Studebaker parts

[jvmcc]

Hello Studebaker Drivers Club forum,
I was offerred the contents of a small barn here in Vermont. It belonging to my wife's grandfather. The barn loft was full of car parts, some of them Studebaker. I just started a seller's account on Ebay, and I have two items there, one being a radiator and shell for what I think is a 1926 Studebaker sedan. I took a total shot in the dark as to the value of this part. I don't know what is fair or what is ridiculously too low or high. If it doesn't move on Ebay, I'll come back to this forum and see if anyone needs or could use it. I have not put a second Studebaker part on Ebay: a windshield frame with glass for (what I think is) a 1917 Studebaker. I'm attaching a photo of both parts. Maybe someone can tell me what exactly what year and model thses parts belong to.
I'm happily restoring my faithful old 1953 Ford F-100 pickup. If I could trade any Studebaker part for a F-100 part that I need, I'd be a happy guy. The next best thing is to see if there is anyone on this site that could use either of these Studebaker parts.
I know that this forum isn't a cflassified section for parts, but I couldn't find any other place on your site to discuss these parts. Thanks for taking the time to read this.
P.S. I had hard time regitering for this forum...I kept entering Honda when I was prompted to enter the name of my favorite car. And I was told that I had not answered the question correctly. After three or four attempts, I finally, I entered Studebaker, and I was successfully registered as a forum member.

[Bob Andrews]

Welcome to the Forum! Loved the story about not accepting 'Honda' as favorite car

Your mistake is the type of auction you posted. The best way to sell is to list with a small opening bid, like 5 or 10 bucks. That way, you don't have to worry about fairness, or whether you're too high or low; the actual buyers will set the real price for you. If you feel you must get at least a certain price, just put a reserve on the item.

Here's a link to the radiator and shell:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Studebaker-Radiator-Shell-1926-Original-part-/260713967696?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3cb3c37050

Good luck!

[jvmcc]

Hi Bob, thanks for the "Welcome". I feel a bit out of place on your forum, not really having a lot to do with Studebakers. But I am a person who appreciates a vintage vehicle. And I gotta say,I have a soft spot in my heart for 50's era Commanders. As far as Ebay goes, if I don't get any nibbles on that radiator, I'll see who here can put it to good use.

[sweetolbob]

John

Welcome from another Bob. I'm even more surprised you were allowed on the forum without a name like, shall we say Bob.

I agree with Bob A. in theory on the low bid to start as I've sold a lot of items on Ebay and generally start with a low bid and a reserve. But where I deviate from that practice is on items not of general interest like a 1925 Studebaker Grill. Low bids require a number of bidders interested in the item to bid it up. I doubt that would happen with your grill. In fact, I think the low bid discourages serious bidders on this type of item because they know it will never hit the reserve.

In this case, I set a price I can live with and let it ride. Someone that wants it can buy it for that price or pass. I have an item of similiar low demand on Ebay at the moment and have it at a starting bid I can live with if it sells. It does have a bid currently.

It's just as easy to relist an item at a lower price as it is to restart a a low bid again. The market will tell you either way but on items like yours, I like to start at a bid I can live with if it sells.

I like the f100's myself, good luck

Bob

[58PackardWagon]

I see the bidding has ended already. I thought it would go much higher.

[jvmcc]

As I mentioned in my initial post, I had no idea what the value of the radiator and shell was / is. So I set a price of $300 for someone to buy it straight-a-way. I guess I was low. I see that the buyer regularly purchases vintage radiators and shells, so I guess he's in the business of fixing these parts up and reselling them. I may never know what it's value is. It was the only one of its kind that I had, so I guess it doesn't really matter, now. I think I would feel better knowing that it was going to someone who needed it for their own restoration project, but I suppose that, in time, it will be gracing the front end on someone's project car.
I am going to clean up that windshield and frame for the 1917( I think) Studebaker sedan. If I can find any indication that the glass is original, would this bear on the value? I know that as far as my 53 Ford F-100 restoration goes, having the Ford logo marked on the corner of the glazing is important to people who are obsessed (like me) with total genuine stock parts. And, before I put this windshield on Ebay, is their anyone in the Studebaker Drivers Club who is restoring a vehicle that this part goes to? I'd rather deal with someone who's actually going to use it than someone who is simply going to resell it. Happy New Year to all!

[TX Rebel]

My experience is that the early shells do not often sell very high unless they have been through the very expensive refinishing process. Any vendor who has the cajones to buy a shell for a few hundred & then invest $800. or more in re-plating in hopes of selling for a profit in this economy is a braver soul than I. Being into plating, I did this when times were better, and ended up with a beautiful 29-30 Commander shell stuck up my a**. It does make a nice display piece for meets, though:-). Same thing with the formerly fast selling C/K grill pieces. There are too few buyers ready to step up and too much hoarded stuff coming on the market. At a time when people have less $$ to spend, prices of copper, chrome, and nickel are skyrocketing, making plating prohibitive.
You may want to let the ASC know aboout your parts, also since they are more specialized into the older models.