Investment Vehicles - Let's hear about them...

[Randy V]

I posted this in another forum but I thought it might be interesting here as there is more of an international membership here.
-------
I'll be perfectly honest with you - I don't know DICK about the Stock Market, Futures and the like... Got plenty soaked into them via 401K's but it seems like every time I turn around, they're losing a boat-load of value...

Like anybody else - I'd like to invest in "something" that I think would have a reasonable chance for a positive return. So - I'm investing in things that meet that criteria and that I know something about.

Cars & Motorcycles...

Cars -
I'm currently sitting on a 1969 Camaro SS that is a numbers matching car - no rust - no body damage - semi-customized interior (got the mid-70's crushed velvet seats) - and a mickey-mouse side pipe exhaust system that will be replaced with a nice Flowmaster system that I have for it.

Motorcycles
1999 Victory V92C #106 (They serialized the first 1500)

1982 Honda CBX - Just purchased today (pics below) it is 1 of 5311 made and 1982 was the last year of the 4 year run..

Big-Foot checking it out just prior to purchase;

Six Pipes!

-------------

So - Do YOU invest in things other than the Stock Market?

Let's hear about it.....

 

[jyrki sulka]

Cars:

- 3 door "whale-tail" 1986 model Sierra RS Cosworth. I bought it at very reasonable price in 1991 / 50 thousand km`s in clock. I drove it last time in 1998... Total production was 5054, over half were RHD`s and 500 were bases for RS500.
I have all RS500 parts for it too; from engine to spoilers to side stripes. All Ford parts.

- 3 door original 1985 XR4x4. Very rare, it`s Ford of Germanys pre-production car. They gave me info they make only around 30-40 total of those 3-door versions (standard 3 door bodyshell, not the Sierra / Merkur XR4(T)i sixlight-type). Value? Hard to say...

- 1993 Escort RS Cosworth T34 "big turbo" Motorsport model. Maybe not the rariest car at the moment, but nice add to collection, and rare -factoryhybrid- (really a Sierra Cos 4x4 base with Escort mk5 upper bodypanels)

 

[Ron Earp]

Woooo wheee I like that CBX!!

 

[Brian Hamilton]

Cars:

- 3 door "whale-tail" 1986 model Sierra RS Cosworth. I bought it at very reasonable price in 1991 / 50 thousand km`s in clock. I drove it last time in 1998... Total production was 5054, over half were RHD`s and 500 were bases for RS500.
I have all RS500 parts for it too; from engine to spoilers to side stripes. All Ford parts.

- 3 door original 1985 XR4x4. Very rare, it`s Ford of Germanys pre-production car. They gave me info they make only around 30-40 total of those 3-door versions (standard 3 door bodyshell, not the Sierra / Merkur XR4(T)i sixlight-type). Value? Hard to say...

- 1993 Escort RS Cosworth T34 "big turbo" Motorsport model. Maybe not the rariest car at the moment, but nice add to collection, and rare -factoryhybrid- (really a Sierra Cos 4x4 base with Escort mk5 upper bodypanels)

NOT FAIR!!!!
We never got ANY of those cool Fords. All we got was the lame versions of those. Lame Escorts, Lame Merkurs, NO COSWORTH ANYTHING!!

I want your cars. LOL Very nice collection my friend! Got pics?

Laters,

Brian

 

[speed220mph]

Ex Ford mule car for experimental SOHC 289. Purchased the Mustang in Sept. 1966 from Ford under the employee purchase plan. The car is a 1966 HiPo GT Mustang fastback with a Pony interior and HiPo package. Turned down an offer from Jack Roush to buy the car a few years back. Car is unrestored, but has a few "upgrades."

I don't know if they are investments, but I also have an ERA 427 Cobra S/C and an ERA GT40. One thing for sure is they are more fun than the stock market.

 

[Ron Earp]

Lame Merkurs, NO COSWORTH ANYTHING!!

Apparently you've never built up a Turbo 2.3L Ford. You wouldn't have said lame had you ridden in mine about 10 years ago, my guess is you might have wet yourself....

I do agree with you though. We never got the Cossie stuff and that sort of sucked. But the US Merkurs could be made to haul the bread if you had a mind to work it up.

R

 

[speed220mph]

You're right about that, Ron. How about Buddy Ingersol's Turbo Coupe T-Bird that ran in the 9's in NHRA "stock" competition. Don't know what boost he was running, but the bottom end of his 2.3L held up to it. I remember how the car carried the front wheels as he left the line.

 

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

I still miss my 1987 Merkur XR4Tii (extra "i" for the intercooler setup I built.) Fast, comfortable and fun. With the big brake kit on the front it would haul down for the 90 at Watkins Glen.

 

[jyrki sulka]

Brian:

Testing 1, 2, 3, 4...
Here few pics; first time i try to put fotos in the net... :shy:
Picasa-verkkoalbumit - Jyrki - escosw
No fotos yet of three door (standard except 17" BBS RS -style wheels)

 

[Brian Hamilton]

As for the 2.3 remarks, I used to be the Parts & Sales Manager for Motion Dynamics in Leander (now Pflugerville) Texas. We specialized in the 2.3 Turbo Ford engines and are one of the only shops who even knows what an SVO is, much less specializes in them and has tons of parts laying around for them. LOL We built a 650 rwhp 2.7 Stroker powered 1988 Turbo Coupe for a guy in Kansas City and numerous 2.5 Strokers for the SVOCA members. Oh trust me, I can stick my head in the engine bay of an SVO, Turbo Coupe, or Merkur and tell you anything you wanna know about it. Well, maybe not the Merkur... Hehe. Not 100% familiar with those things. I know the ol' 2.3 can be made to make crazy HP and haul all sorts of ass. My big complaint is that we never got the cool DOHC Cossie Ford engines or the AWD cars. All we got was the lame versions of them.

 

[Brian Hamilton]

Brian:

Testing 1, 2, 3, 4...
Here few pics; first time i try to put fotos in the net... :shy:
Picasa-verkkoalbumit - Jyrki - escosw
No fotos yet of three door (standard except 17" BBS RS -style wheels)

Love the blue car. Gimme!!!

 

[Doug S.]

So - Do YOU invest in things other than the Stock Market?

Let's hear about it.....

Were I investing strictly on the expectation of making a profit, I think I'd consider art. Sure seems to be getting quite a ride in the markets these days.

But that's not what we're here for--I, for one, wish I still had the '65 GTO I sold during the Iranian hostage crisis for $275. Gas was going up a nickel per gallon every day, it got 8 mpg, so I offed it, but I sure wish I still had it.

Or the 1957 Ford Fairlane 2 door hardtop I sold to a good friend for $10 in 1976. Had too many cars, had to move 60 miles away for a new job, and he was a good friend.

So, if I had to suggest something automotive for investment purposes, I'd suggest cars with a racing heritage. The '64 Fairlane is one of my favorite cars of all time, and Thunderbolts were just used up race-cars in the late 60s so they were affordable at the time. Oh, my, had I bought one back then and put it into a decent storage place, what %age of profit would I have made by now!!!!!!

Doug

 

[Dalton Veitch]

I could write a whole book of "If Only"s. All the great cars I had once, then on-sold to try something else. Now they are worth lots and I wish I had been able to afford to keep them for fun anyway.

I'm sure many of us could say the same. So good luck to those holding onto valuable vehicles.

Dalton

 

[ChrisL]

I’ve thought a lot about this, mostly from the perspective of trying to justify having a fantastic piece of machinery sitting in my garage. But I just can’t get the figures to add up if we compare it to shares/property/term-deposit.<o></o>
<o> </o>
As I see it (and these are just my thoughts), if you have a reasonably good knowledge of cars then it should be relatively easy to buy a good classic that holds its own against inflation. But if you are looking to buy a cheap “future classic” then (a) it’s a really tough call to guess what might be considered desirable in a very different future and (b) have the resources to be able to hold on to it long enough – maybe 20 years or more – to make the whole profit thing worthwhile. <o></o>
<o> </o>
Then of coarse you need to know when to sell. I have a friend who bought a Valiant Charger R/T Bathurst for $500 in the seventies (as a daily runner!) and was doing cartwheels when he managed to sell it for $15,000 in the 80s. The same car is now nudging $100,000… who woulda guessed back then. <o></o>
Then I have another friend who bought a shed-full of very desirable Aston Martins in the 80’s and sold them at a loss in the ‘90s. Again, who woulda guessed.
Finally, I have yet another friend who bought two Triumph TR3a’s 25 years ago (the WRX of their day) and is still waiting for them to move beyond<o></o>
inflation.<o></o>
<o> </o>
Remember also that a lot of the prices of current classics are being driven by the wave of cashed up baby-boomers reminiscing their youth, and that these same cars will again flood the market in 20/30 years when these people begin to move on. So if you haven’t made your fortune from that push by now then I recon you’ve probably missed the boat.<o></o>
<o> </o>
But having said all that, there is a lot to be said about buying a beautiful classic, owning and enjoying it for many years and then selling it at NO loss… done that a few times myself.<o></o>