LT1_in_a_barn

Hello everyone,
I'm new to this forum (as of 5 minutes ago). I'm a Mopar guy, but have always loved Corvettes. My father ordered a new 1970 454 LS-5 Convertible 4-speed when he graduated college back in the day, so I've always wanted something similar. Anyway....on to my story. I'll try to be short, but my excitement will probably make this a little wordy.

Yesterday, I found a 1970 LT1 convertible in a barn. It is my girlfriend's Uncle's car. He is not original owner, but has owned it since 1971. She said, "Hey, you should check out my Uncle's Corvette, it's at my Dad's house in his barn, he wants to sell it." So, when we got there, we went to the barn (this was my first time meeting her father, or being at his place. He wasn't home at the time). So, as advertised, I saw a yellow Stingray sitting in the far back, surrounded by farm equipment, mowers, and assorted junk. It was under a cover.

I immediately noticed the "egg crate" sides (or whatever they call them) and thought.....hmmm....this is a '70 or '71, I think. Then I noticed the hood. I opened the door, saw that it was a 4-speed, and looked at the engine ID by the shifter, and it said "11:1, 370hp, 380ft/lbs" etc. I was like....holy crap. Is this an LT1? Then I noticed the removeable hardtop, and that it was a convertible. Now like I said, I'm a Mopar guy, but I knew this thing was special right away.

I opened the hood, and the engine is very original appearing- stock valvecovers, clutch fan still there, what appear to be original style hose-clamps, a big Holley 4bbl on an aluminum intake (from what I've seen in my research today, they are original). This car surprisingly doesn't have headers (luckily), but has original manifolds and everything. What I'm getting at is the fact that it is VERY VERY complete and appears to be completely original.

It has been sitting since 1993. I don't think it's been started since, but I don't know. The last tags on the plate say '93, and the reason he parked it is because he was injured on the job back then, and couldn't drive a stick anymore.

It even has the original exhaust tips still on it. The vehicle is yellow with a black interior. Not leather seats or anything. The seats aren't even torn up...they are dirty, but in good shape.

So....the point of all this: what is this car worth? I'm just looking for a ballpark figure. The owner wants it "out of the barn", in his words. I realize it is difficult to give an exact value, but I am just curious about a general number. I want to figure out what to offer the owner if I decide to go through with it. Is it roughly a $15,000, $30,000, $50,000 car? I am not familiar with the market, unless it's Mopar.

Assume the engine is seized, which I bet it is. I mean, it's been sitting for 15 years. So it's a non-running '70 LT1 Convertible 4-speed. It is ABSOLUTELY complete and appears to be almost all original, if that makes sense. The body is not damaged. The paint appears to be original, but am not sure. From what I could see under the car, it appeared clean. It does have the original engine, according to the owner, although I haven't verified that myself.

So, what am I looking at??? Thanks in advance, and I look forward to hearing from anyone about this.

LittleJake

Did early 70's have clutch fans?

Cool find, we all need pictures so dont come back until you have them hahaha.

79 vette head

from what you have described i think you are looking at big bucks both ways. what i mean is it could be worth big bucks if its all original and it could cost you big bucks to get it back to ncrs show quality

tony@

Welcome to the forum. I'm not the expert on Corvettes and their value
but it won't be long now. The guys on this forum are very helpfull.
Durango Boy is usually Quick.

Tony.

hobbycarcorvettes

Hi,

Sounds cool. I could be interested in the car. Any chance you could get pictures?? Please email them to corvettenut03@yahoo.com.

Thanks,
RJ

Gordonm

In very good condition it could be worth a lot. 50K+ but what is the frame and birdcage like and does it need a complete resto to bring it back. That could cost you well into the 50K range. Either way it is a good find. What does he want for the car is the big question. If you can get it fairly cheap it is worth it. If he wants big bucks it is maybe.

blk79nj

You are going to get a lot of responses on this one.

Take a bunch of pictures including engine compartment and interier, as it sits. That way, if it works out, you will have some before and after pictures.

Post the pictures on the this forum, we love pictures. Fill out your profile so people know where are located.

Check the birdcage for rust (windshield frame), along with the the frame.

Welcome to the corvette world, I'm kind of a mopar guy also, but ended up with a vette.

sixxgunn13

Welcome and post pics ASAP!!

also buy it if you can, you won't regret it, though your wallet might

LT1_in_a_barn

Thanks for the replies so far. I have about 10 pics of it, but not on this computer (sorry about that). I will try to get them posted in the next few days. It currently has the removeable hardtop on it, in case I forgot to mention that.

As for the frame and whatnot, I couldn't really see under the car very well, as the tires were about 1/2 flat from sitting for 15 years. But I do know it was this guy's baby until he simply parked it (inside) in 1993.

Where would I look exactly to see if it's numbers matching? Where is that located on a small block? What else should I check if I go back out there?

Again, thanks for the replies so far. Look forward to more.

tony@

There's another thread on right now on matching numbers, you should
go read it.
Tony.

BobbyC3

I got so excited reading this one I thought for a moment I was reading the Penthouse forum....back to earth, moisture does very bad things to old cars. The metal tends to turn to saw dust in the wrong conditions.

Doesn't sound like the owner is in a hurry so join your local NCRS chapter and find a friend to evaluate it for you before you jump in.

Good luck, I hope it's the car we all are looking for!!

early shark

Sounds like a Daytona yellow '70 convertible with the LT-1 option. Restored examples were selling close to 100K. If this car is ordered with desireable options and in complete original condition with no missing componentry. I would venture to say an offer of 35K would be reasonable, especially if the owner has verifiable factory paperwork!

1971Coupe

15k max. based on your info.
if the frame is bad, then less.
at this point you don't know what's needed
but, for 50k you probably can get a nice LT1
what do I know, but the current market isn't helping the situation.

xCCTer

This should keep you busy for a while.

http://www.mortec.com/

http://www.nastyz28.com/gm-chevy-cod...s-suffix-2.php

http://www.rowleycorvette.com/stats70.html

http://www.collectorcarmarket.com/me...s/70chcote.htm

http://www.100megsfree4.com/corvette/1970/vet70.htm

http://corvettec3.ca/index.htm

AllC34Me

First of all welcome to the forum, glad to have you with us. As for the car I can tell you that reading your post made my day. Barn finds are always a treat regardless of the condition of the car. I agree with earlier posts here and cannot emphasize enough that you need NCRS Corvette eyes looking at the car with you. If the seller wants it gone then ask him to give you a number. You have to start somewhere and in this case I would start low and work your way up if you have to but find out what he really wants to do with the car and if you can get it, I say get it. Even if you don't want the car there are certainly local (and more than one forum) corvette fans that would be glad to get a chance at the car.
So good luck on the buy and let us know how it turns out.
You might want to set up a Photobucket account and put your pictures there, it works really well with the forum postings.
Best of success.
David

MadMarx

Welcome!!
Where is this barn exactly??

1nicecorvette

IN the land of OZ

Sidepiper

You could be interested in the car? I don't think he's asking if anybody is interested.................

AllC34Me

I immediately noticed the "egg crate" sides (or whatever they call them) and thought.....hmmm....this is a '70 or '71, I think. Then I noticed the hood. I opened the door, saw that it was a 4-speed, and looked at the engine ID by the shifter, and it said "11:1, 370hp, 380ft/lbs" etc. I was like....holy crap. Is this an LT1?

There were 1,287 of these made with the LT1 Motor.

Then I noticed the removeable hardtop, and that it was a convertible. Now like I said, I'm a Mopar guy, but I knew this thing was special right away.

There were 6,648 of these made.

It has been sitting since 1993. I don't think it's been started since, but I don't know. The last tags on the plate say '93, and the reason he parked it is because he was injured on the job back then, and couldn't drive a stick anymore.

There were 4,483 manual M21 transmissions, but only 25 of the close ratio M22 transmissions on the 70.

It even has the original exhaust tips still on it. The vehicle is yellow with a black interior. Not leather seats or anything. The seats aren't even torn up...they are dirty, but in good shape.

Check the tag on the inside of the frame on the drivers side door for trim tag and color data. The Daytona yellow would be marked 984 or 84L. The interior code should be 400 if it is black vinyl.


If you decide not to go through with it then I suggest you post details and ask the owner if you can be his agent, the car will be popular if it is equipped as you have suggested.

Good luck with the deal.

David

R1234

I would suggest purchasing a NCRS 70-72 judging guide. It will give you all the numbers matching info that you need. Spend the day crawling over it and under it to check the numbers against the guide. Write them down in each section of the book.