mrscott25

Turn key here. 6 months later I tore her apart and started upgrading anyway.

Just like all us C3 owners... Too much money, too little brains!

oldgto

Bats has seen our cars. Only the Grand Prix was turn-key... all the others we built or restored.

Very well put! Same for me!
4) Those of us in between 2 and 3, that does our own work on the cars when we`re not on vacation

I think we all know my answer to the OP`s question.
Similar question.... how many would have passed this up...



...thinking it could never again look like this?

MrJlr

My car needed 1 of everything......and 2 of a lot of things

Project.

PUNISHER VETTE

I guess I'll tell my story and not be so negative
Mine has been the same way as MrJlr's. BUT...that's exactly why I bought it...so I could learn how to work on cars.


With the help of this forum, learning from my mistakes, and just good old trial/error I've gone from a complete oil screwing up noob to at least a more confident weekend warrior. I'd like to think at least.

My '96 was the best car I've ever owned. Many bash C4's up and down but you'll never hear me say anything bad about mine. BUT...it never needed fixing really. I did the easy stuff, rims/tires, tint, radio... but that was it. drove the **** out of it and at 20yo and in college that got me into a bit of some trouble. so out it went and in with the old.

to this:


I won't bore everyone with tons of progression pics as I've posted my car more than most and I'm sure many are sick of seeing it.

But as far as resale... mine will be for sale(everything is for a price). But with as customized as I've made it I don't expect to get what I have in it or have buyers knocking down my door to buy it.

I never had a "budget" but did like keeping track of what I have in it. So far here's the damage: Still need to do interior and finish painting(but have the paint). My goal at the start was roughly $30k... so I may still stay under that....but probably not lol.


But like I said in the other thread. I couldn't have done any of this without the help from you guys and for that I'm truly thankful. I just ask you be patient with me as everything I do is being done for the first time and unlike some I WILL NOT let some "professional" do the work for me. That defeats the very purpose of why I got the car. I also know what I want and if you say I can't do something or shouldn't because I'm not experienced enough then I'll more than likely try it out of spite. Some of my best learning experiences are from screwing up and fixing my mistakes.

Kris Tunetso

Neither. My car wasn't showroom restored when I bought it, but I didn't buy it as a project either. I wanted something I could drive and tinker with for a few years before tearing it apart and turning it into a project, and once I fix the transmission leak and go through the brakes it'll be just fine. I would say there are enough of us here who did this that we might be considered a 3rd category.

currently working on it myself as funds, time and weather allow. Been far, far too cold recently. May have to get a shop or 5 involved down the road, but for now it's just me and my garage.

sfallison

Mine was a basket case barn find!
It took me an hour to dig it out of a pile of junk and when I finally got it out.. I told myself there was no way it was going back!
The Nose and tail was missing, and the interior was "customized" - The guy had painted the seats, console and steering column with rattle can black paint. He had taken wood paneling, and cut/glued it to the door panels and console to give it that wood grain look. The carpet also had black paint on it, and was trashed. I made him an offer, and brought her home. 9 Years later, she's taking 1st Place awards in the Corvette categories locally! I have tons of pictures of her with "Corvette Babes".
The most fun is getting shouts of "I Love your Car!" from people on the road, and at shows. Especially getting big grins from little kids when I let them sit in her.

Pics:
1 Got her home and washed all the dirt off
2 Interior by Bubba
3 Just home from getting a new paint job
4 Interior shot (Cutie I met at a car Show)

Denpo

I thought I bought a cheap DD (fix a little, drive a little) to soon realize it was the worst "project car" I could get : a multiple wreck pile a rust disguised as a turn key.
I'm better counting what haven't been replaced, it's much faster that way

my 76 ray

Bought the '76 as a driver.



Bought the '74 as a project.







Bought this one "turn key". Coming off the assembly line. Still needs the racing stripes. It's torch red but the lighting makes it look more orange. Is three a fleet?

bullship

I have 3 Corvettes,2 were turnkey ( c3,c4) 1 was brand new (c6). I still turned all 3 into projects mostly minor but one bigger. My 82 is a clean 56k original miles Collector Edition. So far new hatch hinges installed,new Retrosound with Alpine amp,Kenwood powered sub, Infinity 6x9s,and Kicker 4 x 6s. Also planning to redo the A/C and possibly 17 or 18 wheels and tires.Cant see to leave well enough alone.

929nitro

Bought mine as a driver project, now totally project. With the exception of machine shop work I do everything myself and have help from my brother and nephew.

doorgunner

Gooood attitude!

The13Bats

Thanks for all the great replies I am gathering what I desired and even if I do not agree with something it all gets the mind going with thoughts and I really love it.

Seems one thing I expected is true most people buy projects, the degree of project vary but they are not "good to go" "turn keys"
Perhaps a person has a different meaning to "project" than me, if it needs "tinkering" it's a project, if it has worn parts needed to be replaced yet you are driving it anyway, it's a project.
Sorry Kris, you bought a project, a "driver" but still a project. "project" is not a dirty work, just gets one dirty.

What I mean by "good to go" "turn keys" is a car that is basically as good as the day it sat at the dealership, or better, it can't have looming rust issues or worn out parts,

ANY car not just a c3 is going to need routine maintenance, old survivors more so, if the c3 has never been restored then all kinds of wear items are shot, but in many cases a 40 yo car has survived that time better than say a 2015 will in 40 years, new cars even from the 80's on seem to be like bic lights and razors, tossed out, when my 69 is on the road again it will be "good to go" it will only need what any cars needs or should get to keep it going, saying a well kept or restored c3 is going to need more than any other car simply isn't true, but if it makes us sound cooler and more epic saying it because we do own these cars so be it...

While I would be pretty darn pissed if I was bucks up enough to hire a full turn key restoration and have to go back to the shop for little stupid things they should have caught I also know humans are not perfect.
Buying turn key is something alien to me, how rare a find it would be for my idea of the perfect c3 to pop up turn key, not that I could afford it in one lump, I have seen many posts where a person bought turn key and paid a lot yet the car lacked personal things they really wanted, why settle especially if you are shelling out tall dollars.
I am a bit lost on the fellows who bought turn key only to mod the car, isn't that a waste of $$$...clue me in.

ScottD, I really can't fully agree with you, besides that one fellow who prides himself at being a negative killjoy I can't wait to see his car...it must be stunning.
Your 3 categories are too pigeon holing and narrow, Not every builder on a budget "1/2 ***" their builds, not all "rich guys" hire out their builds,
You left out the types like ones who are basically new to the car craft / vette world, they do cut and paste and quote tech trying to play it off as their own, they tend to judge self worth by how much they spent on their build which they tend to take more credit for that deserved, their build would mean little to them if they couldn't use it for chest thumping ego trips and using it as fodder to belittle any fellow who didn't spend as much as they did and use their same cookie cutter parts that they want to spew are one of a kind. etc Ad nauseam.

What group would I be in?
I bought a project non driver 69 and at 85% of the work done by me I am restoring it to as or better than new in 69, better from things like the vette brakes suspension, adding AC, Modded but not hack jobbed.

Oldgto,
We all know that if you posted your car with a thread titled "should I buy"
you would have gotten many of the very same replies they yellow 69 received yet we see that you saved that car that would have been deemed "worthless" on here.

Lastly,
Question to home builders of cars for themselves,
Labor not included, I know a single tear runs down the cheek eating the labor but only parts and materials invested does your c3 have a more in it than it will ever fetch?

John 65

Lastly,
Question to home builders of cars for themselves,
Labor not included, I know a single tear runs down the cheek eating the labor but only parts and materials invested does your c3 have a more in it than it will ever fetch?


As long as DIY labor isn't included, then I can honestly say no.

I wont let that happen.

No expert here, believe me. Just a hobby, but I know for the most part what its worth finished, and what it takes to get it there before the purchase is made. If I cant at least get my money back, I pass on the car.

I enjoy the restoration and then enjoy the car for a few years, sell it, make a couple of bucks and start all over again. Not getting rich but not loosing either.

The13Bats

I believe that your replied will be shared, without labor.

What I believe really kills a car like the yellow 69 that inspired this thread is the entry price and if the buyer is doing it themselves or hiring it done,
Old yellow is getting a vette shop inspection, now if old yellow could be has for a fair price a fellow could save a 69 and not break the bank,
What I believe happens is people in no place to tackle a restoration make a crappy start by overpaying for the car that is too much project for them and their means, then they are sunk before they started.

Priya

I bought my '79 pretty much turnkey except for the broken driver door handle and needing a blower motor. I knew when I bought it I wasn't going to be leaving it brown so it was also a project in that even though it didn't need it I was going to paint it. At the time I purchased it the car rattled like a bucket of bolts and that almost scared me off. When we took the door apart to replace the exterior door handle we found several pieces of metal in the bottom of the door - all rattles fixed! I might have bought a 69 project car as that is more my style than buying a done car but I had started a full restoration on my AMC Eagle and I figured I didn't want to buy another project car when I had just gotten one underway.

"How many people bought and or built their c3 as a labor of love to make a car dream come true with little to no regard of resale value.".

I bought mine without concern for resale value and I've pretty much decided I'm going to be converting it to chrome bumpers and changing the interior colour. By the time I'm done I think I'll have triple or more of what I can sell it for in the car but I'm okay with that as then I'll have the Corvette I want and GM never built.

doorgunner

True Dat BATS! In a way I overpaid for my Heinz 57 project----$5500. BUT....the original radiator was reconditioned.......the (1970 350) engine was rebuilt....the Edelbrock carb was fairly "new"......the TH400 was rebuilt....the differential was rebuilt....one trailing arm was rebuilt...although EVERYTHING needed new gaskets and seals from the car sitting for years outdoors.

BATS....you know how much all the above parts would have cost.

What I saw was........a finished black "68 convertible/hardtop" with the high-rise hood I was going to buy anyway LOL, So what if it had '76 fiberglass on the front and rear...annnnnnnnd the wrong fender inserts (which will be corrected),,,,annnnd raccoons living in the cabin---they kept the snakes out of it!

Haggisbash

oldgto

Yes, or at least it will when I`m finished with it.
For us, it`s the actual cost of parts that was the big surprise. We`ve built a few cars before, but we didn`t expect the Vette parts to be 3 and 4 times more than parts for the other cars.
A part for the Mustang that was $50.... was $100 for the GTO, and $300 for the Vette!
So we will get the Vette built, and have a lot of fun doing it, AND we`ll have a blast playing with it.... but in the end it will have been the most expensive one we`ve done, as pertains to what went into it.

The Phantom

It's my project and I love it, it seems I like to fix things.



Dave

Kris Tunetso

I suppose we have a differing definition of "project" then, as you say. In my mind, if someone bought a car knowing it needed a new engine, or a whole new interior, or that the brake system needed replaced, then that could be called a project. In my case, the brakes just need to be bled and a small seal replaced to stop the transmission leak. Nothing big, or major. To me, routine maintenance items don't constitute a project, otherwise every car on the road is a project.

By your definition, yes, I bought a project. By my definition, not so much.

I see 4 categories of car defined as follows, with a quality rating on a scale of 10:

Turn-key Quality: 9-10. Brand-new, or like-new. All maintenance up to date, parts in good working condition. Buyer need to do literally nothing at time of purchase. Most used vehicles you buy from dealers qualify here.
Driver Quality: 6-8. Car is drivable at time of purchase, but could use general maintenance items and/or small parts reconditioned/replaced. Most used cars purchased privately or from used-car lots qualify here.
Project Quality: 3-5. Car needs major work in order to be drivable. Engine and/or transmission overhauls/replacement, major bodywork, missing parts, etc.
Parts car Quality: 1-2. Not good for much other than parts. Impossible, or economically infeasible, to make the car drivable again. Note: some parts cars have been resurrected, but the more likely fate of a parts car is to live on piecemeal in others.

Your OP left a gap that I believe many cars fall into, which is why I want to point it out and define it better. You gave 2 options; "Brand new quality" or "Needs major work". Mine is neither and I daresay there are many others in the same boat. I'm not trying to start an argument by saying this, and feel free to disagree if you like. Differing opinions is what makes the world interesting.

And I think we both agree that buying a C3 in turn-key condition is rather uncommon, at least for the common man.