I was approached by someone wanting to trade me a 57 CMC Speedster for my 66 Mustang convertible. I don’t know much about these fiberglass cars or the manufacturers. I do own a original 56 coupe but that’s s different animal.
my questions is are these good cars and what should i be looking or asking about the car. It’s not close enough for me to look at but if anyone on here is near Colorado Springs please contact me.
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What do you think your '66 Mustang Convertible worth?. Is it mint/a driver/a basket case? Looks like a finished CMC that is built with original CMC parts. Seats, door panels and carpets are all CMC from <1990 so most likely a vinyl top/tonneau too. Many prefer to refresh the interior - that would cost $3k plus shipping just for the parts from VM (old VS) in Calif. Is engine a stock VW 1600 or something with more cc/hp and built by a reputable builder? Suspect it's still original factory gel coat or a custom quality paint job? - paint jobs can easily run $5k. Upgraded trans (3.88/freway flyer) adds $1k to cost. New or ancient old may pop tires? Heater boxes (needed to extend the season in NY) or J tubes? I'm guessing value might $18-24k. Add to that delivery to you.
I don't think it is possible for his 1776 cc motor to produce 105 hp. That is a bit of an exaggeration.
Yeah, that CMC might be advertised at $24.5K, but looking at the photos and little information it’s probably worth more like $18K if it doesn’t need much. A typical 1,776 engine is going to produce 75-80 hp.....That’s it, but it is a bit lighter than your ‘Stang so the performance will be comparable to your 6-cylinder 3-speed.
I had a ‘66 Mustang Fastback, 289, 4-speed, typical go-fast stuff, yadda-yadda. If I were you, I would keep the ‘Stang.
I rushed into buying my VS. Wish I had researched more and been more patient. Still, absolutely LOVE my car. If I didn't have one already and a $25K car I was looking to offload, I would sell it and find something else. From what I've seen you can do much better for $25K. With a few K more you can find something recently built/rebuilt and fully sorted.
Speedsters are fun cars that draw attention every where you go and are a blast to drive (hey- what can I say? That's why I'm a member here!
).
That said, everybody also loves a Mustang convertible, and it is a classic car that you could literally get into and drive any where, any time with rock solid reliability, it's value always escalating. You really have to know your way around an aircooled engine to be a successful long term owner of a Speedster. Unless you're familiar with the peculiarities of aircooled technology (actually, the word technology is a little misleading, as these little watch winders come from a time when the automotive world was barely out of it's infancy), like tinkering and have fallen deeply (and I mean very deeply!) head over heels in love with Speedsters, keep the Mustang. I think that after the initial infatuation wears off (and realizing he got the better end of the deal) you'll regret letting the Pony go.
Robert M posted:I don't think it is possible for his 1776 cc motor to produce 105 hp. That is a bit of an exaggeration.
It is possible for a 1776 to make that kind of power, but you're not going to do it with no porting, stock valve sizes, 8 1/2:1, Ict's and a 5500 rpm redline. There's no link to the Speedster- do we know what's in the engine?
@Our356- I hate to say this, but I think the Speedster is overpriced by 20- 25% (or a little more, as both Wolfie and Gordon have suggested)- unless there's stuff in it that we're not seeing. It's certainly not an even swap.
PS- After seeing your pic (and reading that he approached you), he's trying to tempt you and trade up- keep the Mustang!
Hope this helps. Al
Being a (relatively) new Speedster owner I say you should keep the Mustang! I'm skeptical about the 105hp rating as well. I just don't see it...closer to 65hp is my guess (based on a recently dyno'd 1776 I had), unless there is a LOT of internal work we just don't know about.
When you want a Speedster come to this site and you'll get all the knowledge you can manage...and maybe even a lead on a great vehicle for sale!
With my buying and fixing experiences, I'll put a realistic value of the white CMC / FF at $ $13k...an older Speedster, it surely will need mechanicals and cosmetics .
TheMayoMachine posted:Being a (relatively) new Speedster owner I say you should keep the Mustang! I'm skeptical about the 105hp rating as well. I just don't see it...closer to 65hp is my guess (based on a recently dyno'd 1776 I had), unless there is a LOT of internal work we just don't know about.
Gene Berg once dynoed a 1776 with kadrons, Engle W110 cam, 1 3/8" merged exhaust, properly ported stock valve heads and recorded 90 hp (at 55? 5700? rpm) with a decent torque curve as well (so it drives nicely in traffic and get decent mileage when your foot isn't into it), and other people say that combo is tried and true- there's a reason why it's so popular. Not all 1776's are equal, though, and I think a lot of engines this size are more in the 70-80 hp range.
Properly (note that word) ported 35x32 mm heads have the potential to make 120-125 hp, though, so with a little more compression (I'd bet the Berg engine wasn't even close to the 'ragged edge'), a little more valve lift ( to make better use of what the heads are capable of) and an rpm peak of 6,000 rpm- 105 hp (I'm guessing) is certainly possible.
But not in your run of the mill 1776... Al
I like that you've kept the basic (6-cyl, 3-speed) spec on your Mustang. That's perfect for comfortable, reliable cruising, and it's rare among all of the conversions to V8 power.
The mustang will be worth more in the long run. Frankly its worth more today.
Keep the mustang.
