I am thinking about buying a 69 thunderbird with a 429 thunderjet. The car itself needs alot of work. The lady says that the engine misses and needs "overhauled". I have no idea what these cars are worth. What would be a fair offer on it? Thanks!

 

NADA has a classic cars section that might help

Prices & Used Values for Classic, Collectible, Exotic and Muscle Cars and Trucks - NADAguides


Just based on the little info you gave I ran it and came up with $4800-$12,500

1969 Ford Thunderbird 2 Door Hardtop Prices, Values & Specs - NADAguides

 

I have purchased 2, 68 tbirds with the goal of getting 1 good complete car from parts of both. I paid 1,000 each for some pretty rough cars.
One had a somewhat recently rebuilt engine that had sat un-started for a few years.

I got it running and pulled engine and sold it for around 600.
Sold it because it was a mish-mash of part codes and not correct for the year.

What to offer depends on what is meant by "needs a lot of work".

You will find body parts (and other parts as well) for the 67-69's are few and far between.

Take pics and send to me and maybe I'll buy that one too for some more parts.
Ha Ha Ha..........

Dialtone

 

It is a 4 door with suicide doors. The body looks to be in decent shape, interior is a little rough. I'm going to go look at it today...

 

I have a 2 door Landau, same year. I think rust would be the major factor as far as price. The birds after '66 arent very desirable as collector's items which is good cause that makes em cheap! Unfortunately this means almost no aftermarket support beyond engine parts. Good luck and take lots of pics!

 

NADA is kinda intersting....I put in 3 vehicles,
1932 Ford 3 window coupe
1965 Mustang
1997 Merc Cougar

The only price that I can say was in the ballpark was for the Mustang (verified by recient insurance appraisal). Our 32 coupe, original with a 48 merc flathead, I really doubt if you could touch one for less than 65K....yet NADA list a high of 35K (even without the flathead, i doubt you could find one in good condition for that). The Cougar- didn't even list the high dollar options such as "Sport" model (which we have) and that bumps the value up about 25% (try even finding a Couger that runs for $3800 in los Angeles....

Nada just doesn't have their data base up to par IMHO

 

Actually their data base is probably lot closer then most people that own the cars care to admit.

BJ auctions are NOT a good indicator of value, never have been. It's funny to, I watched a guy trying to sell a 65 olds 442 for about what NADA was asking and no buyers, BJ had one sell for $60,000 MORE then NADA so he raised his price by $15,000..... it is still sitting there for sale 7 yrs later.

example, you mentioned what you thought the value of your 32 coupe was, I did a google search and found one for $30,000

CarsOnline.com: Ford For Sale

granted it has a big block chev in it but it's a lot less then the $65,000 figure. Like I said NADA is actually a lot closer


Edit to ad: 32 5w couple WITH a flathead for $45,900

http://www.mershons.com/car_detail.asp?ID=6702

Totally custom 3w $43,900

http://www.classicalgasmotors.com/cars/10003/10003.htm#


In fact doing some looking I didn't see any OVER $50k

 

The vehicle was appraised (agreed value) by the insurance company at 95,000 in June 2010. In the report for Los Amgeles area, the document states the range for vehilces in similiar condition based upon their own records was $35k to $145K.

 

I ended up buying the car. It is pretty rusty but I am mostly interested in the engine. I'll try to get some pics tomorrow.

 

I was able to get the engine running but it is missing BIG TIME, like only hitting on probably 5 cylinders. There was a little blue smoke but not too bad. After it warmed up a little there is a pretty significant ticking which sounds like it is coming from under the valve cover, I did not notice this tick until the car warmed up. It is full of oil and the oil looks ok. What do you guys think I should be tracing down other than pulling the valve covers and taking a look?

 

Well here are some pics as promised.

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Would anyone be interested in this car? It's up for sale, but I will probably be keeping the engine. For the right price/offer I can sell it with the engine, I'll have to check but I think it is a #'s matching engine and car.

 

Sweet! What did you pay for it?

Right off the bat I'd start with a compression test and then move on to a tune-up including new points and condenser. Probably needs a carb rebuild too. The flat tappet camshaft likes oil with a high zinc content. I add a bottle of Comp Cams break in lube to the crank case in my Thunderjet.

Also the timing is probably way retarded to run on today's low octane fuel. Factory setting is 6 deg BTDC. Mine was at 2 deg when I bought it. I see that it has an emissions vacuum advance unit on it. It may or may not have the correct amount of advance for that pre-emissions motor - Something to look into. I also see that it's missing the factory power steering cooler. It should be in the lower right corner of the photo on top of the compressor. Probably leaked in the past and is now bypassed.

If the heads werent treated to hardened valve seats, you will need a lead additive to prevent exhaust valve recession. Get the casting numbers off the heads and intake to see what you really have. Who knows, it may not be the original motor.

 

It has C9VE heads, not sure on the intake. The previous owner hired a shop to rebuild the carb. She also had them do a tune up on it. I can see that it has new spark plugs/cap and plug wires. I was looking in the back seat and found two severly bent pushrods so I'm guessing that is not a good sign. I bought it from an old lady who just wanted to get rid of it. It was her husbands project, he recently passed away so I got it pretty cheap...

 

Bent push rods? I wonder if the timing chain let go at one point. I think I see a head gasket set in the back seat too. O_O There are decoders online for the part numbers. Off the top of my head C9 is 1969. The manifold # is behind the carb.

 

The NADA price guides are not worth TWO CENTS. Are based on ASKING PRICES of vehicles in auctions, on ebay, in Hemmings, Craigslist and etc., not what the vehicles were actually sold for.

The publisher adds a certain percentage every year...which does not take into account the current economic conditions or regions. What the pile of miseries is worth in one part of the US may not be the same in others.

These T-Bird's had dependable powertrains, but have electronics that were gawd awful NIGHTMARES even when the cars were brand new. Notice the electric/vacuum operated headlamps are in the open position...so what else is new?

Today, NOS parts for these cars are slim and none. Most hard core T-B nuts want nothing to do with any 1967 or later Bird.

btw: The first year a Ford or Mercury Passenger Car was available with a 460 was in 1972 (T-Bird only). Otherwise, all 1968/72 460's came in Lincoln's and Mark's.

And..,.matching numbers is a GM thing.