Long story short... 4 years ago I got taken on a '68' coupe, which is a basketcase that most of you would have walked from. It has been haunting me untouched for 4 years now.

One of hundreds of scenarios you guys have read and replied over the years...

Option 1: sell, whatever the loss and get the right C3 one day/never

Option 2: Since it's there, work on it incrementally until one day it becomes the right C3.

I realize the ultimate answer is "depends on the individual, his wallet, and what abilities/sense he has", but maybe some factual background might help for a more tailored version of that ultimate anwer.


- The coupe was represented as original except for the paint and a 454 that replaced the original 427.

- When the brakes crapped out a whopping 2 days after I got it, the mechanic told me the frame was literally crumbling.

- It sat untouched under a cover 2 years and covered in a garage another 2.

- This weekend, I pulled the interior trim around the T-tops and the kicker panels in front of the rear wheels to see how the birdcage looked.

- While the rocker panels are trashed, the visible parts of the cage at the kicker (2&3 is it?) seem to have only minor-moderate surface rust

- Top of the windshield frame & pillar tops looks better/worse than many and needs some repair/attention but definitely seems workable

- crossbar above the rear window has penetrating rust right in the center, but the rest of it looks solid (at least from the bottom looking up)

- I will be looking under the frame and documenting it when my friend can bring his jack & stands over, and will post pics of the birdcage areas soon.



So with these facts, I was hoping to shape the question like this: Assuming the frame needs replaced and the birdcage requires minor/moderate attention, is it possible/prudent to drop a lump on a frame & parts/rolling chassis, then enjoy the car as a weekend driver a few years while I come up with the $ to do the body & birdcage right?


Unless, I can recoup most of what I paid by selling the car (doubtful) combining that with the chassis investment, I don't see any likelihood of coming into the disposable income for a clean C3 anytime soon. However, If I can make an initial investment on a frame and road-readiness over the next year or so, drive it on weekends for a few years, and then make a full investment sending the car over to a vette guru for a birdcage resto/repaint, it may be worth spending $30k to make a $10k car into a $25k car if I can do it incrementally and actually get some substantial enjoyment out of using the car for a few years in the interim.

Is there any feasability/sensibility in this plan?


Pic Update:



These are shots under the car in 2006




Shots of the Birdcage from the top taken this weekend...









Shots inside the kicker panels...

 

99% of C3 owners are upside down on value...
It will NEVER be worth (in dollars) what you'll have in it.
I am in favor of saving it - Always.
Do what you can to make it drive - and make it safe and just enjoy it.
Get it out of the garage and drive it ! Then down the road....who knows....you may come into some money and do more to it...

Just my $.02

 

also. you bought it to enjoy it (i assume). the facts are that to put a car back together again will almost always leave you upside down. you always want to be the 3rd buyer of a restored car, because the guy who restored it lost an arm and a leg and probably his first born when he sold it (obviously unless it is a one off type of car, etc), the second buyer lost some, and the 3rd buyer is probably paying close to the value of the car.

if you can afford to "reframe" it so that you can go out and enjoy it for a while, go for it. if you really believe that day will never come, bite the bullet and sell it to someone who has the ability to bring it back to life. since it's not a "numbers matching" original car, "restoring" it to your satisfaction is all that counts. once you get it to the driver stage, you'll feel lots better about it because you can enjoy it. good luck with your decision.

 

Possibly not true. Much depends on when the car was purchased, at what price, and what has been spent on parts.



PULPSMACK: One question only you can answer. Do you want to keep your 68?

 

I agree with all that others have posted.
Keep in mind, we buy these old cars for a lot of different reasons. A lot of us just like to work on cars.
If you can forget about making money it will make the journey a lot more fun. If you bought it to drive do it, if you bought it to make money sell it or part it out.
I am 2/3 of the way through my body off on my 71 and if I looked at every cent I spent I would go nuts, All I know when its done it will be more than a car it will be the results of 2-3 years of my labor. You cant get that from most hobbies. In the end I will get something for it if I sell, but that is not on my horizon.

 

We have no idea what you paid for the car, but that is all 'water under the bridge', now. Your main interest should be "How can I get this car running safely for as little as possible?".

You mentioned the rocker channels...but how is the rest of the frame? Particularly the area in front of, and around the rear wheels? Take a medium sized Phillips screw driver and 'stab' it into various areas on the frame to see if it can be pierced (with a reasonably hard stab) or not. If you can't penetrate the frame and/or it doesn't go "thunk" like a piece of wood [indicating a total disintegration of the metal], you may not need the whole frame replaced. Strategic rebuilding of damaged portions of the frame can be easily accomplished with available repair sections. But, your first course of action is to determine just what needs to be repaired. Forget about it being a pristine award winner. That's not why you bought it (Is it?). Just get the frame and birdcage to be solid and strong enough to use safely.

If you determine that the frame/BC can be saved, then decide whether you want to do the work or you need someone else to do it. A 'modified' approach is that you get the frame ready to repair, then call in a mobile welding guy to cut out bad 'stuff' and piece in new 'stuff'. Then you can prep and paint the repairs.

Good luck.

 

I just posted the pics I have so far, and here is some information to clarify...


Paid > $10k , < $15k.

I find the 68-69 models the pinnacle of corvette performance and design for my tastes. I appreciate all "classic cars" but my passion lies in "67"-"72" GM and Mopar models.

The best way to end up with a million dollars while enjoying any hobby is to start with two million. I bought this car because the 68-69 models are my favorite chrome bumper models, and the chrome bumper models are the only ones I have any interest in. I bought this car to drive, and fix up purely for my personal enjoyment and possibly an heirloom. I never had delusions of buying a $10k car with the idea of enjoying for 3 years then flipping for $40k.

If I can make incremental improvements within my budget and enjoy it a significant portion of the repair time, it's potentially worth it to me.

 

PM is being sent right now

 

If it were mine I would look at everything and get an idea of what I am willing to do and spend and then make a decsion.

The one thing you see a lot of here is people getting burnt out on these cars either in the begining, half way thru or patching it up and getting sick of all the trouble it gives.

If you look at all the work and have the pocketbook to bring it back and don't get in a hurry then go for it.
You can sell it now and take a smaller loss than getting it tore apart and figureing out it is not worth it to you or you loose intrerest in the car and then the value will go down hill quick with a car that is in pieces.

Depending on how thick your skin is you could patch it up and end up chaseing your tail for years.

I think if you start to repair it do it right from the start with a frame off and go over it from the ft. to back and in the end you will have a reliable car that you can depend on and enjoy.

I hope I have not offended you in anyway but it is up to you and your personality. If you just want to stick the keys in and go sell it but if you want a challange and are ready for quite a bit of work, money and time is no problem you will may get some enjoyment doing one.

I brought mine home with the intention of working on it a little at a time and then I ended up taking it apart after one 1/2 mile ride and spent over 5 yrs. going over it. It was enjoyable sometimes and just a pain in the tail quite a bit. I have been driving mine for 1 1/2 yrs. now and it starts everytime and is not breaking down everytime I want to drive it. So to me in the end it was worth the trouble but the pain in the tail memories are still fresh in my mind a lot more than the enjoyable times working on it.

 

I think I know where your head is right now. You want to drive it but are depressed over your findings. I can assure you that you will find more bad things as you dig and scrape deeper.

Your not alone. You need to decide if you want to tuff it out and really make this thing yours by fixing it yourself or bail on it and cut your losses. I'm forty now and have 2 kids which doesn't lend allot of time to working on my car (or money). I choose to tuff it out on mine.

Take a look at my photos in my profile. I've never done this before to this extent. But its like therapy for me. But you'll need an investment in tools as well as parts and a place to do this for twice as long as you planned. Be prepared to kick it and walkaway for weeks at a time too.

I will say this, that the exterior body and paint on your car look to be in good shape. But as we know that's the killer on these cars. You can easily get blinded by red paint on a fiberglass body because you look at it and say man no rust like you would see on old steel muscle cars of the same era.

Then the discoveries start. Mine started when I went to replace the differential snubber bushing. I soon realized the 3rd memeber was soft and had been patched and painted. My car must have been raced as it has a pull tab and 1/4" plate on the front crossmember and both kickups had steel fish plating to reinforce them for their entire length. So the body came off. Then I figured out whats was meant by rocker channel rot and windshield header (birdcage rot).

So 3 yrs later my body is still on the dolly (second dolly now to access the rockers). I just worked all weekend preping to installing my passenger side rocker channel inserts (emboldened by my success on the drivers side the previous weekend) (and the windshield header and upper corners before that). I've also replace 3/4's of my frame from the firewall back.

Its a crap shoot. You sure do get an education on your first vette. But with each thing done you feel a sense of accomplishment. But that's only good if its part of the excersize you wanted to carry out in the first place.

If you need instant gratification then you maybe better moving on to something you know to need less work.

 

http://www.colliertechnologies.com/products.html

 

Hi PS,
Will you do the work?
Will you get any pleasure from doing the work?
Can you survive pouring the money into this car it will take?
Will you have what you wanted all along when you're done?
Regards,
Alan

PS: HINT! The more yeses the better!

 

Wow.....that's

 

If it were me and I have a limited budget, basic tools and skills (which is what I am). I would search for a frame-good deals come up on this forum every now and then. Perform any repairs (painting, minor welding to the frame) or buy a restored frame- put a new frame on it and drive it.

Then schedule all the other stuff when you have the money and time.

My car is far from perfect but when I have few extra bucks- I will choose what needs to be updated and then go do it. I did replace my trans with a 200R4- first time ever on something like that- this forum helped me out every step of the way.

In reading the posts on people taking the body off- it seems more mechanical and just do one step at a time than technical knowledge needed. The hardest part seems to be able to have the room to lift and move the 2 apart- other than that it seems that you just need to go thru the list of everything that needs to be unscrewed - write it down in order and then when you put it back follow in reverse order.

I think a lot of people get in trouble when they start one like this they get the "while I am at it or I have the body off now might as well" then the 2K project turns into a 15K job with the paint- just make a plan and stick too it. You may need to add a few dollars to the budget to fix those things you have to - you broke it or it is unsafe etc....

Darrel

 

The best advice I ever got with old Corvettes:
1) Is this the car you want?
2) Start with the best car you can, you will be waaaay ahead.

 

So, 3 (conservative) half yesses and one full yes = a conservative 2.5 out of 4. How does that compute?

 

Good advice BUT...what if the car you want is not the best you could start with?

Been there, done that....twice, actually.

 

If you find no joy in the kind of work needed done on that car...don't start with it. Sell what you have at the miminum loss; then get some experienced help at finding a better car.

P.S. When I used the word "joy", my tongue was NOT in my cheek.

 

seems you want a 68 or 69.
You have 68
If you sell it.. and take the $8k you might get are you better off?
You will still need to add at least that to get a really nice one.
Will it cost you more than $8k to fix this up?
Could you spend $5 and flip it for $13K? in 2 yrs?
These are questions only you can answer.

Also, if you or anyone disagrees with my $8, then plug in your
own number and keep moving.

To me, I wouldn't buy that car with that hood and those sidepipes.
With the tach etc. etc. not my taste. But that's me.

If it were me, I'd probably do what I could to make it morally safe --
meaning, I wouldn't feel bad selling it to someone and I knew it was
"safe". I'd take the proceeds and buy the right car at the right time.

 

That doesn't sound like the car you need. Cut your losses and sell it now. Look around and find a solid car that you can enjoy driving NOW, before tearing it all apart and spending more money. You need to really decide if these old vettes are right for you.