69 corvette with rubber bumper front
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 2,337
Likes: 14
From: Norfolk VA
69 corvette with rubber bumper front
Every now and then the question comes up about converting a rubber bumper corvette to a chrome bumper car. How about converting a chrome bumper front to a rubber bumper? There is a 69 corvette for sale at usedcorvettes.com that has a rubber front. The car looks good. Do you think this person will lose money on this car b/c of the conversion? The asking price is $14,500. This is the second 69 I seen over the last two years on that website with a later model conversion. The other was a 69 with the 78-82 fastback rear glass.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 2,336
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From: North Bellmore Ny
St. Jude Donor '09
Race Director
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 10,046
Likes: 675
From: FL
So, it is now a '73? Seriously, that car will not be worth as much as a '69 in the same condition. Just a fact of life with modified cars. I know that my '75 is worth less because of the '80 rear bumper. My choice.
Administrator
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 53,988
Likes: 6,212
From: About 1100 miles from where I call home.
There's a '69 like that on ebay right now, and its failed to sell several times. The fact is, glueing a '73 nose on a '69 is simply a disasterous proposition in terms of value any way you look at it. Not only are you making a more valuable car look like a less valuable car, its evn worth less than a '73 would be. I can only assume someone added the full nose to a wrecked '69 years ago because it was cheap. Yucch.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 31,283
Likes: 4,374
From: Westminster Maryland
I would say the nicer the rest of the car is the MORE it hurts the value. Think of the reasons it gets done in the first place.
There are many people who really like the 73 look and rightly so, but they buy a 73 because they want a 73.
Regards,
Alan
There are many people who really like the 73 look and rightly so, but they buy a 73 because they want a 73.
Regards,
Alan
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 11,891
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From: Kansas City, MO ...I'd like to go fishing and catch a fishstick. That'd be convenient. - Mitch Hedberg
There was an owner her that had a '69 with a rubber front bumper. He was local to me and I saw the car at a show once. Anyways, he bought the car that way and intended to convert it back to the original front end until he saw the price tag associated with all the parts. After that, he sold the car.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 2,209
Likes: 12
From: Montgomery Alabama
Cruise-In VII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '06
For that kind of money, you should be able to find a good running complete year correct survivor, or older restoration that needs freshening up.
The car is a 69, not worth any less than a comparable 69 that needs a full restoration.
All you are adding to the list is the cost to buy new bumper and grille parts, rather than re-chroming what you have already.
A lot of the time the restoration requires the replacement of bad front end body parts anyway. There were a lot of wrecked Vettes fixed wrong.
My 73 was one of them. I paid less than half for it than I would have for a true unhit 73. Of course the cost to make it right was more than the difference I paid, so I kept the 75 nose on the car and painted it Torch Red, instead of Metallic yellow.
I say, if you like the car, buy it, then stuff away money for the restoration later. You might luck up on all the parts you need or even a complete 69 nose on Craig's List or a local Thrifty Nicel.
You might have many years of fun in the car and 99% of the public just thinks it is a "cool car".
The car is a 69, not worth any less than a comparable 69 that needs a full restoration.
All you are adding to the list is the cost to buy new bumper and grille parts, rather than re-chroming what you have already.
A lot of the time the restoration requires the replacement of bad front end body parts anyway. There were a lot of wrecked Vettes fixed wrong.
My 73 was one of them. I paid less than half for it than I would have for a true unhit 73. Of course the cost to make it right was more than the difference I paid, so I kept the 75 nose on the car and painted it Torch Red, instead of Metallic yellow.
I say, if you like the car, buy it, then stuff away money for the restoration later. You might luck up on all the parts you need or even a complete 69 nose on Craig's List or a local Thrifty Nicel.
You might have many years of fun in the car and 99% of the public just thinks it is a "cool car".
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