I am a long time lurker and more recent forum member with a question. I have come across a 1958 black corvette on E-bay. #4647348079.

I have read on this forum that it is almost impossible to buy a 1958 corvette that has all usual parts (and is running) for less than 30-35K. I have used this info, along with completed auctions, and corvetteforum asking prices to come up with my maximum bid.

I would greatly appreciate if someone with experience could look at the auction pictures and questions and give me some honest feedback on the car. I am not afraid of being outbid by making this info public b/c the car is already on E-bay for goodness sake. (I probably would not ask this question publicly if I found it in a barn somewhere due to fear someone else would buy it)

Any opinions or concerns would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

Unfortunately , $35,000 is not in the ball park when your looking for a nice C1 especially the 58 your looking at . There's still six days to go in the auction and the bid is already $ 35,000 .
For 35K your going to get a fixer upper thats going to require work and more $$$ . Don't be fooled thinking your going to get a nice driver 58 cheap . On the 58 consider that the two spears on the trunk alone cost anywhere between $ 2500 to $ 5000 depending on the condition . Thats the first problem . The next problem is trying to find them !
Good luck , but first consider all the potential costs associated with a fixer upper C1 . It would be easy to spend $ 50,000 and still not have the pristine C1 that you would like to have.

 

Here's a link to the car. VIN not specified. Non original motor. Chuck

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=4647348079

 

I know that the 1958 prices are steep. I do not necessarily think the 35K bid will hold out. I gave up thinking I was going to "steal" a 1958 car for a good price a LONG time ago.

I am really searching for opinions about how high forum members (who really know these cars) would bid on a car in this condition. I know it is always very difficult to tell from pictures.

Appreciate the help

Thanks, Chuck, for the link. I am not the most computer savy guy.

 

Basically nothing under hood correct, wrong radio, no trunk divider, needs paint, needs top. After you fix all that you'll want to do a lot of other stuff because it will no longer look good. If you really, really want this car, $45,000 would be more than enough. $37500 would be a lot closer to what I would pay.

 

Hi,

Have a look at http://www.musquetier.nl/C1_Site, when done look at http://www.c1registry.com/index.php?...id=1&order=asc and then you will have a pretty good idea what it takes to turn this similar car into a top flight car. Not impossible, but very costly. I've got at least 65k euro's in the car now and it will take another 5k to finish it (1 euro = 1.30 dollar). don't let this discourage you, it will still be fun if you are into the restoration thing.

PS don't fall for that thought that you just want a nice driver; one thing will lead to another...

greetings,
Rob.

 

Some first comments on the car:

* incorrect radio
* incorrect shifter
* incorrect upper radiator hose
* incorrect fuel filter
* incorrect air filter
* incorrect rocker covers (valve covers)
* incorrect distributor cap (red!)
* incorrect fan
* incorrect fan belt

That's all I can make up from the (small) pictures. It could still be a very nice car.

greetings,
Rob.

 

Hello Auburnshrink,
The car looks like a good driver from the pictures. Ask him if the body has been damaged and how the frame is ( bent or rusty). I think around $40K would be tops.

Good Luck, Bill

 

About a year ago, one of my old friends from the Optimist Club called me. A fellow member was leaving the area, moving to NJ, and selling his 58 Corvette.

Hmmmm. I thought. I'll go look at it. Didn't know the guy, and had never seen the car before.

Well, it was a real POS. It ran and drove, and that was about it. It was missing EVERYTHING.

It was white ext/black int. It had a poorly done rolled and pleated interior. The door panels had no metal or "S" trim, There was a hole where the radio should be. Several other gauges were MIA. No trunk irons. Had the washboard hood though.

Car had hit everything but the lottery. Every corner was damaged. Chrome was lousy.

It sported a non original 307 Chevy motor that looked like it had been involved in an explosion at PEP Boys. Had Moroso this, Edelbrock that, candy apple red plug wires, etc., etc.

Cracked windshield, no wiper arms. Convertible top was literally in tatters.

The price. 45K FIRM. I'm sure he took the car to New Jersey with him. It's probably for sale up there somewhere, across the border from Allentown, PA. Chuck

 

Chuck,

That is a good story...I am wondering if that was a car I saw at a car show here in New Hampshire. It was pretty rough and if I recall the guy selling it said he paid $33K for it and was trying to sell it for $35K. He had maybe fixed a few things on it because it was not as bad as you described but it need some attention. I am always amazed at the prices I see for these cars...Like to the said to me when I was chatting with him, they don't make them any more and if you want one to enjoy it will cost. I guess he is correct...
John

 

?? Might be. This fellow was in his early 70's, and had owned the car for about 20 years. Lived in Bel Air, Maryland. He was retired. His wife was younger, in her mid to late 50's and was a banker.

Her bank had transferred her to the mid-western NJ area, across the border from Allentown PA.

I had never talked price with him on the phone. After looking at the car, he mentioned that "someone" from the DuPont Registry had appraised the car at 45K and that's what he wanted for it.

It would have been a good buy for 18-20K. Needed everything, but did run and drive. I didn't even make him an offer, as I didn't want to insult him.

A friend of mine recently bought a NICE 61 270HP project car.
The car is apart, and has been for 20 years. It's all there. Paid 20K for it and towed it home. Chuck

 

Thanks everyone for the help so far. Anyone else, please feel free to add as much as you want. This entire process is very educational for me, whether I end up with this car or another.

I have the money, no need for me to get a loan. I just want to have decent "bones" to start with and as few rare parts to hunt as possible. (who doesn't?)

By the way, Rob M., that is a beautifully restored corvette. It is now my new computer background/wallpaper. Hope you do not mind.

Again, thanks so far and I hope others wil leave more feedback.

 

Got you . I think the overall shape of this 58 from a computer screen looks pretty good. If I thought I wanted this car I would go to Michigan to look at it. The cost of an airline ticket is nothing compared to what your going to spend .
When you get there and your enamored after you sit in it , 45K is not un-reasonable . Remember this though...it's a driver ..his description of the car bothers me a little .." cosmetically good " is not a strong endorsement for the cars condition. Consider this :
A nice paint job $ 5,000
fiberglass work ..$3,000 to 5,000
remove , replace , install trim ....$2,000
Interior ...$3,000
Make sure the drivetrain is strong and documented
There are a million and one things to look at and they all cost ...tires, glass , emblems , brakes , brake lines , exhaust , suspension ...
I don't want to discourage you because that is exactly what I did 4 years ago when I bought my 61...Today it is primo , but it took time , effort , expertise , and money and more money and more money ( LOL NOW ) Once its done there's nothing like it. It's a real adrenlin rush when you drive it anywhere . You are the man and the car is your piece of history .

 

As others have noted, the car is missing a few high dollar parts but it appears to be about 95% original except the engine, radio, radiator shroud, shifter, ect. The car does`n look to bad from the pictures and is a good 10 footer with it`s advertised flaws. On the plus side there are a lot of high dollar parts still on the car. Depending on it`s unknown history and condition of the bumpers, glass, and chrome items it may be a good start and may have already reached it`s value. But before you buy, have it inspected for undisclosed latent problems and go from there if you want to go much higher.

 

That wouldn't have been an insult, it would have been an education. You probably wouldn't have bought the car but might have made it easier for the next guy,...or the next, once he came down to reality.

Auburn, It never ceases to amaze me what someone thinks their POS is worth. Barrett Jackson on TV hasn't helped. But as Chuck illustrates, good deals can be had on basket case projects. Hard to find and harder to assess than a "whole" car.

The thing about a non-restored, non-matching driver is that you'll want to put the car in road worthy shape first, cosmetic second. The more you do, the more you want to do and then it comes down to deciding whether to go frame off. Now you're talking some money. It's not likely you'll ever recover what you spend and especially if it's not restored to as close to original as possible. If you want to make it correct, it will cost you that much more. Little stuff, like restoring trim pieces, hubcaps, radios, instruments, wiper motors, heater motors, etc all add up big and are often overlooked when thinking, "how much will it cost me to restore?" Then there is the more expensive stuff like a proper radiator, dated windshield, new soft top, etc. that inevitably pops up as you learn what is needed to do a proper restoration. Do it this way though and you'll have exactly what you want but it takes time.

If you have space and proper equipment and can do it yourself you'll save a ton, again it takes time. If you can manage the project, do some of it yourself and sub out part, you can also save big. Pay a reputable shop and you are looking 40 to 60K to complete and should have the car in less than a year. Try to save by giving it to a less than reputable shop (you don't know that up front) and you buy yourself a nightmare.

Sometimes it makes sense to "pay up" now and get a finished car done the way you want vs going the restoration route. Good luck whatever you decide.

 

Auburn,

A suggestion - join NCRS (National Corvette Restorers Society) and then contact a local NCRS expert on '58s and have him inspect the car and give you an appraisal.

 

Having just been down the restoration road on a C1 I have developed a pretty strong opinion on these cars... It was worth every minute and dollar I put into it. I got a project car for $13,500 6 years ago and put several times that into it and have a great looking, near perfect NOM driver.

In my opinion buy one that is either a basket case with all the right "impossible to find" parts or buy one fully restored to the point that you are already happy with it.

The mistake is to buy one that is about half the way there. A basket case will cost as much as $18-22 these days. Depending on how much you do and how much you pay for on a restoration you will put an additional $25-45 into it. Now, if you buy one at $40 that is not in the condition that you don't want it in, you will likely still put that same $25 - 45 into it to get it right. (a paint job...new chrome....engine rebuild...etc costs the same whether it as just OK at the start or a basket case)

Bottom line,..., don't buy a "good driver" at $40k just to tear it apart and put the same money into it that you would have spent on a basket case for half the price. If you are happy driving the $40k driver and only want to do a few things like re-do the interior, go for it.

I hope this makes sense....

Jon

 

IMHO...Better buy for the buck.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chevr...QQcmdZViewItem

 

[QUOTE=trw58c1]IMHO...Better buy for the buck.


57K for a " Local show and Shine car " is about right .

 

Again, guys, thanks.

I do not know what it means that the auction $$ has not "moved" in several days. I am very near my limit of what I would spend on this particular automobile. I appreciate all the thoughts so far.

I agree that the red 1958 is much better "dollar for dollar" and I may be much better served by waiting and saving money and buying a car closer to being finished.

In summary, I am not "dying" for a body off resto at this time. I want a reasonable driver to enjoy for now and then when my son is a liitle older....start taking it apart an working on it with him.

The primary reason I am interested in this particular car is that it may not be a complete "basket case" that would take me 2 years to get on the local neighborhood roads.

Keep an eye on the auction with me and you will see if I end up owning this car in the next 57 hours. My gut tells me that some people will step up and start bidding. I already have travel plans set up to go to Michigan to check it out.

Thanks again everyone. Please keep posting pictures of your c1 and c2's. I NEVER get tired of looking at them.