honda305 Home honda305 Auctions honda305 Gallery honda305 Forum


honda305.com Forum

Login
□ Search
□ FAQ 
□ 
Vintage Honda Owners,
Restorers, Riders and
Admirers

Worth Restoring My '63 Falcon???

Who said it was only about Motorcycles? What else do you collect, restore, enjoy... ?
Vince Lupo
honda305.com Member
Posts: 1371
Joined: Wed May 04, 2005 7:17 am

Worth Restoring My '63 Falcon???

Post by Vince Lupo » Wed Feb 09, 2011 11:24 am

I've been dithering for the past few years about putting money into my '63 Falcon to get the body fixed, upholstery redone, etc. I've had this car for 13 years, and have had all the mechanical work done, so nothing to worry about there. It has a 144ci inline 6, a 2-speed Fordomatic, and about 164,800 miles (approx. 70,000 miles on the rebuild). I've personally put almost 92,000 miles on the car, including a recent 1200 mile trip to Toronto and back.

All the body and paint work would have to be done by someone other than me, but I don't know if it's worth doing. Besides some of the rust, there's a dent in the roof (see pic), and someone rear-ended me a few years ago and pushed the trunk it a bit (and bent the rusted rear bumper), and as a result the trunk lid doesn't quite close properly. So between fixing all that and doing some upholstery/carpet work, I'm probably looking at about $4000 (and that's not including any rechroming). I'd have to find a good used rear bumper, which from the looks of things online, are usually located in Arizona, and cost at least $300 + shipping. Upholstery-wise, the driver's side of the front seat is worn and dished from the years of me driving it, so at the very least the front seat would need to be fixed. The rear seat is excellent, but I'd love to replace the seat covers with ones that don't have that center velour (something more period looking is what I'd want). I've seen replacement cover sets on eBay for about $460.00, and then I'd have to get my upholstery guy I know to install them. It all adds up quickly, doesn't it!

So that's my dilemma, and I'm not sure whether to just keep driving it as-is, or to take the plunge and get it all fixed. The car sits outside and would continue to do so if I had all the work done, so I'm taking that into consideration. Plus, this is a 4 door base sedan (not a Futura) with the small 6 cylinder engine -- if it were a 2 door V8 Sprint or a convertible with even the 170 engine, it would definitely be more collectible and worth doing. But, this has been a great reliable car and has never let me down!

So I dunno....any thoughts???

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

cyclon36
honda305.com Member
Posts: 528
Joined: Sun May 16, 2010 4:39 pm
Location: Temple, GA
Contact:

Post by cyclon36 » Wed Feb 09, 2011 11:43 am

I think you're underestimating the amount of body and paint work involved. You would blow through that $4k estimate before you could even reach for your wallet.

That's not saying that it's not worth doing though. you obviously use the car and it's not a rust bucket in the yard with the gone promise of "fixin it up" one day as with so many others. That counts for a lot. The real question is, what is it worth to you? Don't worry about what it would be worth to someone else if you sold it.

I say roll through a body shop and at least get an estimate. They don't cost anything and you will at least have an idea of what most of the work would cost. Maybe give the guy a $20 for taking up his time if you don't plan on getting it done anytime soon. Just make sure he's reliable and not one of those guys that always finds something else once the car is apart. Granted, he more than likely will with this car, but you want to work with someone honest. Some of those panels are going to require new sheet metal and not just good bondo work.

Personally, I think for the cost of a new subcompact budget import, you would have a really nice car on your hands.

Vince Lupo
honda305.com Member
Posts: 1371
Joined: Wed May 04, 2005 7:17 am

Post by Vince Lupo » Wed Feb 09, 2011 11:46 am

You're probably right, and that's the scary thing! I wouldn't want to get an estimate for say, $3000, and then the guy starts working on it and whoa - some big issue arises and now it's going to be $6000.

If I knew how to do the work and had the space, it would probably be more economically viable. But, I have neither, so that's why I've been stuck at this seemingly permanent impasse for the past few years.

User avatar
davomoto
honda305.com Member
Posts: 2508
Joined: Sat Nov 18, 2006 7:36 pm
Location: Marin County CA

Post by davomoto » Wed Feb 09, 2011 12:04 pm

Vince, my dad had a 63 Falcon, first car I ever drove! It had a 3 on the tree, was blue, and also a 4 door. Looks like a lot of body work needed on that one. Maybe you can turn it into an art car

http://www.artcars.com/php/blogs/galler ... _thumb.jpg
davomoto
64 CB77
63-7 CB77 Cafe'
67 CL77
64 CL72
66 CL77 big bore flat tracker
Many others!

User avatar
brewsky
honda305.com Member
Posts: 1816
Joined: Wed Jul 23, 2008 5:21 am
Location: Princeton, WV

Post by brewsky » Wed Feb 09, 2011 12:28 pm

Vince,
I faced a similar decision about 10 years ago on a 77 Ford F150 that I loved, but was rusting pretty bad.
It had a great motor and running gear, but just looked rough.
Both cab corners were gone and rear wheel lips were rusted through.

My estimates were over $4000 from different body shops for metal replacement and paint.

Went to a chain shop (Earl Shiebe) and they told me they could do it "right" for $4,000 or so or do a putty and paint (two tone) for less than $700, and that it would look good for about 2 years and then start to bubble thru.

I went the cheap route and was well satisfied. The body work looked good and it got compliments everywhere I stopped. And it did last 2 years before it started to bubble.

I don't know how much body work has gone up in the last 10 years, but it may be worth considering.
66 dream, 78 cb750k, 02fz1, 09 wing

cyclon36
honda305.com Member
Posts: 528
Joined: Sun May 16, 2010 4:39 pm
Location: Temple, GA
Contact:

Post by cyclon36 » Wed Feb 09, 2011 12:30 pm

Vince Lupo wrote:You're probably right, and that's the scary thing! I wouldn't want to get an estimate for say, $3000, and then the guy starts working on it and whoa - some big issue arises and now it's going to be $6000.

If I knew how to do the work and had the space, it would probably be more economically viable. But, I have neither, so that's why I've been stuck at this seemingly permanent impasse for the past few years.
I know one thing, I operated my business out of a few body shops starting out. I was around that environment for about five years. I can safely say that if you ever get a quote to paint an entire car for $3000, it won't be done properly. That doesn't even include any repair to body work.

User avatar
G-Man
honda305.com Member
Posts: 5678
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2009 5:17 pm
Location: Derby, UK
Contact:

Post by G-Man » Wed Feb 09, 2011 1:37 pm

Vince

If you give up on it completely, you could try here. :-)

http://www.carhenge.com/

This was the hilight of my trip to Alliance, Nebraska back in 2003

Just kidding

G
'60 C77 '60 C72 '62 C72 Dream '63 CL72
'61 CB72 '64 CB77 '65 CB160
'66 Matchless 350 '67 CL77
'67 S90 '77 CB400F

Post Reply




 

CB-77 | CYP-77 | Road Test | Riding Log | Literature | Zen | Marketplace | VJ Survey | Links | Home