Any value to this old neon sign?

[evintho]

About 30 years ago I grabbed this from the basement of an old Chrysler/Plymouth dealership that was closing down and had been in business since the early '50s. Some of the letters are broken and it's filthy dirty. I think it can be repaired but is it worth it? I'm cleaning out my shop so if there's a market for it I'd like to get a couple of bucks, if not then it goes in the dumpster. Any thoughts?

 

[DaDuck]

it will have value to local Plymouth/Chrysler Car Club or member thereof.
Facebook is your resource for this sale.

 

[four.cycle]

Looks pretty rough, and you're missing the transformer and the box onto which the neon tubes mount (unless they're somehow freely suspended.)
That notwithstanding, it retains an element of "cool" and odds are somebody would be willing to give you money for it "as is".
Not sure I'd push for a LOT of money, but you never know.
Me: I'd throw it up on Craigslist for $50 bucks OBO and see if I got any bites.

(I did that with an old beat-up reel-type mower last year and the guy was tickled to give me only $50 bucks for it, even though the ad said "OBO". It was one of those "I'll get to it some day projects," but that day never came.)

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

Most dealer signs that were neon back then were usually on porcelain.

Also, size usually makes a difference in value. There are signs on EBay that are being offered in the thousands- of course asking price isn’t always the purchase price!

 

[kaymccampbell]

I'd say $50 would be a fair price to ask for it. Too bad it's so broken.

 

[southalabama]

Page member don long. He has more neon than I’ve seen in a home garage

 

[firebirdparts]

Signs are worth a lot, and neon is still repairable by people who are in business. So I think some mopar guy will want that.

 

[driftpin]

Yes, I like it, even non-functional. Anything like that should be able to be repaired. It's a question of, "once it's repaired, what-else do I need to make it functional, and what will it sell-for?" I'd say 'as-is' $50 should generate at-least some offers. Not being far-from the Bay Area, I'm sure there must be someone around there who's a Mopar guy who would like it, for that price.

 

[nadogail]

Every thing has value, but sometimes the value of scrap is negative.

 

[Bunganut]

don long

 

[woodzy]

Well my take on it is that the value is almost zero. Broken neon tubes are very expensive to fix / replace. Unless there is some sentimental reason the cost to fix / repair way exceeds the final product.

I have probably 40 neon signs from old to new and if they work, they tend to last almost a lifetime if not abused.

My .02 cents..

 

[cstmg8]

I'll bet that sign could be made really cool with some clean up and some led lighting.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

 

[quickfarms]

Don’t toss it

If you don’t get any bites I know a mopar guy who is a little south of you

 

[four.cycle]

Broken neon tubes are very expensive to fix / replace.

When I was 14 or 15, apprenticing as a sign painter, I was taken downtown to an old warehouse where "Old Man Browning" worked with neon.

We needed a repair done on a huge neon sign that hung out over the sidewalk in front of a business. We took the broken pieces down to him.
He laid it on a wood-topped table, walked over and grabbed a glass tube, fired up a gas torch, and went at it.
No goggles, and Old Man Browning only had one eye.
You could tell the guy had been doing it his entire life. He heated up the glass until it glowed red, then carefully pushed it against a wooden rail on the side of the table to make the bends as necessary. Freehand. No pencils. No rulers. No patterns. All done by eyeball.

One letter.

Fifty bucks.

And that was about fifty years ago.