Got a chance to buy a 1970 vette,not running,needs complete restore,has a orginal 4 speed and a non matching number engine not the orginal engine.Had a 350 300 hp at one time.frame looks good and dont know about the bird cage,yet.sitting around 20 years now.Body looks good no busted places both bumpers there outside looks fair but paint is faded,pealed and bad.I belive a fellow can restore it with a little time,and money, car is fair to be sitting 20 years.
What would be a good price to pay for this car,or what would be a real good deal?Car is blue but was a brown or bronz color at one time.
thanks guys give me a few opinion's

 

Coupe or convertible? Will matter a lot here.

You said it needs a complete resto, then said it could be fixed with a little time and $ Which is it? A complete resto could top $20k easily.

Not sure about the car but "complete resto" and "wrong motor" = red ink, especially if it's a coupe.

 

Coupe and yes i would say15 to 20 to put in in top shape.

 

Would 5 grand be to much i think i can get it for that or less?

 

A non running vette with a base 350/300hp thats not original and bad or no paint sitting for 20 plus years= 2500 to 3000 tops.
Good luck.

 

My 2 cents:

If you had it all fixed up, what could you sell it for? (with a NOM motor)?

And how much out of pocket costs to fix it up, not counting your labor?

Add your out of pocket costs to the purchase price and that is what you would have to sell it for to break even.

Or you could take what you would plan to spend on this one, all total, and look around to see what else you might could buy. 15 to 20K can buy some nice Corvettes these days.

Good luck and half the fun is looking!

 

Replacement parts are getting more exoensive almost daily for these cars. What kind of shape are the bumpers and grilles in? Literally thousands of dollars would be involved in replacing rusty ones.

Instead of asking whether or not the car is worth $5k, ask if you can part it out and still make money, 'cuz it doesn't sound like much more than a parts car at this point...

 

Without seeing the car, I'd have to say $2500 tops.

You can go shopping with $20k in your pocket and bring home a nice chrome bumper coupe with numbers matching and probably have change left over. The paint might not be new, but the engine numbers (and their residual value) cannot be replaced without faking a block.

 

Ya i was thinking the same thing i dont think the car is worth it,i would like to have me a C6 anyway.Been looking for a 06 or 07 in the low 20's for a while.The C3 would just be a good parts car.
Thanks guys for the imput

 

nope...

but someone will buy it for 5K with the time and enthusiasm to bring back to life this car... you don't buy a car like this with the hopes of breaking even...

add 50-100% to your estimate... and don't forget the minimum of 1000 hours of your time.

yes spend 20K now on a nice car, make payments for 3 years, have a nice car, and be on the road tomorrow... you will still come out ahead.

 

Did you decide to pass on the 70? Any pictures of the car?

 

I personally think you guys are looking at this in the wrong light. The poster never said anything about whats it worth after I buy it, restore it and try to sell it again. He simply asked what the car in it's current condition is worth. It's worth around 1500 to 2500 not a penny more with 2500 being on the very top end of it's worth. What it's worth when your done is a different story. If you are looking at buying this to restore and then sell then this isn't the car. There are quite a few classic cars one can buy, restore and flip a profit on and a 1970 C3 isn't one of them in the current market unless you got the car and half the restore parts/work for free.

Now, after it's restored whats it worth to you is a different question. Since your original question was "What is it worth in current condition" and not "Will I take a loss if I buy it and drop 20k into it" I am going to assume the poster was looking to buy and restore for personal driver?! If so here is an example... my car is a 76 and far from the condition you described. My car is a numbers matching and in far better shape than what you described and I paid 3500 for mine. Even at 3500 it was on the top end of what mine was worth I just was over searching for a decent one at a decent price. Most people think there C3 is worth it's weight in gold and that's probably why those same cars I looked at back in Aug and Sept are still for sale now. I have another 4k in mine on top of the purchase and I could sell it right now and make 80% of my investment back. Why would I though? I bought it to restore and drive. Will I break even if I sell it after it's fully restored? Hell no, and I don't expect to. Again, there are a few choices for cars to restore to gain a profit and a C3 isn't one unless gained by means as I mentioned above.

My advice, low ball the person 1800 to 2500. If you are wanting to gt a good deal that would be it. Restoring these cars if structure is sound is not that expensive if you shop wise. If your looking for a fun project that will look great when finished this is it. Nothing has better lines before its time than the C3 Corvette. If your looking to sell it when done or at the very least break even, than do as others have said and look at partially finished are fully restored cars. If you have the means and what to eliminate a ton of work take the money you would spend on a c3 and restore cost and buy someone else's sweat and bruised knuckles.

Just my .02

 

Have you seen the car? The rest of us have not.

 

Not passed it up yet,the guy has not told me a price yet,him and his wife are still talking about it.She wants rid of it and what she says goes,according to my son-in-law this is some of his family members.
Ya i would give up to 2,5,00 for it not a penny more the car is in to bad of shape,if can be fixed up but if i buy it and fix it up it would take a few years and i wold have to drive the socks fo off it,which would be ok i like driving the C3's
Dont have any pictures but i will try to get some after he decides on a price.He just throwed out a price around 6,000 the other day when we was up there and we told him to make us a lot better price and i would try to buy it,that in the shape it is in now it is not worth it.

 

Sometimes the problem with cars that have been sitting for 20 years is the owners dont really know the value of them. Not counting the ones that are extremely rare, or have some unique options. But the owners may think that corvettes bring in big $$money, and they price their cars unrealistically. They look online, craigslist, or may talk to other friends that tell them what a car in good condition goes for, and they figure that is the starting point for thier car.

The car that has been discussed may only be a $2500 car, but without photos, additional descriptions, options, etc, we may not know its value. But someone will buy it for $5k - $6k. And that someone is the person who truly wants a vette like his father, brother, friend had back in the 70s and it looked just like this ( in their imagination ) when it was finished.

If you are looking for a project car, and want to do a frame off rebuild, or restomod, then this may be a good candidate. If you are looking for a car that you can get on the road and drive soon, then you need to pass on this. 20 years of not driving a car can lead to all sort of seized and rusted parts, deteriorated rubber lines, and non functioning electrical parts.

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