Price check & advice on 1980 Californian purchase

[AlexinOz]

Hi everyone,

I'm a long time reader of this forum but haven't contributed much before - thanks for all the advice so far.

I've been searching for an original Californian, and it seems I have found one - 1275cc engine, galvanised (so 1979+), original colour, and with compliance plate and engine numbers that were the original ones with the car.

Here's a quick summary:
   • 1980 Californian Moke (VIN: AKFPD19Y) -> has "80" printed to the left of the VIN so I'm gathering that means it was built in 1980?
   • Original 1275cc engine (engine number starts with 12H706AAxxxxxxx)
   • Seating capacity of 2, but with 4 seatrs
   • Original tombstone blue denim look seats in the front. In very good condition, no visible damage or wearing on the fabric. Driver seat slightly softer than the passenger one. Rear seats aftermarket black, I'll probably remove them as I'd rather the storage.
   • Has the 4-core tropical radiator
   • No visible rust in the bermuda triangle or anywhere else I looked.
   • No visible leaks
   • Engine bay could do with a clean, but it started immediately from cold
   • Original colour (jade green) - not my favourite, but finding a yellow 1275cc Californian is proving to be pretty difficult!
   • 48,000km on the dial, he claims it is on it's second time around and I tend to believe him (~150,000km)
   • Paint job OK - lots of little marks where the paint has come off over time, but no rust. Definitely doesn't need a paint job urgently, but would benefit from one at some point in the future.
   • Gearbox: no issues with the gearbox when slowing the car down through the gears, ie it didn't pop out of gear in any of the gears (4-1). Easily went in and out of reverse. It was a little hard to find 3rd from second, but I think that is because I was pushing the stick too far to the right (above reverse). No problem getting into 3rd from 4th with a little rev of the engine when the clutch was in.
   • Brakes - discs at the front, drums at the back. Seemed to slow down ok, but not as well as a new car (I gather that is to be expected)
   • Steering - was direct, if I moved the steering wheel just a little the tyres moved as well. No noises on full lock that might have been dodgy CV joints.
   • Tent Cover (original blue with zips) - forgot to try opening it, oops. He claims he has never bothered and had considered taking it off.
   • Engine Temperature - after driving around for 20 mins I couldn't get it to 90 degrees. It seemed to sit around 70. Not sure if that's the gauge or something to be concerned about.
   • Petrol - he uses premium unleaded with additive, engine hasn't been converted to ULP.
   • Hasn't got roadworthy, however he will arrange this prior to handover.
   • Dashboard relatively original from what I can tell, with a radio and some small speakers there I'd probably remove, maybe replace.
   • Sunraysia wheels - comes with 2 spares (ie 1 attached, and strangely one loose for a total of 6 tyres) all with good tread

The owner is a British car collector, and wants to free up space in his garage for something a little faster. The other cars he had were in very nice condition although I didn't look closely - and all stored in quite a nice garage, he clearly has a passion and likes to look after them which makes me feel like the moke has been cared for quite well. He claims he has probably done less than 3000kms a year, and given he has a few other collectables plus a daily driver I think that's quite reasonable.

Questions:
   • Can I swap the tombstone seats around easily - ie driver to passenger and vice versa?
   • Getting into 3rd from second - was it just me having trouble finding the gear or should I be concerned?
   • Without driving it, what would you say is a fair price range I should be paying? Is $23k with RWC way too much? Given the original seats, 1275cc engine, original discs and Californian compliance plate I feel there's a premium I will need to pay, but it's hard to figure out how much. I've seen dealers offer nicer painted ones for less, but always get worried as they seem "too good to be true'. Ultimately with a fresh paint job, maybe a new roof, and a decent clean inside and out this seems like it would be a great example of a moke in close to it's original form.

Anyway, sorry for the long post but I'd really appreciate your feedback!

Cheers
Alex

[HAG]

Hi Alex....I think you have answered your own question....But its only worth what someone is prepared to pay, how long is a piece of string??
Probably not a good question to ask on this public forum

HAG

[AlexinOz]

Thanks Hag, appreciate your comment about this being a public forum and people might not like to discuss prices. Happy to take private messages on that topic instead.

Separately, if you or anyone has any views on the other questions I asked, ie how easy it is to swap the front seats around I’d love to hear them. I suspect it should be pretty easy but as I’ve never attempted it would rather know now if it’s likely to be harder than I’m thinking.

[yellaterra]

In answer to price. You take into account what you are buying. Is it genuine and what do i intend to do with it? Unmolestered californians are harder to find now. Rebirthed calafornians are more plentiful but do lack all the trimings usually. If you are keeping the moke as factory original californian then the price is fair i think. If you are going to modify it to your liking and add or discard things hen find a cheaper moke and build your own. As you said the old owner has appreciatd what it is all these years so seems a shame if you intead to modify an original californian  work out what you want to do with your moke first write it down look a it then decide if the money you pay is going to fullfill what you want to do.  Good luck and haply mokin. Terra

[Terry]

Hi,

if the seats are the variety with sliders and they tilt forward  then no I think you can swap them over because the tilt levers interfere with each other because they would now be between the seats. Would be better to replace the rubber seat base/diaphragm in the drivers side to make it like new again.

The 2nd-3rd issue is possibly your technique or maybe some wear or a broken mounting rubber on the remote change but unlikely to be an issue inside the gearbox.

As for price I think only you can answer what it is worth to you and by the sounds of it you have a fairly clear idea of what you what your Moke to be so look beyond just the purchase price and add in the expected costs it would take to get this particular car up to what you want which is along the lines of YT's comment.

Terry