After perusing the recent Mecums spring classic results, it appears that there is not that big of a price difference between a C3 painted to its original color vs a more popular choice.

I firmly believe one should paint their corvette to suit themselves. Some of these C3's had a few undesirable original colors. And looking at the recent auction results, these cars did not sell very well at all.

I hear all the time on this forum not to stray from original. "You'll lose thousands!" "No one will buy it!" "How dare you!"

Well I disagree. And I let the recent auction sales speak for themselves.

Of course there are a few exceptions. Rare corvettes, very original survivors, and early big blocks.

Pretty bold of me to suggest this, but I believe for most us, painting your corvette to please yourself is the way to go.

 

Great info paint/price issue... thanks !!

also..someone "in the know" should start a sticky that posts dates/times when mecum/other auctions are televised for members that cant make it to the auction... seems like a good sticky to me.

 

I'd have to agree. Color is such a subjective point, through, but why would anyone paint a car in a color they abhor? Just because it may be worth more some time down the road? No offense intended to those who have this color, but I remember when I saw what was at the time a brand new 1980 'Vette in that godawful beige. I mean wow, what were the designers and the focus group on back then?

 

Reality is always better than supposition.

 

Agreed. Paint/modify as you want the car to be, not for the next owner and what he/she might want.

You're here a very short time, enjoy it how you want it to be.

 

Hi,
It seems to me a car being described as original, or "matching numbers", is expected to have (and is worth more $$$ with) the original color on it too.
If originality isn't what the car is about, the color doesn't matter.
Regards,
Alan

2 different groups of buyers and owners.

 

The color of a Corvette is what makes its first and sometimes its biggest impression. It is a lot of times the thing that will draw someone in for a closer look. Original or not. I suspect that if the car stands up to real scrutiny then the originality of the color does not matter as much as most would think.
The 77 I own now is my first and maybe my last Vette, But I have been around them since the early eighties. The vast majority of Vettes and Vette owners I have come across since then have made me become of the opinion that most owners do not mind modding or buying a modded car as long as the quality is there and the car is tastefully done and not over the top like far to many I have seen throughout the years. And this also includes painting car in wild or custom colors that come and go with the trends of the time.
Hope I have made some sense.

 

But..... the original color is my favorite!

 

Whenever you want to know when the next Mecum is, go to their site and check the schedule for dates and times, and check the details for TV coverage and channels:

http://www.mecumauction.com/auctions/schedule.cfm

 

used to be easy to have the DVR set up to catch it when on velocity, now I'm missing them

 

Really depends on the particular car. An original 67 427/435 car gets the correct color. My Frankenstein 77......

Come sale day, some buyers couldn't care less, some must have the correct color and the rest wouldn't even know the difference.

 

thanks !! will check it out... never had time to go to one..but always wanted to...

 

I didn't have the time to watch the auction either. I just visited Mecums website and ran through the corvettes and a few others that piqued my interest. I was very surprised at the low numbers the C3 vettes brought. Many chrome bumper cars were bid to or sold for low teens to low mid teens. And some of these were touted as being "numbers matching" in their description. Dismal numbers indeed. So either these were poor quality cars, or the buyers wouldn't open their wallets. I wasn't there to see for myself. My conclusion, ugly colored cars didn't bring the money.

 

My wife has had her old 78 S/A for over 20 years. It's nothing special. She knows it. She found it without a motor or trans and installed both herself so she could drive it and she did it in her driveway. She decided to paint it Cyber Gray Metallic. Beats the old clapped out two tone...
I'm not much on the running boards or the vintage American Racing wheels but it's hers and not mine.

 

Very well Said Alan. I dropped my car off at the body shop earlier this evening. the painter asked me If I was going to want a original corvette red. I asked him why would I go with a original color when 3/4 of the car is modified? I want a red I want!!!

 

I have an '81 with that godawful beige as gerry put it. I really don't think it's a bad color, but it is a bit of a yawner. It's also a numbers matching, mechanically stock 4-spd car that drives as nice as I'd expect one fresh off the showroom floor to be. A week ago I was talking to my father telling him I was going to sell it, but after a bit of chatting he is now going to take it as a project (he's retired and out of projects at the moment). I'm giving him full reign to do whatever he wants. Engine swap? Different color paint? Custom gauges? Full resto? No clue what he's going to do with it, as long as he enjoys it that's good enough for me.

He lives in OR (I'm in UT) and he's a big Oregon State fan. I wouldn't be surprised if one day I visit him and find a shiny new black and/or orange paint scheme. I already tore out the camel color interior and converted it to black - unfortunately at that time I had decided to sell it so I installed new carped and just dyed the rest, didn't replace or rewire anything.

I don't care about numbers matching, stock this, stock that... I just want something that runs and drives well, looks good to me, and everything works. Ok, so I kinda hope he does something with the engine. Even with the mildly upgraded crane cam that was installed when the top end was rebuilt several years ago, it's not a fast car.

 

if a car has been repainted to a different color than what the factory did and was done well .I don't think it hurts the value.If you look at a car and can not tell that it was a different color and the car paint looks good ,it should sell just fine.If the car is presented as numbers matching factory original that's different.

 

I was at the Indy auction and looked at every C-3 there. Those cars that had a color change were for the most part all "driver quality" cars. I think for a number 3 or below car a popular color probably improves it's potential sale. However for a highly restored or low mileage original I would keep the color original. I might add that seeing online photos of the cars as opposed to seeing them in person makes a big difference in determining there true condition. I saw a couple that looked great in photos but only so so in person.

 

That car is absolutely gorgeous in that colour! Looks better than most chrome bumper cars. If you have any more pictures could you PM them to me?

 

Well, now...let's not get way out of hand.