NP or NP?

[awesomeaustinv]

~1958 Ford Consul, rescued from the wilderness. Features classic California black plates. Floors rotted out but otherwise seems pretty solid. A few minor dents and a missing taillight. Crappy interior, and no paperwork. But it's only $475! And the owner says half that value is just the plates, so if you leave them behind you're getting this beautiful pile of... Ford... for a couple hundred bucks! Even with all those problems, that's practically "why not?" money! And even if you don't care to go to the hassle of getting a new title for it, you could still use it as the basis for a neat little Lemons racer! Personally, I'd want to swap in a Flathead V8 so it can keep up with traffic and sound awesome, and Miata subframes and suspension for the track days, bro I love dirt cheap classics like this. the only reason why I'm not heading to pick this up right now is that it's too far away. If one of you wants it, here's the ad: https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/cto/d/willits-1958-british-ford-consul/7238784756.html

[RallyWrench]

@awesomeaustinv Can we talk about the Borgward in the background?!?

[awesomeaustinv]

@rallywrench Holy crap, I hadn't even noticed that. This seller must be quite the gearhead.

[liam]

Wow, I didn't know that there Ford Consuls in the US - I thought they were a UK thing

[Shop-Teacher]

@awesomeaustinv From the ad: "The value of the Black plates gets you 1/2 way to my asking price. If you want to leave them here, deduct accordingly."

So, $237.50, and register it in Vermont. Yeah, I'd say NP!

[Shop-Teacher]

@rallywrench I don't even know what that is!

[sony1492]

@awesomeaustinv "why not" because itll cost $10k to bring it back. Even doing the work yourself fixing the bodywork and going through the mechanicals id expect $5k in parts/ paint along with at least 200 hrs of effort

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@rallywrench

Woah! A Borgward Isabella coupe! I saw a sedan once. What a quirky and out of place car. That's not a marquee you think of out of the usual German carmakers.

The Ford Consul was a Euro market Ford right? It was UK market I believe. It's surely rare as hen's teeth in the US.

[dogisbadob]

A car that rusts even in California? I know what David Tracy's next project car is going to be

LOL is that like the Mazda 3 of the 50s?

On the east coast, there's 3yo cars with more rust than that!

[awesomeaustinv]

@shop-teacher Borgward was like the GM of Germany back in the 40s and 50s. They had several sub brands including Goliath and (I think) Lloyd. One of Borgward's most popular models, and I believe the model in the background of these Craigslist pics, is the Isabella. Borgwards are supposedly pretty reliable and well-made, and were fairly popular in Germany at the time, until the company filed for bankruptcy under mysterious circumstances. To this day, nobody is sure why the company disappeared, as bank records indicate they weren't in any sort of financial trouble. They just... ceased to be. There's still a loyal group of enthusiasts keeping these cars running, though, so they have plenty of fans.

[awesomeaustinv]

@sony1492 Even if it costs five to ten grand to bring it back, I'd say it's still worth it for this cute little thing. Although maybe I'm just weird that way. Still, I think it would at least be worth it to lightly hot rod the thing with a slightly more powerful engine, and keep the patina on the exterior. It could be a fun little project.

[RallyWrench]

@shop-teacher Borgward Isabella coupe! Kinda cool, German car that was high quality but not nearly as well known as BMW or Mercedes. Maybe more like a German Volvo, solid but staid. Very rare here. My dad's first car was an Isabella 2-door sedan.

[Shop-Teacher]

@rallywrench I learned something today. I had never heard of that company before.

[sony1492]

@awesomeaustinv big block and send