VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1946-1948 The $5000.00 Compass

Can you BELIEVE this :eek: Gotta admit though, its the nicest one I have ever seen. "W o W"


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1939...itemZ300093747706QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

For the money that these things go for, you would think that someone would start re-poping them, the demand is there! It seems like a good repro would have no problem getting $350-$400,
John

Holy!! 4,999.99 and the reserve is not met yet. Sure is purdy though.

Whoever pays $5.000 for this compass need to have their screws tighten...Oscar

Maybe you could install it in that 47 coupe that was on ebay for $35,000 a while back. It is nice.......but not that nice!!!

Check out the feedback of the seller!

:( :( :(

Yea, I was wondering about that myself. Would you send him $5000.00 in the mail?

When you get your next G&D, take a look at the "WANTED" section of the ads. Nuff said.

At this point it looks like there are at least nine morons who are willing to do so!

:o :cry:

Is it "that guy" who runs a (wanted) ad a mile long. Looking for accessories and so on???

If so, isn't there something fishy about "using" the club for that type of thing??

:confused: :confused: :confused:

Bill.

Can you just Imagine what the reserve on this puppy is???
Im saying $10,000. NOS, Original box.
Anyway you slice it.....It comes up INSANITY......

Well if you take a look at this the compass seems like a bargain, at least it does not get thrown out like this!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&viewitem=&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2F150103573230_W0QQfromZR40QQfviZ1&item=150103573230&rd=1

There was a vendor at Springfield who came in with some neat NOS stuff and I remember looking at a compass for my 60 and the price was something like $500 non luminated and $750 luminated, so the Mrs was standing next to me, so needless to say I did not leave with one, but I was thinking real hard about it....
Looking back I paid more than that for a pair World Series Tickets several years ago and she had no problem with that
Always remember in this hobby if you think you paid too much for a part it means only bought it too soon!
I still think these things could be re-poped
John

I agree about the repro. There is a BIG demand out there for these compasses. Someone could make a small fortune?
Especially the 39, and the 48. These I have seen skyrocket in price.

Going rate on these was around $2-$3K about a year ago, but this one is so exceptional in the box that he might get over $5K. I emailed the ebay item # to Chevs of the 40s, asked that it be forwarded to the owner, and said get on it for a repro! I also emailed it to Dick Moffit, he recently came out with a really nice repop of locking gas caps for only $195, they are selling like hot cakes. I have a friend who is making an EXACT repica of the hat holders from 42 - 48, these are perfect and they go for around $450 on ebay. The market is out there for accessory repops, and we are seeing more and more, with much better attention to detail. I would encourage others to send an email to Chevs of the 40s about this item, it might get the ball rolling on this!! Watch out for fake repops of GM thermomters, there was a company that made a generic version without the GM logo that can be bought for around $40-50, and they are being retro-fitted with a GM face and being pawned for about $700 - $1,000 - be careful!!

The $5,000 compass may or may not sell. There are some folks with deep pockets and a desire to dress out the 1939 and 1940 Chevies. I have no information concerning this particular auction, However, my concern on auctions with this kind of price is:
1. The entire box is NOT shown on the auction. We all know that if you invest megabucks on an accessory, an original box is absolutely necessary. You don't want a 1948 compass in a 1949 box. In order to get serious about this auction, the entire box needs to be displayed. If you are one of the current bidders, ask for another few pictures.
2. There is at least one guy on the West Coast who has been rebuilding 1939-1948 GM compasses. He might even be putting on a new GM chrome band - reproduction. Someone out there in ebay land can spend alot of money on what is perceived to be NOS, when in fact it might be partially reproduced. The current seller may or may not even know if it has or has not been rebuilt.
3. There also are guys who bait and switch on expensive Chevrolet accessories. I know for a fact of one compass sold on the West Coast which was switched to a much poorer quality compass. The picture shown is of the NOS one and the used one is shipped to the unsuspecting buyer, who lives hundreds or thousands of miles away from the seller.
4. If this one is original and NOS, anyone out there interested in getting me an early birthday present? It would look great in my old Chevy. I would be forever greatful to you.

Can I predict that when this item closes it will not have reached the reserve. This then becomes the benchmark for further sales of compasses. Surely, a friend is not bidding on this item to establish a price????????????????

Isint it funny how this accessory "business" seems to be focused on the "left" coast? I think your right Ray! Doubt if it hits reserve, but will be effective in raising the value on these things reguardless. Most of the high price accessorys on Ebay always end up in California, or are for sale from California?

Did you check the link I posted for the $220 PF 25 Oil Filter? At least the compass does not get used up!
John

Fleet 47, do I detect a hint of right coast bias against accessories? I am a left coaster and new to VCCA, and this was a topic I planned to raise - why don't I see more accessories on cars in G & D? Is this thought to "clutter up" the car from the east coast perspective, or is it also thought to be a "lowrider" thing to have the cars dressed up? You're correct, CA right now is nuts about accessories, and these prices drive up the prices of finished cars. The whole being more than the sum of it's parts, a fully accessorized Chevy will bring $10 - 15K more than a stripped car, and this is with maybe $5K in accessories - go figure. I would love to hear more opinions on this!!

37 Richard,what "local" plaque do you fly?

Just a quick thought on accessories.

Any accessory on a car being judged is also judged as to correctness and condition. In other words, a can devoid of any accessories has a better chance in judging. There is no deduction for NOT having an accessory.

HB Gabachos (slang for "Huntington Beach white boys") - PLEASE don't read this as racist, we have had cars featured in Lowrider and Street Low magazine and are totally embrassed by the local Latino community - "you roll tight" is the comment we hear all of the time! We have had picnics and events with local (primarily) Latino clubs, and they love where we are coming from. We LOVE accessories, but this does seem to be a CA thing more than back east, and I find that really interesting. I just would love to hear why this is.

Ray, is the non-deduction of points based on if it is an original GM accesory? If the accesory is considered "non-GM" but period correct, are points take away? Finally, what is the criteria for "correct" GM accessories for a given year Chevy - the small accessory pamphlets or some other "parts book" source?
Thanks!

I live in California and don't have any accessories on my 53. I don't like the look of the sun visors,spotlights and so on. I don't like the low ride look and I don't want my truck to have ten batteries hidden somewhere to make it jump up an down. Oh, and I am white. The only accessories I have is the stock radio and that is because I wanted the hole in the dash covered. All people are different and that will never change. I'm sure they have many clubs out there for these kind of rides. That is my opinion...Oscar

You just made my point Oscar - you equate original GM accessories with "lowriders" and a trunk full of batteries to make your car jump up and down. That is a risky attitude to have if the VCCA is going to grow. I think it is perfectly valid to like your car "clean" with no accessories, it can be a great look (I would almost prefer to see a heater delete and radio delete, that is more interesting...). I think I am getting the picture on accessories in the club (is it mostly negative?), but any other opinions? It's fun just to bench race and hear ideas, and Oscar totally has a right to his opinion (and in some cases, the reputation of some "lowrider" cars is derserved). Let's here some more!!