Modifications and how they effect value

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As the owner of a modifed car I think the effect on value is significant . . . if the car is a desirable car. I would never do my mods to a Boss 351 or a more collectible car. But a 73 Q code Mach 1 with out the original engine and with a repaint, I wasn't hesitant. My car could be returned to a fairly stock appearance without a lot of work, but it is what I want right now. Value only matters if you want to sell.

 
+1 on Jeff. I purchased my '73 Grande because it was not a highly desirable car and had already been repainted (poorly). The car itself is in great shape and rust free. The engine and trans (h-code and FMX) are original to the car. I am modifying the car to what I want to drive. I am keeping everything stock that I take off so it can be put back.

 
Well thank you Ray for sharing this with us all [GRINNING FACE WITH SMILING EYES][THUMBS UP SIGN]😎 But I guess it has to as much original as possible! But it is not as easy as it should. When you are leaving in other countries as Denmark which I am. Mostly because of the fact that parts are made in China! [DISAPPOINTED FACE] But I do try as hard as I can do. But I just Love My Mach 1 73! Because it is so awesome to drive a Car from a time when I would have loved to lived in 😎[THUMBS UP SIGN] Regards Lars

So I'm a proud owner of one Mach 1 73! Regards Lars DK73 😎

 
Hey guys - I hope my post didn't come off wrong. There are many modified cars that I would LOVE to own and drive. And I think it is very cool that people are creative and make their cars what they want/like. But as most know - I really appreciate any original car. I don't care if it is a 71 6 cyl hardtop. If it is well cared for and original - I LIKE IT. I know - crazy! Now also keep in mind my favorites are the weird and unusual 'muscle' ones like the 429 CJ/SCJ Grandes or Hardtops!

Ray

 
I guess you don't like something that's pretending to be something it's not. It's all subjective, I don't mind subtle modifications, like wheels or strips, but do have a problem with say a 69 302 sportsback dressed up as a 69-70 Shelby.

 
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Well I guess that Wee all make our Mustang the way wee like personally [emoji6][emoji106] But Ray you are right in the price on them is how the Car is.. As closely to original whit matching Numbers.. That is what it have to if you have as high price on them for sale... But thank you for your sharing this article[emoji6][emoji106][emoji41] Regards Lars

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Regards DK73

 
No worries, Ray. Although, the article really didn't have a lot to say that we didn't already know, I think.

I totally agree with Jeff - I wouldn't be too keen on heavily modding a desirable model (such as a Boss 351, 429 SCJ Mach 1, etc.) that had enough intrinsic value as a collector car. By the same token, I would also not make my car something it is not - for instance, if it were a 6-cylinder sportsroof, I would not simply toss on all the goodies required to make it a Mach 1 (short of the VIN) and try to pass it off as such.

It also [for me] would depend on how complete and what condition the car was in when I bought it as to how far and crazy I would go with the mods. I had a chance shortly after I bought my rusty pile/seized up H-Code to buy a pristine, faithfully restored, 90+ point MCA M-Code 1971 Mach 1. It was gorgeous and almost perfect! It was also only $24,500... which several months later dropped to $20,500. I should've bought that car, but I didn't because I didn't think I would be spending that much money on mine to get it back together (HA!!!), and with my intentions for my car I simply could not bring myself to mod such a fine specimen. I would've had to dump my pile as well, since I couldn't justify having 2 of them. It would've become a Garage/Trailer/Parade Queen, and that's just no fun in my book.

Having said that, my H-Code is now restored and still "numbers matching," with the exception of having an AOD rather than the stock FMX (which is in my garage, anyway). There are some mods that I can't [easily] undo, such as: sub-frame connectors, relocated seat platforms, deleted radio antenna, and some performance upgrades that could be turned back to stock if necessary (I kept all my 2V engine stuff, in addition to anything else that I replaced, even though it'll never get used). Most of my other mods are the usual basic things like upgraded stereo, rims & tires, louvers, engine performance goodies, etc., which all cosmetic things are "period correct," meaning the car 'looks' like a restomod from back in the day. The other things are things you can't see or would easily overlook, like aftermarket power windows, power locks, the roll-down quarter window mod, sport seat upholstery, cut-pile carpet, back-up camera/rear view monitor, and the upgraded stereo is actually a Retrosound unit which looks OEM, but has modern guts.

Now - did I increase its value or take away from it with the mods I chose? According to the gist of the article, it depends on the buyer.

I think it boils down to if the seller is in the market for a project, a driver, or a collector - values going up with each category... unless you're on the level with the Ring Brothers, or similar that is.

 
I gave it some thought before I read the article and it looks like the writer and I came to same conclusion.

If you spoil a car by modding it you lose value, if you upgrade a car you add value.

Take into account the fact that the car you're starting with makes a difference. You can "upgrade" an original Hemi cuda or GT 350 all you want, you'll always decrease value.

If you start with your average garden variety version of a car, you may be able to actually get more for it.

I think that good clones or tribute cars fall under this category too.

I personally do not care if my 65 Shelby GT350 (if I had one) is original or not as long as it looks the part, drives fine and is reliable. And of course the craftsmanship that went into it must be good.

I also think that the mods on mine make it look better that it did originally and I get a lot of positive feedback for it, so I guess it added to the value of an otherwise standard 302 powered brown vert.

Now if you tried to do this with the one original brown Shelby Europe vert, that would be a different story altogether.

 
To be honest, I personally wouldn't care. My '68 was an original J code. But I wanted a 9" rear w/ 4-wheel disk brakes , I wanted a 351w (stoker) when the motor went, and I wanted a TKO 5-speed. I do understand that mods may devalue the car to someone else, however the car is better to me, it handles and stops better than it ever did..and I also never buy a car with any intention of getting rid of it.. As for a GT-500 or something, I would even want one for that very reason. Id prefer ti make a better performing clone that I would actually drive..

 
I would agree that modifying a rare and desirable car should not be done. For my 73 Mach, although it is a Q code I felt that there were a lot made so it wasn't going to matter too much. I did however remove the whole drivetrain so that it could be a numbers matching car again if the value sky rockets. Goal was that I wanted a nice performance car with the original look but modern running gear, so it has a Q code motor, C6, OD and 9" rear just not the original pieces.

My current project (71 RR) is a different story, only 137 were produced with a 440-6 and 4 speed. It was a stripped car with the only major option being the Super Trac Pac, 4.10 rear, performance suspension with power front disk brakes and the power steering option. Destroying this cars originality would be a sin. Believe me there are a lot of upgrades that I would like to make but I bite my lips when I start considering that. For this project I am going concours, never done this before and it's proving challenging.

Bottom line you should do what makes you happy as you are the one that's going to be driving it.

 
Remember when restomods first started appearing at Barrett-Jackson? The TV commentators could not stop going on about how this car was ruined or the value that was lost by not being original and they kept doing so even after the restomods started bringing more money that the originals. Now a well done restomod can bring far more than an original unless that original is a special car. I would never think about yanking a numbers matching motor out of a boss etc. That said I also have no problem making drivetrain or appearance improvements if it means I get the car I want. Our 64 Galaxie has the original block and it is in fine shape yet it is coming out and a new Coyote motor is going in. We know that it will be faster, drive better and get better economy and if we need parts the local auto parts store will have them in stock. Hemming's will of course prefer the old, that is who they are

 
Interesting discussion. When the cars are ours we can build them like we want. Disc brakes, 4 speeds, 5 speeds, tach's, ram air and all the hood pretties that our cars didn't come with, then of course there are more cars with Magnum 500 setups now than there were in 1974.

So one day I was in a Goodyear store in Kansas City getting an alignment, and there was a picture of a pro-street Mach 1 on the wall. Custom paint, wheelie bars, tubbed, skinny little tires, and a blower cut through the Ram-air hood. I asked the guy at the desk about it, and it was his car. I asked what power train it had and he said it was a 429 SCJ. I inquired a little more knowing the rarity of the 429SCJ model and came to find out he bought the car as a complete, running 429 SCJ and had cut it up and modified over the years to be a 1/4 mile junkie. (People can never spend enough to knock another 1/100th of second off the quarter mile, thus the term junkie.)

Anyway, he said he still had most of the original parts if he ever wanted to change it back. This was in about 1995 when no one was reproducing metal for our cars. I still think the guy was wrong in modifying a high end car instead of a 6cyl or other car. But, he was the owner!

kcmash

 
KCmash, agree and hard to believe today, but even in the early to mid 90's, the original 429 cars had not yet caught on as to their rarety and future value. I passed on a completely original 429cj grande coupe in 1992. Asking price 11,500... I then went on to buy a Mach 429 j code, non original drive train and poured $30k+ over the years... I know what I should have done, the Grande sold a few years back for $75k... It came down to available $$ at the time. I could only come up with $6500 and bought the Mach, for $5k more at the time, would have owned the rare BB Grande. I still slap myself on the head today when I think of the price I paid for my current J code vert I am restoring. Once restored, the $$ invested will be crazy, but I will have the car I want, finished as I wanted and knowing that I will recoup some of the investment down the road when I am to old to turn the ignition key... I don't think the car in your scenario can ever be returned to original, but sounds like he had his fun with it.

 
I have been thinking of modifying my Boss 351....yes it is a "rare" car per se, but for me getting the most out of the car and making it more enjoyable to drive is part of it. Headers, 21/2 exhaust, blue thunder intake, modern clutch, mechanical roller cam, valve train improvements

 
We are trying to keep he car as original as possible. Although only a '71 Grande it is an M-code with toploader, one of

100 made that year. The engine has been replaced as has the rear end, it is not numbers matching though period correct.

The only glaring difference is the '73 radio. Even the console clock works although that has been modified to never wear

out. All the parts could have come with the car that year. As far as value, I would never sell the car so don't care.

mike

 
I have been thinking of modifying my Boss 351....yes it is a "rare" car per se, but for me getting the most out of the car and making it more enjoyable to drive is part of it. Headers, 21/2 exhaust, blue thunder intake, modern clutch, mechanical roller cam, valve train improvements
It's totally up to you, of course, since it's your car. The hard part will be when (if) it comes time to sell - are you willing to take a hit in value because of the car being modified from factory original condition? Boss 351s are becoming increasingly rare, hence the values going up. Unmodified specimens are even more rare, driving the value up even further. Heck, even just driving your Boss 351 these days takes value away - from a future sale, that is. Mine's just an H-Code (meaning, not so rare at all - figuratively), and low on options at that, so my restomod upgrade should increase its market value slightly - were I to ever consider selling it, that is. But, I'll never even come close to recouping the money I've dumped into it... so anything I could ever do would be a loss in the numbers game.

Basically, the car is only worth what you can get for it when it's time to sell (or insurance replacement if the unthinkable happens). Forget what you paid for it and/or have put into it... that's just the price of admission.

With all that in mind, if you pull that engine apart, you're dropping the resale value - it's only original once. Exhaust and intake - not so much, since you can put it back to stock by reinstalling those parts if you ever need to, but engine internals make people think funny - especially when it comes to Boss-powered cars. If you're cool with the thought of that, go for it! ::thumb::

 
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