You have a few choices to make BEFORE you do ANY repair and/or modification.

If you want to keep it genuinely original, then you don't want to remove or change ANYTHING. You need to keep it As-Is. However, if this car has more than a few thousand miles on it, there have already been "changes"...due to normal service work: belt replacements, oil filter/fuel filter changes, tires replaced, etc. etc.

If you are NOT into keeping it exactly as you found it, you may want to assess the possibility of selling the car to someone who DOES want such a car. There may be someone who will pay you ridiculous money for such a 'pristine' car. Or, there may NOT be such a person should you offer it up.

Keep it relatively original: replace worn & damaged parts with exact replacements and make the car serviceable again. Doing this can be a bit costly and challenging to locate proper replacement parts. In this case "look-alike" parts will not cut it.

Keep it LOOKING original. Replace old/defective parts with good quality replacements that are very similar to originals and are very available for public purchase.

Change what you want and make it your own! Lots of folks like this idea. But, I would offer that, if you are thinking about going this route, FIRST consider selling it to someone who really, really, really wants to keep it pristine.

Your choice.....good luck!

 

Beautiful 68 Corvette and welcome to the Forum. How many miles are on her? I would keep her as original as possible. I would however change all the brake hoses and all fluids before driving. Make it stop first. The wheel bearings would need to be serviced and grease packed or they will not last long.
The issue is making it safe to drive, while it sat for so long everything dries up and most likely needs replacing. I would take the time to do a nice chassis detail and paint the frame. That is the only way to preserve it. Good luck to you and what ever you decide to do

 

Great looking car, congrats!

 

Do you want a driver or a show car for awards and nothng else. If you want both, then buy a second car and drive that one. If you want an investment, get it judged, then flip it and buy a beautiful restomod.

 

In the other someone asked about the trim tag. date stamp is F12, so i believe thats January of 68. Build sheet has a december 67 order date.

Truthfully, I bought the car thinking I was simply buying a nice old corvette. Only once I really starting looking at things did I realize how original this car was. I basically bought it practically sight unseen. I saw the car for about 10 minutes with a car cover on it, then a year later the owner asked me if i wanted to buy it. So i made my offer based off what I could remember.

From what I had gathered, the previous owner bought the car in the fall of 1985. drove it for a month or less and there was an issue with the brakes (i'm guessing calipers started leaking) so it was parked. It sat there until 2 months ago when I hauled it home. All of the brake components are removed and I was given new in the box calipers, pads, and stainless brake lines.

Heres a pic after buffing it out a bit, and a couple interior shots.











at this point I'm really not sure what I want with this car. I'm thinking of cleaning the frame to remove the heavier rust, but otherwise leave it unpainted. the paint is not perfect, it has chips and imperfections, but it is original paint. I've already been advised by a body man to not respray the car.

I'm not even sure what a vette like this is worth? I'm a truck guy not a vette guy, but I'm a sucker for a drop top.

 

Great find, and a beautiful car. I would keep it as is, just fixing whatever it takes to make it safe. I don't see any cracks in the steering wheel either Repair frame and any cage rust. Great color combo blue on blue I see the previous owner applied some clear hard top protector on the deck lid. Do you have the hard top too!
Where in Pa. are you from?
Happy Holidays!
Tooch
Good luck with your new old car?

 

Where's the barn?

Threads like this are great! Proves there are still some really great finds out there just waiting to be brought back to life!

 

No hard top with this car. Build sheet does not have one listed either. Thats the line the vert top put in the paint and my buffer exaggerated it a bit for the photo.

There is no rot on the frame to repair. I've checked every bit of the frame you can see without removing the body and there is no rot..

I'm roughly 45 min south of Pittsburgh

 

Hi TJ,
What a nice find!!!!
A great looking 68 convertible!!!!
I'd think you're in for some real pleasure.
Regards,
Alan

 

if that is truly all original, original paint, and nothing changed, you may consider taking it to an auction house, getting top dollar which could be well over $40,ooo k. Then reinvest it in something you can drive and not worry about getting hit. That beauty, if as original as you say, would truly be an ultimate survivor car and should be i a museum. I get concerned everytime I pass some jackass pulling out too far from a side street or parking lot, and my vettte isnt original and is appraised at $24K.

Hagertys says your car should be beetween 40-50K and that probably is as restored, not a survivor

 

Omg!!!

 

TJ,
You must be pretty close to me! I'm about 50 miles south of the Burgh. Did you find the car nearby? I also noticed the vintage Pa. Bicentennial plate used as an antique plate. Those were in use in Pa. from 1971 thru 1976. I have one selected to use on my 73 as an antique plate when I decide to give up the classic one.
Tooch

 

Very nice '68 - congrats. Keep it as original as possible. Throw nothing out.

 

Wow, that is looking very, very original. One thing I found looking at vettes to tell the amount of wear and tear on the car was to look at the pedals for wear. Yours look very new or have little wear on them. Show a shot or two of the engine bay for us to drool over. Great find! As others have mentioned, save every part you take off of it if you keep it original.
But, as others have mentioned if you want a daily driver, look at the market for this one and see what you can get for it.
I am green with envy on this find and welcome to the 68 club!

 

I'm right by South Park if you are familiar with the area.


Yes car was local.




as far as wear, the odometer shows 40,9xx miles and I believe it to be original. I actually have the paperwork from when the previous owner bought it in 1985 also at when the title was transferred it listed about 300 miles less than what it has on it now.

 

TJ
I just sent you a PM.
Thanks,
Jimmy

Pics of the engine would be nice to see!

 

Great looking car! Congrats! You need to decide what you want, but also recognize that if you are going to drive it, first change and keep those old tires. After sitting that long she may need some new brake hoses, fresh brake fluid - perhaps calipers rebuilt and updated grease. Yes, listen to Alan and have someone check it out for Bowtie, and then make your considerations from there. Keep us posted with more pics!

 

Good advice. If you keep it totally 'original' (which it most assuredly is not, if it was driven regularly for 10 years), you probably won't make it roadworthy. If you want to drive it, follow the advice above...but you WILL need to replace those rubber brake hoses on each caliper--that is a MUST (interior deterioration on those hoses!!!).

P.S. I had a '68 coupe with International Blue exterior color (it had the Bright Blue interior). I always loved that color of blue. It took me a couple of years after buying this '71 to like the Bridgehampton Blue just a little bit better than what was on that '68. You have a great looking car which is nearly all original..except for some maintenance replacement pieces. Enjoy!!!

 

BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING:

1. DO NOT do anything based on one opinion. Read them all, and wait for more.

2. Access what you have.
- Take pictures of everything
- check pictures to be sure they are in focus, enough light to see something, and that items are in the frame. Take more to get good ones as needed.
- don't be afraid to see 100 or 200 pictures in your folder
- keep a folder with the images full size (1 Mb, 2 Mb, etc.). You may want to see some small detail years from now.
- have a second folder with them reduced (150K, 200k, etc.) for display on the web, on CF, or wherever.
- you can never have too much documentation of what things look like

3. Decide what you want to do.
- what are your goals
- what can you handle/do on your own
- what do you want to do

4. Show the photos to many on here to get opinions.
- Originality can be destroyed by the best intentions

5. Once you decide to, clean carefully with soapy water and sponge only. No abrasives, no wire brushes, no sandblasting, no harsh chemicals, nothing, until you have a direction for you and the car.

A friend's dad constantly tried to clean the underside of his hood. He almost cleaned off all the original factory grease pencil markings on day.


If you decide to stay original, then Alan, 7T1, and others can guide you. Also, you should join NCRS to get more information on how you should proceed.

If you decide that keeping it all original isn't for you, consider selling it to someone who is looking for a car like this. Finding a true survivor isn't that easy as the years go by and someone will pay well for it.

If it turns out to not be all that untouched, then you have more room to have other choices.

The most value in money will be at either completely original or restored or being a full out resto-mod. Any other condition will be in the valley between those two peaks.

In reality, it is your car and you should do what makes you happy. But at the same time, it is sad to take something that survived and change it into something just like thousands of others out there.

Whatever you do, go slow and careful in the beginning as the best intentions and innocent mistakes can change everything you may be working toward.



One Big One:

However, don't drive on 30 year old tires. I had one explode on a car in the shed a few years ago. It was just being used to hold it off the ground during bodywork, and it just blew the belts and tread right off in one spot. They had only had 25 psi in them and it wasn't a hot day.

Good luck with it and congratulations on a great looking '68 Corvette.

 

Awesome car dude. I would try to keep it original but if you change anything make sure to keep the original parts so it can always be put back.

I too have been wrestling with the idea of changing my car even though it is original. The only thing I've found not to be original on mine is the radio. Mine is a 72 coupe and a similar colour to yours, mines Targa Blue.

I'm after more power out of mine as the engine is completely stock. I have already changed the ramshorns to headers but keeping the old rusty things. I'm changing the steering wheel just for a more comfortable driving experience. Now for the engine. Haven't completely decided on what I'm doing but will be definitely changing the cam. Haven't ruled out a stroker at this stage but will be definitely be getting it tuned on a dyno after work has been done, that's with the original Quadrajet.

It really comes down to what you want from the car. Are you after more power or more comfortable cruising? It's your car at the end of the day and it's your decision which way you go. Original will pull the biggest dollar obviously.

Here's a pic of my car.