'89 US 328 GTS, time capsule of the day: 900 miles on the odo

Tragic

Poor car.... it was "still born" quite literally

Chedda be chedda I get that.... but the soul of this car is DEAD

Jedi

 

Well...as long as the cam belts were replaced every three years, it should be fine!

 

Amazing example. Will be exciting to see how it does. A little surprised that a car with 850 miles on it has any nicks and scuffs, and the underside needs a little love, but easily cleaned/fixed up.

 

Candidly, I've seen cars with 50,000 miles in better condition. Mechanically, a car benefits from regular use and normal maintenance and, if it isn't cosmetically perfect, what's the point? "Time capsules" and "barn finds" are exciting phrases for the auctioneers and collectors. A few years ago I sold a 1959 "classic" car that was absolutely immaculate, was meticulously maintained, ran perfectly and was almost entirely original with 125,000 miles on it. The broker who handled the sale said that I might have gotten more money had the same car, with the same 125,000 miles on it, been sitting in a barn gathering dust for the previous 30 years.
When I consider purchasing cars with extremely low mileage, I always wonder why the previous owners didn't want to drive them more. I really don't get it.

 

125,000 miles and immaculate?

Anyhow, "time capsules" normally refers to cars that are in perfect original condition, whereas "barn finds" are original, discarded and neglected cars that are in horrific shape. For some peculiar reason, certain people find barn finds fascinating, with all their rust, rotten interiors and destroyed leather, etc.

As far as time capsules, or ultra low mile cars that have been preserved and maintained, I couldn't disagree more. Sure, regular use is healthy for the car, but I will take a time capsule, change it's gasket, hoses, etc. any day over someone else's grime, wear and tear. People way overstate the harm done to cars with low miles. If it is stored properly in a regulated climate, changing items like rubber components is no big deal.

 

I personally maintain my own cars and regularly do whatever work, cleaning, maintenance etc. is necessary as time goes on to keep them looking like well-maintained cars that are about six months old, with very little grime, wear and tear. I admit that is not the norm. I do think a car just begins to hit its stride at around 25,000 miles. I guess it's a question of how much one pays for the time capsule and if it really is one. I totally admit that, as a motorcycle enthusiast, I have been fascinated by bikes from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s which are still sometimes sold brand new and literally still "in the crate."

 

Correct, a can of Dimitrol should do wonders !!

 

Big bucks for a car that you have to push to move.

I would rather drive them, but that's just me.

 

I've seen an immaculate example with more miles than that.

At a track meet.

Being USED.

There out there.

 

Why do some people get so riled up over time capsules? If there’s really an immaculate example with 125,000+ on it, it’s either a remarkably rare car or it’s restored. There’s nothing wrong with time capsules. They’re fascinating, and everyone I’ve seen run great, because they are generally owned by very serious collectors. People don’t have to cut down and attack perfect cars because they’re somehow threatened or envious of them Just enjoy your car for what it is. There’s nothing wrong with either.

 

There is absolutely nothing at all wrong with time capsule cars.

You just can't drive them.

 

The 6 months old analogy is a good one.
I think my car fits into the category of being brand new but has a slight patina on some parts like on the cam covers, suspension parts, an odd repaired stone chip, etc which I really love.
It shows the cars unrestored originality and true 30 year age (yet being taken immaculate care of during it's life), rather then a freshly restored car where everything is brand new and has no factory finishes or age to any components.
Just like my kilometres of 18,000 km it shows it's been driven, around 500km per year, yet sparingly.
Personally I think that's the best of both worlds... a well maintained car with fair usage.

 

Why can’t you drive them?

 

Because they will cease being a time capsule.

 

LOL....I dunno, I would start using it and let the Devil take what's left afterwards....

 

That's true.

What's the maximum miles/ kilometres for a "time capsule" I wonder before it is just a low mileage example.... ??

 

That's a good question and I have been sitting here for 5 minutes trying to come up with a number.

Maybe anything under 1000 for time capsule status.

 

Yeah, I'm thinking the same. Under 1,000.

 

It was surprising to me how many things can go wrong with a car in long term storage. I am just now finishing a turbo bodied marque of sports car that can’t be mentioned here that was stored for 20 years. It took a year of steady work and FedEx deliveries to bring it back from purgatory.

The storage was decent so no real moisture or weather damage but the list of problems was very long. In addition to the things you normally think about such as fuel, brakes, and battery, most nylon bushings and collars had turned to powder, the leather had gotten hard and brittle, the vacuum booster for the brakes had internally corroded, gauges needed to be sent out for cleaning and repair, the sunroof mechanism had issues, switches and relays had needs, and of course the a/c needed work. I haven’t mentioned pulling the engine for new seals.

What was especially revealing is that the inner rear wheel bearings had to be replaced as they had flattened on one side from the car sitting so long in one position. I never would have thought of that but it became apparent after the inaugural test drive.

Ironically, or maybe not, this baby was featured on an episode of Tom Cotter’s “Barn Find Hunters”! I love the end product, but it was a much more complex and expensive a procedure than low mileage, long term stored car would imply.

I would do it again, but pay less upfront to soften the financial blow of such an undertaking.

 

That’s an owners choice. My point being, most who have issues with low mile cars seem to take refuge in the myth that they’re mechanically undriveable.

 

I don’t doubt any of this, but the car you’re describing suffered from serious neglect. That’s a far cry from the 328 listed by Goodings, and many other low mile cars owned by responsible collectors.

 

Are these all GTS’s?