Whatever you get, you'll put money into. It's just what it is. That's my definition of "Pride of Ownership" lol.
I started off with a worse condition SV car for $750 from the Nevada desert. No seats. No interior. Rotted floors. S1 Engine that had zero compression. I went through the process of 'sorting' it out. Sourced out an engine from Dale, rebuilt that, rebuilt the transmission, redid the gas tanks, had the body fixed and the car painted. The car had severe rust issues in the frame that rotted from the frame out and I parted that car and bought another one, a IV, from the Sacramento area of California with a thrown rod on the 1592 inside and fairly intact interior. I paid about 1K for that in 02. Swapped out my rebuilt parts into that. It was forced to sit for a bit due to the insanity of living and a few years back, with the help of these fine folks here and Al Mason, I rebuilt the brakes and got her back on the road.
Granted she needs paint, but PITA is a runner, damn near bulletproof reliable now and I know everything that's in her, when it was done and what level of quality it was done to, there's no guesswork anywhere in her. And though it all I learned how to be a halfway decent mechanic, learned how to problem solve on the fly and find solutions, some of which would irritate the purists among us. But she drives, she lives and lives very well and will live much better once she's painted.
People talk about money all the time but money ain't jack. You can't take that with you. After going through a lot of personal drama and tragedy, This Series IV is the last thing I have left that is truly mine. The money don't matter to me. Ask any Tiger guy about how much money they drop into a car and they'd laugh at you and say 'It's a Tiger' as if you wouldn't understand. But I do, especially if you're someone who love Tigers. There's an affection there that's universal.
Damn near every Alpine I see on Ebay or other places aren't complete and need work or have mileage on it. You can buy a running car but do you know how quality the builds are? Do you know what's been done or not? Are you ready to spend 12K on a car and then put in another 3-5 to make it right, correct or complete? If you do most of the work yourself, money is almost a non-concern. Parts are cheap and I'm in the process of building an engine on a stand, so you can do all of this. If you have to have it all done at a mechanic or body shop, however, go buy a Tiger. That’s the kind of money you’re looking at to have others do the work for you.
For reference, I have 12K in my SIV, but I broke ever with parting out what I had in backstock, both from the SV I had and extra things for my SIV, including a rebuilt Overdrive. I still have the OD driveshaft in storage, funny enough.
Bottom line is, what does this car mean to you and why do you want to do this? Answer that and you'll know which way you want to go. Frankly, I can't see living without an Alpine, there's nothing else like it. The more I work on it or drive it, the more I love it. For me it's a magical thing and the one real thing in my life that I completed. It has a very deep value to me.
As for the value of the car you have pictured, I'd offer them $500 and set my ceiling at 1K. They'd have to have a ton of parts for me to consider raising the ceiling to defray the cost.
Whatever you decide, good luck and know these folks will be here, myself included, to help you along your journey to restore it, if you decide to go that route. God speed.
