IndyCorvetteDave

It's me again

I had a nice road trip yesterday. Went to look at a 1970 T-Top Stingray in Laguna Gray with black interior.

I'd like see what you guys think. 277 images may be a bit much but once I get going...

My previous posts were met with great insight and I'd like to have you guys take a look at this one.

Asking price is $29,900

I have to say, after looking at the last three cars, which were total mutts this one seems great.

The gentleman that is selling the car said he has over $50K in it.

I thought I kept a lot of documentation with my toys but this guy has binders after binders of everything he ever did.

The paint is stunning. It was repainted several years ago. In various lighting conditions the car looks quite different.

Link to images: https://flic.kr/s/aHskVUFFXQ
(the first 12 images came from the owners ad)

Pro's
Frame on restoration
As mentioned, the paint is very nice
Engine rebuilt
Transmission rebuilt
Matching numbers
The bushings throughout suspension look pretty good all around, but not necessary brand knew.
The frame looks good
The car starts right up
Essentially never out in rain and snow
Parked in a heated garage all it's life
The re-worked interior is fantastic with brand new door panels
Speedometer works
Odometer works
All gauges work
Factory radio
Hand brake works
Drives strait
Pulls hard and doesn't stumble or hesitate
Tank sticker
Original owners manual
Has the shoulder belts
Battery is new and has a disconnect
The other compartments were replaced
All carpet is either new or in great shape
Lights, wipers and the wiper cowling come right up
All interior / turn / brake lights work
T-Tops fit well and lock in tightly
Back glass locks in tightly
Weather striping looks great
The chrome items are fantastic
Original brake and tail lights
Emblems replaced
No rivet issues on the front nose of the car

Con's
Clock does not work
A/C compresor is seized, hence the lack of a belt that you can see is missing.
Not sure if it's a con but the ignition is original
Small steering wheel
While the hood looks good, it obviously is not right for the car
Small issue: left high beam is out
Drivers window crank is a bit loose, although functional
Some damage to the right side of the fan shroud
Maybe it's just me, but the force necessary to slow the car down really surprised me. I realize that there is no power assist, but I wonder is all cars of this type are as difficult
The grills on the front of the car have not been worked on and could use attention, at least to get them to point to where they are as good as the other exterior items

While I like the look of the hood it kind of bugs me, in that it isn't a LT1 car.

The steering wheel should be easy to swap back to an original, right?

My biggest hangup with this is that it isn't black. I just really want a well sorted, black/black.

What would it take to have power steering and power brakes added? Level of difficulty? Cost? What are your thoughts?

Thanks as always for your helping me out!

RJ1AZ

Looks and sounds like a good driver quality car.

Paint is expensive, so that's a huge plus for this one.

From the pics, lots of leaks underneath. Did you see any evidence of them being current? Maybe it's all old stuff that never got cleaned up.

Pic of the lower radiator hose and core support. Evidence of coolant leak (current, or old?). Core support looks toasty and probably needs replaced.

Pic of front driver's brake caliper and backside of wheel. End of sway bar looks like paint is bubbled up, or it could just be beads of water. If the paint is bubbled, I'd suspect that caliper is leaking.

Almost 30K is a lot, IMO. Low 20's would be good. Plenty of stuff that still needs attention/fixing. If the owner has 50K in it, he probably was paying somebody to do all the work.

The main thing is, if you REALLY want a black/black car, are you willing to wait and search? Could take a long time to find what you're looking for.

Good luck!

Alan 71

Hi ICD,
I looked at all the photos.
I don't think it's that nice a car. In fact, it's pretty shoddy looking to my eyes.
Where the "frame on restoration" work was done, I can't see.
If you REALLY want a black car there's not NEARLY enough "nice" about this car for you to buy it.
I think it's a $20,000 car at best for someone who really wants a Laguna Gray car.
Another very worthwhile trip for you though!
Keep your money in your pocket for the time being!
Regards,
Alan

Even without power brakes 68-72 cars should stop really well.

ddawson

I scanned though. Is the frame solid?

IndyCorvetteDave

Yeah the paint is great.

Leaks? Yes but mostly baked on crud from way back. It seems like a lot of old stuff with a bit of leaks.

Yeah, the radiator was a great find - my camera sees all!

You are spot on as far as having a shop do quite of a bit of work.

Good catch on the driver's brake caliper and backside of wheel

Yeah, the black/black really is what I want.

IndyCorvetteDave

Alan, I think you are correct in all judgements concerning this car.

One of the biggest reasons that I document what I see and pass the info along is that I need help not having "buyers eyes".

To your point, it was a great another very worthwhile trip.

IndyCorvetteDave

I think the frame is in decent shape. Probably not the biggest issue with me buying the car.

Crimson Thunder

If you don't like the small steering wheel, I will will trade you for my factory 70 wheel if you buy the car. I agree with Alan, 29k seems a little high but you don't see a lot of Laguna Gray cars.

Z06LMB

I have just this to say, if you have your heart set on OE Black paint on a chrome bumper car then you just have the first 2 years, '68 and '69. I don't think I ever witnessed a Laguna Gray Corvette, Beautiful!
If you find your "right" Corvette, clean and straight, I would bet you'll be in the low to mid $20K range. If the body doesn't need a lot of man hours and materials you may get away with a ($10 to $15K ) cost for prep and paint, so you are in the $30 to $35K range.
I have first hand knowledge of 3 Chrome bumper sales this May. All small blocks, ac, 4spd, all coupes and daily drivers - everyone was $25 to $35K. (In my part of the country) Add to this list my '71 which will be about $25K. When I sell it this month.

Going back 8 years ago . . . .
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...t-we-have.html

midigike

Yup, this one is ok if you want to wrench on, but I would pass. The worst part is seeing one you like and having to walk away. Good luck with the search!

Z06LMB

I missed saying "if you found a vette that was good all the way around, but it was not Black, you could paint as long as non-original doesn't bother you."

IndyCorvetteDave

I have been considering that.

I see a fair number of Stingrays with luggage rack. Unfortunately I dislike them enough that I could not stand one. I suppose that a the rack could be "deleted" during a paint job. Right?

I just want a black/black car that is solid and wouldn't put me under water, so to speak, the minute I bought it.

I would even go so far as to go without matching numbers, if the price was right, of course.

maj75

It should be. New paint over a rusted out birdcage or frame is lipstick on a pig.

A "frame on restoration" shouldn't have a bunch of "old crud" stuck underneath. Run Away.

Z06LMB

By my observations in the market place, I see upward pressure that decent cb C3's are solidly into the $20k and moving further up right now. You can see it for your self by looking or even asking Hagerty, Grundy and any of the movers and shakers of the Auction world what the action has been and where it's going.
I see a lot of people here owning CB vettes, not in the market, saying everything is too high. Not everything. Some CB's are what they are and all these men reporting all they see - car after car in the 20K and up. Believe it or not, I have serious dealers that call me asking for CB's saying "show me anything decent under $20K so they can fast flip them for high $20-low $30's" in Europe, base C3 CB Corvettes are $6 to $8,000 above us, I'm shipping one right now to Belgium for a quick $8K markup.

Rich

IndyCorvetteDave

Speaking of my willingness to paint a non-black car black and not worry too much about non-matching numbers, I will be passing by this red 1968 while on a trip to visit family in Huntsville.

https://huntsville.craigslist.org/cto/6084814984.html

No harm in looking. The more cars I see the more I learn.

Am I right in thinking that the luggage rack could be deleted when repainting a car?

Z06LMB

The word "Restoration" and "Rare" are 2 of the most abused words in the car world.

I have seen some older restorations that get pretty gunked up underneath. Primarily when the power steering hardware starts leaking and the oil gets blown around everywhere picking up road dirt, it can look very nasty in short time.

Z06LMB

Absolutely!

gbvette62

I don't think it's a bad looking car, but for the level of detail, I'd say the price is high.

It's pretty optimistic to call that car "restored". It looks more like a paint job and an engine rebuild, with the only other restoration being spraying everything with black "rattle cans".

As far as removing luggage racks, it can be done, but there's no guarantee that you won't get sink holes in the future, where the rack once was.

Easy Mike

Then pass on the gray car. No sense buying a C3 you honestly do not want.

Don Rickles

My condolences to these sellers, that receive the kiss of death once opinions are posted here.....