I've seen this Z in our galleries and now it is on ebay

[Bambikiller240]

I pretty sure that all of us who work on our own cars and "tweak" them to various levels value our won car at more that the "real world, actual value it would bring on the open market". It's only natural. I've been there before, others have been as well. Member Harry Frigg (Michael) comes to mind with the 73 Z (a Gold Medal winning car a few years back) that he sold earlier this year. Only the person who did the work, spent the coin, and watched it evolve can understand the depth of effort put into the car. BUT, the reality is that these cars seldom sell for anywhere near the amount of money that is put into them, even when they are "performers", and/or "show winners". Maybe the car on eBay is worth the $12K as a "show winner" to somebody but not to me since I'm not fond of the paint job.. From a performance view point, I don't feel that it is worth that much either.

Just my $.01 (broke after Xmas shopping)

[Mike]

Originally posted by Bambikiller240

Putting time and money into something is not worth much if you don't get much ROI (return on investment):

1. He's discounting it to 1/3 of his investment and not getting ANY bids
   
2. it has a paint job that only the designer could love IMHO
   
3. and it's slower than it should be with all the parts he's thrown into it.
   [/list=1]
   Where is the value? What's the point in putting high performance parts into an engine or chassis if after all the work and $$ it doen't perform like it should. It's an unfortunate situation, but it's reality.
   James car out performs it, for far less $$. Thats the backup.
   Return on investment for a Zcar ? If we were talking investments, there's no way I'd be looking at cars. That's my IMHO.
   But, let's pretend that not everybody cares about returning something on their financial investment. They do it because they love it. Removing the whole aspect of investment, this guy turned his passions into something from his imagination. On the other hand, James did the same thing. He put his passion into performance so he could drive faster.
   Saying that a car isn't worth a $^!# just because it doesn't meet the 1/4 mile specs is limited thinking.
   I'm sure both of these cars deserve appreciation for the actual efforts that have been put into them. Not because they pass or fail ONE test. Featured write-ups can be done about both cars.. one will win out in the modified category while the other wins out in the performance category.
   I also disagree with point 3 (above). Saying that it's slower than it should be is a wide-open statement. There are too many factors to make a judgement like that. I mean, maybe the guy doesn't know how to drive while another guy has 10 years practice under his belt......
   [m]

[Mike]

Originally posted by seerex

anyway you slice it , its quick but not 30g's worth of quick

Is it 12g's worth of quick?

[2ManyZs]

I think you all have missed the emphasis on this car, it was built more for "show" than "go"....the chroming of control arms and suspension pieces tells me right away it is more at home sitting in a field with mirrors underneath to show off all the money that was spent on it...Kinda on the same line as the abominable "4x4" Z's we've seen at shows..... :sick: yeah, it's got a lot of "go-fast" pieces, but it wasn't built to show off how it can go... only that the owner has plenty of money to spend on something that can't be used as anything other than a show-off piece.

[Bambikiller240]

Mike, Mike, Mike; I NEVER said it isn't worth "$^!#". (or that it's worthless or anything of the kind.

ROI does not have to be financial. Many times it is not. ROI can be in the form of performance, awards (this car got at least one of those), or a combination of both. My opinion is that for an investment of $30K I expect more than what this car has shown. In awards, AND performance, and also in style (very subjective, but I haven't heard anyone say they LOVED the paint job yet)

IMO the fact that it's been on auction for 8 days and hasn't drawn even one bid speaks volumes. So far no one thinks it's worth $12K (yet.)

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Now don't any think I saying something about the car, but regarding the statement.......

"They do it because they love it. Removing the whole aspect of investment, this guy turned his passions into something from his imagination."

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I can imagine taking a cat turd and painting it, putting colored beads and tinsel on it, and adding festive pinstriping to finish it off with loving care. But that doesn't make it useful as a Christmas ornament.

On any project or job, it is the RESULTS that influence the value, not the intent of the builder. For a car that has to be performance, and appearance, functionality, etc. The car HAS won an award. The one performance measure that was stated is the 1/4 mile time. No dyno results like HP or torque figures were mentioned, so I have commented on what was stated by the auction. One would think if there were any other notable specs, that they would have been listed.

(I'm dropping out of this thread, as I've stated my opinions and the reasons for them. No one has to agree with me. We'll see if anyone thnks it's worth $12K by 9PM PST on Saturday)

Is it $12K worth of quick? NO, James waxes him for less than half of that figure.

2ManyZs: Your statement is probably closer to the truth than any of us realize. But with that paint job, it'll take a bit of searching to find a buyer that has the same taste in paintwork.