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I spent most of today checking out a Beck/Chamonix 550 Spyder bordering on a Barn Find and need some info for the owner.

The car was built (I believe) in the 1990’s (I’ll confirm this with the Beck Boys) and has a silver body with red Spyder interior (looks to be vinyl and in great shape), a Nardi steering wheel, Wide-Five 10 slot rims (gray), and a hard passenger side tonneau.  

The engine is a 2,110 with dual 40mm Webers, a stainless steel center-exit exhaust, external oil filter and cooler.  It has never been damaged, the paint looks great, the interior needs to be cleaned up, but that’s about it.  There did not appear to be any significant rust on the tube frame either from the bottom or looking down into the engine compartment (a lift was not available).

It was driven off and on by the owner on Summer weekend events and the occasional multi-state tour (think of a “foliage tour) with the local club but only sparingly, as the owner also had a 912E that he is selling, too.  I never thought to check the mileage, but believe it to be less than 20,000 miles.

It has always been stored in a tucked-away corner of a valet-only parking garage in Charlestown, Massachusetts, about 1/2 mile from where the U.S.S. Constitution (Old Ironsides) is berthed.

The current owner began a battle with Parkinson’s disease a little over 8 years ago and has not touched the car in those 8 years, keeping it covered in the parking garage.  During that time, the windshield developed a crack so I was brought in to remove the windshield for replacement through a local glass place.  That should be done in the next week or so.

The wheels have been chock blocked, with the e-brake off, and the car sat under a car cover.  It rolls forward/back over 6 feet with no issues.  The brake pedal was hard on the first pump and stopped the car from being pushed.  I cranked it (coil wire off) for about 15 seconds and then the oil light went out (all good, so far) but I did not start it, nor did I turn on gas flow (it has a shut-off in the engine compartment).  

So now the big question for you Spyder Guys out there:   What is the price range for a running, cleaned up Beck/Chamonix Spyder of late 1990’s vintage that hasn’t been touched for 8 years?   The owner intends to sell it through a dealer/broker in the Boston area once he gets it cleaned up, gets some info on current prices and negotiates a sell price with his seller but he needs to know current price ranges.

Help, please!     Thanks in advance.  Gordon

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Thank you, Ed...

OK, a little more info:

The car is from AME, a company that competed with Chamonix in the 1980's by splashing a mold off of a Chamonix and then building their own line of Spyders (got that from @chines1 (Thanks, Carey and Kevin!)   

To answer sales questions:  The owner (He's the second owner) is unable to work on the car for health reasons.  It will be pulled from the parking garage and taken to a local (Metro-Boston) mechanic whom he trusts for clean-up and made ready for sale.  Then, it will be transported to a classic car dealer north of Boston, whom he trusts, to be offered for sale, probably in a month or two.  That same dealer currently has the 912E and will be offering it in a week or two.  I believe that it was driven from Charlestown to the dealer's a week or so ago.

My involvement was removing the windshield (my 356/550 glass replacement experience seems to have preceded me) and possibly installing the new glass when they get it.

If I find out where it will be offered for sale (location and/or website) I will post it and make pricing suggestions to the owner and then I'm done.

Perhaps, but I don't have a clue as to 'current state' price.

I mentioned an as-is sale to the owner yesterday, but he wants his guy to check it out for an estimate to get it ready and he'll go from there.  I understand the trade-off between an 'as-is' sale and dumping money into it in hopes of a bigger return, but that can blow up in your face, too, if it doesn't then sell for what you expect.  Imagine my surprise when I found the VIN plate and it didn't say either Beck or Chamonix - And it was from a Brazilian company that I had never heard of!

All I can do is tell him what it is (with help from the Beck Boys) and a very general range of recent prices and he'll take it from there.

Maybe it'll show up on a Mecum Auction as a "Very rare, AME Spyder"  

Yah think???     

Maybe we could get a photo of the car with "Old Ironsides" and Charlestown Harbor in the background as it was during the Revolution.  Maybe that would sell it?    

Honestly, it is a neighborhood just dripping with history.  We met in late morning at the "Warren Tavern" in Charlestown.  I fully expected to see the ghosts of George Washington and Paul Revere while I was there.  I have decided that the streets of Charlestown are made narrow and winding on purpose to keep the British at a disadvantage if they were ever to return.  Just the "one-way" signs alone should keep them out, or at least the "No parking, street cleaning Xam - Ypm" should do it.

The car owner was an architect who worked on many projects in Charlestown as those buildings were restored over the years for modern use.  It was neat to get his insight on them as we drove past.

Last edited by Gordon Nichols

Thanks, and I know it's a WAG.  The owner is reasonable about it and is thinking in about the same price range after it gets cleaned up.  

It has the usual stuff:  Ghia front disks/rear drums, Wide Fives with 10-slot chromed rims, Stainless Steel center exit exhaust, Spyder seats (deep red) and a hard, aluminum half tonneau on the passenger side (only one I have seen, but I don't get out much).  The hood has a couple of tabs at the front that catch the body flange of the frunk opening, then a pair of 1/4 turn fasteners at the top rear corners to secure it.  Don't know if that is "normal" or unique, but it works well.  

He told me it's a 2,110 and it can keep up with Pearl (which I can't say for any of the "originals" except one), but that's all I know of the engine, other than it's in backwards,  readily turns over and develops oil pressure   

I suppose he'll be digging out his paperwork to answer those detail questions for the sales ad, but that's a month or so off.  First, he has to get it out of the parking garage (with a ceiling clearance at the bottom of the ramps of just over 7' ) so he's working with the garage people and whomever they use to do that and then get it to his wrench.  Remember, he is incapable of doing anything on the car, so that compounds the problem, but he has a few friends helping to make this happen.

gn

My car was much the same with the exception of new paint  and leather and I paid $20 for it in 2011. Based on what I've seen on BAT the last couple of years, I'd be closer to Wolfgang than Ed an Danny on pricing, especially if he's brokering it through a sports car dealer. 

 

If if it were mine, I think I'd put it on BAT with a $25K reserve and hope for the best. One very similar went for $39K not too long ago.  

Last edited by dlearl476
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