AK1120 Sold

[linklaw]

I just read the results from the Mecum auction at Kissimee and it looks like AK1120 sold for $90,000.

[French Frie]

The link : http://www.mecum.com/auctions/lot_detail.cfm?LOT_ID=FL0114-176637

[Mark IV]

AK 1120 most certainly did NOT have "factory air conditioning" I well remember the car as it was damaged on removal from the container at the port in Newark. Mike George bought it "as-is" and it was repaired at Buffalo Motor Car by a guy who later worked at my restoration business.
   
   Low end of the price scale for a low mile, unmodified MK IV (i.e. no side pipes, Mk III dash, etc.)

[hawk289]

Interesting market at the moment, I've been tracking cars and some (few) are getting OK prices, but most are down in price. Seeing MK IV's going under £60K is great for buyer, but not for seller. Interesting, also I see aceca's are starting to stall. I wonder what is going on in the market? Any views?

[AK1131]

Mark IV, do you think modifications add or subtract from the value?

[hawk289]

Interesting question, I can only talk about Aceca's. I believe original is always the best value, even mod's are now starting to put people off. I recently asked a press guy about modification. His view the best cars are not modified, why basically original specification, is what people want. I know Aceca's go for a lot less than original (matching numbers).

[French Frie]

Yep, interesting... And the common view  is that unmodified cars are always more valuated  (the 911 market is a very good example) ! But regarding the mkIV, which is an evolution of  an already existing icon,  the modifications are always made in order to replicate the original, and i think that's a bit different... I can't think that a very clean restored and "backdated" like DPK_cobra's one would sell for less than a clean unmolested stock MKIV ! And an upgraded engine can't either be considered as a default, especially as the 302 engine is a mass market product, and there is no rarity ...
   
   Anyway, wisdom is to make any change reversible, for the future... And enjoy our cars the way we want them to be [;)] !

[Mark IV]

What modifications? I see NO evidence of Air Con....I think they took the thermactor pump to be an "A/C" compressor. I see no controls or vents in the cabin and I know Mike did not add air.

[nick Godridge]

I think FF has it. people want cars that look like early cars or racers. I think horsepower also sells.
   Also, there are so many good reps around now that the amount of choice is very very wide in the 50k to 100K bracket.
   And at the risk of speaking heresy, after all, cars built in the 80's and 90's were in reality copies, add that to the current practice by existing builders of registering cars as historic, which ours were'nt, all conspire to blurr the edges.
   
   Buyers market in my view. And fashion seems to be more important than originality right now.
   
   Nick G

[AK1131]

Thanks, Makes me feel I have done the right modification to my MKIV. When I received the car from the first owner in 2005, it had only 634 miles with the rubber bumperettes up front and the leather bonded steering wheel with the giant rubber center. I removed the bumperettes and added a Moto Lita wood wheel. The engine had been totally de-smogged with aluminum heads & manifold added along with a Holley, headers and performance cam. I recently converted over to fuel injection by eightstack.com which looks exactly like a set of Webers but much better. OH, my license plate reads PDQ [8D]

[Hobo]

Market Price? Out of my view still increasing. 2014 £60K seems to be great for buyer. Some years ago £60K was treated as expensive....cars from the US have been traded around US$ 50-60 T.
   
   My personal view on modifications:
   Modificate whatever you want and enjoy your personalized car.
   However do not destroy original parts (dash, carpet, seats, engine ....), put them beside in your storage.
   Don't modificate things which are hard to remodificate again (holes in the body for sidepipes)
   When time will come to sell, you are always in a position to offer an "original" car.
   
   Remember: Had to invest reasonable money to delete the sidepipes from my car to get an underfloor exhaust again.