Need advice in selling a OLD 1939 Vauxhall J

mr_lovebug, Apr 16, 12:14am
Have a friend that needs to sell of the old girl, The Vauxhall J 1939 and it has loads of spare parts (enough parts for another whole car IF you had a body shell).

He has it listed in the Vauxhall Club mag (not sure when that comes out).

My question is, how is best to sell it given that there is NO vin number and the car has NOT been on the road since the 80's and has no carjam info at all.

Would it be better to sell it as a auction or a classified?

He is wanting me to sell it for him as he is not trademe and he is in Leigh and the car is in the back of the shed which makes getting photos really fun.

What advice and thoughts do you great people have for me?

mrfxit, Apr 16, 12:32am
Contact the NZTA for info regarding proof of ownership & selling rights.
If he can prove on paper who the legal owner is, then it will boost the price a lot because it makes it a lot easier to get the car vin tag & cert.
Possibly get a doc from the police to show it's clean as far as they know & "not of interest"

Pity it's not vinned currently, it would be worth a lot more potentially then no vin tag

socram, Apr 16, 12:36am
First thing whilst with the current owner might be to take the existing paperwork to the appropriate authority and get a VIN number. That at least starts the ball rolling and is one less hassle for the buyer.

My car had been off the road since 1985 and getting a VIN was probably the easiest part of the whole exercise of getting it back on the road. Once it is roadworthy, if it hasn't been modified or obviously had welding repairs, it shouldn't be too much of a hassle.

Not sure how attractive to general buyers a 1939 Vauxhall is, so I'd be guided by the Vauxhall Club. Maybe wait and see what response comes from their magazine first? If there is no interest from club members and if the owner isn't too precious about it, it might then make the base of a really good custom car.

No idea about classified or auction preferences!

mr_lovebug, Apr 16, 12:40am
He has the ownership papers from the old days 80's or before that.

He also has insurance paper work as well.

It's going to be fun getting all the parts out, I counted 3 motors and 5 gearbox's and 7 pairs rear springs and 25 box's of spare parts AND new fenders at the quick look about, that was just a drop in the bucket of what is there, the body has NO rust at all.

What way is best to sell and what cat do I put it under?

mrfxit, Apr 16, 12:46am
Cool to hear he's got the paperwork.

pauldw, Apr 16, 1:51am
In the 70s I was virtually given a DX in very good condition except the left front suspension arm was twisted and I could not find anyone that could repair it. Sometimes there's a reason these old girls stay in pieces.

mr_lovebug, Apr 16, 3:29am
The whole car is there, the car was taken off the road cause he wanted to fix something that was bugging him and his health feel apart and he has never recovered at all.

Now he is looking at rest homes and needs to sell it.

bjmh, Apr 16, 4:22am
I sold an old dodge that had no papers etc,part of a deceased estate. i put it up for a months auction. I made sure I listed it had no ownership papers,but you could photograph the documents you have.Trademe will probably reach a bigger public than the magazine,plenty of good photos,honest description. don't offer your thoughts,stick to the facts.The estate had been offered $3500. the final auction saw it go for $8000.I think from memory it cost $39 to list it and a percentage of the success fee.Good luck. sad state of affairs when someones pride and joy becomes a burden,but someone will be happy with the old Vaux.

msigg, Apr 16, 5:35am
Yes I would use classified, with the papers it should eventuallly go through the vin, worth, price is everything if you want to sell it. Probably worth approx $3000 to the right person. If you list your phone number in the add then you can answer all the questions about ownership that will come up. Good luck.

skin1235, Apr 16, 5:56am
J came out with several engine options
is this the 2100cc 6 cyl or the 1800cc 4 cyl

sr2, Apr 16, 6:22am
Good point except the 4cyl J12 was 1400cc and the 6cyl J14 was 1800cc.
Easiest way to spot the difference is the J12 has a single rear window whereas the J14 has a double.

skin1235, Apr 16, 6:31am
1400?, thought the 4 was bigger than that, mind you I was always a DX lad, those knee actions made a nice ride, and one of the DX's I had sported a 214 bedford under the hood, complete with 4 sp crashbox,

J also included a 25hp model, often used with a panel van body for local deliveries, one local butcher in Wanganui used one for years

mr_lovebug, Apr 16, 6:40am
Its a 14 6 cylinder that much I do know.

I have yet to get all the details from the owner so that I can write the advert.

It's a very nice and 100% rust free, been kept dry all it's life.

sr2, Apr 16, 6:47am
The Vauxhall 25 wasn't a J model, it was different with the suicide doors on the rear and a full chassis in comparison to the J's semi-monocoque design.
Those knee actions were vey much ahead of their time but wore out very quickly and had a bad habit of collapsing usually half way around a corner.

mr_lovebug, Mar 10, 8:04am
Easy way to fix them collapsing joints is to place the steering system with a rack and pinon system, personally IF I had the money and the car I would pull the front frame out and put in HQ front end with V6 holden motor and box with a new diff up the back.

That would be rather nice little setup.