"Rare" doesn't always mean "Valuable"....Some cars aren't collectible, just weird....

I get all kinds of emails from people asking me what I think think their "Ultra-Rare" car is worth. 99% of the time I have to disappoint them and tell them that their car is not collectible, it's just weird. This problem stemmed from the big three-( GM, Ford & Chrysler ) having huge options lists and many overlapping models, and dealers ordering "Price Leaders"-i.e. strippy models with weird option combinations. For example-you hardly ever see one-but the standard drivetrain on a Monte Carlo in the '70s was a 250 inch straight six and a 3-speed manual trans with a column shifter. I remember my dad worked at EZ Daivies Chevrolet in Redwood City, California in 1972-and Al Davies-the owner-bought a bunch of these strippy Monte Carlos from Chevrolet and sold them for $2999!!  Now who but a complete mooch wants a Monte Carlo with a six and a manual trans, and no A/C, no radio, etc??  He sold every one they had!!  A guy I knew bought a '72 Formula 350 Firebird off an old man back in the early '80's. It had no guages, no a/c, no radio, and dog-dish hubcaps on steel wheels. It had a 350 V8 with a 2bbl, and a 3-speed manual trans. Turns out the old guy wanted a "Sports Car" back in '72-and loved the look of the twin-scooped hood that Formula Firebirds had. He wanted a strippy base-model Firebird-and would have took one with the standard 250 inch six. The salesman told him-correctly-that the scooped hood was not available on base-model or Esprit Firebirds, and if he had to have it-he'd have to step up to the Formula line. The salesman tried to sell him a nice Formula 400 that he had on the lot-that had guages, a/c, an automatic, etc. Nope. Cheap old bastard ordered a strippy Formula 350-because they were cheaper than the 400 models by a couple hundred bucks-and would not order any options whatsoever-not even an am radio!! He kept it ten years, put very low miles on it-and then sold it to my pal when he failed his driver's test. My buddy swapped in a 400 and a 4-speed and had a nice, lightweight drag racer. One of the few times in my life I've ever seen a car with not a single extra-cost option, not even floor mats!  For some odd reason-back in 1967-68-the height of the musclecar era when gas was 30 cents a gallon some genius decided that replacing the GTO's and 442's 350 hp 400 4bbl engines with 265hp 2bbl models and swapping the standard 3.36:1 axle for 2.93:1 was a great idea. They called them "Turnpike" specials and lowered the price a couple hundred bucks. They were shocked when they didn't sell. Duh!!  No one wanted a GTO or 442 that didn't have any balls and got 16 mpg instead of 12!!  If you run across one today-they aren't worth anything-other than being a clean GTO or 442 body. And putting a 4bbl carb and intake on it, and changing the gears isn't going to "harm" it's value!!  For some odd reason-while GM and Ford were putting front disc brakes and power steering on nearly all their musclecars-if it wasn't standard-it was a low-cost option-like $42-Chrysler didn't. You see all kinds of GTX's with a 440 and a Torqueflite-with no power steering and 4-wheel drum brakes!! Ditto for Chargers and Road Runners. Why would you sell a 4,000 lb car with a 375 hp engine, and NOT have power steering or power brakes??  I spoke to a guy once who had a 1966 Corvette with the 390 hp 427 and a Powerglide!!  Now what moronic dealer ordered that?? And what was Chevrolet thinking in even offereing that combo?  From 1965 on in an Impala you got the excellent TH400 with the 327 or the 396 or 427. Yet the awful 2-speed "Powerslide" was the only auto you could get, even in a 396 Chevelle or the mighty 'Vette. The TH400 wasn't available in a Chevelle til 1967 or a 'Vette until 1968!!  Anyhow-when I suggested to this guy that swapping in a TH350 would be easy and would greatly increase the car's performance-he was aghast. "And ruin it's value??!!!"  Sorry pal-true, it has some value just being a 427 Stingray-but it's not worth anywhere near what a 4-speed, L68,L71,L72,or L88 or L89 model is, and it's not worth anywhere near what you think it is. I've had this argument with Mustang and Charger owners. No one cares about your 2bbl 351C or 2bbl 390 coupe, or your 2bbl 383 or 400 Charger that's "rare". Shut up and put a f&*%ing 4bbl on it!!  This crap continued up until the '80's. I've argued with people that their 301 powered Trans-Ams and 305 powered Corvettes, while admittedly rare, are not worth anywhere near what their 400 and 350 brothers are !!!  So let's be clear-two-speed automatics and 3-speed sticks,column-shifted bucket seat cars,4-speed bench seat cars, two-barrel step-down engines,radio and heater delete cars, etc are not cool, their just weird. If you have one or can buy one cheap and want to play with it-good for you. But it's not an "Investment". Mastermind