1956 pontiac starfire convertable value????

Listed as, In the rough, for parting out or to be restored.
How much is it worth if it has sat in the same spot for 30 years?
How much is it worth after a person gets it back in running condition?
I saw where the restoration of the interior alone will run about $2500.
Can this car be worth more after a professional restoration, than the cost of the restoration?
My GF's father has a 56 in his back yard also. The frame is resting on the ground and so I assume the frame and suspension will have rusted away by now. I thought that knowing about two 56 pontiacs, I might have enough for one drive able car.
Thank you
SDE

You can buy one done the way you want it cheaper than you can do it yourself.

Not knowing the condition, hard to say what they would be worth, or what restoration would cost.

But a convertible left outside with the top rotted off would expose everything inside to more damage. If that's the case, being this is not a rare or sought after model, chances are they would be too far gone to be practical for restoration, but I could be wrong.

I saw some convertibles of that era selling in the $70,000-80,000 range. I suspect these were show quality restorations. No way to know what they had to start with.

bumblebee is 1000% correct

Unless you find a desirable car, one in demand or low production numbers, It is not worth it. If, and only if, the convertible was on wheels and able to be moved, and only if the parts car was the same model, would it be feasible. They are a boat and probably have a Hydramatic trans that (if on the ground) might need to be rebuilt! Jim

If you live in an area that you can find old cars pretty easy than maybe pass on this one. If you live in the great northern rust belt of Michigan like I do I would be pretty happy to have something that is restorable. In the dry or southern part of this country old cars and trucks can be found with potential. Up here if not in a barn off the ground some couldn't be restored if you had all the money in the world. I have opened up door on a old Ford to look inside and had the door fall off in pieces. There is a big difference in opinion of value based on where you live. Al

Can't help with value but Pontiac made a Starchief. Oldsmobile made the Starfire.

Dean

Yessir, like in Indian Chief beins the indian was the Pontiac Logo for many years. Olds in Stars and Fires like the hot blast from a Rocket 88 or 98.

To pay for a professional restoration you are probably looking at $50,000 to $100,000 depending the skill and quality of the shop doing the work. Or you could easily spend double that and still not have a running car. I've seen restored convertibles for sale in the $65,000 to $85,000 range - what they actually bring may be another price.


A Star Chief that in a fairly rust free and otherwise complete condition that has sat in a barn for 30 years it might be worth $8000 to $20,000 depending on the condition. If it has sat outside and is a Flintstones car but otherwise complete $2500? $1500? $3500? depends on condition and options. One that has been sitting the dirt so long the frame has rusted away (along with the floors and all the lower panels) may only be worth something if the chrome is salvageable.

Can't really add anything helpful. Those Pontiacs were tanks but what a ride. I had a 56 convertible, my second car and traded it in on a 59 which I drove till marriage and kids forced me to get something that was better suited for a family with better gas mileage. Would love to have either one back but am sure we all had cars we wished we still had.

first question you need to ask is who would buy it all fixed up. there is a big myth about old cars. at some point they will go down in value. some rare cars wont but most will, you can buy a model t or model a for 10,000 all day long. 25 years ago they were 25,000. The younger generation is not interested in those cars period. judging the cars buy these auctions such as meechum you see on tv is not very good to go buy. a lot of those cars are paid for by your tax money. if a corporation buys a car and shows it one time then its a tax right off. A famous hockey player and a lawyer bought a baseball card and paid 1 million dollars for it. the lawyer put it on the wall for show. tax write off now. so the car you are talking about would be a nice care to have but the cost to restore ( which is the real issue, what do you call restoring a car ) it unless you have the equipment and knowledge your self would be thousands of dollars and you would have a nice car just to look at and drive every so often. I like watching the car auctions. they really have some nice cars on there but to me I could never justify spending thousand of dollars to restore a car your afraid to drive unless maybe if it was a car that was close to your heart like your dads , grand dads car..

Hemmings Motor News is a good classified ads for vintage cars and parts. You can also check if there are any GM or Pontiac car clubs in your area. Go to car shows and talk to people with those type of cars to hear what they did to them.

Study some car restoration guides, they generally suggest starting with one in the best condition you can find. The lowest cost is to enjoy your car in the same condition that you found it in. I agree, you should be able to find one in any condition you want for ten to twenty five percent of the cost to restore one yourself, and that does not include the value of your own labor. Those may be nice cars, but they are low value.

Maybe you could sell the one you have and apply that money towards buying a better one?

(quoted from post at 00:21:34 08/22/18) Listed as, In the rough, for parting out or to be restored.
How much is it worth if it has sat in the same spot for 30 years?
How much is it worth after a person gets it back in running condition?
I saw where the restoration of the interior alone will run about $2500.
Can this car be worth more after a professional restoration, than the cost of the restoration?
My GF's father has a 56 in his back yard also. The frame is resting on the ground and so I assume the frame and suspension will have rusted away by now. I thought that knowing about two 56 pontiacs, I might have enough for one drive able car.
Thank you
SDE

Click to expand...

Sounds like two parts cars for someone who has a decent one that needs some pieces.

A convertible sitting in the same spot for 30 years. You would be lucky if you can open the hood without it buckling. A parts car at best.

I could only find an Oldsmobile starfire convertible. If that is what it is then it is valuable. According to NADA average retail would be about $100,000. That is nada the dealer association price book.

That depends upon the Starfire.

Oldsmobile offered the top of the line Starfire from (IIRC) 1955 through 1957, and then again from 1961 thereafter (for some years).

In the early 1960s, if you were a late 20s/early 30s professional that had just made middle management (the term YUPPIE had not yet been coined), you bought a 1962 Oldsmobile Starfire, perhaps a convertible. You were on your way.

Dean

I just looked at the ad again. It is indeed an Oldsmobile. My mistake.
Not knowing how it has been stored, I guess I can only wait and see it, on Saturday.
I doubt that if it is any kind of shape at all, that a much more knowledgeable person, than I, will be willing to out bid me.
Thank you
SDE