Is this a good price for a t-type?

[StlRegal]

I'm gonna be checking out an '86 t-type wh1 this weekend.

The seller is asking 5k. States there is no rust. Needs a paint job and interior work. The engine does have a knock, but also has a 2nd motor already rebuilt included in the sale. Assuming all this is true and nothing else hidden pops up is this a good deal?

 

[Nascar83Fan]

That would partially depend on how much interior and exterior work you would need to bring it back to looking nice. Also who did the work on the 2nd motor. If it only has some light surface rust on the underside of the car in a few spots while the rest of the car is rust free, the transmission is problem free, you are guaranteed that the other motor not in the car has no issues where you can drop it in after having the one with rod knock taken out, don't mind working on it and it taking time to make it run properly, can afford to have what you can't do done by someone else on this restoration project.

Then that'd probably be a pretty good deal at that price especially since you'll have a 2nd motor to swap the hurt one out as long as it checks out. Heck you could as long as the 2nd engine was good to run, could sell off and part out the engine with the rod knock to put alittle more money into the project. As long as enough good stuff was left, of the parts that you didnt have to transfer over to the other engine you could recoup alittle spent getting a project '86 wh1 and the extra engine packaged deal. You could try to offer $4500 to $4800 if the condition isn't that of being at least a $5k car with a knocking motor and a 2nd motor being throw in the deal. But 5k could be fair as long as it isn't a salvage title, then you would need to decide could you get it registered etc where you are and could you find another car that needs alittle tlc but doesn't have a rod knocking engine and doesn't need the motor pulled to get a 2nd motor that's included dropped in & running properly for around the same or slightly more money than this one would be to get into just drivable condition.




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[StlRegal]

Thanks for the input nascar.

Is the wh1 a particularly valuable turbo regal? Obviously it isn't as well known as a GN, outside of enthusiast. Interior and paint aren't a very high priority for me. Rot, is what I'm really trying to avoid dealing with, and lesser extent mechanical. I have the resources to deal with it and Im willing to overlook the engines knock and the hassle that it brings if this particular car holds it value over others.

 

[Nascar83Fan]

The wh1 optioned '86 cars were one of the rarer cars produced in the '86 model year and are a bit of a very wanted version of the '86's. They can be worth a good bit of money depending on condition and what options it has.
So if you can nab the one you're looking at for the 5k and it's a solid frame & body probably about stealing it at that price. But if the person selling it didn't do some research and priced it for only 5k, could always get in contact with nick who is in az that's a member here and maybe you could work out a deal with him of some cash plus send him one of the engines from the '86 wh1 deal to get one of his motors from him if things went sour with that rebuilt engine that came with the wh1 you're looking at. He's one of the highly recommended people to go with on alot of things for the TR's. Also very friendly and knows the TR's pretty well.
He won't screw you over and can be trusted 1000%.
Spool can hook you up with bumper fillers that aren't poor quality, he's a member on here too. There's alot of people who have his bumper fillers and they are very happy with the quality of them.
Have you ever had a TR or TTA before or would it be your first dabble in them?
Once you get bit by the TR or TTA bug, it's not as easy to walk away from the cars. You'll end up keeping 'em for awhile and won't easily be wanting to sell 'em.
Welcome to the site by the way.
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[StlRegal]

This will be my first turbo regal I'm seriously looking at. I did own a 84 n/a regal. So I'm familiar with regals some what but I do know that the 3.8 turbo'd is a vastly different beast from the carb 3.8 and pretty much the whole drive train.

If I do get this car, I plan on keeping it. A turbo regal is one of my dream cars. I actually prefer the looks of the wh1s to the grand nationals. Maybe it's just because you don't see em.

About its worth, and desirability, it's nice just to know that I am investing in something that holds its value vs say a regular regal.

Here's the ad for the car explaining it.

$5000.Complete 1986 black t type .3.8sfi turbo.WH1 model,Motor has knock in car, have extra rebuilt motor that goes with car. ..car needs paint and interior work but not a rust bucket. Has lots of go fast parts including 3.42 posi rear end,art carr tranny, terry houston down pipe, Atr headers , 3 inch exhaust, ect

 

[Nascar83Fan]

Sounds like it's been modified a bit, even if it wasn't a wh1 optioned '86 TR it still would hold a bit of value.
Any of the TR's from 84-87 hold a bit of value, they're one of a few type of cars that didn't lose much of their value over the years due to being a collectable car and the rarity of them also helped. Some actually have gone up in value from when they were new.
It sounds like it could be a good project car to learn about the TR's on and you can add your own personal touches to it without any worries if you wanted to, since it's in survivor exterior and interior condition from what information you've provided so far. It having a 2nd motor to go along with it to replace the currently in the car engine with a knock issue seems like a good deal. I hope that if after you've checked it over that it's a solid car you can for the price fix up and get into it's former glory & then some to enjoy.
It's a bummer the one engine has a problem, but as long as the other engine that is part of the deal has no issues you could swap the hurt engine out with the rebuilt one and get it going to slowly learn on. There's a few things that are good for potential future and current owners of TR's and TTA's to read up on. There's also a thread for those that are considering buying a TR that has a bit of info in it that'd be good to have read. If someone doesn't beat me to it, i'll post a few links to a few posts that you should read up on and would help you alot shortly. Patience is something you'll want to have with TR's and TTA's. It's good that you recognized they are a different animal and also good you're asking questions before doing anything.
As long as it's actually what the seller is saying it is, think you'd make out ok on the deal.


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[TexasT]

WH1 one of 463
Is it straight, and as rust free as you claim. Behind wheel wells, rear frame rails. T-top car under the tops at the windshield.
Driveable? Does it shift well? Does it have no Ses, good fuel pressure.
Do you have the money, patience and ability to put it back together? A place to do it?
All questions for a project. If it is a keeper some of the value stuff doesn't matter as much but throwing money down a car project hole is hard on a marriage if you have those kinds of inputs.
I'd be in. Where are the pix?

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[TurboSkunk15]

If t tops check under the rear seat
id love to see pictures
they are getting hard to find at least by me. It sounds like a big project to me. Id love to see pics

 

[Nascar83Fan]

We'll probably hear something from them soon and hopefully will see some pictures of what they had seen, as they said they were going to look at it this weekend.
If they have the financial means to tackle the car, have a place to tackle it at, can devote the time to this car, have the patience to deal with this car, are willing to learn how a TR ticks, they will end up being rewarded with owning something they had brought back to it's former glory and something alittle more special than some of the other TR's out there.
I am wondering what the location of the car is and if it was a garaged survivor.



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[StlRegal]

Unfortunately I decided to pass on the car. After some thinking I would be biting off more than I could chew, right now. I still have my dads 69 mustang to work on.

I will get another regal someday turbo or not but not today.

Sorry guys.

 

[Nascar83Fan]

Where was the ad listed for it?


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[StlRegal]

Here ya go.

https://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/4630749002.html

 

[Nascar83Fan]

Sorry to hear that it ended up being a bit more than you would of been at the time could manage.
You'll know when it's meant to be to have a TR when the time comes, probably something out there that was already in could be driven without any issues that was alittle bit higher asking price than this car was that you can get ahold of that had a solid body and frame that just maybe needed some repainting but drove good.

It had appeared to be a hardtop car from the couple pics that showed the roof area, outside of alittle what looked like some surface rust on the driver side inner fender well in the one pic would appear to be pretty much rust free. Seems like it'd only take alittle bit of work to get it into driving condition again for anyone that's had a good bit of experience bringing TR's back to being fully alive.
The pics showing it in that garage made it hard to really see the true colors of exterior, did it look like this?
Outside of the custom rims, it'd look like this one in this thread and in the one link that shows what it should show if it was.
http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/index.php?threads/1986-WH1-T-Type-origina-w/-few-mods.410212/
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