<VV> I know, I know...

[RoboMan91324 at aol.com]

rnojunk,
 
First, I like the positive attitude that this was a learning  experience.  
If your intent was to learn how to restore a vehicle, you  probably chose 
the right car.  The downside was minimal so you could afford  to learn from 
mistakes.
 
Second, congratulations on being able to do so much of the  work yourself.
 
Third, as they say, "There's your problem."
 
Unknowingly, you bought a "junker" and had to invest lots of  money along 
with your labor.  I am assuming that you consider your  labor as "free" in 
this case.  Unless you find a more rare car and  bring it up to snuff, you 
probably will not turn a profit.  You  didn't.
 
I don't know what is in your head ... what you know, so you  should 
consider the following as generic advice for the general reader of this  message.  
I often write this way.
 
If you are trying to turn over cars for a profit you need to  look at it as 
an investment business with an emphasis on the word  "business.".  You need 
to have knowledge of the "product and market"   Do your research.  Your 
briefly stated strategy with the VW bus is a good  example of investment 
thinking.  I don't know how deeply you got into it  but you at least considered 
your potential market/demand for your restored  vehicle.  However, within the 
market for VW buses, there is a very wide  range of customers and values.  
This value is other than the obvious  initial condition.  An old hippie 
trying to recreate some memories may be  willing to pay a certain amount but how 
much?  A collector of VWs may be  willing to pay lots more especially if the 
bus is rare.  But how rare is  it?  As an example, a "barn door" bus is 
VERY much more valuable than many  other models.
 
The word "restored" is very subjective.  The old hippie  may get tears in 
his eyes when he sees a bus with bright shiny paint and good  upholstery but 
the collector may think, "Holy crap, I wish he hadn't "restored"  it.  The 
paint is good but they never offered that color back then .... the  floor 
board welding is good but I will still need to cut it out and redo it ....  the 
window felts look good but are generic repros, new after market side 
mirrors  but absolutely wrong and look, mounting holes that are all wrong  ....  
etc."  Sometimes the diamond in the rough is more valuable than the  polished 
diamond.  If you can find a barn door bus where the owner doesn't  know the 
value, you might do better to just resell it as-is to a collector who  
knows the value and will put a $30,000 restoration into it.  Again,  knowledge 
and research have value.
 
Within the context of Corvairs, I know I may offend some  people but 
certain years and models have more intrinsic value than others.   Lakewoods are 
more valuable than many other EMs.  Spyders have more value  than other EMs 
and especially the 64 Spyder, the only true Spyder.  A  Rampside is more 
valuable than a Loadside even though the Loadside is more  rare.  Documented 
Yenkos and Stingers have great value.  Within the  LMs, Corsas and especially 
convertibles have more value than other models.   Within Corsas, the 1966 has 
lower production numbers and especially low  production numbers if it is a 
Canadian Corsa and most especially if it is a  turbo car.  (146 coupes and 65 
ragtops manufactured in 1966.  Yes, I  own one.)
 
As stated, your choice of Corvair may have been good as a  learning 
platform but maybe not so good as a fixer-upper investment.  Many  professionals 
specialize in one or a few makes/models just so they can become  expert.  To 
walk into a barn and say to yourself, "The ad said 1963  Corvette coupe but 
this is a Grand Sport and they are only asking $50,000." is a  collector's 
dream.  By the way, I lucked out on my Corsa.  Neither I  nor the seller knew 
it was Canadian nor did we know it was originally a turbo  car.  It had a 
140 in it.  It is easy to check for both but you need  to know how to check 
for it and that you need to check for it.  It was my  first Corvair and I was 
ignorant.  This kind of luck rarely happens but  knowledge improves the odds.
 
Regarding your eBay experience, it is a cautionary tale for  everyone 
reading this.  I "sort of" bought a Corsa on eBay  sight-unseen.  There were lots 
of pics but the  seller was a true artist with the camera as well as a real 
poet with his  description.  Long story short .... the car was not as 
described or  pictured.  Fortunately, I contacted him beforehand and we agreed 
that if I  won the auction, I would pay him in person after inspecting the 
car.  I  have posted a description of this experience on vv before.  It is very 
 entertaining but I won't take the space here.  The bottom line is if you  
can't get to the vehicle to inspect it before the auction ends or get 
someone  trustworthy to inspect it, don't take the risk.  .... or cover your butt 
as  I did.
 
Good luck with the bus.  Are you keeping the Monza?   Is it Canadian?  :-)
 
Doc
60 Corvette, 62 Rampside, 63 Rampside, 64 Spyder coupe, 65  Greenbrier, 66 
Canadian Corsa turbo coupe, 67 Nova SS, 68 Camaro ragtop   (... and a 
partridge in a pear tree .... Christmas is coming.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
In a message dated 11/8/2015 7:43:12 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
virtualvairs-request at corvair.org writes:

Message:  2
Date: Sat, 07 Nov 2015 12:55:53 -0500
From: rnojunkmail  <rnojunkmail at aol.com>
To: virtualvairs at corvair.org
Subject:  <VV> I know, I know...
Message-ID:  <sgulh6tmef75vguhex5tlumk.1446918953656 at email.android.com>
Content-Type:  text/plain; charset=utf-8

I was aware of the value of an old Corvair  that was restored, but to only 
get 50 cents on the dollar back is  disappointing. I bought the 65 Mona for 
$1000. on ebay.I'll never buy one  sight unseen again. When I got it I 
pulled up the rug to find a Fred  Flintstone mobile on all fours. Needed new gas 
tank, master cylinder, 4 wheel  cylinders, New rug, New windshield, removal 
of dents, New chrome,, and New  paint, all of which I did myself. I made 
mistakes in the beginning, but I  consider my losses on the car as tuition for 
welding, paint, and body work  school. Now I can actually make a small 
profit on my next project...VOLKSWAGEN  BUS! PLENTY OF 70 year old hippies would 
pay top dollar for this  thing.