http://boston.craigslist.org/nwb/car/368712513.html

It is a 68 body and frame and I was originally planning on selling my car and buying a vette but with this I could keep mine and work on the vette on the side. I know that with this I obviously cant have a numbers matching car like I wanted but I figure if I build my own I would keep it for a long time. I am only 18 but I am going to school for automotive and I figure this would be a nice project to work on. I have a garage space and everything for it just wondering if you guys thing its a good deal. I offered him a little lower than that.

 

I think it really depends on how good the frame is. A good frame for a chrome bumper car is worth at least $1,500. You will spend a ton of $ to get that car on the road, but it's a good opportunity to apply your automotive school skills - sort of a rolling resume. Since it will never be a numbers matching car my advice would be to go the Vette Rod route - updated mechanicals and restored body. Look for a LS1 and a 6-speed for starters, put in a tight suspension, etc.



Rick B.

 

yeah I know it will take quite a bit of money to do but he says the frame is solid. i will still have to go take a look at it. The more I think about it the value of it isnt that big of a deal to because I plan on having it for a real long time. I will be doing all the work myself so that will help the pocket a bit but I work 40 hours a week now and by the end of the summer I will have around 8k or more. Most of which would be straight into the vette I was looking on amazon.com for books on restoring vettes and came across this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Corvette-Resto...3847427&sr=8-3

Has anyone read this?

 

The fact the picture was taken in the rain and looks like she's been sitting that way, he's sold all the parts off her he could. I don't know,I'd offer 1000 or walk, that's going to be a money pit, granted your young, can start cheap and take some time to find parts at wrecking yards, not a bad save. If you wait a while longer,people are trying to sell toys left and right, cash is talking very loud.

 

You going to spend a fortune bringing that car back to life just replacing the missing parts on that vehicle. 1968 cars are considered one of the hardest years to rebuild cause some of the parts are unique to that year only. No motor, tranny, tail lights......GEEZ... Your gonna need at least 5 grand to get the car on the road with a miracle.... It's not just money, although it always boils down to that. If you have a project that sucks your wallet dry and sit's in your driveway for months on end you will get frustrated. Everyone does. Some guys buy these cars knowing they need to be restored and then get tired and frustrated winding up with thousands of dollars invested and the car is still a POS.

In my opinion you should keep your Corvette fund growing and be patient. There are a lot of decent running C3 Corvettes out there that you can drive and rebuild and have more fun with.......and make money on at the end of the day. You can buy a running plastic bumper vette for 3 -5k that you can turn into a nice ride with your new talents from school without breaking the bank. Then you can trade it and sell it and move to another project as your knowledge and confidence grows at turning wrenches.

Always strive to have your project vette as a side car and not your daily driver. You will always need something to drive to the parts store. Sounds like you have a good place to work on your project car till you get something running reliably to depend on.

Try to go on trader online (one word). You can search for cars within your price range and zip code. Check and see what kind of car, and how much car you can get for your money.

That Corvette Restoration guide is very good. I have it myself. Read it cover to cover before you spend a dime on any Corvette. It will give you lot's of knowledge to be able to look and see what is missing and where Bubba might have been.

As you mentioned though, you do not expect a car to be too original for your price range. You just want something to build. Try to start with a vette that has all the parts to begin with. At the end of the day you will be driving your fine running machine sooner and have more fun.

Sorry for the long rant. This is just my opinion. As a good mechanic you will be able to do anything you want to anything with wheels. Make sure you are going to have fun. Lot's of guys with 6 digit incomes fall to their knees in pain cause of the frustrations and investment getting these cars to run.

Rd

 

 

Go check it out or call for more details about what else might be missing. The ad states that only the eng/trans and headlight buckets are missing. There is a good chance the rest of the stuff as in bumpers, tail lights, etc, are in the garage. I say go for it if you can get it for $1000-$1500 AND you have a good LONG TERM place to work on it. If it doesn't work out, you could always part it out and recoop some or most of your money. Good Luck.
These are the kind of projects I loved to do as a teen. I will always encourage you guys to go for it, especially when it means bringing one of these back from the dead. You have lots of support here too and I'm sure there are lots of forum members around you who would love to help out. You could probably find one to go look at it with you too!

 

I would want to look it over and see what is missing.But if it has a good frame and just a few of the hard to find 68 parts it should be worth a least 2000.
I would be happy to find it near me.

 

That car is going to cost a small fortune just to get it roadworthy, and that's before you get started on the body
Car would be fine for a long-term project (we're talking a number of years here), especially of you can get it for $1K-$1.5 max

 

Thanks for the feedback! I am going tomorrow to look at it. I do have a daily driver right now so thats not a problem. As far as finding a complete car and rebuilding that, while it may be more practical, I love the thought of taking a car that is considered trash to most people and bringing it back to life. I was going to go after a rubber bumper car, but after months of looking I just couldn't make myself want one. I love the chrome bumper years more than any other car out there, I don't know why I just do.

 

I'm not going to say you should or should not buy this car but here's my advise. I have had over 20 plus cars in my life time so far and I have purchased junk yard dogs and cars that needed a little TLC. I perferr the TLC's cars now. Rebuilding a 30 year old car takes a lot of $$ and even more time then I care to spend on a project. But if you go for it G/L and post pic's of the restoration. And lastly I would offer him no more then $1500. tops

 

I normally would not suggest a car like this because it can be a money pit and you would have trouble recouping your investment, especially if you pay for a lot of work.

However, in this case, if you are actually planning to study automotive repair, this car just might be perfect for you. The poster who said '68 only parts are more expensive was right; however in this case, you dont need to buy the correct no-map pocket dash panel... you dont need the seat belt slotted center console... you get the picture. With an NOM car, you have no such restrictions and no responsibility to try to get it NCRS correct. You can freshen the suspension, use a late-model engine, update the interior... do whatever you like.

As long as you can handle the work and as was said before, you have a place to park it for an extended period so you wont try to rush it, it may be the ideal way an 18-year old can get into a bumper car and learn his trade too. Assuming the frame is good, I would try to buy it for $1500, but $2000 wouldn't break my heart seeing how much work you plan to do yourself.

 

I put the likelyhood of someone actually getting that car restored and on the road at less than 10%. Especially someone who has not been involved in something so extensive before.

Much better off to pay more up front, and start with decent foundation, rather than a complete basket case.

That thing is the stuff of nightmares.

 

I say go for it as long as it stays under 1500 to buy. Plan on spending about 15k to make it nice (and doing the majority of the work yourself including the body work). Don't worry about '68 only parts, lots of '69 and up stuff can be made to fit. Good luck and keep us posted. /:\

 

Look at the body mounts first. Take off the covers in the rear wheel wells, just in front of the rear wheels. Look for rust. If you find scaly, flaking rust on the mounts, I would avoid the car.

I have that book. Its OK for numbers and descriptions of each year, but short on the "How-to" of restoring. Try this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Chevrolet-Corv...3847427&sr=8-3