I own a 1969 Volvo 144 that I inherited from my father. It has only 60,000
miles on it. Recently, I broke the ignition lock on this automatic trans with a
column mount switch. People are asking over 600 dollars for a replacement.
My mechanic says this car is worth thousands of dollars in a restored condition. However, I see 144 cars on the web for much less. There is nothing special about this car except for some enlarged weber carbs for added horsepower in the inline 4 motor. Question is should I invest lots of money to restore this car if I can only expect a small profit by selling it after it is restored?

 

You have given very little information with which to give a clear answer. When I hear the word "restore" I think of significant cosmetic and mechanical work. This would translate into much,much more money than a 600 dollar repair of an ignition lock. Your car has only 60,000 miles however so, if your father (or previous owner) maintained the car properly it should not require extensive mechanical 'restoration". Cosmetics are another matter but, usually, when someone has a car with so few miles on it they keep it in a garage or other covered place. This would help preserve the paint and interior.

You are right in assuming that the market for your car, in any condition, is not particularly hot, though it is sell-able. Here is something to consider though - very often "all original" cars sell for more than their restored brethren (if they are good clean cars). So if all your car needs is to be polished, shampooed, and scrubbed with a toothbrush that would be the best way to go for resale. lot of elbow grease but minimal cash outlay. If it's got heavy rust, upholstery your wife won't sit on, and smokes like Barack O., then you'll never get the money you put in to restore it back out. Just would take too much. If it's in between the two then it's your call.

But - is there any emotional attachment to the car for you? It doesn't sound like it but I thought I would ask so you can mull it over. I don't know how long your dad had the car or how close you two were. If my dad had owned it for years and years I would do whatever it took to put in top condition even if I had spend several times its worth, garage it, and drive it only on sunny days. (Conversely, if it were my mother's car it would be on ebay in 10 minutes - "first 100 dollars gets it", such is the nature of family relationships, memories, and love.)

 

My Dad drove this car mostly in his retirement. Since he had no garage, it did sit outside and endured many Chicago winters.

I am already in for 270 dollars on a questionable replacement for a broken ignition lock. Although the car is drivable, it lacks the gas gauge and gear
selector indicator, both of which could be fixed. The interior needs a rework. Lower body and floor panels need metal replacement after which the car should be painted. This sounds like a tall order, but I see on TV where cars in worse shape than ours are restored. I would probably sell the car, as is to someone interested in restoring it. The other choice would be to chop the car up and sell things like the motor, trans, and brakes piecemeal. I don't know who to contact for that.

Although, I don't need this car for transportation, it does have some nostalgic importance. However, being on a limited income, there is only so much I can do to restore it. This model is not in demand, but as time
progresses, it becomes more and more rare, increasing it's worth.

 

Had a talk with an experienced Volvo mechanic in Chicago and he advised me not to pursue a restoration of my car. He said the rust was too far gone and the 144 will not give a decent return on any investment. I could do a partial restore to make the car more comfortable to drive, like fix the gauges and ignition lock and not try to make the car look good. It runs fine, although new shocks would help, assuming they could be attached to the weakened undercarriage. Adding to this problem is the fact that the 144 is not a highly sought after model and even in top shape would not fetch a high price.

My other option would be to part out the car, since there are some good working items like the engine, trans, and brakes. Some of the trim like the bumpers are in good shape. I found that over the years, it has been harder and harder to find spare parts for this 144. I'm sure parts from this car are
valuable and even more so as time goes on. Problem is I don't know how to break down this car to it's constituent parts and where to store them while I look for potential customers. Any ideas?

 

Ahh, NOW you tell me it's a rust bucket, I would have given you a shorter answer.

You could if your intention was to have a daily driver/beater car. But if the undercarriage is truly that compromised I wouldn't want to be driving it around.

Most models are not highly sought after. People restore them because;
1) Volvo's are fun to work on and if they aren't to far gone can be done economically, or
2) They have some sentimental value.

Straight, rust free parts are always semi valuable - to the right person at the right time. If you can find a guy that needs good bumpers NOW then you can make some bucks. Remember that unless he's restoring a beloved family auto , his is worth no more than yours ("not highly sought after", remember?)

You have 3 problems you must overcome-
1) You don't know how to dismantle the car "to it's constituent parts"
2)You don't have a place to store them
3) You don't know how or where to find potential buyers
I would add that you may not have the free time to mess with it either.

Yes.
Because I can see the car has absolutely no sentimental value for you and if in overall poor to terrible condition you should get rid of it.
Because the parting out of a car involves considerable work and space, followed by storing parts for quite some time, dickering over prices, shipping, and all the hassles that brings, with minimal return for your effort I think selling it as is is the way to go.

Clean it up as good as you possibly can, take pictures - good pictures - of the car inside and out, top and bottom (underneath) trunk engine and anything else you can see. make a nice, concise, detailed list of repairs - when and what.
Post them on every Volvo forum you can - but don't get your hopes too high. If it doesn't move in a few weeks then I'd put the old girl on ebay. Take your cash and let them arrange transportation.