Mod it , Sell it, or Restor it ?

[Dan P.]

I have a 1990 Notchback auto with 83K original miles. I bought it from the original owner and I cant make up my mind on what to do with it. It is all original other than an aftermarket set of mufflers. I have lots of mods that I would like to do to the car but since it has such low mileage I don't want to hurt the value. It does need some body work but the interior looks like is brand new. There are no rattles or common sounds inside the car. Since it does need some work on the exterior should I just go ahead and have the body work done and then try to sell it or should I sell it as is. It may need a new quarter panel on the rear passenger side. Any thoughts?

Dan

 

[Chuckman]

why not resto-mod? 83k isnt really low mileage, if it had less the 40k, then it might be worth keeping it stock. but as-is, with the work it looks like it needs, i'd just fix it up a bit, do some simple mods (bolt ons, maybe a little bit more), and have fun with it.

 

[atey950]

83k is relatively low miles, and its an unmolested car. Two big plus factors if I was a buyer. In my opinion, a nicely done resto/mod can be just as nice or better than a full resto but it depends on the car. For example, I wouldn't want to look at a resto modded 93 cobra, I'd want a stock 93 cobra.
Is the market really out there for a "restored" 1990 notchback ? I don't think so. Now, a low mile "all original, unrestored" car is another story.
I say mod it and have fun with it. I love notchs. They remind me of the old track pack muscle cars.

 

[S&B]

I would have the car painted and freshened up cars in stock form always sell and sell quickly

 

[Bullitt347]

Mod it!!!!!!!! Why spend all of the time and effort to keep it in perfect original condition so someone else can enjoy it later? Kind of like putting seat covers in your brand new car, so someone else down the road can enjoy new seats.....unless this is an attempt to "protect your investment". There are a lot of more lucrative ways to make money than waiting for a 23 plus year old car to be "worth something" years from now. If the thing had less than a thousand miles, then maybe, but it is a basic notch auto........one of thousands and thousands and thousands produced. But hey.....it's your car, do what makes you happy, and if that means you keep it in perfect shape for me to buy from you 10 years from now so I can mod the sh** out of it later, awesome! PM me and I will give you contact info when you decide to sell it later

 

[RacEoHolic330]

I would mod it yet keep the exterior as stock looking as possible. Give it a great drivetrain that has decent power but can be kept reliable. Throw some nice paint on it (match the body moldings), and convert it to 5 lug so you can throw some OEM latemodel wheels on it. Keep it simple. There is something to be said about a 300+ hp notch with a clean, stock-looking exterior.

 

[stykthyn]

sell it. if you wanted to mod it you wouldnt be making a post on what to do.

 

[ratio411]

Clean it up as is, enjoy it for a couple years until the economy comes back, keep it under 100k miles, and then sell it.
When the market comes back, these cars will be well into classic status, and will bring some good money.
Enjoy it as is until then.

 

[stykthyn]

I've been hearing these cars are classics for a long time. There were way to many made for them to be truly collectible. Unless you have that on off saleen or cobra r the value as a collector just isnt there.

 

[Adams91LX]

Sell it to me.

 

[aar0s]

I've been hearing these cars are classics for a long time. There were way to many made for them to be truly collectible. Unless you have that on off saleen or cobra r the value as a collector just isnt there.

The dude I bought mine from had it for sale for ever before I came along. The market is soft for collector grade foxes right now, there are a few low mile cars out there but most are 'verts, I have not seen too many near stock notches, not in a while anyway.
If it were mine id paint it and do the body work, get it right, drive it for a couple of years and when the market firms up some put it up for sale. Dont be in a hurry and dont let some jack-leg lowball ya.

 

[David Pepiton]

when i got my 91 lx it was 100% stock still had the distributor boot on and the original water pump! its much different now but im happy with it.

its not a rare model or has rare options 83k is not low mileage... mod it, paint it, enjoy it.

 

[jadigen]

if your just going to sell it i wouldn't paint it.. me as a buyer would rather see what is needed to fix the body then have a recent repaint . i always wonder whats under the paint especially if its a recent repaint on a car for sale.

if it were my car and i wanted to keep it. i would keep it mostly original.. maybe some bolt ons but i wouldn't go crazy modifying an unmolested car like that. plenty of others that aren't so original out there that will be good for that. but thats me. others opinion i'm sure differ.

have any pictures of the damage? like to see pics of the int also..

 

[Mr. Snrub]

I've been hearing these cars are classics for a long time. There were way to many made for them to be truly collectible. Unless you have that on off saleen or cobra r the value as a collector just isnt there.

I'm not sure why people keep saying this.. "there are too many made"

Let's look at the numbers... I would consider 1964.5s-1970 really collectable.. or most desirable to muscle car enthusiasts. Some would include up until 1973... but for we'll call it 1970 for our purposes here. Let's look at some examples:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1970...6162952?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item337fb90108

A rusty 1970 with a 351.. sold for $11,500

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Simp...1854365?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item19d8d2781d

1968 vert.. nothing special.. nice condition sold for $19,600

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1968...2781748?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item3f21f719b4

68 fastback.. 25 grand

None of those cars I posted were special or rare in any way.

Now, let's look at production numbers.

1964.5 - 1970 : 2,568,633
1979 - 1993 : 2,597,894 (1,000,389 of those being the "aero nose" 87-93 which I believe are most popular... no offence to any 4eye owners)

The rarest year produced was 1992 with 79,096 units, 39,576 (approx 50%) of them being v8 cars.

So tell me again how too many foxes were made to be collectable in the future?

 

[stykthyn]

because they were in production for over a decade. I understand the aero cars were the most popular and 92-3 were low production years but damn you are looking at a platform that was in production for 13 years and parts interchange across damn near all of them.

 

[Mr. Snrub]

How does that affect the value? Especially if you consider half those cars were originally 4cyl or v6/straight6 cars that are now crushed into cubes. More of the v8s will survive I'm sure and will be much more valuable than a swap ... (I would never buy a swap car)

 

[aar0s]

Thing about foxes is that most of the v8 cars were either modded to the point of no return and the stock parts pitched or drove into the ground. I still think that a bone stock or even relatively stock car will be worth more in the long run, probably never to the levels of the first gen cars though.

 

[stykthyn]

How does that affect the value? Especially if you consider half those cars were originally 4cyl or v6/straight6 cars that are now crushed into cubes. More of the v8s will survive I'm sure and will be much more valuable than a swap ... (I would never buy a swap car)

show me some evidence where it doesnt?

the first gen run was only for 5 1/2 years and no one is crying that the straight six coupe is now sporting a chromed out v8 or has a 5.0/t5 swap. and like mentioned half the original v8 foxes have been modded, crashed, or left to rot in the backyard. I will stick with my original post by saying that unless you have a limited edition such as a saleen or 93 SVT the fox market wont draw any of the attention that the first gens do.

 

[Mr. Snrub]

Thing about foxes is that most of the v8 cars were either modded to the point of no return and the stock parts pitched or drove into the ground. I still think that a bone stock or even relatively stock car will be worth more in the long run, probably never to the levels of the first gen cars though.

Of course it won't reach par with first gen.. they'll always be worth more.

But saying the fox won't be collectable ever unless it's a saleen or svt is ridiculous. The value WILL go up.

You're saying the 1st gen weren't modded, crushed and left to rot in backyards? c'mon.

 

[aar0s]

Of course it won't reach par with first gen.. they'll always be worth more.

But saying the fox won't be collectable ever unless it's a saleen or svt is ridiculous. The value WILL go up.

You're saying the 1st gen weren't modded, crushed and left to rot in backyards? c'mon.

Oh no they most definitely were modded, cut up, ran hard and left to rot in backyards and barns and ditches across the country. What im saying is that, as someone who recently bought a one off body/color/year Saleen, I dont ever expect the car to even come close to the price or collectiblity of a first gen Shelby. We're already seeing the price on low mile cars (less than 60k miles) and even on cars that are in great shape with close to 100k miles. But these cars are nearly bone stock or with tasteful mods, not cars that have HCI with a blower and a suspension that rides like a log wagon.
Look at the first gen cars that are desirable now, numbers matching, close to stock, might be high miles but still in great shape. Fox mustang do not get treated that well, they are abused, twisted, drove into the ground and parted out and scrapped because, for the time being, there are plenty of them.
But dont get me wrong, there will be a time soon when they will be collectible and I think the OP's car, being a basically unmolested notch, would be a desirable car in stock form at that time but not if its heavily modded.