Making a car that has sat for over 30 years into a runner will require a lot of money-tires, timing belt, all fluids, battery, fuel system drain and flush at a minimum, could need a lot more. I vote for selling it as-is, where-is, best offer.
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Anything made of rubber will need to be changed. tires, brake lines, ball joints, tie-rods, belts, hoses, fan belt, motor and tranny mounts, body mounts, vacuum lines.
sell it as-is and lose the headache.
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With any "Antique/Classic " valuation thereâs much more than mileage.
Is it a rust free in âLike Newâ condition?
Is it a Base model or a R/T Twin Turbo ?.
Compared with the remaining Stealths on the market the value could vary by a multiple.
My suggestion is to invite several local Resroration Shops to take a look a and get their opinions and offers.
In the meantime, thereâs mothing to preven you from listing it online
I was looking at a 1979 Lincoln Mark V that was in beautiful condition, in part due to being stored in a garage. I made an offer significantly lower than asking, and the seller replied he had that much money tied up in storage alone. As if that money could be recovered at sale time.
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Like I have said from the very beginning, this all boils down to the details of the carâŠ
The 3000 and Stealth have a very small almost cult like following⊠To the right person, worth some money, to the average person, not so muchâŠ
A DIYer can get your Stealth back on the road for a very low investment to what it will cost you to pay a shop to do everything needed, so you will probably make more money off selling as is then putting $$$$ into the car just to make a small amount of moneyâŠ
Basically selling as is for $6,000 will put more money in the bank then putting $5,000 into it and only getting $10,000 out of it, just using those #'s as an exampleâŠ
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I can see someone paying up to $10,000 for a R/T Turbo barn find, as long as no one has started messing around like installing some cheap tires or fooling around with the brake lines. If I see a car that has a bunch of random parts replaced and the engine wonât start, I might offer 1/3 the asking price.
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My 1992 has a lot of original rubber that is fine. Rubber with proper additives or whatever they do to make it properly will last decades. It just gets harder over time and needs to be heated or treated with something like wintergreen for it to flex. Have some mid 90s or older Michelin tires still with no cracks.
Do NOT drive in my neighborhood
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You could list vin number. Not like a bad person will defraud you
As others have pointed out. The specific model of Stealth you have will play a big part in itâs value.
The 3K/Stealth was a very umm, ambitious car for itâs time. The most desirable top trim models had stuff that was fairly exotic for the time, AWD, twin turbos, All wheel steering, adjustable suspension, tunable exhaust, and some stuff thatâs even exotic today; the 3K VR4âs active aero. Very complex cars, that werenât super reliable and were costly to fix when things went wrong.
Iâve had some seat time in two Stealth R/T Twin Turbos over the years. When they are correct, they are great cars. Confidence-inspiring, and very forgiving when driving enthusiastically, even without stability control like we have now, itâs hard for the car to get away from you, itâs the anti-MR2 Turbo if you want to compare 90âs Japanese performance cars.
With that said, the lesser models are pretty underwhelming, IIRC the base model had a SOHC 3.0L, and FWD, it wasnât impressive or desirable. The ES had a DOHC version of the same engine which gave a nice bump in power, but again FWD only. I want to say they did a non-Turbo R/T with the engine from the ES. This one looks the part, but it lacks the bits and pieces (AWD, AWS, Turbos) that make the R/T Twin Turbo special. Super interesting car IMHO.
A base or ES with 34k miles isnât going to be worth anywhere close $15k even in great condition with a clean bill of health. An R/T Twin Turbo with 34k miles, though, would be worth $15k, and maybe a bit more to the right buyer.
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This is a problem when looking at âmechanic specialâ used cars on Craigslist. People think that because they paid X amount of dollars to buy the car recently, or spent X amount of dollars trying to repair the car, or because they put X amount of dollars into the car before the motor or transmission or whatever failed, therefore they are entitled to recoup that upon sale. And when you offer an amount that takes into account the parts and effort needed to repair the vehicle, these people get all uppity like youâre trying to rip them off.
No, I canât pay $2500 for your car which would be worth $3k running but needs a new motor, just because you can supposedly find a used motor for $500. Nor can I pay $2500 for this car just because you recently put $2k into it. Nor can I pay $2500 because you just bought the car for $3k last week (when it still ran).
Have you ever met people trying to sell their used Apple computers?
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Looking at KBB, assuming Very Good condition but not the more desireable models, Iâm seeing a sub $5,000 valuation, remembering that VG condition is âHas minor cosmetic defects and is in good mechanical conditionâ. But unless the car was âproperly storedâ and periodically refreshed the value is probably significantly lower.
So before you start throwing any money at the car your best approach is to contact a âStealth Car Clubâ like https://www.3si.org/ or https://forum.the3000gtplace.com/ for more information, mechanic recommendations, valuation, etc.
It seems that @Flasher has left the building. So much depends on the specific model, guess weâll never know.
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I looked up Stealth cars on Hemmings.com. ES models in excellent condition are $12,000-$13,000. Twin turbos in excellent condition are $29,000-$35,000.
And just to emphasizeâŠâexcellentâ condition would assume running, functional, and probably in something close to showroom condition.
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What a fun projecthis could be!
Iâd pull spark plugs and pour 0W-20 full synthetic oil in the cylinders.
After a few days hand crank - if possible - and catch oil forced out of the cylinders through the spark plug openings.
If engine turns over, gon to thext stage of draining and replacing motor oil.
If engine runs, drain and replace coolant and transmission fluid.
Replace all belts.
Pump up tireso that you can drive to a tire store and have all replaced. Check spare.
Would be worth more if running and drivable.
Or donate it to Goodwill or similar if theyvill take it.
Thatâs the most sensible thing you have EVER said
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