OldCarBum

My Mothers uncle had a beautiful 63 silver blue, split window, 427, injected, side pipes, leather, Corvette that he only drove around the block once in a while to keep the battery up.
He had purchased the car for his wife who refused to drive it.
In 1973 my first car, 1970 SS Chevelle with cowl induction, was stolen and I was waiting for the insurance to pay me off.
My mom's uncle sold me the Corvette for the $1,500.00 I was getting from the insurance.
I drove the car and instantly fell in love and promised to never sell it to anyone.
Before the insurance check got to me his daughter and her husband took the car for a drive and wrapped it around a telephone pole putting the big block up between the seats.
The car sat for decades in their pasture then disappeared when they sold the property.
I've always wanted a C2 split window, but my budget only allowed me to get my current 73 Big Block.

joewill

currently on ebay,
168 total 1969 camaros, 111 are asking 40K +, gm made 243085
36 total 1969 corvettes , 13 are asking 40K + .gm made 38762

provenance, condition, rarity, options, then the almighty intangeble factor called demand, drives the price.

throw out rarity for the camaros

its the demand factor. kids wanted a 69 camaro when they were young, or already owned one and want to relive their past. they could not afford a vette, so throw out the rarity factor in all but the most wanted option.
there are lots of folks wanting 69 camaros and subsequently have 168 to choose from.

i myself think the corvette is a much cooler car and much more rare and could not afford one when young, now I can.

it is therefor amazing how people will pay 40+ for a camaro vs. 40+ for a vette.

vettebuyer6369

OldCarBum

It would be nice if the availability of good quality aftermarket body and chassis components for Corvettes equaled that of the Camaros.
At one point I researched building a 69 SS big block cowl induction Camaro and found I could purchase an all new, high quality, exact replica, steel body complete with doors, fenders, hood, deck lid, glass, chassis and all components, ready to paint for under what I could purchase a project car with a six cylinder.
The world would be a perfect place if we could find good quality, good fitting exact replica body and chassis components for any generation of Corvette.
As it is we pay a fortune and then need modify them in the hope to make them fit.

Iceaxe

I have a theory the hardcore numbers matching among some in Corvettes actually drives the average price down. And part of this theory has to do with Camaro's, their values, and how numbers matching matters little among the majority of the Camaro crowd.

YMMV

Faster Rat

I have a theory that most people believe whatever they want to believe, whether it is actually true or not, in order to justify their own situation and the decisions they make...present company included. Original drivetrain high performance Corvettes are quite rare, highly desirable and that is where savvy collectors are spending their money...driving the prices up. I still believe a rising tide lifts all boats

Zoomin

Iceaxe

I noticed that also, nice C2"s are selling for what a nice Camaro is worth :-)

av81

They made more Camaros because more people wanted them then and now , I own both so I don't have that tunnel vision that I see with some vette owners just because you think they are the coolest cars doesn't mean everybody does , I knew plenty of people that could afford a vette but went for the Trans am or Camaro etc just because the cars are more practical and you do not have to climb in and out you can put the dog in the back seat ... for the record I have bought 6 new vettes and 3 used over the years so I do love vettes but I still think my 69 RS is serious eye candy also ...

Marc64

The prices on Vettes have always been a bathtub shaped curve -- the oldest ones and the newest ones are priced about the same. They drop from there to the lowest priced ones but the low point moves with the years -- in the lat 70's, the cheapest ones were the 63 to 65 models with the smaller engines not a total junker will bring maybe $20,000 if it has a clear title. Probably the cheapest ones right now are the later 70's models with all of the smog crap and then the early C4 models, especially the 84. Plus remember that you are looking a a car that has always been a collectible car while some of the Mustangs and Camaros had their big years and then nothing. Hard to compare a 74 Mustang to a 74 Vette

BBCorv70

I've wondered about this as well. If the general perception is pushed that Corvettes are desirable or valuable only if they have original matching numbers drive trains, this may drive away people less interested in originality, looking for drivers or cars they may wish to upgrade the drive train, change color, etc. Tribute cars seen in Camaro world, readily accepted, are examples. Some may not want a car which they may feel would be looked down upon by a large part of the group? Others obviously don't care, non matching numbers Corvettes do sell though at lower prices. Being restricted to keeping originality, else lose value, respect, etc, may turn off some buyers.

I do agree, a Corvette with a truly original drive train is a bit rare, especially the high performance versions. Makes sense they would command a higher price from collectors.

Priya

Yes, I noticed that too. Look at a 69/70 Mustang 428 and its typically going for a lot more than a 68-72 Corvette big block. When I started out looking for my dream car I wanted a 69 Charger but nice done cars were $35-60K and even a rusted, dented car sitting in field with no interior and no drivetrain was 10K. My budget was $18k with another $10k set aside for repairs so I decided I couldn't afford the Charger and went with the Corvette. Now as I start to tally up what I've spent and will spend on my 79 I'm going to be in it for $35-40K, I could have bought that 69 Charger if I had waited a few years until I had all my money in one place at one time.

Like others have suggested, I think the reasons these cars are more than C3's is that many/most C3's were well taken care of and a much higher percentage of them survive compared to 69 Mustang/Charger/Camaro, etc. also, a lot more people had these metal cars back in the day than the C3's and want one again so there are more people after fewer metal cars and that's driven up the prices compared to C3s

OldCarBum

I remember growing up in my teens.
My friend had a Corvette and my mom was scared every time I got into his car.
"You'll die in that plastic car if someone hits you"
I remember back in the 70"s Corvettes were not a very popular car to own.
They were made of plastic, they cost more money new, insurance was over the top high, and they were definitely not a high performance car.
Yes, they had big blocks and were fast, but in a quarter mile my 70 SS BB Chevelle or my 72 455 Buick Skylark GS would eat one up with no problem.
I think the Corvette got a bad rep in the 70's that stayed with that generation and passed along through to today.

Iceaxe

Are you sure about that? I ordered a brand new 72 Buick GS 455 and it was one of the biggest turds I ever owned. When I ordered the car I had no idea what a giant POS the new smog motors were, I have never been more disappointed in a car. I traded in a 67 Buick GS 400 for the 72 GS turd.

Zoomin

OldCarBum

Yes I'm sure.
Did I fail to say it was a stage II, and it was not stock.

Iceaxe

Wow! Talk about a car you should have kept that would now be worth a fortune as only 3 stage II's are known to exist.

JerriVette

OldCarBum

I know, I've thought about that, but I was a kid, got into racing drag boats, so I needed something to tow my boat and camp in.
I traded it in or a new dodge surfer van.

DB Cooper

The bubblebutt on the later C3's was the deciding factor when I started looking at Vettes for that very reason - room for the dogs to ride along. Lack of space for 2 dogs is the main reason my Fiero doesn't get out of the garage more.