First I have to say that these were wonderful, wonderful, people. Very pleasant and welcoming. Honest and very down to earth. It was worth the 3 1/2 hour drive just to meet them, let alone seeing this nice car. We spent the good part of 2 hours looking it over and driving it and almost as much time sipping sweet tea on their porch, on a beautiful sunny day.
The car runs really nice. Shifts well, solid braking with no pulling to either side, no drift with hands off the wheel. Maybe one inch of play in the steering wheel.
Mechanically very sound. Very clean interior, very clean engine and undercarriage. Body is very straight. Some inconsistancy with driver door alignment, wiper door sticks up a tad bit on both side, and some mild gap discrepancy on the hood, but really good for a 44 year old car. New suspension, new ball joints, new gas tank, new fuel lines, new radiator, new fan, new master cylinder, newer calipers.... He has repaired or replaced anything mechanical over the past 15 years as needed. Extensive and methodical neatly hand written list of all repairs, fluid changes, and receipts since 1998.
Driven maybe 5000 miles since restoration in 1998. Driven maybe 500 miles per year the past two years (to corvette gatherings like Eureka Springs and such). Always garaged AND covered. He removes any bug guts with a moist cloth and the wipes the entire car with a large feather duster type thing before putting the form fitting tarp back on.
No fluid leaks.
The problem is that so much of this car is not original. It was restored but not with all '69 parts as has already been stated and observed.
I found out today that it was in a front end collision that damaged the front clip (which was replaced) and the hood. Hence the new big block hood. The repair was done very well. I could not find any seems. Paint is a solid 7.5/8 out of 10 to my eyes. Frame is solid. Bird cage is solid.
The manufacturer door ID plates are gone but they had the car inspected by the highway patrol and frame VIN numbers matched so they placed some kind of hiway patrol ID plate on it. Not sure how that further affects the value?
I honestly don't think I could find a more well taken care of '69 any where near my price range. I left telling them I needed just a couple of days to think it over and to get some advice. When I left, the owner said he was firm at $15K and he will give me several days to think it over before advertising the car again. Very understanding man.
With this new info, has the value of this car gone up or down? Does the care, up keep, and condition out way the front end repair and all of the non originality in terms of value?

 

Sorry, double post.

 

have you asked if they have any paper work with the car? any documentation at all? do you know how to check tranny and rear end numbers? check the red line on the tach, this could tell you what the original motor was or narrow it down. perhaps you can peel back the rubber around the gas cap and shine a light down on the gas tank to see if the build sheet is visible....just some thoughts, good luck, looks like it would be worth the money if there isn't rust issues. Rick

 

No original paperwork with the car, but he has all receipts for repairs and replacement parts since 1998. The wife's nephew had the car before them and he turned it into an ugly hot rod; wine and black paint, oversized wheels, the oversized hood, ect.. When she bought the car from him in 1983, they started the process of restoring it back to as close to an original 'looking' '69, as possible.
They showed me photos of the various stages of the car from 1983 to present. The nephew was the second or third owner and he did not keep any of the original parts after he supped it up. I think he put a big block in it cause the hood had that huge hump on it.
She wanted it to be a comfortable driver, so they put the new 350 in it. I believe that the car was originally a 350.
I was not able to check, but he did tell me that the transmission and rear end matched and frame matched. He was very honest with me and I have no reason to doubt him.

 

Not sure why the state police inspection. Only the trim
tag was on the door frame, near the hinge. There was the blue lable on the latch side. most are long gone with repaints. The original VIN will be on the A pillar, seen thru the widnshield.
That said, if you are looking for a nice driver, numbers not a priority, sound like the $15,000 he is asking is not a terrible deal. You could spend a lot more buying a project and getting it to that condition.
If the original VIN is not on the A-pillar, that could affect a future sale.
Buy it, drive it like you stole it for 10 years or so, sell it for what ever the market is then, and you will have more than got your moneys worth.

 

Sounds like a rebuilt crash with a state VIN and rebuilt title, unless ALL cars in Kansas get those inspection stickers.
Ask for a pic of the title and the post the state stickers put on it.
Looks like a very nice car, but if it is a rebuild with a branded title, then the value takes a fairly big hit.

Don't know what they are worth in your area, but here that would be very, very top dollar for a rebuild with off year parts.

 

I've left a message for more details on the title and state police inspection.

 

Some more photos I took in the sun:

 

The factory ID plate on the driver's side door panel was removed during part of the restoration and handed to the new owner and told "not to loose this". Well, she lost it, during a divorce and move, so it could not be re-installed.
The State Police came out to inspect the car and due to the missing manufacturer's ID plate, found the matching numbers on the frame and pillar and provided the new "replacement identification number" plate, rivoted to the body where the door closes.
I've seen a copy of the title and it is clean. Not a rebuilt or salvage title.
If I purchase this car, I will immediately need to replace the tires. Recommendation?
Thanks again everyone for the advice so far.

 

Sounds like the trim tag was removed for the repaint. There is no VIN information on the trim tag and law enforcement intervention would not have been required.

Late built 69s had a vehicle certification label on the driver's door near the latch. The VIN was hand typed on to this label. The label is the only VIN informaton on the door.

If the state police saw the VIN tag on the windshield post, no state issued VIN should have been needed.

The seller's story is not adding up.

 

In the next to last picture you posted, it looks like the edge of the driver's side front fender sticks out past the top of the driver's door. It's not terribly noticeable, but the silver paint makes it stand out. This makes me wonder how well the replacement front clip was truly aligned when it was put on the car.

 

I noticed that straight off, but thought its was a door issue that could be fixed by shimming the door hinge out at that spot. Didn't occur to me that it was perhaps the front clip issue and not the door itself.
Could that explain why the wiper door sits up a tad bit high on both sides? Maybe the front clip is low, rather than the wiper door being high?
Again, I'm not expecting perfect at this price point.

 

........nothing on the door area would be of concern to the state police or DMV....are you saying that there is no VIN on the windshiield post (LH) vertical frame area??? you should be able to look through the windshield on the very left end by the windshield frame and see the VIN....can't imagine why it would have ever been removed during any modding or restoration. (except for severe rust repair) does the ID plate that was provided by the state, and riveted to the car match the original VIN on the title? or is it even a Corvette VIN formatted number? very curious.....if it is the original corvette Vin and just replaced by state, then i wouldn't think it would hurt the car a great deal, if it is not your original corvette VIN number, that would be a different story. let us know ok? Rick

 

The VIN on the title matches the VIN plate provided by the State.

 

The car looks to be in good condition and maintained.If you find the information on the vin to be exceptable and you have chequed with the local police that the information given is correct the ony question left ,Do you buy it for 15,000.At present I have about8000 in the rebuild of my 69/427 and I will most likely double that by the time I am finished.Offer 14000 and enjoy the car for the summer.But only if you like the paint colour,sripping these cars is a **** (not fun).Good luck.

 

Thank you for the reply and advice. I do believe they are honest in their presentation of the car. I love the color.

 

Make the offer and buy it.If you wait too long it will sell.

 

something else does not add up.. in your original post you stated frame on restoration, with frame sand blasted and coated at that time.... I don't think so.... It can't be done..

 

Just made the call. They are firm at $15K. They will call me should they decide to lower the price. I really hate being on a budget!

 

From the Kansas statutes
This is why they issue state Vin tags
Just be careful if you pursue it.