Help newbie. What should I pay for this Tiger?

[mk1a]

Hi,
I’m a car guy (mostly old Mustangs) and I’ve always liked Tigers.
I looked at a ’66 Mk1a and I need some help in determining the value…
It’s an original unmodified survivor with 90000 miles on it. It has all original drive train and accessories carb etc… except for the brake booster (will give me original). Everything checks as a real Tiger per Norman’s web site, he confirmed JAL and VIN as legit.
It runs, drives, stops very well, except for maybe some bearing noise from the back. The exhaust system is a new correct reproduction. It has nice original LAT 70’s (not repros) and newly re-chromed bumpers.
All the sheet metal is original, all the spot welds are there. The exterior was repainted once in about ’90 in the correct green. There are some relatively minor rust spots showing; RR quarter bubble on lip, perforation inside lip. RR rocker under bottom back, perforation beginning. X brace drivers side, small perf at exhaust cutout. We could find no other rust under or in the car, it is very solid.
The negatives are; Seat seam splitting on pass side, driver’s needs new foam and probably cover, top ripping under flap on pass side where it joins the body. Dash and steering wheel have never been redone and have the expected patina, cracks etc… with some waviness in the pad. Incorrect rack attached to trunk lid with four holes in not factory locations.
Can you guys (girls) give me a ballpark idea on what I should pay for this car? Tough question I know, but any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Paul

[Eric and Bonnie and Bonnie Gibeaut]

The big question is- how much is he asking for it? Has it ever had rust repaired before? Is it a Northern or a Southern car? Eric

[mk1a]

Hi Eric,
The car is from the Midwest, but has never had any body or rust repair, everything is original. It is very clean and rust free underneath (other than the one spot on the x previously mentioned), it has clearly never been winter driven.
I had stated that it has 90000 miles on it, but my buddy (body guy/restorer) who checked it over with me thinks that it probably has less and that the spedo was probably changed at some point.
I would rather not say what the seller is asking for now, I’d like to hear what you guys think…?
Thanks,
Paul

[mk1a]

No one dares to venture into the water? 🙂
Paul

[Stephen Myers]

Its hard to tell without seeing it but I think $15,000 would be a good place to start.

[Robert and Mariet Jaarsma]

Another approach is to estimate how much it costs to get it (her!) up to snuff. Just of the cuff I would estimate:
body work $4000, seat covers+foam+straps, etc $500, dash $350, steering wheel $200, brake booster $250, Top $325, misc. $1000. With or w/o labor(?).Bwtween $7,500-$10,000 you can figure easily. A good Tiger as described is between $20-25K. Which makes the $15k indeed a good starting point. Give us some feed back on how this is matching the real “deal” you are making. Good luck. Robert

[anonymous]

Robert’s approach is a good one. However, he did not include paint, which can be the deal breaker. If repainted years ago I would think you would want a new paint job if nothing else than to spruce it up.

As for bodywork, don’t forget to patch the holes in the trunk lid.

Maaco ain’t gonna cut it here.

Fred Baum

[mk1a]

Now this is more like it! 😀
The car is probably nicer than I made it out to sound. The paint is very nice, except for the bubble on the quarter lip and perf starting inside the same lip. The perf starting under the rocker in front of the rr wheel is not visible unless you look under the car. The chrome has just been redone.
The seats don’t look awful, but they should be redone. The dash and wheel can probably wait, they are not that bad. The top looks very good, but it is tearing at the body under one of the flaps.
He is asking high $20’s for it…
Paul

[Bud & Donna Elliott]

There are some very nice cars out there in the high 20s. If you are going to make that kind of investment, you need to look at several cars and take one of our Sunbeam “experts” along with you. I have always believed that any car is a good car if the price is right. This sounds like a good car but not in the high 20s. For 35K, you can probably find a perfect car and not have to worry about paint bubbles and interior issues and frame rust. Take some of that money and use it for travel expenses to get out and kick some tires.

[Author]

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