Hello everyone. Long time since I've checked in here. We've had a very busy year. Sadly, for lots of reasons Phil and I are going to have to sell our "Geraldine", a 1959 Plymouth Fury sedan. I'm wondering if anyone could give me a ballpark estimate of what she might be worth. We paid $4200 for her two years ago and she was running good and had an all new interior. We replaced the tires and put some work into her, the biggest things being new disc brakes in the front, sound system, transmission overhaul, and heater replacement.
But here's the catch. My pulley broke on one of those record heatwave days in Pueblo and Geraldine heated up like a volcano before I could even find a spot to pull over. She drove ok for a while after I got the pulley replaced, but since then we've lost one cylinder and another is going. The mechanic's guess is that we did some damage to the valves when she overheated and now she needs an engine rebuild. Phil and I can't afford this right now, and we also really need another "hauler" vehicle since we moved to a farm last year. So now we're looking at selling old Geraldine at a loss, but I'd like to know what you guys think she might be worth.
The body and interior are in the same condition as we bought it in, which is pretty good with just a few dents and dings. The paint is bubbling around one eyebrow, a dented rocker panel, and cracking in the Bondo around one of the taillights. We never did replace the eyebrow or rocker panel chrome, which are missing. We installed seatbelts (including shoulder belts for the front seat) and fixed the heater that was broken when we bought it. The transmission was overhauled, but there is still a leak around the plug that connects to the taillights. Ours is corroded and we couldn't find a replacement, so the mechanic sealed it as best he could, but it should be replaced if anyone can find the part.
Photos:
The interior:
The damage:
Cracks in the Bondo around the left taillight.Bubbling and rust around the driver's side eyebrow.
Last edited by Nanno on Wed Nov 14, 2012 9:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
Sorry to hear of you guys having to sell it. Especially with a need for engine rebuild. Is your engine a 318,361 or a 6 cylinder.
I guess engine rebuilds can get too be around $2K+ plus with labor.
I will have to have others guess on where a resale value would be for a nice car but needing an engine rebuild. I will let others know in the Colorado Mopar community to see if anyone is interested in it.
Sorry for not giving the engine specs! It's the 8 cylinder 318 three speed. It is indeed a nice car except for the engine rebuild. The engine was rebuilt not long before we got the car, but I'm not sure the valves were seated quite right. If that was the case, then overheating would be a death knell on them.
Forgot to mention that it's got a new exhaust system (replaced not long before we got it) and a recently rebuilt carburetor (two barrel). The weatherstripping is cracked around the doors and trunk and should be replaced soon. But it's fine around the windshield and back window.
No polite way to say it but straight out- your car is not a hardtop, it is a four door sedan.
It is a very nice looking sedan. The engine story is tragic.
So few of these sell at any one time that a price is extremely difficult to set.
You paid 4200. I think you could ask 3K-3500 without scaring too many buyers off.
Thanks for pointing out my mistake. I'm not the best at using proper car terminology. I was thinking "hardtop" = "not convertible". Obviously that's not right!
I someone here didn't gently correct you, you'd surely get a bunch of inflammatory replies should you list it on eBay!
Your car is a 4 door sedan.
Other styles available in '59 were:
2-dr sedan (aka 2-dr post)
2-dr HT
4-dr HT (sometimes called "4 dr. no-post")
2-dr station wagon
4-dr station wagon
