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Hey gurus- I'm a new user hoping to leverage the knowledge of this group. The death of a family member has left me in charge of an old corvette in excellent condition. It was my uncles baby. It's a 1965 convertible with a 283 auto. I'm trying to find a value for it before giving it a new home. I'm sure there are a ton of small things to know in order to price it. Can anyone help me learn what I need to know about this old gem? Many thanks in advance.
Welcome to the forum. Pictures would be a good place to start. Are you certain the car has a 283 and not a 327? Also your geographic location will help. There is much good info here. Best, Greg
Welcome to the forum. Pictures would be a good place to start. Are you certain the car has a 283 and not a 327? Also your geographic location will help. There is much good info here. Best, Greg
Thanks Greg. I'm fairly certain on the engine but will double check. I'll also get pics. The car is currently in Indiana but was purchased in Florida.
St. Jude Donor '09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-‘19-'20-'21-'22-'23-'24
Greg's point is that the Corvette last was made with a 283 back in 1961. If your car does have a 283, that's not an original engine to the car. It will diminish its value to some degree, depending on how the rest of the car is.
with out looking at casting numbers, dates and stickers on the engine; all 55-9X SBC engines look the same from the out side to the untrained eye. So in your best interest you might want to find someone local to you that knows these cars but will not finical gain from looking at it.
As others have pointed out, a 283 looks almost identical to a 327, which would be correct for a small block 1965, and it's almost unimaginable that anyone would have replaced the original engine with a 283 when a 327, or better yet, 350s are and were plentiful.
I recommend starting by looking at the stamp pad, and either take a picture and post it here, or carefully transpose the numbers and post them here so folks here can tell you what the engine is. Also, if you can post the last 5 digits of the VIN we can match up the build date to the engine build date.
I really appreciate the input and will work on getting the suggested info. This is the uncle who have me his 81 Vette for one amazing summer when I was a teen driver. I was the man for three months lol. I want to do right by him and appreciate the knowledge and help here.
Looks pretty original, 327-300hp automatic with a/c, power brakes (original style 65/66 only master cylinder), Glen Green, saddle interior, side pipes. Aftermarket wheels. Looks like it should make a nice car to own and drive. I have one very similar without side pipes and automatic trans, and I have bolt-on knockoffs with whitewalls. 65 is my choice of years for a C2, a large part of which is sentimental value. I would think that particular car would be fairly easy to sell.
Good luck and let me know if I can help with any info on the car.
Edit: I forgot to mention, also has a teak steering wheel.
That is a pretty terrific looking Corvette, one most folks here would love to have it in their garage.
The picture below was posted a while back by Forum member Ed McComas and gives a detailed description of the location of the numbers folks are asking about. These numbers will provide a lot of information about the engine's origin and date of assembly. Pictures of the location on the block, of the numbers highlighted in red (below), would also be quite helpful.
The Block Casting Number and Casting Date from the rear of the block will further tie it to the car as well. Having the original engine is of course a very positive attribute.
"Hey gurus- I'm a new user hoping to leverage the knowledge of this group. The death of a family member has left me in charge of an old corvette in excellent condition. It was my uncles baby. It's a 1965 convertible with a 283 auto. I'm trying to find a value for it before giving it a new home. I'm sure there are a ton of small things to know in order to price it. Can anyone help me learn what I need to know about this old gem? Many thanks in advance."
Based upon what we can see so far, I would say the value of that car is around $55- 60,000. If the frame is solid, and body panels original, the value should not be less. If the motor is original as could well be given 300/PG/AC, it might be more. I am a fan of the color, but many are not. That does not help the value. Good luck with it.
Great pic for deciphering the stamp pad. Body condition is excellent and I believe all original. Assuming the engine is original ill assume it is a $60k car? It is in Valparaiso Indiana if anyone has interest or knows of someone.
After having seen pictures and recognizing that it appears to be a well-cared for low mileage example, possibly with no damage and a documented history, it may be on the much higher value side than a similarly equipped car. Given that it's value could swing +/-$10K based on these types of things, and that you are wanting to sell it correctly, that is, not get stuck with it unsellable or give it away, I would strongly advise having a professional look it over and appraise it for you. First, they could ascertain its originality and desirability of options, second they could validate its harder to know condition items like bird cage, trim tag, and stampings/casting numbers, and third, they could give you a realistic value range for a sale price. All that said, don't go with a car broker that only wants to flip it at costs to you, or a friends friend who "knows old cars" (but doesn't), but go with a real knowledgable professional that knows C2s.
Last edited by Easy Rhino; 05-24-2019 at 09:23 AM.
Good idea to have it looked over locally. Any idea of how to find that person though? On this site? In the end it's more about having someone who will lust after it like my uncle than to squeeze for every dollar. I appreciate the continued help.
To help get top dollar take it to a old type mechanic and have him go over it and give it a clean bill of health and make sure everything works as should. And if feasible make the AC blow cold. From the looks of things I would not be to concerned about rust issues. Those cars with problems where neglected and sat in bad places for long periods of time. Your car looks well cared for and in good shape. If you contact the local NCRS chapter you might find a local person to help validate the car
05-17-2019, 12:59 PM
1965 convertible
