I need your help out there. I am looking at buying a '55 TF and would
like to get some idea of what it is worth. The car has been in dry
storage for years (along with several other interesting old sports
cars). The gentleman that owned it has passed away and his widow and
daughter are selling the TF. The car is a right hand drive 1500 model
with 68,000 miles on the odometer, which looks to be original, good
solid body -- no rust or dents and the chrome was all good. It has been
resprayed at some point in it's life -- BRG over the original ivory. It
was a good job though and all the areas (door jams, engine bay etc.)
were painted. The was one small spot where the green had come off and
there are a few small nicks and scratches, other than that it looked
good. I did notice that the upper drivers door hinge mounting point
seemed a little soft (though maybe the screws just need tightening).
The interior is in good original condition, the side curtains are in
good condition except that the clear part is cloudy. The dash,
instruments and control knobs are all in great shape -- though the rear
view mirror needs to be reattached.
The engine is clean and all original -- externally it is in great shape,
but the gentleman indicated (before he passed away) that when he parked
the car he thought the engine was making a noise. When he put all of
the cars in storage, he had changed the oil and oiled the cylinders in
all of them. Supposedly the transmission, rear axle etc. are all in
good shape, the steering seemed tight. A spare transmission, that was
in the garage with the cars, is included. The car still has it's
original steel wheels and hubcaps.
Since the car is a 1500 model I suppose that is the most desirable model
if you want to drive the car much. Also, the car being right hand drive
makes it unique. They are asking $9,500 or best offer. Is that too
high, real good or what?? Please let me know -- just email me privately
so as not to clutter up the list. As a bonus, my wife likes the car and
is encouraging me to make an offer on it :-) Thanks!!
Kevin Brown
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