Guys,
Went to see this car today and seriously thinking about pulling the trigger. My goal is to make the interior/exterior look original but upgrade the motor, steering, suspension, brakes, etc...
Pictures are at the following link...
http://s736.photobucket.com/albums/x...0vert/?start=0

Here's what I know...

Seller has owned car for 20yrs. No insight into cars prior history.

Odometer reads 29,XXX miles. Title (dated 1990) states 15,XXX miles, so I guess it's possible the mileage is correct.

Car garaged and ran approx once/month

Paint - driver quality 10 footer (see pics of blemishes/chips). Probably original.

Interior - driver quality. No rips/tears, just tired looking. Carpet is in good shape. Door panels, seats and dash solid. Some of the hardware/screws look old and rusty. Aftermarket stereo. The little thing-a-ma-jiggers on the heater/defog levers are missing. The rear compartments will need to be redone.

Vinyl softtop is in excellent shape

NOM - stamp pad painted over, but managed to make out V0226TBC (not in my black book)

VIN # - 194678S420246

Trim Tag info: J23, paint 974, trim STD (build date matches VIN)

Hood looks a little out of alignment. How difficult is that to fix?

Body gaps aren't the best (see pics), but not sure if that's a '68 build quality thing or evidence of non-original doors or an accident. They seem to be consistently off all around the car, so just might be a build quality issue.

Motor starts and runs fine. Steering is fine. Shifts good. Mechanically, I didn't see any issues (there is some slight bubba going on in the engine bay, however).

Frame/birdcage appear solid...surface rust only.

No evidence of fiberglass repairs that I saw

All gauges work except clock

Fiber optics do not work

Wiper door/wipers and headlights all work

Notice the picture of the manual override switches under the steering wheel. Shouldn't there be three there?

The front grill trim is a little loose and has a poor fit.

Door latches pitted and worn

The right exhaust pipe sticks out a little further than than the left. Not sure why that is.

What kind of wheels are these!

Spare tire and tub intact

Emblems look tired.

Lots of parts that don't jive with a 68 including...
rocker panels
front side marker lights (amber vs clear)
fender louver trim installed (not a 68 option)
"Stingray" emblem on side (not a 68 option)
Radio antenna from later model
Looks like a later model Tach
e-brake console not from a 68
shift **** and rear view mirror
probably a hundred other things I missed

Bottom line, driver quality, mechanically sound, rust free convertible with a NOM motor, with what looks to be original trim and paint. I don't see any major issues looming, but there's plenty of cosmetic work that could be done right off the bat.

Price $17K

What do you guys think? What obvious issues am I missing?

Thanks,
Jeff

 

Try 129,xxx or 229,xxx

The car has been repainted. If you look at the rear bumpers they didn't even take them off when it was painted.

There look to be fender flares behind the front and rear wheels,68 did not have those so there certainly has been bodywork and paint.

You probably would have some windshield frame rust as you can see rust along it next to the vin.


I passed on one not to long ago original 350 motor, Convertible, it may have been a 70 as I recall for 10K. A little rougher than that one, but I would say $17K is 7-8K to much.

 

The car has been repainted.

Yes. Headlight and wiper door vacuum and electric wiper override.

Aftermarket

High. Start at $17K and dicker down.

Any original documentation with this car?

 

Intake Not original
Right side dash - Not 68 one year only
Wiper actuator - Not 68
Rocker molding - Not 68
Stingray emblem - Not 68
Max 10K
Look at the forum sale: look much better & less money.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3s-...nvertible.html
To change back the headlight will cost ~$1000 or less
Avner

 

Way to much wrong with the body. Car had to have been in a major, or several small accidents front and rear. Wrong front clip. Wrong rear clip. Correct doors. Wrong right lower dash. Looks pieced together to me. I picked a 68 vert up in about this shape for $8500 last fall. I would pass

 

There is no way I would believe that this car has 29,000 miles on it, I think 229,000 is much more likely than 29,000. I never like to see the Hurst shifters on these cars, it seems to pretty much always be an indicator of transmission problems. I don't know much about '68s, but even I can see that TONS of stuff has been changed on this car, another indicator that this car has seen a lot of miles. If it was me, I would either check the rear bearings or assume it needs a trailing arm rebuild, and if the bearings checked out, I would assume it would need a trailing arm rebuild in the relatively near future. I see the rust at the VIN tag, but most of the rest looked minimal. I would poke around a fair amount, but the car doesn't strike me as a rust bucket. However, this does not look like an example of a car that has been "lovingly cared for", so keep that in mind on your price.

Another thing: This is the kind of car that I would spend a lot of time trying to get a good look at the VIN stamped into the frame. Do you have pics of the stamp pad on the block, and the trans numbers?

 

I have a 68 with brand new 460hp motor, a ton of new parts, and I would be lucky to get what I paid for it last year, even though I already dumped over $8k into it.. Listen to what these guys tell you, they know what their talking about and will save you from losing you butt and casuing you way more work that you think is involved.. I know its hard to keep from being anxious when buying a Vette but trust these guys and be patient..

 

Thanks a bunch guys. This forum is the best place I know of for an unbiased evaluation. I'll keep searching...at least it was a pretty day and a great drive through the north georgia mountains (would have been even better in a vette!).

 

Get a long needle nose wire pliers. Get on your knees outside the car, look up at the clutch pedal lever arm. Use the wire pliers and pull off the little curly shaped clip that holds on the clutch rod to the clutch petal lever arm. Pull the clutch rod to the side. Inspect the stud on the clutch pedal lever arm that the rod was attached to. If the car is high mileage, the stud will be seriously worn down. On my 70 with at least 100,000 miles (if not more??) the stud was about 25% worn away.

Even on a relatively low mileage car, 60,000 miles?, my 68 gear shift rod attachments inside the gear shifter were pretty seriously worn. I think that's a reason a lot of people replaced the shifter. Incidently on a 68, the gear shifter assembly is attached to the transmission, not the frame crossmember. On 69 and up, the shifters were attached to the crossmember. The fact someone put a Hurst shifter on this car is a hint that the original shifter may have been seriously worn.

 

I bought a 68 vert about 2 months ago (3500). I am doing a full frame off. I mention this because during the process you learn alot about the car and what should be and shouldn't be. I can tell the car you are looking at ( by reading the replies I see you are backing away) has had repair, more like 129,000 mi., no intrior quarter panels, wrong air cleaner, wrong valve covers, wrong actuator, wrong intake, things not were they should be, distibitor, coil I could go on and on, the supension etc. I am saying this not to rub anything in, that is not my intension. Everyone here really trys to help each other and that is all I am trying to do. The seller is taking advatage of anothers emotions or doesn't have a clue of what he is selling. You are wise to look elsewhere or buy in the 6k to 7500 range and plan on doing a full restoration. IMO Good luck with your hunt. the car is out there waiting.

 

Twinpack & 68/70 vette - Thanks for taking the time to provide input. Always learn something new on the forum. I'm walking away from this one based upon the collective wisdom of everyone who's commented. The search continues...kinda enjoying the hunt and it'll happen when it happens.

 

RobRace10 and JcLgoDale3

I looked at the frame and paint mostly, It'd would have been nice to see a picture of the 'Kickup area of the chassis in front of the rear wheel. But the rest of the frame looked pretty solid. Don't want to hurt your feelings, but the car looks like it was painted with a mop, most of the lines and revels are off, but that's pretty normal for just about all C3's If it was me, I'd have to consider that it needs a "Real Professional Paint Job" and while your there, I'd gut the interior and put it back to normal, ( But I'm a NCRS member) so any comment by me needs to be taken with a grain of salt. I'd offer $11K