Hey Dave -
I don't post here often, but I do read every day. I own a consulting company called Provenance Motors. We assist collectors in assembling vintage car collections they can enjoy, which will also perform well for them as investments. We manage collections, conduct provenance investigations to ensure clients are buying "real" cars as opposed to clones, faked stories, etc, etc. So that's me...
On your Essex - the car is not terribly rare or valuable unless you can prove that it was a pace car in period. A pace car later in life of a vintage race or something of the sort won't really add value. If you can show through photos and/or documentation that your Essex paced a famous race in 1926 or 1927, the value could easily triple (or more) what a similar car would sell for.
That said, $5,000 for an original car in that condition (pace car or not) is a steal. Though you may be tempted to do a complete restoration, from what I can see that car is a prime candidate to be preserved as opposed to restored. There is a growing movement in the vintage car world to preserve cars wherever possible, and the selling prices of unrestored cars vs. restored cars is bearing that out. Dr. Frederick Simeone wrote a book several years ago entitled the Stewardship of Historically Important Automobiles, which really started the conversation about preservation vs. restoration and one of his points has always stuck with me. I'm paraphrasing now but: If you discovered a Michelangelo sculpture or a DaVinci painting and it was dirty and neglected, you wouldn't dare attempt a ground-up restoration on it because its originality, history, and thus value, would be lost forever. Dr Simeone argues that historic cars are no different.
I do work with Dr. Simeone and my favorite car in his collection is his unrestored Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe. It is the only remaining unrestored Daytona Coupe. As I look at that car, it is far from perfect, BUT I look at the small dents in the top of the door made by the palms of men who slammed it closed and I can't help but wonder - who put that dent there? Was it Carroll Shelby? Bob Bondurant? Craig Breedlove? Phil Spector? Phil Hill? Now, if we were to restore that car to perfection, those dents and its history - that enduring romance - would be forever lost. As a result of its originality, Dr Simeone's unrestored Daytona is estimated to be worth multiples of what the other five Daytonas would sell for should it ever come up for sale (likely $15-20 million).
If I were in your position, I would purchase the car, emphasizing to the current owner that you want every shred of documentation they have for it. Sift through whatever they give you with a finetooth comb to assemble its history. Track down and contact previous owners (probably their children/grandchildren at this point) in an attempt to assemble the car's complete story. These days, provenance can add as much value to an original car as a full restoration - but provenance costs a whole lot less to complete.
As for the car itself - It's a very simple car. Get it home and CAREFULLY get it into running/driving/stopping condition. Clean it up really well, trying as hard as humanly possible to not damage or replace anything. If a component needs to be replaced, use only true Essex parts (where the extra parts the owner allegedly has come in). Then, enjoy it, as is. Revel in its cosmetic defects as scars earned from a life well lived. Most good car shows, to include the Pebble Beach Councours and the Amelia Island Concours have preservation classes now and they've proven to be very fun and popular.
If you have questions or I can be of any help, just let me know.
Good Luck,
Chris
I don't post here often, but I do read every day. I own a consulting company called Provenance Motors. We assist collectors in assembling vintage car collections they can enjoy, which will also perform well for them as investments. We manage collections, conduct provenance investigations to ensure clients are buying "real" cars as opposed to clones, faked stories, etc, etc. So that's me...
On your Essex - the car is not terribly rare or valuable unless you can prove that it was a pace car in period. A pace car later in life of a vintage race or something of the sort won't really add value. If you can show through photos and/or documentation that your Essex paced a famous race in 1926 or 1927, the value could easily triple (or more) what a similar car would sell for.
That said, $5,000 for an original car in that condition (pace car or not) is a steal. Though you may be tempted to do a complete restoration, from what I can see that car is a prime candidate to be preserved as opposed to restored. There is a growing movement in the vintage car world to preserve cars wherever possible, and the selling prices of unrestored cars vs. restored cars is bearing that out. Dr. Frederick Simeone wrote a book several years ago entitled the Stewardship of Historically Important Automobiles, which really started the conversation about preservation vs. restoration and one of his points has always stuck with me. I'm paraphrasing now but: If you discovered a Michelangelo sculpture or a DaVinci painting and it was dirty and neglected, you wouldn't dare attempt a ground-up restoration on it because its originality, history, and thus value, would be lost forever. Dr Simeone argues that historic cars are no different.
I do work with Dr. Simeone and my favorite car in his collection is his unrestored Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe. It is the only remaining unrestored Daytona Coupe. As I look at that car, it is far from perfect, BUT I look at the small dents in the top of the door made by the palms of men who slammed it closed and I can't help but wonder - who put that dent there? Was it Carroll Shelby? Bob Bondurant? Craig Breedlove? Phil Spector? Phil Hill? Now, if we were to restore that car to perfection, those dents and its history - that enduring romance - would be forever lost. As a result of its originality, Dr Simeone's unrestored Daytona is estimated to be worth multiples of what the other five Daytonas would sell for should it ever come up for sale (likely $15-20 million).
If I were in your position, I would purchase the car, emphasizing to the current owner that you want every shred of documentation they have for it. Sift through whatever they give you with a finetooth comb to assemble its history. Track down and contact previous owners (probably their children/grandchildren at this point) in an attempt to assemble the car's complete story. These days, provenance can add as much value to an original car as a full restoration - but provenance costs a whole lot less to complete.
As for the car itself - It's a very simple car. Get it home and CAREFULLY get it into running/driving/stopping condition. Clean it up really well, trying as hard as humanly possible to not damage or replace anything. If a component needs to be replaced, use only true Essex parts (where the extra parts the owner allegedly has come in). Then, enjoy it, as is. Revel in its cosmetic defects as scars earned from a life well lived. Most good car shows, to include the Pebble Beach Councours and the Amelia Island Concours have preservation classes now and they've proven to be very fun and popular.
If you have questions or I can be of any help, just let me know.
Good Luck,
Chris
