Value of a Bensen B-8M gyrocopter in pristine condition?

Question

I have a bad habit of occasionally gambling on blind auctions on the contents of unpaid and abandoned self storage units and then try to make a profit by reselling whatever goodies they contain. I very seldom hit a bid jackpot on the contents but this past weekend I did on two side by side 12 X 12 units which appear to have been rented by the same person, maybe someone in the military because the self storage rental center is close to Scott Air Force Base. Anyway, among the many goodies in these units was a gyrocopter. It is an old one but it is in pristine condition and it does not have a rotor. I guess that must have been removed and perhaps stored some other place because it would surely be too long to fit in a 12 X 12 storage unit. I had an old friend, who is a licensed pilot and owns a plane, come over and look at it this evening and he said it is a Bensen and judging by some internet photos he found he said it is a Bensen B-8M. Other than not having a rotor, it is complete and has a McCulloch engine with a pristine varnished wood propeller and it has a small instrument panel with some aircraft type instruments. When we looked at some of the Bensen B-8M photos on the internet, though they didn't have the instrument panel this one has, the engine on this one does look like it is the McCulloch 4318 and when turning the prop my friend said it feels like the motor has good compression and he is going to come back later this week and try to start it after he tries to find some information on that engine. Okay, now here comes my questions. My friend offered me $800 for this thing this evening... $800 as is. That is more than I paid for the contents of both storage units that contained a jackpot of valuable goodies which I will have no problem reselling and very likely turn a profit well over $5000 in addition to what to what I might get for this gyrocopter. Should I sell this thing for the $800 offered as is and not take a chance that he will reduce or withdraw the offer if it won't start? Or should I wait to see if the motor runs, and if it runs good then try to find a rotor for it and try to sell it for a lot more? And finally, remembering that this thing is in pristine condition, which was my pilot friend's assessment of it, what might it be worth with a rotor on it?

Answer 1

I say you should sell off the rest of the stuff to finance a new rotor and spend the rest of your days hovering around your neighborhood sipping lemonade in your flying lawn chair.

That thing is TOO COOL.