What will my car be worth?

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burbygurby

Active member
Joined
Jul 4, 2024
Messages
38
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4
Location
lexington, kentucky
My Car
'73 mach 1 q-code
I have a 73 Mach 1 q code 4 speed that I am restoring. I am rebuilding 99% of everything and will be doing it to the best of my ability with plenty of help to make it perfect. I’m not trying to make it a show car or exact replica so I’m gonna have about 400ish hp in the engine and maybe a few other small mods from original. What could it possibly be worth once in done?
 
I will guess $10k less than you will have in it.
I would like to add I got the car for 5k and the previous owner had already replaced all the metal, suspension, brake system, and gas system in the car and I have someone doing the body work for me for free.
 
It depends. Have you ever restored a car before? How good is your free labor? What condition was the car in before the bodywork was done? What parts were used to replace all the sheet metal, suspension, brakes and fuel system - new old stock, Napa, Rockauto catalog, stuff found on eBay? Is the engine and transmission original to the car? What body style is it? What options did it come with? What modifications from original are being made and how well done are they?

High optioned, higher horsepower cars that are meticulously restored to original condition and have a known history from new seem to be the flag bearers for value at the present time. There are some exceptions for restomod cars, but those are usually done by a big-name shop - think Foose. Anything that is modified to your personal taste will require finding someone with the same taste to even begin a discussion about a sale. The market for our cars isn't all that deep to begin with, unusual modifications makes the pool much shallower.

There isn't enough information to even guess, but $10k below your investment is as good a start as any.
 
Driver 73 Mach 1s range in price from $5-7,000 on the low end to $35-38,000 for very nice examples, based on a cursory look at various listing sites. There are some listed much higher but their ads seem to linger on the sites. The market is improving some, however.
 
I have a 73 Mach 1 q code 4 speed that I am restoring. I am rebuilding 99% of everything and will be doing it to the best of my ability with plenty of help to make it perfect. I’m not trying to make it a show car or exact replica so I’m gonna have about 400ish hp in the engine and maybe a few other small mods from original. What could it possibly be worth once in done?
I completed a 3 years nut and bolt restoration on my Mach 1 back in 2012 and the cost was huge to me. Since then I have had 2 appraisals and they were both in the range of $70k Canadian. I think the car is worth more and I have a few people interested in buying it from me but I'm still enjoying driving it. I have the Q code engine too and found out all you have to do is up the compression. With all the original parts on the motor, I had new rings put in and the cylinders honed to 40 over. The new pistons gave me 10.5:1 compression and added close to 120 h.p. The motor was designed for competition by Ford and has all the right components. When Ford had to comply with new regulations, the cheapest way to do it was to lower compression to 8.0:1 (266 hp). The carburetor is a Motorcraft 750cfm but with small jetting (Ford's compliance). I am currently trying out a ProForm 670 cfm with larger jetting and noticed a difference. This will get to 400ish hp. I've owned my car since new and have the original bill of sale. I also have the Marti Report and an additional report from Marti on statistics. My car is 1 of 1 as optioned according to Marti. Good luck with yours.
 
One thing you can be sure of is that these cars, even the less optioned are holding their values and can quickly be worth good money if well maintained.
You say all metal was changed. well, not sure what "all metal" means, but if indeed the car has been restored properly and has the usual cancer inside fixed. Then for 5k you scored big time sir! I can tell you that!

Other than that, if you plan to keep the car and improve it as you go. It will keep good money unlike new cars but if you invest a lot in it, there is a high chance you will exceed its market value.
Is it really important? Not at all. Enjoy the hobby, that is priceless!
 
I would like to add I got the car for 5k and the previous owner had already replaced all the metal, suspension, brake system, and gas system in the car and I have someone doing the body work for me for free.
Either you lucked out with all that work and you getting it for 5K..............OR, many of us know that sounds too good to be true (if it is we are jealous) but it may not be the case, all metal, suspension, brake, etc replaced plus the car itself for 5K.................
 
I did get really lucky, the previous owner had put somewhere between 15-20k into it and was trying to sell it on fb marketplace for 12 but got impatient after 2 months and dropped it down to 5k and I saw it the day he did that and was down to buy it within a week.
 
Value at the end of the road all depends on you and the quality of the free body and paint you're getting.

Pristine examples of '73 Q-code Machs tend to top out in the low $30k range on BaT. Drivers are in the $15~20k range.

https://bringatrailer.com/ford/mustang-1969-1970-1971-1972-1973/?yearFrom=1973&yearTo=1973
I have a 73 Q code that I bought new and did a complete nut and bolt restoration in 2012. The car has been appraised at $70,000.00 Cdn. twice but I think it is worth more. Depends on who wants it and how bad they want it. Sort of like at an auction where if someone really wants it they will pay the price.
 
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