Nice 53 for sale in New York

harry54

Hornet Coupe



http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/ctd/1154381330.html

[Deleted User]

Hi Harry,



He sent me some photos. Not perfect but looks like a nice car. Dealer is asking $39,500. Niels

RL Chilton

Kind of steep, for a '53 Coupe, isn't it?

[Deleted User]

RL Chilton wrote:

Kind of steep, for a '53 Coupe, isn't it?

Good question Russ. My two cents: I think it is all in the level of the car and in the details. He is a dealer so I'm sure he is on the high side. If the paint job is top notch then that is worth alot in itself. I think decent coupes start around 20K and go on up to 70K. When I was looking for a club coupe for a buyer, all the nice, available club coupes were priced around 30K on up. The modified gray one on e-bay could have been had for 26K. Nice car but he would have gotten top dollar if it were stock. Seems to me in pricing Hornet Coupes, the Club Coupes tend to be more sought after and now more pricey than the Hollywoods. I had one guy turn down 50K for a pretty much original but not perfect 52 Club Coupe. He told me "Where am I going to find another one like mine"? I know of two absolutely outstanding Hollywoods (easily strong number 2 cars), a 51 (or is it a 53?) and 54 that can be had for 28 to 30K each.



As you know, I am restoring a 52 7X Club Coupe and am seeing first hand how expensive it is. Based on money alone, cheaper to buy it already done. As far as popularity of the stepdown Hornet coupes, it is pretty close but my opinion would be 1952 is first, then 1953, then a tie with 1951 / 1954.



The more I see of the 54's the more I like them but 1952 is my favorite. I also like the clean simplicity (lack of stainless trim) of the 51.



One last interesting side note, I have collected alot of Hudson Hornet Hot Wheel type toys and every single one of them are "1951" Hornet Club Coupes (Johnny Lightning, Doc Hudson, Route 66, Mini metal, Grease: American Muscle and Racing Champions). I would guess because it was the first year of the Hornet.

RL Chilton

Niels-



Thanks for sharing. Your opinion is valued, I know you have collected a few and have done quite a lot of research lately regariding pricing and should be very current with your analysis.



My feeble comment earlier was based on my "less-than-yours" research. 30K seemed to me to be about the going rate for a good #2 or even high #3, depending on other factors, i.e., 1st or 2nd owner, really clean, certain options available, etc.



Pricing, overall, in the collectible auto industry is down 10-15%, depending on who is doing the reporting. This is only because of the current economic downturn (meaning it will come back around, again-- it always does).



40K for a #1 coupe, or (shudder: a celebrity-owned coupe, which drives me nuts) is not totally out of the realm of possibility, I think. I would pay that much for a top notch coupe. Surprisingly, Hudsons seemed to have shot up exponentially just in the last 19-24 months. Convertibles, Coupes, HLWYDS in that order seem to be the choice of "investments".



Nor do you have to remind me that "it would have been cheaper to buy outright, then to restore". It's always like that for the average restorer. Unless you are set up to do it as a business, have the parts cars on the back forty and have the shop set up to do 95% of the work yourself, there's little to no chance to "come out ahead", money-wise. My own project is a prime example. It's downright scary to add up the receipts and put an actual # to what I've spent thus far. I'm not even quite half-way yet. All it takes to accomplish ANYTHING in this world is enough time and money. Most people have too much of one and not enough of the other. Financially, the benefit of restoring yourself, is that a project can be done over a longer period of time, thus stretching the cost (much like a mortgage).



Prices always shock me a little anyway, it must mean I'm getting older and slower to adapt to current times. I know of two people that have been offered 200K for their stepdown convertibles but didn't sell. I've seen others go across the auction block for anywhere from 100K to 183K. That's shocking! Fortunately, my project is not being done for investment purposes, but for the love of the car and my dream. My attitude has been "damn the cost", it's what I want and if it takes X-amount of dollars to accomplish what I want, then so be it. If I can't afford it, then I'll wait until I can.



Bringing up the prices of the convertibles in the last paragraph wasn't to blow my own horn, but for comparative reasons only. With the prices of convertibles being what they are, 50% should not be out of line for a coupe. Based on that, coupes (talking about #1's) should be worth anywhere from 50K to 90K or so. And that's shocking to me, as well . . .;)

[Deleted User]

Speaking of values, the new Hemmings came out today. There are a few very interesting Hudsons in there forsale. One is a 37 Terraplane convert project for 25K asking- looks very solid, complete and no rust. There is also a running 37 Terraplane Coupe for 16.5K and a 37 Terraplane pick up project for 16.5K.

I'd love to have any of the three but especially the convert.

RL Chilton

Well, 37TCV for 25K that is complete and rust-free is a good price. Nice car to have and as far as investments go, convertibles especially will continue to go up in price.



I read an interesting article by Jay Leno in PM. He's been writing a regular article in there for 10 years or so that is car-related. I found it interesting that a man in his salary-range doesn't invest in the stock market, or mutual funds or any other "standard" form of investing. As a matter of fact, he said he lost too much money on the market in the past and doesn't even bother with it these days. He does, however, spend his money on automobiles as most car guys/gals are aware. He found a McLaren that was for sale for $800,000. He thought, man that's just a whole lot of money for one car and was unsure. At the time, they typically were selling for 1M. He wanted the car, and after talking to his wife, she told him that he had worked hard and if he wanted it, then just go for it. A few years later, he sold it for over 4M. He said it was the single best investment he had ever made.



There is money to be made in automobiles, and I think there always will be. Right now, the baby boomers are in retirement age and trying to re-capture their youth. Over the last 7 or 8 years, muscle cars have quadrupled and quintupled in value, because those cars are the ones the baby boomers wanted when they were young. Older vehicles continue to go up in value, but not at the exponential rate that muscle cars have lately. However, they are still good investments. That 37TCV is a prime example. 25K, even if you put 50K in a top-notch restoration, could still fetch 6 figures at auction. And, if you use it as a long-term investment, and hold on to it for 10 years or so, will bring even more. Would it make up for the lost interest you would not be receiving had your money been in a mutual fund? That's the $20,000 question right there.



What is going to be hot in 15 years? Are Azteks and Toyota Prius' going to be collectible someday? Probably.



Call me sometime, Niels. We should talk.

super-six

When I restored my '54, the cost of the chrome and stainless was a real killer. My next one to do is a '51 convertible, which has quite a bit less brightwork than the '54, but that chrome grill makes me shutter.

RL Chilton

super-six wrote:

When I restored my '54, the cost of the chrome and stainless was a real killer. My next one to do is a '51 convertible, which has quite a bit less brightwork than the '54, but that chrome grill makes me shutter.

Larry, prices are gonna vary from region to region a little, also if you have an "in" with a company (which I don't in that industry). I have to send all of my chrome for the '52 Hornet Convertible long distance. I'm between 90-95% complete now, but the tally has been 8K thus far. Should be over 9K by the time I am complete.



Mine has been #1 show quality triple plated. Mexico does cheaper chrome jobs because they are not triple-plated. Some US houses I've heard of do the same thing. Prices are considerably cheaper, but so is the quality, which in my opinion, no convertible, much less No Hudson deserves.



Also, there are commerial platers that MIGHT be somewhat cheaper, but they are hard to convince to do pot metal pieces and do not do repairs as a general rule.