emccomas

I spent a good bit of time last evening revisiting one car I have looked at before. I sent the seller a bunch of questions, but no offer.

I was talking with my wife this morning, and I showed her the car. She kind of frowned, so I asked what that was about.

She said "You won't be happy with that car."

"Why not?", I asked.

She said, "Because it doesn't have the WOW!"

She went on to explain that when I went to Chicago to look at that white / silver cove black interior 57, I had already said WOW about that car. It turned out not to be the car I was looking for, but the colors had the WOW.

She knows me well.

I am a visual person, even when it comes to old Corvettes. The color combination is one of the most important considerations.

So, having said that, lets focus on C2 cars and colors, and rate them according to MY WOW factor. These are my preferred color combinations, in order of preference.

Note: Cars that are the same color inside and out just seem to have too much of that color, so blue/blue, red/red, white/white fall off my radar. Also note the absence of black interiors. I would consider a medium blue black interior car if all else fell into place.

1. Medium Blue (Nassau, Marina) with white interior 5 WOW
2. Medium Blue (Nassau, Marina) with blue & white interior 5 WOW
3. Silver Blue with silver interior 5 WOW
4. Silver with red interior 5 WOW
5. Black with red interior 4 WOW
6. Black with bright blue interior 4 WOW
7. Red with saddle interior 3 WOW
8. Red with white interior 3 WOW
9. White with silver interior 2 WOW
10. White with red interior 1 WOW
11. Yellow with saddle interior 1 WOW

If the cars is a C1 (like a restomod), the color combinations get easier

1. White with silver coves and red interior 5 WOW
2. Black with silver coves and red interior 4 WOW
3. Arctic blue with silver coves and red interior 4 WOW


All of these are considerations, but the less WOWs associated with the car, the closer it has to be to having everything else I am looking for.

OK, I have once again narrows my search parameters. The search continues.

I am still thinking C1 or C2 older restomod or C2 older top flight car.

I have also decide that I can push my budget to $65K, but no more.

vwtdi

Take your time, you'll know the car when you see it...it's something like women.

You have a solid budget and a game plan, it will happen, just be patient until the right one becomes available.

3JsVette

Don't make an emotional decision. It's a risk at best buying a classic car, Corvette or anything else for that matter.

don lemelin

This is the WOW color combo for me in c2's.


That said, when I was looking for a black/black '64 i found one advertised that way (no photos in the ad) after talking with the seller for about 1/2 an hour he says something about silver blue??? I said what? The ad says black/black.. he says well, it's black underneath the silver blue! Trim tag was all he cared about (the car had been resprayed in '68). Anyway that was 16 years ago and though I'd planned to go back to the original black I haven't and probably won't ever. Guess what I'm saying is I'd have never chosen silver blue as a keeper color but I've grown to love it.
Someone once told me when buying used you pick the car not the color..

emccomas

This is the latest and greatest thread on my search for my "sunset" Corvette.

That is what I am calling what will most likely be the last Corvette I buy. My restoration days are over, and I plan to have this car for the rest of my life.

emccomas

OK, this is the thread I will focus on as I continue the search for my most likely last Corvette.

To reiterate what my goal is

A 1957-1960 older C4 based restomod, or an older top flight level C2.

Color combinations are very important, as you can tell from my WOW factor list at the beginning of this thread. Right now I am focusing on 5 and 4 WOW cars, so that is 1-6 of the C2 WOW list, and all 3 C1s. I have also discovered (to my surprise) that I am not a fan of cars with the same color exterior and interior, so the Marina Blue with Blue interior cars don't quite work for me.

I need at least a solid #2 car in terms of appearance and overall condition. A "20 footer" will not work, a "5 footer probably will"

I do not want a car that needs paint or major restoration work. I do not have any restorations left in me.

I really have investigated the leads I have been given, and I have talked with a number of potential sellers; I just haven't found the "right" car yet. It will happen.

I have pushed my budget to $65K. I also have a wedding to pay for (my daughters is getting married in September) and I still have a 1956 BelAir sedan in the restoration shop that still needs to be funded.

I wonder if I can talk my daughter into going to the JP, and use her wedding budget on my cars.

And not to make too big of a deal out of this, but I am having significant health issues right now (I just got home from the ER), and 3 really smart doctors are scratching their heads. So I am being sent to Vanderbilt as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, this situation does make it a bit tough to chase down leads immediately. But I really do appreciate the leads, and I continue to chase them down as they appear.

The distance that a car is from me is only a factor in that I have to consider how far from home I can get. The trip to Chicago was a risk, but I knew I had help (a very dear friend from college) on the other end if something happened. It really sucks getting stuck in a hospital in a strange city; been there, done that, do not wish to rinse and repeat.

But I also know that I have to actually see the car before I buy it, so that means travel of some sort. The car, once I find it, will be transported. I can't risk an issue on the road.

I also search on my own and find, consider, and usually eliminate potential cars.

I want to again apologize to those who are frustrated / upset / mad / whatever at me for my multiple threads. I have always thought that a separate topic / question deserved a separate thread. I still feel that way. I will try to keep things a bit more consolidated, at least when it comes to the car search.

And again, thanks to everyone that has assisted, and that continues to assist in my search for my "sunset" Corvette.

ndabunka

I have also been looking for something similar and can tell you that you may have champagne taste and a beer budget. You can find some resto-mods partially completed within your price range but a nice, "complete" resto-mod is likely going to be well north of your mark. I am watching one that is probably an $80K car but that owner wants six figures for it. Go figure.

You can find a C2 within your price point but any "top flight" level C2 is likely also going to be higher.... unless the current owner is going through a divorce and needs cash

I posted a nice C2 and a nice Resto-mod in the C1, C2 thread to show two good examples of what's out there.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...r-sale-60.html

#'s matching C2 that does NOT meet your (or my) "Wow!" factor so is only for cost alignment...
https://tommackclassics.com/project/...adster-58-900/

I have been part of the bids up to $50K on this $80K IMHO resto-mod that has an older interior and therefore isn't a "full" resto so not worth the Asking $s IMHO
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1965-Chevrol...59.m1431.l2649

Both cars are near Charlotte, NC so not as far as Chi-Town.

Finally - Sorry to hear about your health issues and hope it all works out positively for you

emccomas

Good info, and thanks.

When I say restomod, I a talking about an older restomod, perhaps 10-15 years old. I have seen a couple that are in my price range, but they are not the car I am looking for.

Same thing for an older top flight car. They are out there in my price range, but not the colors I want yet.

I passed on a really nice C2, because it was green.

The right car will show up, I have faith.

Th search isn't easy, but it does take mi mind off of the other things going on in my life right now.

RatDog

Sorry to hear about your medical problems. Hope they can get sorted out and get you back to good as new.

The medical issues would be a game-changer for me if I was looking for a car. If your medical situation is such that you may not be able to drive a car one of these days, you might consider relaxing some of your requirements in order to find a car more quickly.

For me, a day driving a green C2 would trump a day without driving a C2 at all.

Just something to think about and factor into your equation.

Steve

emccomas

Good points Steve.

Let me assure everyone my situation is NOT terminal, it just has my normal doctor's puzzled. We will find a solution, but right now I am sort of in limbo, and doctors are using stop-gap measures to keep me going while they figure this out.

It is not a question of IF I will get this resolved just WHEN.

And when the WHEN happens, I don't want to have the wrong car in my garage because I didn't wait.

And besides, I really am enjoying the search. Leads continue to come in, and sooner or later the "right" car, with the WOW factor I am looking for is going to show up.

And thanks again to everyone that has been so gracious and helpful in so many ways.

Easy Rhino

Like is said on the Appalachian Trail, "hike your own hike." The corollary is - don't hike somebody else's hike.

That's how it is with non-necessity cars. You gotta make yourself happy. And the hunt is a big part of the fun, as you undoubtedly know by now.

It took me about three years to find mine, although mine was harder from a financial perspective, as my $$ limit was about half of yours. I kissed a lot of frogs before I found mine, and did not wind up buying what I thought I had to have at the start. I was actually hoping to buy a Daytona Blue '64 coupe with a low HP engine and wound up with a red '65 L76 convertible.

I almost bought a really good '63 convertible L76 from a respected poster here, but while it was a totally solid "honest" car, it needed paint badly, and I needed something I could drive out now. Over time, maybe it was a better car, but who knows.

Keep looking!

P.S. My C2 is a part of my long-term health/retirement therapy. I have been on the edge of forced medical retirement for almost 7 1/2 years, and which has involved three near-fatal hospital stays to date. Still constantly struggling with ongoing panoply of medical issues, mostly related to a mis-behaving immune system with no known cause or treatment.

jimh_1962

Every time I go into my garage. I do say WOW! It even gets better whenever I take it out for a drive.

To me it does not matter what the year is from 1953 to 1967. I would probably include some other years. All of these year of corvettes are simply that...

Does not matter if it is a basket case, restomod, gasser, NCRS correct, vintage race corvette or a driver.

Now, that being said the weather is good and top is down.

Islander21

This is my WOW! combination.

Easy Rhino

(Ed, your PM in box is full).

emccomas

Just cleaned it out, thanks.

emccomas

Does anyone know anything about this car or Ideal Classic Cars on Venice, FL?

1965 coupe, Marina Blue with white interior.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1965-Chevrol...dZZOeu&vxp=mtr

This car appears to have been around for a while, as there MAY have been an inquiry about in from 2011 (assuming it is the same car)

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...l+classic+cars

Interesting car, and meets my WOW factor goals.

Anyone have any info on the car or dealer that they can share.

vettebuyer6369

I consider color to be the absolute most important factor in my car purchase, after I've decided on a vehicle year.

Engines, options etc to me are all negotiable. The color I consider WOW is not.

68hemi

That car is Nassau blue.

emccomas

Of course it is, thanks.

Iowa born

Beware!