While original is nice lets face it the LT1 has an image of a fast cars, a new V6 Camry could well....

x2. That took a lot of fun out of ownership for me personally. The sterotype for the most part is true....Im a car guy not a vette snob.
Women look down their nose at them, most men are riding your tail and throwing the finger ??? Run it to a cruise night and the wanna be judges gotta walk by picking the car apart because?

Never had that issue with musclecars

I think all them are waaay over valued. I mean good if you own and are selling but really, 30 40 50k + for an older car with some work done thats a lot of coin. As the current gen of owners starts dying off i see values going down most the younger generation could care less about these old things. They want to throw a turbo on a cheap car tap a laptop and make power with great mpg not turn wrenches. This hobby isnt affordable to them. Plus.....the economy sucks so there are some great fire sale deals to be had all the time whos going to pay top buck? I know I wouldnt.

 

Cliffs.....

1.This was a speculative question from the start.
2.There is questionable doubt in their originality, due to "clones".
3.Production numbers compared to other muscle cars is irrelevant.
4.The "rebirth" of the car I had when I was younger (non Corvette greater 'appeal').
5.I prefer BB over SB.
6.C-2 vs. C-3 = less desire.
7.The fourth seat, sports vs. muscle.
8.Nose in the air Corvette owners club.
9.Circular market timing.
9.Detuning or compression lowering, emission controlled, lowering HP vs. mid yrs.
10.Current economy.

Stan, Great comparison list you put together.

Glenn,
Big birthday weekend for me! The mailbox is filled with retirement village flyers!
Thanks for asking I would love to be there.......

Postal, I'm not sure I understand your post? Who's uninformed, or bragging? The question pertained to 70 -72 LT-1 cars, not unoriginal restomods. Unless your point is a restomodded LT-1 will bring more?

 

Proving the 70-71 are real factory cars is trouble. I d want paperwork , many have been restamped , faked , history of ripp offs have not helped.

Many have few options, very crude, not lots of convertibles , the engines need their high strung valves maintained . All are manual trannies ......which I like myself ......but there were quite a few auto 1970 Z28 s sold with this motor. Camaros bring good money

I think AC 72 LT-1 s are pretty high dollar....as they are rare . They also have the motor ID in the VIN. But then they have lost their hi compression and real speed.

I d rather have a 1970 LS5 myself , given the same condition car . The way I see people grab up bb cars from these years the LT 1 was made , makes me feel I'm not the only one thinking like this.

I d probably look for a 1969'L46 .....not worry with solid lifters, if it had to be a SB vette

 

Not sure all fans of BB's are less informed...

I recall the first LT-1 I ever saw was late 70's at the cruise spot, I wondered why this low optioned SB had a BB hood.... I would catch cross talk about that being the mouse that roars, rare high end car, the big block killer...fastest car at the cruise unless the 69 L-88 camaro rumbled in, etc etc,

As years passed I became a BB person NOT that this post is any BB vs SB both have their pros and cons and fans, so I am not bashing the SB.

But what I started to notice over years and years was some odd stigma that a c3, especially the 68-72 just had to be a BB, I would see the look of disappointment on the viewers face and their crest fall when they would ask about the engine and the owner would reply or pop their hood to a SB ( no matter how hot and sweet the sb was ) ...odd since many SB's spank BB's and no doubt the LT-1 was a sweet SB.
( I see the same happen if the c3 has an auto tranny over a stick )

From what I see of LT-1 prices they are up there for nice cars and competing with same condition BB cars so perhaps when you say "big $$$" you mean a lot more than they do fetch.

I am blown away that in many cases a nice restored camaro/firebird/ta is worth more than the same year c3 and worth more by more than a couple toad pelts...


Oldgtos son is building a camaro that if done as nice as his dad does cars will likely be worth more than dads c3...

 

WB,

Bats last post describes what I was getting at. It's not always the car guy (sometimes it is), but it's more the general impression of everyone else...the non-car types or the ones who think they know what they're talking about. I realize this was not intended to be a SB vs BB type thread, but I'm not sure you can remove the distinction in this context.

Bragging...again, I'm not staking a claim here or pointing a finger in any direction. It's just that I feel the type who aspires to own a Corvette, would at least aspire to have the best example possible...however they might define that; be it most desired original, best condition, fastest... IMO if none of us cared about these things we'd do something else with our time and money. That's all I was trying to say.

About the restomod thing...just my opinion again, or observation, but I think those who really care about originality and/or painstaking restorations are in a very limited camp...either those old enough to remember the heyday and in a sense pay homage to what the Corvette once was or those so well off that's its simply a collectable hobby. For the many car enthusiasts out there...how many are willing and able to pay big money for a performance model car, that looks fast and sounds fast, but has performance on par with the Compact section at Avis? If you look at the F-body scene, most have modern engines and tranny's, most have upgraded wheels/tires, susp and brakes, many have ABS, and few even have stability/traction control. All I'm saying is that the performance of the original models is not very impressive and the Corvette community, as a whole, is being outpaced. A large number of potential high dollar buyers want classic looks and modern performance...and the other marques are giving them exactly that. Just my $.02.

 

As an owner of a Camaro ......while not a ***** out two seater..sports car ...it is a much more civilized ride, especially in hot ,cold or rain weather , 1000000X better ventilation , stereo sounds better , tons of room , etc ......my wife says when I bite the dust....she will keep,the Camaro , sell the Corvette......


I might add.....the Camaro gets far more attention on the street.

 

Could be something as simple as the knowledge level of the buyers. Nearly everyone has heard someone talking about a big block Vette - the numbers 396, 427 and 454 are widely recognized because of Chevelles and to a smaller extent, Camaros.

LT-1's? Not so legendary. Few people know thats what 2nd gen Camaro Z-28's used, and everyone knows about Z-28. Therefore the population of Vette LT-1 buyers is pretty small, made up of people with more than a passing knowledge of Vettes.

Fewer buyers means scarcity of demand, and that means lower prices.

 

The 70 LT-1 is frankly the only one that is special IMHO.

72 with AC is desirable because of low production numbers. 69/70 L46 will out perform a 71 and 72 LT-1.

Like Stan said, a 70 LT-1 convertible in the right color goes for 6 figures. It must have documentation and I cannot stress enough that the color is key. It cannot have a luggage rack either.

Problem is a lot of guys want top dollar for LT-1s when they need a total restoration.

There are couple 70 LT-1s for sale on ebay that never seem to meet the reserve. One is an undesirable color and the other lacks documentation and appears to need some restoration work.

Did I mention the color combo is key


Bill

 

I also wonder if marketing has any influence on sales/price. For example, most any resto/performance magazine typically has articles about 60's and 70's muscle cars including the Camaro. Not so many articles about corvettes in general and specifically the C3.

Watch one of the auction house shows on TV and you see far more muscle cars. If buyers are always being subjected to more information about muscle car restorations, do they end up purchasing a muscle car?

 

Many have made valid statements, but the market is down overall, not just the LT-1 cars. I still see 66 425 and 67 BB cars struggle to get close to where they were in value.

It's amazing how many people have no idea what an LT-1 car is. If you've ever taken a proper drive or ride in the right LT-1 they are a blast to drive and listen to. I love BB cars but only solid lifter cars. The LS5's just don't have the sound. You can't beat the sound of the right LT-1 with real GM offroads.

I've seen some of the these cars that have sold in the $30's range and they either need restoring or had a poor restoration, etc. Like Stan said the right cars, restored correctly with paperwork still command good money.

There really is a big swing in certain color combo's too like many have said. So many factors are involved when it comes to what people deem desirable. You couldn't give me a 68-69 350/350 car compared to the right LT-1 car, but again personal taste.

My option is bias as we've had an LT-1 in the family since new and restoring a convertible now. Hopefully the market will shift up on all these cars in the near future. Again the market is down on other Corvettes right now not just the LT-1 car.

 

I guess you can't while I walked on the thin ice carefully never dissing the sb I see all the posts made not ironically by LT-1 or sb owners that the SB is it and BB's are not...just opinions and personal tastes like I have my own but I never try to "sell" the bb it does that itself,, SB is more popular that bb? you pointed out postal that isnt really the case and people will normally gravatate to the bb car, not that many people do not love their mouses.

I have driven them all and while the LT-1 was what it is an rpm engine where revving and a stick is a must that isn't what I wanted with my 69 I wanted the brute that is a bb, the sounds, smells, etc etc that come with the bb...for me I understand why the facial expression turns down and the crest falls when the old c3 lacks a bb.
Some people feel that way about a stick vs an auto.

I would never try to sell it to anyone that a bb is for anyone except me.. if I owned a LT-1 I wouldnt live in some shadow of it not being a bb but rather enjoy it for what it is, and if I could not do that I would sell it and buy the bb.

Again with the personal tastes and opinions being stated as cold hard facts...
Same year for year I have owned camaros and vettes and while the camaros did have more space I found none of the other selling points real issues to me, of course I only do convertibles, hot, cold weather? never cared.
However, the reason my 69 sat in a garage over 20 years was the kids dad bought him a 69 TA convertible...holy geez....I can see where I would leave the 69 vette parked and drive the TA but I am damned if I can really give a good reason why......

 

The L46 is the best value/performance option around in my humble opinion. A good running L46 is affordable and will really roar. There is also a descent number of them around with AC which makes cruising a pleasure and they only came with the 4-speed which is highly desirable.

 

I concur with just about everything you said... In fact, I specifically looked for a 1969-1970 L-46 convertible with A/C for those very reasons when I purchased my last car (I wanted a 1969-1972 four speed convertible with A/C). What I discovered is that they were not as great a "value" I would have liked. Not that they aren't a great car, just not the best bang for the buck... They've gotten pretty expensive from what I've seen.

Regards,

Stan

 

but i mostly "mostly"love that engine. I think the choke down of smog equipment and i have to say there probably aren't alot left with the origin engine components and you would be hard pressed to rebuild that thing accurately!

just some thoughts! I am in a rowdy mood today, so please don't respond to me directly! Best to ignore me today!! i didn't get a good night of sleep!

 

Jeez Queezy, shame to hear that about car shows out that way, here in Florida my much modded '72 vert gets all the attention at car shows or even when I make stop at the bank or store...someone always asks what year it is.....I say 'What year do you like" with a grin, then when the demur I follow up quickly that it was born on '72 but has vette parts on it from '65 through '94, pick a year......

but your comments about a generational change is surely accurate, an old friend had that experience with his early 30 Ford convertible w/rumble seat.....perfect resto only got ~15 grand for it, some 25 years ago....alll the guys were outta the market, but had he taken my advice and made a hotrod out of it, Chevy, auto trans, etc....he could have easy gotten 50k for it at that time.....

WHICH is why I pay no attention to originality on my '72