For the past 15+ years, I've been making some pretty nice pocket change by doing pre-purchase inspections of antique and collectible vehicles for potential buyers. I've done two of these inspections in the past week. One was on an original, unrestored 1955 Pontiac Safari- - - -the Pontiac version of the Chevy Nomad 2-door station wagon. The car was all original, and other than a bunch of chrome being removed by a previous owner in preparation for doing body work, nothing had beem done to restore it. The Safari is far more scarce than the Chevy version, but inflation hasn't hit that particular vehicle yet- - - -mostly because it's butt-ugly, I believe! This specimen had major ptoblems- - - -lots of body rust, some of which had been "repaired" long ago by simply slapping Bondo over the rust and repainting. Now the paint, and the body filler underneath is lifting. Ther are a few holes rusted in the floorboard, the original leather upholstery is worn, dried out, and has a few small holes in places. The carpet is vurtually nonexistent. The frame is showing some noticeable rust damage, so the car must have lived in a pretty hostile salt environment for a while. The car is "restorable", but just barely. It runs, the dual range Hydramatic transmission shifts well, and there aren't any serious steering or suspension problems. All the chrome is badly pitted. The brakes suck! A collector with deep pockets and a willingness to do an off-frame restoration could make this car a nice one, but the cost would be huge.
The other vehicle was a 1982 Corvette with less than 10K original miles. There is a little surface rust underneath on the frame and exhaust, but that's from long-term storage, not salt. The current owner has even got the original paper window label listing the price and options, all the original owner's manuals, and the original purchaser's paperwork and title issued by the selling dealer. He's the second owner of the car, and keeps it in climate-controlled storage. Both cars are being considered by a buyer in Australia who keeps me busy running all over the southeast inspecting potential purchases for him. He owns a classic and muscle car business there, and he's bought at least half of the 40-something vehicles I've inspected for him. BTW- - - -the current owner of the Corvette isn't quite breaking even on the deal. Buying and selling antique vehicles for profit is just about a thing of the past!
Jerry
