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Hello Everyone
I've been in the market for a C1 and have found one that has it all...for me that is. However I was informed that the car had a complete new front clip installed
from the cowl forward during a complete nut and bolt restoration. Supposedly there is no frame damage but several small area's of the body that needed repair and
it was easier to replace the whole front end?????
The car is beautiful with excellent body fitment but to me this is a stigma I'm not sure I can live with....so....my question is......if this has been repaired professionally
will the car still be of less value in the general market place?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts........JerBar
No hit cars are more myth than reality - I've looked over a dozen or so between my searches and those of friends and all but one were repaired - some poorly, others exquisitely and nearly undetectably too... Only you can decide what you can live with....
Some will tell you the car is worth less once repaired (even superbly done), a lot to debate on this score...
Sometimes the resulting fit and finish are actually better than factory, but a purist might take issue with ANY body work...
Hello Everyone
I've been in the market for a C1 and have found one that has it all...for me that is. However I was informed that the car had a complete new front clip installed
from the cowl forward during a complete nut and bolt restoration. Supposedly there is no frame damage but several small area's of the body that needed repair and
it was easier to replace the whole front end?????
The car is beautiful with excellent body fitment but to me this is a stigma I'm not sure I can live with....so....my question is......if this has been repaired professionally
will the car still be of less value in the general market place?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts........JerBar
to ME that is BS; ask them to show you what and why the repairs are. a lot will depend on whether the replacement parts were 'hand-laid' or 'press-molded'. again, to me no difference in the final product/appearance; but press-molded parts are more like original and important to some. hand laid is probably worth a sizeable deduct of $
as to diminished value, I don't believe there was little if any diminished value in FTF's car due to the excellent repair with original parts; BUT there will always be naysayers....
Bill
And as Bill points out some take issue with a one piece nose vs a factory bonded set of body panels as original....
If you are really in a dither about it you could have the car professionally inspected and get a critique of the quality of the repair to ease your mind. There are forum members and others that do that...
Hello Everyone
I've been in the market for a C1 and have found one that has it all...for me that is. However I was informed that the car had a complete new front clip installed
from the cowl forward during a complete nut and bolt restoration. Supposedly there is no frame damage but several small area's of the body that needed repair and
it was easier to replace the whole front end?????
The car is beautiful with excellent body fitment but to me this is a stigma I'm not sure I can live with....so....my question is......if this has been repaired professionally
will the car still be of less value in the general market place?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts........JerBar
depends how it was repaired - it is detectable that the front end has been replaced...then yes.....
If one has lived and breathed old Corvettes for decades, ....the field has narrowed to museum quality nut & bolt originals , nice drivers, , projects, and restomods. The buyers looking at prospective available examples should realize C-1s are fifty plus years old. Properly repaired with quality replacement parts for 95% of us is perfectly acceptable. Never damaged is a plus but doesn't mean there are not some stress cracks and blemishes to contend with. Some will use prior damage as bargaining tools to get the value lower upon pre purchase. The serious lack of cars divided by the number of buyers is forcing values to the upper scale. I understand getting the best for the dollar invested is the major reason ( making sure your blue chip INVESTMENT has a huge return while being enjoyed ) for some. A great fit and finish example regardless of its history is going to be a great hobby related vehicle for decades to come. Your outlook on purpose will be the deciding factor.
I bought a 61 project with an aftermarket front clip.The price was well within my budget. No question, load it on the trailer.I saw a complete body. Cars of this vintage are hard to find and getting more scarce. My fuel car is very original undamaged with many options and original paint. I would have paid the same value had it been front or rear damaged with the repair completed in quality conditions. History , original drive train, .... but would it make a huge difference if replaced ? To the purest of course but I was happy to find a very presentable 60 with both tops. Options, fuel , big brake, power top, p/w, to name a few were just icing on the cake.
Before I get off the apple crate it depends on your purpose. A title, tag, and complete car are what many look for . The longer one procrastinates, picks and chooses in this vintage will surely end up with a model or picture. Knowledge is great , reality is certainly a factor. A reason I seldom sell any cars is buyers with little knowledge appear with internet guided opinions looking to offer 1980s values . Its like believing one can replate all the chrome on a C-1 for five hundred dollars. There is so much to learn about this " simple " generation and what makes it and the value a good fit.
If one has lived and breathed old Corvettes for decades, ....the field has narrowed to museum quality nut & bolt originals , nice drivers, , projects, and restomods. The buyers looking at prospective available examples should realize C-1s are fifty plus years old. Properly repaired with quality replacement parts for 95% of us is perfectly acceptable. Never damaged is a plus but doesn't mean there are not some stress cracks and blemishes to contend with. Some will use prior damage as bargaining tools to get the value lower upon pre purchase. The serious lack of cars divided by the number of buyers is forcing values to the upper scale. I understand getting the best for the dollar invested is the major reason ( making sure your blue chip INVESTMENT has a huge return while being enjoyed ) for some. A great fit and finish example regardless of its history is going to be a great hobby related vehicle for decades to come. Your outlook on purpose will be the deciding factor.
I bought a 61 project with an aftermarket front clip.The price was well within my budget. No question, load it on the trailer.I saw a complete body. Cars of this vintage are hard to find and getting more scarce. My fuel car is very original undamaged with many options and original paint. I would have paid the same value had it been front or rear damaged with the repair completed in quality conditions. History , original drive train, .... but would it make a huge difference if replaced ? To the purest of course but I was happy to find a very presentable 60 with both tops. Options, fuel , big brake, power top, p/w, to name a few were just icing on the cake.
Before I get off the apple crate it depends on your purpose. A title, tag, and complete car are what many look for . The longer one procrastinates, picks and chooses in this vintage will surely end up with a model or picture. Knowledge is great , reality is certainly a factor. A reason I seldom sell any cars is buyers with little knowledge appear with internet guided opinions looking to offer 1980s values . Its like believing one can replate all the chrome on a C-1 for five hundred dollars. There is so much to learn about this " simple " generation and what makes it and the value a good fit.
Excellent post!!!!!!!!!!!! Main concern for OP is "Your outlook on purpose will be the deciding factor." . That is 100% right on.
There is a good chance the replacement front end is better quality than the original. Almost every old Corvette has body work the owner is unaware of unless they are the original owner or have restored the body and discovered the flaws. The biggest question was hinted at earlier, is it a one piece front end or multiple pieces bonded together with bonding strips like the original? If the latter, no issues. There is no carfax or recorded history other than you truthfully sharing the story as you know it. As long as it is not a one piece front end and the work was completed properly, there is no loss in value which means it would be worth in the future what someone is willing to pay for it.
There is a good chance the replacement front end is better quality than the original. Almost every old Corvette has body work the owner is unaware of unless they are the original owner or have restored the body and discovered the flaws. The biggest question was hinted at earlier, is it a one piece front end or multiple pieces bonded together with bonding strips like the original? If the latter, no issues. There is no carfax or recorded history other than you truthfully sharing the story as you know it. As long as it is not a one piece front end and the work was completed properly, there is no loss in value which means it would be worth in the future what someone is willing to pay for it.
I would think a jig assembled front end would be much preferable to one pieced together on the car. A piece at a time. A Sermersheim front end like this one only for a C1. Wouldn't bother me a bit as long as it was installed right. You might even be better off with the new glass vs the old as pointed out above.
The OP did not indicate of the new front end was hand laid or press molded, one piece or separate bonded pieces. All of that will make a difference.
And while I am thinking about it, I saw a long time Corvette body guru install a hand laid one piece (I think it was Ecklers) front end on a 57, and it was beautiful.
He smoothed out the underside of the front end so it looked press molded. He then glued bonding strips in place where the factory bonding strips were. A couple of other minor mods and then installed it on
the car. That car made it through the show circuit (NCRS, Bloomington) and got top awards.
A lot of it is the amount of work and level of expertise applied to the repair...
The hand-laid and one piece parts may be put on beautifully or half-azzeed...
For instance a classic problem with the hand-laid, thick glass is the C1 cowl area where grind outs must be done to get wiper transmissions and washer nozzles to fit....which can be done really ugly or elegantly...
For instance a classic problem with the hand-laid, thick glass is the C1 cowl area where grind outs must be done to get wiper transmissions and washer nozzles to fit....which can be done really ugly or elegantly...
from the top view... perfect; bottom view...phugly…
Bill
There is a good chance the replacement front end is better quality than the original. Almost every old Corvette has body work the owner is unaware of unless they are the original owner or have restored the body and discovered the flaws.
Oh, the things i found when I first started restoring my car in 1974.
The 1/2" of bondo I ground off of the front center nose piece, the jigsaw of pieces that were fiberglassed togetehr in that nose piece (which i redid much more properly positioned and with no bondo.)
And, the 3" x 4" piece of Coors aluminum beer keg used to reinforce the pass side fender over the wheel well where they typically crack. I will confess, i did leave that piece of aluminum in there as it looked well placed. The reason i knew it was Coors, was the Coors script was visible on the aluminum.
Somebody had glassed a square of metal into my driver's door ... who knew ?
At least the fix looked something like a stingray....the metal piece was its tail...
I had a '54 once that had Masonite pegboard held onto a door skin with plastic wood..... Couldn't tell it unless opened the door storage area, outside was perfect. So I left it.
New repairs are probably much better quality than the older trial and error attempts they did!
For some reason the brakes were never as good as the gas pedal - most front ends are damaged
10-23-2018, 05:26 PM
new front clip
