Hi, just joined, would appreciate some help valuing a Hawk Stratos

[Normb666]

Hi Dan,

It's your Friendly Neighbourhood Chairman Norm here. Only just seen your post, having been out all day. First off - no, we don't mind you joining just for advice - I think we got about 80% of the membership that way! Secondly - as has been said in another thread, project Strat reps don't come along too often of late. In fact the market's not exactly awash with completed cars either! All the other points made are entirely valid too, so without a good look round the car, its actual value is a bit of a finger-in-the-air job.
Plus points: correctly registered as a Hawk in period, so attractive to overseas buyer, and won't need an IVA test when returned to the road. Sounds like it's pretty much all there, so even if the parts are knackered, you'll know what you need to replace. Also, bypasses the waiting list for a new kit (although it'll probably be a lot more effort to sort than just building a kit!).
Against: chassis could be well gone, especially the rear cradle and front suspension mounts. Fixable, but a big job. Motor - probably seized and basically scrap. And no-one uses the Lancia twin-cam these days - it's an Alfa V6 minimum so that's what any rebuild would likely use. Basically, any sensible buyer should really assume the worst about every part of the car and factor the work and cost into their offer.
Thing is, even after viewing it, it's impossible to give a truly accurate unbiased guess as to what it's worth, as one person's bag of spanners is another's golden opportunity. I guess Ebay will decide...!!

Having said all that, what you may or may not be aware of, is that values of good replica Strats are high, and rising (as I've banged on about on here, ad nauseam). They're now sought after by proper collectors - the days of them being just "cheap kit cars" are well gone. I don't think you'll be insulted if I don't include your car among those somehow but what it does mean is that the values of, shall we say, "lesser" cars, and project vehicles, have been dragged up in their wake. So don't sell too soon - see where it goes! I think whatever you get will be probably more than you expected... currently at £9600 with days to go....!!

Good Luck!

Norm