How many of these cars have been destroyed?

[Heisenberg]

It seems there is no end to the daily "parts cars"; "rust buckets"; "rollers"; "project cars" or such that come rolling my way in my inbox.

I submit to you my latest example:
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/4140437474.html

I keep wondering to myself what the destruction rate is for these cars?
It's gotta be a hundred per year or more.
It is so much different than the resto rate for many other cars; i.e Early Mustangs, Camaros, Chevelles etc.

I always wonder why.
I know the real why - which is the resale market still isn't there for Turbo Regals.
Which is weird in itself.
Since they have such a mythical appeal across generations.

But they sure do seem to destroy them fast enough.
And I can't save them all.
You would at least hope some of these morons would offer them for sale at a reasonable price where someone could entertain bringing them back from the dead.
But even the best of rollers still probably needs more dollars than a completed car would cost.
Weird.

 

[notacarlo]

There are a lot of regals out there.

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[Heisenberg]

There are a lot of regals out there.

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app

Regals I know.
Lots produced to ne sure.
But true, WE2 Grand Nationals?
I know they sorta polluted the waters in 87 - but before that - not so many.
It's still wierd that there is such a low threshold for turning them into parts cars or jacked up dirt racers.

 

[3-5.0]

My perception is different regarding Regals....I almost never see them, oh there may be one or two come along maybe in a 4 sale ad or a cruising by but they are usually junkers. I can count on 1 hand how many I've seen in the last yr. Now, I'm not talking about GN's, I see them too but they are also few and far between.

This scenario is bothersome, on one hand its nice to have a rare car but on the other its dismaying because if you don't have the enthusiasts you don't have the aftermarket, and it doesn't seem to be the kinda market where at least car prices are extraordinary to reflect and make up for hunting down rare parts type thing.

Come to think of it, there are a lot of previously abundant 80's cars that you never see anymore (however I see plenty of Malibu's made into race cars) Maybe its just an 80's thing and the attitudes. For example I can't remember the last time I saw an RX7. Maybe its just that new muscle cars make keeping and making the older iron fast less feasible.

 

[ttaowner]

It's the cost involved. A show car paint job could easily cost $10,000 without major body work. Add that cost to body work , rusted doors, quarters, floors,etc... Add in a easy $500 for bumper fillers. Add up all the new window sweeps and rubber parts more $$$ then add in seat covers and installation,upper door panels a steering wheel and horn cap along with new carpet and upper speaker cover and a dash pad and poof there goes $$15,000. Plus the cost of a $5000 car plus a engine or tranny rebuild and your better off spending less and getting one already done and not have your car end up in body shop jail for years.

There are " project cars" I see in the forsale section that I know aren't worth fixing in my opinion but I just keep my mouth shut and let the buyers beware. Example t top cars and the northeast roofs are always rotted which leads to rotted floors and if that is rotted then the doors probably are too and a good chance the quarters are mudded up too.

It's a slippery slope. Some cars gotta die so others can live on.

 

[2QUICK2B6]

prolly on the average 10-20 gn's get crushed in my area

 

[Heisenberg]

It's the cost involved. A show car paint job could easily cost $10,000 without major body work. Add that cost to body work , rusted doors, quarters, floors,etc... Add in a easy $500 for bumper fillers. Add up all the new window sweeps and rubber parts more $$$ then add in seat covers and installation,upper door panels a steering wheel and horn cap along with new carpet and upper speaker cover and a dash pad and poof there goes $$15,000. Plus the cost of a $5000 car plus a engine or tranny rebuild and your better off spending less and getting one already done and not have your car end up in body shop jail for years.

There are " project cars" I see in the forsale section that I know aren't worth fixing in my opinion but I just keep my mouth shut and let the buyers beware. Example t top cars and the northeast roofs are always rotted which leads to rotted floors and if that is rotted then the doors probably are too and a good chance the quarters are mudded up too.

It's a slippery slope. Some cars gotta die so others can live on.

Don't you know it James.
My problem is - sometimes i don't keep my mouth shut and utter words like 'No way" or "That ain't happenin'" "And let me tell you why"

However, I probably do have more in my finished cars than if I had just bought them finished. I bought most of them on the cheap and in pieces.
The 84 GN was firewall back restored - but no front clip or drivetrain.
But cheap and restored down to the washers.
So at my leisure and when time and money allowed, I picked up the remaining pieces.

I had a left over full chassis and LC2 driveline from a hunk-o-junk rust bucket 85 WH1 that was destroyed by yahoos in FL - and am now buying a nice GN body w/ decent GN interior for cheap to mount on it.

But I hear ya - the uber paint job is always the killer.
And interiors ain't super cheap either.

 

[ttaowner]

I saw your 84 and what was done looked super nice !!!! But I don't think the 84's will ever catch on or the 85's either! So those cars will always be upside down in my opinion. Low production I don't think will equal desireable . Lets face it those cars are 30 years old and haven't caught on yet. The 87's have always been more expensive and desireable than than rest despite being the highest production year. I even think comparatively speaking a 87 is worth more than a 86 even though they made 4 times more cars. All of my cars are project cars and most of mine were left for dead and I breathed some life back in them because I had extra parts to do it.

But if a car is all rotted all over the place I don't see the point and trying to bringing back . This is just my opinion of course.

 

[dragrazor]

Its amazing to see the prices on ebay for parts for GN's. But if you watch ebay prices for cars for sale like i do, people want bottom dollar for any GN with 100,000 miles. Just because a car has high mileage, it doesnt mean that the car is a junker. I got mine with 128k and it runs like a dream. Sure it needed some attention like leaks but i fixed them. The original motor is in it and it runs really strong. Then you have the cars with low mileage. You pay top dollar for a low mileage car so that you can park it in your garage and not use it because it will depreciate. What's the fun in that? I had a low mileage mustang that sat in my garage. I paid top dollar and it sat because i would lose money if i drove it. Wont happen again. I enjoy the hell out of driving my car. So to the op, alot of them have been crushed, crashed,stolen,etc. the exact number left, i have no idea. With over 20k made, i would have to say that there is less than half left but who knows. At the rate they are getting parted out, i wouldnt be surprised that in the next few years there will be 5k left.


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[2QUICK2B6]

my dad has a 13k mile gn with astrooof he might take 35 he don't need the money

 

[JustABuick]

It seems there is no end to the daily "parts cars"; "rust buckets"; "rollers"; "project cars" or such that come rolling my way in my inbox.

I submit to you my latest example:
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/4140437474.html

I keep wondering to myself what the destruction rate is for these cars?
It's gotta be a hundred per year or more.
It is so much different than the resto rate for many other cars; i.e Early Mustangs, Camaros, Chevelles etc.

I always wonder why.
I know the real why - which is the resale market still isn't there for Turbo Regals.
Which is weird in itself.
Since they have such a mythical appeal across generations.

But they sure do seem to destroy them fast enough.
And I can't save them all.
You would at least hope some of these morons would offer them for sale at a reasonable price where someone could entertain bringing them back from the dead.
But even the best of rollers still probably needs more dollars than a completed car would cost.
Weird.

I have wondered the same thing for years now...seems like every time I get on this forum I see a link to a butchered or totaled GN or TR. You would think if somebody owned one of these cars, they would know the story behind them and appreciate them. True, not all of the destruction is the owner's fault or neglect, but it still seems surprising. I understand why some people part these cars out (restoration costs vs. return on investment) but I don't think I could bring myself to do it. That's not taking a shot at anyone on here, they are typically links to ebay or craigslist