I am not actively trying to sell this car but I've got a lot of widely varying ideas of what my car is worth and had a couple people ask what I would sell it for and I'm never very sure if I'm way off or not.

The car is originally corvette bronze with tobacco interior but has been repainted black inside and out. The interior is mostly original but has been repainted. When I messed with the dash the back of all the pieces are still brown but the door panels ebrake cover and seat covers were changed for sure. The transmission and rear end are original and it has a f code rear end. The motor is a ls7 454 with the big pistons still in it. The headlights and wipers work and all the gauges except the amp gauge. And just about all the wiring and vacuum lines are original. The hood is a aftermarket l88.

Since I've owned it I replaced all the calipers, flywheel, starter, put hei ignition on it (the original k66 wasn't on the car), gas tank and sending unit, torque thrust and tires, new plugs wire's and carb. I've got all the pieces for a Tom's 12 bolt setup and the original radio, spare tire, and steering wheel.

The build sheet is in pretty dang good shape for its age. It'd never been touched before I got the car but it spent most of its life in a garage. The PO said he never checked to see if it was there and he'd owned the car since the late 70s.

Whenever people ask what I'd sell it for I say $35k. If they think im to high I say I don't want to sell the car but if somebody will give me 35 grand for it I'd let it go. I look em up online and see restored cars selling for 40k on ebay to 100k on collector auctions so I never really know if I'm actually saying a crazy price or not.

 

The only way your car will be worth the big bucks is if you can find the original motor, then spend a whole lot more money to restore it to the way it left the factory. Too bad, because real L89 cars can bring six figures. I'll bet you get $35k worth of enjoyment when you stomp down on that LS7 though......

 

Faster Rat pretty much nailed it on the head. Your car is interesting but has no real collector value without the original motor, and then it would need to be put back to the way it came out of the factory IMHO.

 

Yea the car is a monster. It screams above 3k rpms. It almost feels like boost coming on when you get in the power band. I figured it'd take a lot of money to restore it. The original motor I guess isn't that big a deal to some people. I met a ncrs guy at a corvette expo and he was saying that if I buy a date correct block some guy in Ohio can do the original gm stamping and the ncrs will consider it the original motor. Kinda seemed a little hypocritical saying to fake a car coming from them but who am I to judge. I figure even if the original motor is out there it's probably been decked and the numbers are gone. The guy I bought it from said the original motor blew up twice so I'm sure it's trash by by now.

 

Hypocritical? Not really. The NCRS has never been about validating original factory installed parts. Their game is judging based on how close the car comes to how the car was built when it left the factory. A block with correct casting numbers, etc, is merely a replacement part much like replacing brake rotors, etc. They do not exclude or penalize cars which had the block replaced so long as the block matches what was originally installed.

The original block carries value to collectors, important to that sub group. Many collectors are NCRS members but not all NCRS members are collectors.

Your car would not draw any interest from the collector crowd unless there's a buyer who plans to restamp a block and possibly create fake documentation with intent to offer it as a true original. Value of your vehicle is determined by people buying drivers.

If you're really interested in knowing what your car may be worth, I suggest having it appraised by a pro. Someone knowledgeable without bias one way or the other.

It most likely had a hole through it from a thrown rod, tossed on the scrap heap. There was no motivation to save the original block back when it was relatively new. We hear stories of some which were grabbed for other purposes, install in a hot rod or a boat but I suspect this is rare.

 

I agree with BBCorv70 except that in this case there is no real need to create fake docs since it has a build sheet already. This car is the real deal but missing the engine. Perfectly ripe for a restamp.

As for the original motor, you never know. Even if the block was damaged it might still be sitting out there. Some of us guys never throw away anything. With the exception of a motor being cracked in half, much can be done to salvage even a damaged motor. I have a friend who has a race car with a cracked engine block. It literally has a crack in the side of the block. He JB Welded it and the car is still winning races!! It will eventually grenade itself but that's a race engine. A street car would never deal with that type of stress and that is a worst case scenario but the point being it might be worth trying to track it down. You have nothing to lose but some time and lots to gain if its sitting somewhere with just some moderate damage that caused the owner to pull it.

Either way it has historical value if not high in collector value.

 

Mike it looks like you have a very nice and fun driver. My personal opinion is that as a NOM car with a color change etc. that $35K would be a little difficult to achieve in the current market. However you never know and it certainly is a plus having the tank sticker. Looks like a lot of fun!

 

That makes me feel a little better. I say 35k because i figure it's more than what the cars worth so if someone will pay more than what it's worth who wouldn't sell it. I'd love to see the car restored I just don't have the money to do it. I figure if someone had deep pockets with the options on the car and the original build sheet there is still some money to be made if someone put it back to original.

 

If the car was still Corvette Bronze w/Tobacco interior (stunning and very rare color combo) with the build sheet that you have then the $35,000ish would be easier to swallow. However paint and interior done right depending on who you choose is $15,000 +++. So many other factors go into the value of these cars it's hard to determine from an arm chair.

 

Interesting. My '68 L-71 car is running a NOM L-89 block that is undecked. The previous owner sourced this block to build an L-88. The VIN is 402751 and it was a Kansas City car. Any chance it's yours ?
Dave

 

not likely. #2751 was almost certainly a convertible. He has a coupe.

 

Man that would be awesome. My production number is 426128. I bought the car out of sacramento california area. And it had been around there it's whole life. The build sheet has a crease on the zone but it looks to be a single digit and the dealer code is 539. I think it may have been sold at service Chevrolet in Los Altos, ca. My car was a very late 68. It was built in July 68. Thats another reason I love this car is it was built on my birthday. I was born in 88 and it was built in 68.

 

I came so close today.... I have been keeping an eye out for 3935439 blocks to see if by chance I ever find my original block online and came across one pretty close to mine.

My vin is 426128 this one is stamped 426106..... so close.
Http://www.dragtimes.com/parts/1968-...772358017.html

The thing that's got me curious is my car was built July 19th. According to this ad this block is a G 6 8 which should be July 6 right? It seems pretty unlikely that this car was built before mine and got the block in it that fast? I've always heard the blocks should be about 6 months before the car build date.

 

According to my Corvette Birthday Calculator app, both VIN 26106 and 26128 would be July 20, 1968.

 

My block was cast 21 days before my build date and built 14 days after it was cast. Most blocks fall within that time frame. It is a common 390hp. The more unusual/exotics could have longer lead times. 6 months is the cutoff for NCRS but that spread is the exception, not the rule.

 

[QUOTE=GTOMike06;1591214599]I am not actively trying to sell this car but I've got a lot of widely varying ideas of what my car is worth and had a couple people ask what I would sell it for and I'm never very sure if I'm way off or not.



Mike- I have a 68 convert that is similar to your coupe. NOM 454, good paint, new interior, I have done complete rebuild of front suspension and am replacing minor trim pieces and have all new gauges and will install new wiring harness next week to fix the remaining nagging minor electrical problems. I paid $25K and have about $15K in parts and when I am finished the car will be worth about $30-35K, but to me it will be a priceless weekend fun car.

 

Beautiful car...
What are your tire/wheel specs? I like the look of them. What sizes and what backspace offset etc..?

 

ZAKsPop- The PO put 18 x 8 wheels on front and 20 x 10 on back. American Racing Torque Thrust II with chrome finish. One inch spacers were used on all four corners to get clearance. Not sure what the back spacing is, but no rubbing. The PO also put a fender flare kit on front and back. 1968s had pretty flat fenders, so the stock fenders probably would have rubbed. Not sure if I would have done all this, but that's how the car came. I was interested mainly in the big block motor that was in the car. It has chrome on just about every surface, is in excellent condition and spins those 20 inch tires without much effort. RA