Aluminium Bodied Contempoary

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by mikeinatlanta

So, Me and Bill the only bet? Who else will put some skin in the game?

Any prop bets like an over/under on the car's value?

I'd take the UNDER on the $100,000 value circulated on the 1st page of this thread. In fact, I'd say WAY UNDER.

As for the body, I'm obviously no expert, but the body does appear to be a fiberglass Contemporary body from the limited pics.

I wish I still had an interest in mag wheels, but "that ship sailed long ago."

[mrmustang]

Originally Posted by mikeinatlanta

So, Me and Bill the only bet? Who else will put some skin in the game?

Let's face it Mike, few of us are willing to buy our money where our mouth is


Bill S

[Thor maine]

I will take some of that action. The hood looks odd, like it is aluminum skin over the glass and the fire wall just looks like cut show panel. But all just guessing til when and if more and better pics are posted.

[mikeinatlanta]

Originally Posted by Thor maine

I will take some of that action. The hood looks odd, like it is aluminum skin over the glass and the fire wall just looks like cut show panel. But all just guessing til when and if more and better pics are posted.

Got my $20 into it with Bill. With all the certainty here, I'm sure someone will take you up on your $20.

[LMH]

It would be a hard sell to get $100,000 out of a replica that isn't an original style frame, suspension, etc. even if the whole body is aluminum. I'd say it's in the $70,000 range.
Larry

[krausewich]

How about loser can't post on this forum for a month!

Are more people going to chime in and help this guy achieve what he came here for in the first place, which is to assess a value on the car for this lady... sheesh!!

If it's a fiberglass body, even with ally panels, I would say roughly 50K high-end. If it is an ally body as well, then maybe push that figure closer towards 60K high. To move the car quick, expect to take high 30's on the low end. Contemporary's are still worth a fair amount to some, but they are a has been make these days.

mrmustang... everything you are basing your claims of ally or not on is so off base it's ridiculous.

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt. -Abraham Lincoln

[750hp]

Originally Posted by krausewich

. Contemporary's are still worth a fair amount to some, but they are a has been make these days.

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt. -Abraham Lincoln

Has been make? Maybe you should listen to Abraham Lincoln...

[mrmustang]

Originally Posted by krausewich

Are more people going to chime in and help this guy achieve what he came here for in the first place, which is to assess a value on the car for this lady...

Let's face it, before we can assess the value, we need to ascertain whether the body (any of it) is actually aluminum, or just the underside finished in aluminum. We'll also need more details on the drivetrain, the last time it was running, heck, even the age of the tires before we can make an educated guess on value. To say "it's a Contemporary, has a 427 engine, what is it worth" is like saying "the sky in blue above my head, what shade of blue is it". You might be able to come up with a figure, but it is not an educated one, nor will it help the widow one way or the other, where the folks like myself, who did this for a living, require some real information before putting pen to paper and working out an actual figure that will be best for both a seller and a buyer

I'll ignore the rest as it is not worth your time or mine


Bill S.

[Three Peaks]

Okay, let's put a pause on the distracting bickering for a minute, or at least long enough for someone else to go take a look at this roadster to verify the aluminum claims. While we are all holding our breath wondering how about this-

Let's just say for the sake of argument that someone built and installed an aluminum body on a Contemporary chassis. Perhaps they used the Contemporary body as a form or body buck to form the aluminum on. Let's just say they added whatever birdcage they needed to attach the aluminum body to the Contemporary frame- which doesn't come with any of this support in it's original configuration.

Now, we can't really use the figures we might come up with if we hired someone to do this work as this isn't a new car and who knows who did the install at the time this was accomplished. Being a used car, the quality of the work being in question, and the knowledge of the builder and his application of supporting frame to install the body (door hinges are a clue), brings value into play here- at least for a knowledgable shopper/buyer.
However, the paint looks very good in the pics, the overall workmanship looks acceptable at the very least, and all of the basic pieces are there to include a 427 SO, supposedly.

So, let's just go with the OP's information from the start of this thread and put a value on this car to be adjusted based on verifiable information at a later date. A decent Contemporary in this condition would probably go in the $35-60K range, depending on a lot of things. For a fairly quick sale, let's just say $40k for this car in its normal fiberglass body shape.
Now add in what the aluminum body addition would add to value, keeping in mind this is a used car and all the other variables mentioned above. Say, $20K? Up or down will vary a bit but I can't imagine someone shopping for a Contemporary paying much more for the upgraded body unless they had commissioned the work themselves and saw what was involved.

So, does this sound reasonable? $40K for the original car plus $20K for a questionable aluminum body add for a total of $60K value for the car to be sold in a fairly quick turn around ? All subject to up close and personal inspection, of course and adjusted as necessary.

Okay, back to your regularly scheduled programming....

Bob

[mrmustang]

Bob,

I like where you are headed with your summation, I would say that a quick sale would be $35,000-$38,000 as an original fiberglass car with little build history. $65,000-$75,000 to the right buyer if it indeed has an all aluminum body, of quality construction and engineering/design

Bill S

[dallas_]

ok, you guys know a lot more about values that I do, but wouldn't the advantage of an aluminum body be that people can tell that is it aluminum?

So IF it has an aluminum body, would it be worth more if it was unpainted like some Kirkham's are? So people could see that it is a 'special' car?

Just curious.

[mrmustang]

Originally Posted by dallas_

So IF it has an aluminum body, would it be worth more if it was unpainted like some Kirkham's are?

No, and in fact, a properly painted Kirkham is actually worth more than an unpainted Kirkham. Apples to apples speaking that is on a comparable car with a comparable drivetrain and no wild color combinations......

You want to add value to a Kirkham, regardless of whether it is painted or not, make sure to have them fit a top and tonneau to it. While rarely used, I have found it is easier to market one with them fitted vs one that has not had them fitted.


Bill S

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by dallas_

So IF it has an aluminum body, would it be worth more if it was unpainted like some Kirkham's are?

No.

Unpainted is a special Kirkham fad. It has bled over into some of the subsequent Shelbys (who now offers the Kirkham finish). All of the originals were painted.

[Obsessive]

I have been busy with work and have not had time to reengage in this conversation. I apologize for the neglect and suspense. I'm off to go see the car again and understand the widowed owner has found some documentation and the has made contact with David Hops, the car's builder with Monster Motorsports.

I will have plenty to share with you all to suspend further speculation. The brief review of your collective conjecture and CSI-like evaluation of my photos has been absolutely awesome and I really love you guys for digging in like this! I will tell you that I have personally seen lots of original cobras, built two and currently own CSX4060, a fiberglass car. Everything I have seen up to now has me convinced this is a 100% aluminum bodied car with inner fiberglass trunk, foot boxes and cockpit tub. If I prove to be wrong, I'll let you all know. However, I should have lots to share with you by the end of the weekend.

Stay tuned...

[mrmustang]

Originally Posted by Obsessive

I have been busy with work and have not had time to reengage in this conversation. I apologize for the neglect and suspense. I'm off to go see the car again and understand the widowed owner has found some documentation and the has made contact with David Hops, the car's builder with Monster Motorsports.

I will have plenty to share with you all to suspend further speculation. The brief review of your collective conjecture and CSI-like evaluation of my photos has been absolutely awesome and I really love you guys for digging in like this! I will tell you that I have personally seen lots of original cobras, built two and currently own CSX4060, a fiberglass car. Everything I have seen up to now has me convinced this is a 100% aluminum bodied car with inner fiberglass trunk, foot boxes and cockpit tub. If I prove to be wrong, I'll let you all know. However, I should have lots to share with you by the end of the weekend.

Stay tuned...

Ah yes, original owner of Monster Motorsports, also the father of the "Laforza".........tell him I say hello, as he and I had spoken several times during his early V8/Miata days and I owned #4 a Sunburst Yellow converted car with the Godzilla emblazed on the seat backs



Bill S

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by twobjshelbys

No.

Unpainted is a special Kirkham fad. It has bled over into some of the subsequent Shelbys (who now offers the Kirkham finish). All of the originals were painted.

No. No. No. Now you guys are just guessing. Kirkham buyers, new and used desire uniqueness and a polished Kirkham is a work of art.

Do you think spending $20,000-25,000 painting a Kirkham yields a value when resold that is equal to value of the cost of the paint job? No. No. No, not even close.

Dave Brown (4pipes) sold his blue Kirkham last year and the sales price was roughly equal to that of any polished Kirkham. Kirkham buyers can choose to paint their cars or leave the Kirkham factory unpolished. The majority of Kirkhams leave the factory with a polished or brushed finish because that's what buyers want. Yes, I'll repeat, unpainted brush or polished Kirkhams are what buyers want.

And three peaks is correct. Polishing and a paint job are the same cost. And most Kirkhams leave UT polished or brushed.

You guys are WAY off on a tangent. Stick to the value of this Contemporary.

Edit: added pic of Dave's gorgeous Kirkham, which was sold late last year with his last asking price being $125,000, essentially the same value as any nicely done brushed or polished Kirkham.

[rodneym]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

No. No. No. Now you guys are just guessing. Kirkham buyers, new and used desire uniqueness and a polished Kirkham is a work of art.

Do you think spending $20,000-25,000 painting a Kirkham yields a value when resold that is equal to value of the cost of the paint job? No. No. No, not even.

Depends on the buyer, IMO. The brushed and polished Kirkham is more of a "step up from a glass car" thing and painted KMPs are people who own or have owned originals or looking for a high level of accuracy (me notwithstanding ) From my personal experience, the highest traded KMPs were ALL painted.

[1ntCobra]

Originally Posted by twobjshelbys

No.

Unpainted is a special Kirkham fad. It has bled over into some of the subsequent Shelbys (who now offers the Kirkham finish). All of the originals were painted.

I thought the unpainted fad was started by Shelby with the first completion car, CSX 3056.



It seems that the fad just bled over to the Kirkhams.

[Obsessive]

Gentlemen,

It's time to finally put the mystery to rest. I had a lot of fun yesterday crawling under and all over this thing. Conclusion: This is a seriously nice car that needs a few things to make it darn near perfect.

What it has:

• The body is 100% aluminum - all of it. The paint is in excellent condition.
• The frame is a Contemporary chassis that was modified to add round subframe tubes necessary to support the aluminum body.
• It has a Jag rear end with 2.72 ratio and upgraded substantially as partially seen in photos here.
• Aldan, fully adjustable coilovers
• Wilwood front brakes
• Magnesium Halibrand wheels with aluminum spinners
• Tires a brand new and there is an extra set of perfectly good Goodyear Eagle racing tires that come with the car.
• The trunk tub and cockpit tub (including foot boxes) are fiberglass.
• The trunk was once carpeted but the carpet was removed after being slightly damaged by corrosion from the trunk-mounted battery.
• The motor is an ALUMINUM 427 side oiler. Internal components and specifics are yet to be determined. Runs great.
• Sidewinder intake manifold
• Aluminum medium riser heads
• Aluminum (finned with COBRA lettering) "T" shaped oil pan
• Shatter proof bell housing - looks like a Lakewood
• Richmond 4+1 transmission
• Smiths gauges
• Lucas ammeter
• Leather seats, dash and door map pockets

What it needs:

• Aluminum inner fender panels up front
• Aluminum panels around the oil cooler and radiator
• The correct puke tank
• The FE expansion tank
• The correct remote oil filter bracket
• An aluminum turkey pan around the Holley carburetor
• Carpet in the trunk
• A speedo cable and correct speedo drive gear for the transmission
• Quick jacks fitted and installed front and rear

[Three Peaks]

I've seen a few painted Kirkham and Shelby cars and they are beautiful. As far as value, most of the original street cars (as opposed to the race cars) were painted and I don't think that has held back their value in any way from what I've seen. Actually, paint on a Kirkham is a substantial upgrade in price, as is polishing the body. Not sure what they charge now, but polishing and paint used to be around the same upcharge- around $15K or so.

Bob