Classic Car Parts Co. - About Old Car Pricing Guide on Collecting
Classic Car Parts Co.
Classic Car
Parts Co. Presents Old Car Pricing Guide on Collecting by Padgett Peterson
(Reproduced from Year One Catalog)
Collecting “What the rating system really means.” By Padgett Peterson
The standard of the automotive hobby for rating cars is the
1 to 5 rating used by the “Old Cars Price Guide”. Just what is meant by the
ratings is not so easy to determine and quite subjective. Of course, seller and
buyer will always differ in opinion as to just what kind of horse they are
dickering over.
However, like the American Government, the rating system perfect but it sure
beast the next best thing. The “Old Cars Price Guide” gives a good run-down on
the class structure in abbreviated from but is a bit unclear. The following
should provide a better understanding with the end points delineated.
CLASS 0
This is the one “OCPG” (Old Cars Price Guide) left out simply because there
ain't no such animal. This is the “perfect” car, the one of a kind, the national
show winner. To rate a car, there must be a basis of comparison and this car
would set the standard.
Since class 0 cars change hands at prices that have no relation to reality,
there is no purpose to their inclusion here other than to say there is something
above class 1. (I submit the Garret-Jackson Auctions as an example –MJR)
CLASS 1
Class 1 is the easiest to define and the hardest to determine. The car must
be 95 points or better (preferably better). A class 1 car can go to a national
meet and win or at least tie for the Best in Class if a class 0 isn't there.
This means that not only are the correct parts used, they are installed
correctly, just as the factory did it –including mistakes.
To simply determine what it would to restore to correct class 1 condition
would take a non-expert six months to a year of research alone.
An expert would spend several hours to properly asses the elements required
to make a class 1 car and would probably have to take some things apart.
Non-obvious criteria would be option mix (some options required or prohibited
other options), radio/instrument markings and color and style filters.
At this level, you have to be concerned with what the assembly plant was
doing that week and be able to document it.
CLASS 2
This is what may people think of as a class 1 car. To anyone
other than a fanatic, it looks great. It will win at a local show and place well
in popular vote at a national meet, but is not 100 per cent right. This is the
red convertible that sometimes beats a correct tan four door.
A class 2 car might have a maintenance-free battery or even a 459 tar-top
battery instead of the correct 558. The radio might be a correct-year Delco but
have chrome push-buttons instead of black ones.
Date codes for added options may be wrong and non-factory wiring harnesses
may be present under the dash. An “SS” optioned car may have the stripes
improperly painted. Seen on the road, you probably could not tell a class 1 from
a class 2 car. Of course, you won’t see a class1 on the road.
CLASS 3
This is what most hobbyists keep garaged and waxed. A class
3 car looks good and makes up 90 percent of the local car shows. A class 2 that
is driven on the street for 6 months without detailing will become a class 3.
Additionally, a class 3 car will show the effects of non-fanatical maintenance.
Decals may be deteriorated or missing. A Rochester Quadra jet may have been
replaced by a Holley or Carter. The radio may have been upgrade with one from a
deferent year or a ’67 model may sport a LS6 engine.
The car still looks good but the finish is no longer perfect, some chrome or
not-stock wheels may have been added and the driver’s seat upholstery has
acquired some creases. However, nothing major is missing and a winter's work and
some bucks can make a class 2 out of it.
CLASS 4
At class 4 we have a two-way split between the “original
unrestored” and the “hot rod”.
On the one hand is the “little old lady” who bought a ’66 Chevelle new, had
it serviced regularly at the local gas station and drives 4,000 miles a year,
mostly on weekends. The tires are wrong, the battery is wrong, the belts are
wrong, the generator is rebuilt and has a paper tag, a little rust (I mean Texas
little, not Ohio little) may be present, and there are a few dings here and
there, but nothing a good paint job wouldn’t fix. The front end is loose but
drivable. This is your typical California or Southern car seen in Hemmings. It
is what I call a 20/20 car; at 20 mph and 20 feet it looks good.
