Hello to all members!

I just acquired a 1974 Base Convertible. It currently is Mille Miglia Red, although it was originally Classic White. The paint is faded beyond repair, so time for more paint. Whoever painted it red, did a great job, as you can no longer find any white anywhere on the car.

The car currently has a solid running non-original L48 motor, but I have the original block in my possession. The tranny is not original, but relatively new. The interior is in good shape and appears original. The only interior change is someone installed period correct factory leather seats.

Frame and bird cage are solid. Only needs typical minor mechanical stuff.

It has auto, ac, pw, am/fm stereo and both tops.

I do not plan on putting the car in shows and will drive it a couple dozen times times a year (I live in Minnesota). I tend to sell my toys frequently, so do care about resale value.

My question is: Is there any real value in bringing it back to the original white color instead of keeping it red? If so, how much value does it add? Keep in mind that I am already going to be paying for a good respray in current color red - wondering if the difference it costs to change color entirely is worth it. I have not gotten a quote, but imagine the color change is at least a couple thousand dollars more than just a respray.

 

Just My Onion. As a NOM (Non original Motor)car, I don't think a color change will affect the value at all, red may actually add resale value. (Nothing like a red Corvette for sale).

 

Thanks for the feedback. My plan is to restore the original motor and put it back in. But with a replacement transmission already place, that probably won't make much difference either.

 

Paint it the color that makes you happy. The day you sell it, 1/3 wont touch it, 1/3 wont care, and 1/3 wont even know the difference.

 

My neighbor makes his living buying upper end, late model BMW's, Mercedes Benz's at auctions, private parties, etc. He then resells them. The cars he buys are almost always black, and shades of white, silver, and gray. These are the colors that are most likely acceptable to a buyer.

 

Color choice is up to you. Did you know your red car was originally white when you bought it? If yes, then the color change was not a deal breaker for you. If No, it is possible a future potential buyer won't know where to look for the original color code.

 

Hi,
I agree that the color change won't matter to probably 2/3 of the potential buyers in the future.
The quality of the preparation and painting WILL MATTER a great deal.
So, get the very best paint job you can afford no matter what color you decide on.
Regards,
Alan

 

My current 72 Convertible that I am doing is Mille Miglia Red but I am changing it to Viper Red because it is much brighter. My engine is not original so it won't affect the value in any way except to maybe raise it. Do it with what you like . You will enjoy it more !

 

For someone who wants to restore a C3, this cheapy respray mentality is just going to damage the car...assuming it hasn't been damaged before. My 70 has had a cheapy respray and to decently restore it is going to cost a lot of money to repair the damage of the cheapy respray.

Properly done, and not to damage the car, to change the color, all previous paint and primer must be removed...ground down to the bare fiberglass. Then the near 45 year old fiberglass needs to be repaired..micro cracks ground out and re-fiberglassed and then ground down to the original contours.

I think if you don't do the above, a respray is just going to bubble and crack in a couple of years.

A local Corvette shop has a minimum of $10,500. They grind off all previous paint and primer..down to bare fiberglas. They grind out all panels seams and re-fiberglass them. Stress cracks are ground out and re-fiberglassed and then contoured to original factory contours.

The previous owner had my 70 Corvette sprayed with a thick coat of red paint over two layers of paint. It looked initially really great when sold to me. To do justice, all this crap has to be removed. If the previous owner had any ethics, he would have sold the car without all the crap, cheap, thick red paint.

 

To me, I would not worry about color originality unless it was a chrome bumper car or a 78 pace car. Just some quick numbers from NADA.

1972 coupe avg. retail = $39,200
1974 coupe avg. retail = $16,100
1978 L82 pace car avg. retail = 20,200

I think a color change paint job is going to cost someone around $10k give or take a grand or two unless you do most of the labor yourself whereas a "scuff and squirt" paint job could be much less.

I think you can get upside down real easy with a nice paint job and a plastic bumper Vette.

That said, I have a 74 coupe that was originally silver and I repainted it white.

 

...and the other 1/3 won't keep the appointment to look at the car

 

I think as the years go by, and these cars become more valuable, potential buyers will become more sophisticated.

For a potential buyer looking at a premium looking C3 for purchase.....the inevetible questions about frame/birdcage rust, and also body damage disguised by bondo. For all these questions, paint can be a disguise.

For sure someday, I or a family member will sell my 68. They can show a bill showing the expense of re-newing my fiberglass body. $$$$$$
For an older Corvette, the observable paint job is really not all that important..[U]it's what's under the paint.[/U]

 

I'm going to be the one who disagrees with the field and say it's worth restoring to the correct color for a few reasons:

-You have the original motor. if you did not, Id say do what you want.

-Even though chrome bumper cars are the high priced of the run, I believe all C3s will continue to rise in value steadily because they are the last model with an interesting, classic, non-windtunnel designed body. If so, the correct color will come into play more often than it won't.

-and, you said in your OP that you sell your cars and you are concerned with resale value. If thats true, Id bet on the future of a correct color in tandem with the original motor as opposed to hoping you find a guy who doesnt care about that stuff when you go to sell.

PS: I completely agree that a cheap job will destroy the car, regardless of color choice.

 

I don't think it will make much difference on a 1974, I own one and they aren't bringing big money. I would paint it the color you like and when you go to sell it there shouldn't be much difference in price if it original color or not if it has a good paint job on it.

 

As for repainting...keep in mind the overspray problem.

A cheapy repaint will have gross overspray.

 

When I bought mine I was looking for a 74 to 79. Did not want to pay the price for a chrome bumper model. The $10, 000 to$15, 000 cars with new paint did not interest me as I knew a good paint job was $10, 000 by itself.

I would think a proper repaint would cost the same regardless of color. Given that I would paint it the original color and any other restoration I would do with original period stuff..

Based on my buying decision, if you are going to do just a respray, I would save the money and let the next owner deal with it.