Hi All, I have a disease, and I'm afraid you all have contributed to it!

Currently have a C7 GS and a '72 roadster (several of you have been very helpful on the '72 and I thank you). A 'friend of a friend' has a project he's been working on for a few years, and he no longer has the $ to finish it - so it's been sitting pretty much the same for the last 1.5 years. He's interested in selling it, and I'm wondering if you can help me sort out whether it's a good deal. Here is what I know so far (going to see the car Saturday - it's about 75 miles north of me).

* 68 427 (not sure which one); 4spd; roadster.
* 'Numbers matching'. He said that the only parts that wouldn't 'match' are those he replaced: starter, water pump. He said the middle carb doesn't match, but I'm not so sure about that as he said 'it's a different number' and I think the middle carb had a different number anyway. We'll see.
* Has hard top (originally vinyl covered - vinyl removed as part of body prep).
* Has all soft top bows, but I believe it will need a new soft top.
* Owner did body off: did frame, all lines/hoses, brakes, new fuel tank, suspension front/rear, etc. Please see pics.
* Rebuilt the entire drive train - engine, trans, clutch, etc. He said he fires it up monthly and moves it around to 'keep the parts lubricated'.
* Body has been prepped. Pics look good but I'll need to see in person. Not sure if it's been hit/repaired yet.
* 'No rust'. Owner said he didn't want any rusty car so he was very careful to find a good one (he bought it in 1984). Said frame, cage, etc. were/are great.
* Has all the interior parts and '68 only parts.
* Original colors: red, black interior, black vinyl top on hardtop.

I do my own body, paint, and interior stuff. I've restored many cars, including a '55 bird that came with a body on frame and many boxes so I'm not shy about tackling a project if it's worth it. The pics I have are from 1 and 1.5 years ago taken by my friend (sorry some are blurry) on two different visits. Owner said it's pretty much the same as one year ago, except he's done some interior work and such. But I'm guessing there is a lot of interior to put back together and who knows what else with regard to all the 'fun' vacuum works.

He and I haven't talked price yet, but my friend said his price is $25k. For all the work he'd done, that sounds pretty reasonable to me. Shoot, I've spent over $5k just redoing the suspension and brakes on our '72.

Pics below. Again, sorry they're not better. I'll have my own pics on Saturday.

Thoughts? Thanks for your help! Paul

 

Hi H,
Pretty serious car!
Pretty interesting situation!

How do you feel about the VIN derivative stamp on the engine and transmission?
'Typically' it was done with the same stamp at the same time so the two stamps should share any idiosyncrasies.
Certainly screw-ups happened at St.Louis.
What I don't see is that a digit under the 6 was ground out.
I'd want to see the surface of the pad with the paint carefully removed.

If the engine and transmission are the originals for this car.... at first glance $25,000 seems like very little money.

Regards,
Alan

Unless there's something really bad hiding in the woodpile I'd think $25,000 is a very nice figure!

 

Hi Alan, I wasn't sure what to make of the pad - looked a bit weird to me too, but I don't know enough about engine pad stamping to make a knowledgeable conclusion. Since he's owned it from 1984 I would think if it was 'faked', it would have to be the current owner and my friend that has known him for years said he is 100% honest. But......

And if I'm reading the engine suffix correctly, it appears to be a 400 hp version?

I value and appreciate your input. Thank you.

 

That stamp is very odd. Its so strange I almost wonder if it is legit. I would contact Al Grenning to see what he says.

If it turns out to be the original drivetrain than its a fair deal especially if he has any original docs to go with it.

 

Hi Paul,
I believe that typically the engine pad and transmission case were stamped at the same time using the same gang holder.
So one would expect the two stamps to look like each other.
BUT, it's well known that all sorts of things happened that are exceptions to the typical procedure.
It's nice though to come to a knowledgable conclusion about the stamps... especially on a car like this.
Regards,
Alan

A gang holder, tray of stamps, glove, and hammer.
Did he take the last digit out, forget to put the new digit in place, realize it and go back and add the last digit????

 

Thank you Alan. Your post made me laugh - just thinking about how our vettes were built several years ago compared to now. Pretty cool, actually.

I'll find out more information tomorrow. I would guess that it has to be some scenario like you laid out. If someone was going to fake a pad, I can't believe they'd do it so obviously weird. But what I know about stamping wouldn't fill a thimble........but I know more know thanks to you and others.

I continue to be thankful for the kindness of others in sharing their knowledge on this forum.

 

Hopper

The car look pretty nice for the price. Beside the strange stamp pad the only thing I see that would give me worry is the radiator shroud. The picture shows a metal shroud. Only 427s with a serial number less than approximately 2800 would of came from the factory that way. The factory switched to a fiberglass shroud after that.

John

 

Another stamp detail. The 2 0's. The one on the trans is weak at the top. The one on the engine is weak on the bottom. I have doubts about validity of that engine stamp. OTOH, car looks worth grabbing if it were an 89 454 block.