more recently listed Muscle Car Clones:
1969 Chevy El Camino, Unique Classic Cars, SS tribute
1973 Dodge Challenger, Classic Auto Mall, Rallye tribute
Make sure you watch our New Listings page for daily updates. There’s even more in the Muscle Car Section.
Deals of the Day
1969 Chevy Nova SS
A Michigan gear head has his car listed on Cars-On-Line this week. The 1969 Chevy Nova SS has a 454 big block Chevy motor mated to a 4-speed. He does not give us much info about the black SS, i.e. the condition, exterior, interior etc. So you will have to have it inspected to know more. But he did list it at a very attractive price. Originally he wanted $28,000 for the classic muscle car (priced right to begin with.) But just this week he told us to lower the price to $23,000. That will make it our DEAL of the DAY on Saturday. Hurry! This one should not last the weekend.
1959 Edsel Ranger
Unique Classic Cars in Mankato, Minnesota has listed a good number of classic cars at “wholesale” prices this week. Here is a good example. This 1959 Edsel Ranger Sedan looks really sweet in the photos. This classic sedan is for someone who is a little bit handy because there are a number of items that need to be installed. It comes with headliner, visors, bearings and door sills. Note that the chrome and brightwork are nice and look good. It is powered by a 292 ci V8 with a Mile-O-Matic automatic transmission. You can see that it has Edsel steel wheel covers and wide whitewall tires. This Edsel sedan will be our DEAL of the DAY on Sunday. The asking price is $16,900.
1955 Oldsmobile Holiday
Here is a special deal that only a true restoration professional should tackle. Beverly Hills Car Club found this 1955 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 Holiday in storage. Yes, you might consider it a barn find. Yet they say it is a real nice car to restore. So have it inspected before you buy as you might be aware of what it will take to bring this one back to driver quality. They say it is a California black plate car boasting a lot of options. It comes with an automatic transmission, V8 engine, Rochester carburetor, courtesy lights, white-line tires, chrome hub cap and a fullsize spare tire in the trunk. They say it has an owners manual. It will be our DEAL of the DAY on Monday. The asking price is only $10,750
1980 Camaro “SS”
A private party seller from New Jersey made his 1980 Camaro into an “SS.” Yes, Chevrolet did not make a Super Sport edition Camaro in 1980, so this collector decided he would make one. He added SS badges from a ’71 on the outside, with the 350 callouts as well. It already had a strong 350 Chevy small block motor with a Turbo 400 transmission. He had a set of factory 5-spoke wheels blasted and paint in an earlier style. It has headers and a 3” exhaust, so it sounds good, too. He says the seals for the T-tops, windows and doors are newer. Click here to take a test drive and hear it run. (There is also a walk-around video on the ad page.) It will be our DEAL of the DAY on Tuesday. He is only asking $15,800.
1976 MGB Roadster
If you ask the top experts in imported sports cars which is the best two-seater imported sports car to buy, three out of five will tell you it is the MGB convertible. This week Unique Classi Cars listed a 1976 MGB Convertible at what we would consider a “wholesale price.” It comes with a cover cover, MG wheels with brand new tires, aftermarket stereo installed in the dash, boot cover and luggage rack on the rear deck. Lots of recent work done. It will be our DEAL of the DAY on Wednesday. The asking price is $10,900.
2007 Saturn Sky
One of the best products to come out of a very good company was the Saturn Sky late model sports car convertible. Here is a 2007 Saturn Sky Redline edition, a highly sought after sports car just a few years ago. We were surprised to see this one show up in our listings at an affordable price. Finished in Onyx Black with two-tone leather interior, you have to see these photos to believe how nich it is. Click the “full gallery” button on the ad page to see the interior shots. It will be our DEAL of the DAY next week. Their asking price is only $8,900.
1999 Porsche Boxster
Wow! A Porsche sports convertible this nice for this price! Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about. The Classic Auto Mall has listed this 1999 Porsche Boxster for sale with beautiful miles deep paint. The only problem seems to be some scuff marks in the rocker panel area where the car had an argument with the curb. This should be noted in any pre-purchase inspection on the car. Find out more by reading the lengthly description by the Classic Auto Mall on the ad page. It will be our DEAL of the DAY later next week. The asking price is only $16,000. How long do you think it will last at that price?
Often there are more cars that deserve to be in the DEAL of the DAY than we can schedule for our front page feature. Here is a list of cars that just missed the cut for the DEAL of the DAY this week. Remember, you saw them here first:
| 1966 MGB Convertible | $19,900 | Mankato, MN |
| 1951 Buick Eight | $14,500 | Staunton, IL |
| 1950 Chevy Fleetline DLX | $14,000 | Morgantown, PA |
| 1950 Ford 2-Dr Sedan | $16,500 | Staunton, IL |
| 2009 Pontiac Solstice | $14,500 | Morgantown, PA |
| 1974 VW Super Beetle Cabriolet | $16,750 | Los Angeles, CA |
| 1991 Mustang Convertible | $12,900 | Mankato, MN |
| 1979 Chevrolet C20 Pickup | $16,900 | Ft Worth, TX |
| 1984 Pontiac Fiero | $16,000 | Morgantown, PA |
| 1977 Chrysler Cordoba | $14,900 | Mankato, MN |
| 1993 Cadillac Allante | $16,995 | Ft Worth, TX |
| 1966 Austin-Healey Sprite | $15,500 | Morgantown, PA |
| 1979 Cadillac Coupe DeVille | $10,900 | Morgantown, PA |
Cars for under $10,000:
| 1997 Jaguar XK8 | $8,950 | Los Angeles, CA |
| 1978 Mercedes-Benz 450SL | $8,950 | Los Angeles, CA |
| 1981 AMC Eagle 4X4 Wagon | $4,999 | Las Vegas, NV |
| 1985 Mercedes-Benz 380SL | $8,950 | Los Angeles, CA |
Cars On Line features vehicles here based on their listed price. We are not endorsing these vehicles. We have not inspected or appraised any of the above vehicles. We are only pointing out that these vehicles are priced at a discount to the market. When you buy from a private party the purchase is always “as is” and “where is.” There is no warranty implied or given on any of these cars by Cars On Line. It is your responsibility as the buyer to protect yourself from misrepresentation of any car advertised. We strongly recommend having a vehicle inspected as one precaution before you buy. Click here to purchase a detailed vehicle inspection.
Sold Thru Cars On Line
Here are some of the comments from happy sellers who were nice enough to tell us about their experience advertising on the Cars On Line website.
One of our advertisers from Minnesota listed his 1961 Chevy Impala SS for sale a few months ago. This week he told us to put a SOLD sign on it. “I’ve sold many cars through Cars-On-Line,” he told us. “I’m happy with your service.”
There was a 1961 Buick LeSabre Convertible that was listed by a private party seller from Deerfield Beach, Florida. This was one of the best deals on our website. So this week the seller contacted us to let us know to mark it SOLD thru COL. There are some diamonds in the rough among our listings. If you shop for them you’ll find them on the Cars-On-Line website.
Just listed last month, this sharp 1964 Ford Fairlane with the Monster 460 stroker motor and teardrop hood already found a home. The Indiana seller said, “Mark it SOLD.”
NEW Free Parts Ads Section
… NOW FEATURING PHOTO ADS FOR PARTS
Check out our NEW Parts For Sale Section with Photo Ads. We think you’ll really like using our FREE Parts Listings. It is now much easier to place your ads. Have some old but valuable parts you want to sell? Cars On Line Parts Ads are FREE. And we just added photo capability. It is the best of both worlds.
You can run Parts For Sale ads for FREE! Check it out. Just click go to the Parts Section. Once there, look for the FREE Plan, and click “Get Started Now.” We also have ad plans for vendors at a very modest cost.
Thank You
Thanks for reading Cars On Line ads. We really appreciate the community of car enthusiasts who read our website daily to keep up on what’s for sale. This newsletter is designed to make your efforts a little easier and give you a shot at the great deals when they first hit our pages.
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DISCLAIMER: Readers should be aware that the editiorial comments made in this newsletter are strictly the opinion of the author, Larry Kolb. Mr. Kolb offers his editorial opinion of the marketability of these cars based on information provided by the sellers. Neither Mr. Kolb nor Cars On Line.com has seen or inspected these cars. These comments are not to be mistaken for advertising, nor should they be considered an endorsement of any product. They are strictly editorial in nature. Neither Mr. Kolb nor Cars On Line will profit from the sale of any of the cars mentioned here. No warranty of these vehicles is implied or given. It is strongly recommended that anyone interested in the purchase of these vehicles should have them inspected before the sale.
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