1978 Falcon 500 Value

[Peterg19]

Hello team
My first post so thanks for accepting me
I'm an older car guy
That applies to both me and my cars I have a 1978 Land Rover SWB and a 1995 BMW E36, 2 door
They are both survivor cars with minimum resto works done. Mainly just mechanical stuff
They're both under 140,000 original km and they're all original, if not completely perfect
For me, it's not about Concors or costs or flipping for profit , it's about keeping them neat and tidy and on the road
Now , to my question
I have come across a 1978 , Falcon 500 Sedan. It hasn't moved for at least 5 years as far as I know. It could be 10 years!
It's been undercover all that time
I have only made a very initial contact about it through a 3rd party, a member of the owners family
It appears to be a bog standard 3 sp auto and other than that , I know nothing about it. I've only seen it from 20 feet away
I hope to hear from the owner soon, and because I don't have any idea about a fair and reasonable price , I'm coming to you for advice please
Hard question , I know but what would be an acceptable price range be, do you think
Thanks
Pete

[4Vman]

Hello team
My first post so thanks for accepting me
I'm an older car guy
That applies to both me and my cars I have a 1978 Land Rover SWB and a 1995 BMW E36, 2 door
They are both survivor cars with minimum resto works done. Mainly just mechanical stuff
They're both under 140,000 original km and they're all original, if not completely perfect
For me, it's not about Concors or costs or flipping for profit , it's about keeping them neat and tidy and on the road
Now , to my question
I have come across a 1978 , Falcon 500 Sedan. It hasn't moved for at least 5 years as far as I know. It could be 10 years!
It's been undercover all that time
I have only made a very initial contact about it through a 3rd party, a member of the owners family
It appears to be a bog standard 3 sp auto and other than that , I know nothing about it. I've only seen it from 20 feet away
I hope to hear from the owner soon, and because I don't have any idea about a fair and reasonable price , I'm coming to you for advice please
Hard question , I know but what would be an acceptable price range be, do you think
Thanks
Pete

Welcome Peter!

Hard to put a value on things sight unseen.

5-10k if its in good condition needing minimal work all the way to zero if its needing paint and panel.

[Perko]

Hello team
My first post so thanks for accepting me
I'm an older car guy
That applies to both me and my cars I have a 1978 Land Rover SWB and a 1995 BMW E36, 2 door
They are both survivor cars with minimum resto works done. Mainly just mechanical stuff
They're both under 140,000 original km and they're all original, if not completely perfect
For me, it's not about Concors or costs or flipping for profit , it's about keeping them neat and tidy and on the road
Now , to my question
I have come across a 1978 , Falcon 500 Sedan. It hasn't moved for at least 5 years as far as I know. It could be 10 years!
It's been undercover all that time
I have only made a very initial contact about it through a 3rd party, a member of the owners family
It appears to be a bog standard 3 sp auto and other than that , I know nothing about it. I've only seen it from 20 feet away
I hope to hear from the owner soon, and because I don't have any idea about a fair and reasonable price , I'm coming to you for advice please
Hard question , I know but what would be an acceptable price range be, do you think
Thanks
Pete

Welcome mate. Agree with Norm on the pricing. Depending on the work for the panels a couple of thousand would still be reasonable. In the end it comes down to the amount of work that needs to be done and what you want out of it. A Falcon 500 with the 6 cylinder, vinyl seats, 3 speed column would be a cracker.

[Peterg19]

Thanks Guys. Really appreciate it.
I'd probably go to a couple of thousand because I have no idea about its mechanical condition.
I've heard that an auto rebuild can be $1,000
I'm guessing it will need a brake reline.
No idea on engine but I think they were pretty robust ( I had an XC Panel van when I was an aircond service tech )
How much is a good condition , standard one worth, all RWC and that
Anyways , wus

Welcome mate. Agree with Norm on the pricing. Depending on the work for the panels a couple of thousand would still be reasonable. In the end it comes down to the amount of work that needs to be done and what you want out of it. A Falcon 500 with the 6 cylinder, vinyl seats, 3 speed column would be a cracker.

[WASP]

Thanks Guys. Really appreciate it.
I'd probably go to a couple of thousand because I have no idea about its mechanical condition.
I've heard that an auto rebuild can be $1,000
I'm guessing it will need a brake reline.
No idea on engine but I think they were pretty robust ( I had an XC Panel van when I was an aircond service tech )
How much is a good condition , standard one worth, all RWC and that
Anyways , wus

I've seen XC Falcon 500's in very good condition going for as high as $10k with service books/history. XA/XB's even more. This is assuming it is the high compression 4.1 Crossflow motor and not the lower compression, de-stroked 3.3. Colour will play a factor too with more popular colors going for more. Is it the T-bar floor shifter or column?

[Peterg19]

Thanks WASP
So a running , driving minter would be $10K tops
I'm guessing the ADR's that knocked off the performance in the XC are what make it, not as popular as an XA or XB?
I haven't even got close enough to get any of the detail about engine or shift set up
I spotted it a few weeks back and then driving by the other day , there were some people outside so I pulled up and said hello
It belongs to a relative of theirs
I didn't want to take up too much of their time so I left a note with my contact details
I remember the work van having a 4.1 badge on it
How do I identify if it has a 3.3?
I think its a metallic Green color.Its covered in dust

[WASP]

Thanks WASP
So a running , driving minter would be $10K tops
I'm guessing the ADR's that knocked off the performance in the XC are what make it, not as popular as an XA or XB?
I haven't even got close enough to get any of the detail about engine or shift set up
I spotted it a few weeks back and then driving by the other day , there were some people outside so I pulled up and said hello
It belongs to a relative of theirs
I didn't want to take up too much of their time so I left a note with my contact details
I remember the work van having a 4.1 badge on it
How do I identify if it has a 3.3?
I think its a metallic Green color.Its covered in dust

On the front fender, it will have either 3.3 or 4.1. There may be an engine code difference too. The 3.3 has longer rods and a shorter stroke crank. Pistons are apparently higher compression than those used in the 4.1ltr 250cc motor, not lower compression as I originally thought. They are both the same diameter and height apparently. There are no obvious external differences that I am aware of. The 4.1 crossflow engines go pretty well, but the 3.3's are known for being pretty gutless.

If the car is mint, known history, minimal owners and no rust it may go for more than $10k. I personally prefer the XC's over the XB/XA but the earlier models are more desirable due to their styling mostly. The XC is far better driver's car from that perspective.

Does it look like this?
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1453...53930394868171

[Peterg19]

Thanks WASP
I think it looks a bit sexier than that
It has the chrome wheel trims on it
$10k as is would be way out of my budget
As I said , it’s not really something that I would do to make money
More so , to recommission it and get it back on the road
At minimum I reckon it would need
All new belts and hoses
All new fluids
new suspension bushes
new shock absorbers
New tyres
Front end align
Tune
Plugs
Cut and polish
Not sure about it’s history but I’d say not too many owners

[WASP]

Thanks WASP
I think it looks a bit sexier than that
It has the chrome wheel trims on it
$10k as is would be way out of my budget
As I said , it’s not really something that I would do to make money
More so , to recommission it and get it back on the road
At minimum I reckon it would need
All new belts and hoses
All new fluids
new suspension bushes
new shock absorbers
New tyres
Front end align
Tune
Plugs
Cut and polish
Not sure about it’s history but I’d say not too many owners

Sounds good. I just shared that photo as a colour and model reference since you mentioned it was green. I suspected from what you had described it was in much better condition than the picture I shared. With that one, the owner is asking approx $5-6k and its in very average condition and the 3.3, although it is complete and unmodified.

If the one you are thinking of buying is better it may be worth more so this is something to keep in mind. It really depends on how the owners value it. Years ago a family friend of ours offered to sell their late fathers XC Fairmont 302 V8. It had sat in a carport for years gathering dust. It was full of junk, had some rust and was in pretty average condition although I did manage to get it running and driving. They thought no one would want it so I offered it to me for $500. At that time a mint version of the same car was $10-12k tops and I knew it would cost more than this to bring it back to mint condition. Given it wasn't a great colour and required so much work I elected to passed it up. Another family member of theirs more knowledgeable of cars got wind of the offer. They took the XC as-is and easily sold it for $2,500. Point is, what you will pay for it depends on the seller. They may be happy with a few grand and you taking it off their hands but I feel this is unlikely.

Fixing wise, I would factor in motor, carb and trans strip down. You should be able to reuse most of the same parts, just add new seals, rings and bearing and possibly replace/recondition the water pump, radiator etc plus fit new welch plugs, and engine belts. If its got power steering that many need some love too.

[Peterg19]

Thanks

QUOTE=WASP;140401]Sounds good. I just shared that photo as a colour and model reference since you mentioned it was green. I suspected from what you had described it was in much better condition than the picture I shared. With that one, the owner is asking approx $5-6k and its in very average condition and the 3.3, although it is complete and unmodified.

If the one you are thinking of buying is better it may be worth more so this is something to keep in mind. It really depends on how the owners value it. Years ago a family friend of ours offered to sell their late fathers XC Fairmont 302 V8. It had sat in a carport for years gathering dust. It was full of junk, had some rust and was in pretty average condition although I did manage to get it running and driving. They thought no one would want it so I offered it to me for $500. At that time a mint version of the same car was $10-12k tops and I knew it would cost more than this to bring it back to mint condition. Given it wasn't a great colour and required so much work I elected to passed it up. Another family member of theirs more knowledgeable of cars got wind of the offer. They took the XC as-is and easily sold it for $2,500. Point is, what you will pay for it depends on the seller. They may be happy with a few grand and you taking it off their hands but I feel this is unlikely.

Fixing wise, I would factor in motor, carb and trans strip down. You should be able to reuse most of the same parts, just add new seals, rings and bearing and possibly replace/recondition the water pump, radiator etc plus fit new welch plugs, and engine belts. If its got power steering that many need some love too.[/QUOTE]