RT 115 - How to value?

[govolsailig]

Hello,

I'm sad to say that after 20 years I'm seriously thinking about letting my beloved RT115 go, but I have no idea what kind of number to put on her.

1977 Corona HT (RT115)
486K miles
5 sp manual
20R
A/C

My dream has been to rebuild this car, but after a large hail storm about 3 years ago it just isn't going to happen. (At least not by me)


The Good:
About 5 years ago I came across a brand new 20R block which was being built for circle track racing.  The block had been bored .50 over and included .50 over pistons (not a ring job!) and a balanced crank.  I had 3 or 4 heads laying around so I took it all to a machinist (who built a lot of the 20R's used by the local circle jerks) and told him to build me an engine.  He picked the best head, did a 5 angle valve job and some mild porting on the intake side.  I'm fairly certain he did some mild grinding on the cam as well.  He wouldn't go as far with the engine as I asked him too because he told me the first thing I said was "streetable",  Oh well.  It also has a Webber 32/36 progressive carb and a Headman exhaust header.  (I also have an MSD ignition box and coil but have never installed them).  Haven't had the car dyno'd but the machinist estimated that it is probably at about 150hp.  Stock A/C blows ice cold and still uses R15, well ES15.  If you don't know about ES15, google enviro safe refrigerants.  I love the stuff and use it in all my cars with R15 systems.

When I swapped the engine, 5 years ago, at 460K miles, (did this because I had enough parts to build the motor, not because there was anything wrong with the original motor even at 460K miles!) I also replaced every moving part in the suspension, tie rod ends, ball joints, idler arm, pitman arm. Clutch was replaced 2 months ago.  (e-bay clutch installed at motor swap was crap from the get-go)

The Sad:
About 6 years ago I had the body completely re-done.  Sadly the afore mentioned hail storm has A) let the car with a somewhat golf-ball appearance. and B) There is now more rust than before the resto.  In many places the hail impact actually broke the paint and has allowed rust to begin.  The worst of the rust is in the cowl vent ?  between the hood and the windshield, where the wipers connect, and at the base of the rear windshield.  Though some rust has begun in the traditional places, like wheel arches and trunk fender wells, which it never had before.  Also, the rear windshield leaks since the paint job.

The So So:
Interior.  Pretty much what you would expect from a 1977 Toyota.  My restoration project hadn't made it this far.  The best part of the interior is that the headliner is perfect!!! but the dome light is missing it's lense.

Well, off the top of my head that's about it.  I wish I had some picture of the car.  I'll try to take some in the next couple days and post them.  After owning this car for 20+ years I'm sure there are a thousand more things I can say about it, but just not getting them out of me skull at the moment.

I guess my basic question is how much should I ask for this car? So, let the opinions flow.  And if any of you are interested in a very rare body style, I am entertaining offers

Thanks
Craig

[govolsailig]

Ok, a little more information. Last week there was an incident in the parking lot at work. A lady parking hit the gas instead of the break. Her car launched over the curb hitting a BMW which was parked facing her spot. The impact pushed the BMW sideways into the driver's door on the Corona. I was afraid this was going to total the car but the body shop said they could fix it for what her insurance was willing to pay, so......

Anyway, they called me yesterday to come look at it, there was some problem with the clear coat.

Turns out, when the guy repainted the car he used PPG's Concept paint, which has the clear mixed in with the paint. When the body shop finished the repair and painted their spot, the color match was perfect, but when the cleared the door the whole door stands out. It's the same whether it's his paint or the older paint (he only painted half the door, the entire door looks the same, but totally different than the rest of the car). The only way to make it match is to clear the entire car, which is silly with the hail damage and rust. To make a 30 minute discussion with the body shop short, I told them to just stripe the door and put it back together.

So, another bit of the puzzle to consider.

[govolsailig]

Wow, so ok. I guess my family has been correct all these years. I am the only one who thinks this car is worth anything. So, based on the massive response to this query and others, I have decided to crush the car. Thanks.