When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I have a 1971 Convertible PS, A/C, Matching Numbers, that is original. Paint, Interior, Engine. Does have a new top. White with Dark Saddle interior Paint is in very good condition a slight wet sand and polish and it looks great .Engine looks old but original some original paint on block but could use a good detailing but do I just wash it and polish a little or repaint engine? Interior is a problem for me. Seats have changed color, have some splits and wear. Front floor carpet is pretty dirty, on driver's side the tar has come through from the insulation underneath. Door panels have cracks on armrests. By problem is do I leave it original or change out carpet, seats, and door panels and keep the original parts on the side? I am thinking about selling it and I want to do what makes the best sense for value and for the car. They are only original once. I have had a lot of Original cars but they have been pretty much perfect original cars that looked like new. None were a Corvette so I know that the original body was never be perfect. Pictures below. Thanks!
Help!!!!
Last edited by maxvvette; Oct 3, 2018 at 08:19 PM.
If you want to sell it, don't spend another dime on the car. You will never get it back.
If you want to keep it, drive it, and enjoy it, fix the car up to be a car you want to keep, drive, and enjoy! But keep the old parts. Many of them can be restored, and may fit better than the repros.
I would replace the rugs, repair the door panels and have the seats reupholstered. Original door panels fit best and those cracks ain't much. The rugs belong in a landfill. Don't care how original. Seat upholstery too, but not as bad as the rugs. And i think this would increase value more than the cost. OK, the rugs are out. No way in hell can you justify reinstalling them.
Last edited by derekderek; Oct 3, 2018 at 09:52 PM.
I would replace the rugs, repair the door panels and have the seats reupholstered. Original door panels fit best and those cracks ain't much. The rugs belong in a landfill. Don't care how original. Seat upholstery too, but not as bad as the rugs. And i think this would increase value more than the cost. OK, the rugs are out. No way in hell can you justify reinstalling them.
I think you are right. I will clean the carpet behind the seats and under the hatch. I have a guy who could repair the seats but the are such a different color from sun and time. If I dye them I might as well change them and keep the originals.
Thanks!
Max
I have a white 69 in similar condition. Just ordered new leather (bright blue interior) seats from corvette America. I plan to keep the car as long as I can see. Get after it. Beautiful car you have!
Max
I have a white 69 in similar condition. Just ordered new leather (bright blue interior) seats from corvette America. I plan to keep the car as long as I can see. Get after it. Beautiful car you have!
VS
I just sold a 1969 Blue/Blue Convertible. It was beautiful. I love that color.!!!! Good Luck with your car and enjoy it!
If you want to keep it, drive it, and enjoy it, fix the car up to be a car you want to keep, drive, and enjoy!.
Cant stress that enough. Make it the car YOU want. Know where you want to go with it so you don’t waste time and money on doing something to it because it was easier or popular with other people. In the end, the value rarely exceeds the expense from fixing it up so just make it what you want and have fun.
Your car is so close to being original, you should just keep it that way. Don't fall into the 'trap' of putting "stuff" on it which doesn't belong there. You can repair/clean/refurbish all the worn portions of your car with 'same as original' replacements or just refurbish what you presently have. Carpet, door panels, and seat covers appear to be too far gone. BUT, you can always remove them, clean them up well, ATTEMPT to save them, and see what happens. If they still look in poor condition, replace them.
The bulk of the work in refurbishing your car is the many hours of LABOR you will invest in cleaning and detailing. If you get satisfaction out of making the car look better, all the better!
I've had great luck with SEM Soap on interior vinyl pieces. If you want to try cleaning what you have, you could freshen the interior a lot for not much money. I bought some 3M Scothbrite pads, too (gray perhaps)?
If you want to sell it in today's market and all the original components are present just clean it up a little and advertise it as a survivor. There are collectors that will buy it on the condition that it's all correct and all the correct components that it left the factory with are present. Not many and it may take a while to find the proper place to advertise and sell but there are buyers out there for survivor cars.
If you plan on keeping it then replace the carpet and redo the seats and fix the door panels then drive and enjoy.
Your car is so close to being original, you should just keep it that way. Don't fall into the 'trap' of putting "stuff" on it which doesn't belong there. You can repair/clean/refurbish all the worn portions of your car with 'same as original' replacements or just refurbish what you presently have. Carpet, door panels, and seat covers appear to be too far gone. BUT, you can always remove them, clean them up well, ATTEMPT to save them, and see what happens. If they still look in poor condition, replace them.
The bulk of the work in refurbishing your car is the many hours of LABOR you will invest in cleaning and detailing. If you get satisfaction out of making the car look better, all the better!
Fine line between refurbishing parts and original. I could repair seats but the only way the will look decent is to Dye them and then they aren't "original". Thanks!
I've had great luck with SEM Soap on interior vinyl pieces. If you want to try cleaning what you have, you could freshen the interior a lot for not much money. I bought some 3M Scothbrite pads, too (gray perhaps)?
These seats are shot and will not clean up. Need patches and dye. If I could find a cheap spare set of seats I would recover those and leave these original. Thanks!
Broken, cracked and torn original stuff is worth NOTHING, and adds no value to the car and will detract significantly if you want to sell it. It the seat back panels are not broken, they can be repainted, they are better quality than the repops,and of different construction, keep those and repaint them.
The diff in price between a #4 to #4- car (what you probably have) and #2-3 car, which is what a new interior and rigorous engine compartment detailing could possibly bring it up to (assuming engine is very good running, no problems, excellent paint etc), is $8-$15K . #1 car being Concourse, #6 being a parts car. Replacing broken original stuff with non original looking replacements (diamond tuck and roll seats for example), adds NO value. You would ahve to detail teh frame, fender wells, etc to start getting into the #2 area.
Since you intend to sell in the near term I agree that you should do a lot of cleaning but no interior cosmetic replacements as you won't recover the money you spend on them.
How do you think the original seats were colored? Vinyl dye...same as what you re-color them with. That will not lower the value, if you still have the original seat covers. Remove the covers from your seats and take them to an upholstery shop. They will let you know if the covers can be saved...or not. If the tears/rips can be repaired decently, I have a paper that will describe how to re-stuff the seat-surface channels with new foam (that's why yours are FLAT). Clean the seat covers, re-color and reinstall. They can probably repair the minor cracking on the door panels, too.
Do a little investigation into how to save what you have. You may be surprised with what you can get with professional repairs.
P.S. The folks who say that you can't save them likely have never done any interior repairs.
How do you think the original seats were colored? Vinyl dye...same as what you re-color them with. That will not lower the value, if you still have the original seat covers. Remove the covers from your seats and take them to an upholstery shop. They will let you know if the covers can be saved...or not. If the tears/rips can be repaired decently, I have a paper that will describe how to re-stuff the seat-surface channels with new foam (that's why yours are FLAT). Clean the seat covers, re-color and reinstall. They can probably repair the minor cracking on the door panels, too.
Do a little investigation into how to save what you have. You may be surprised with what you can get with professional repairs.
P.S. The folks who say that you can't save them likely have never done any interior repairs.
I have done many repair to seats and redye as well. Problem is it is still considered "Restored" To me original is untouched (see photo of 1959 Rambler I had 2 years ago, 10,000 mile original car with plastic covers on seats. This to me is original) Vette exterior will look this good it's the interior that is bothering me. I am leaning towards have the changing front floor carpets and seats recovered and keeping all the original pieces I take out. If I could find a couple of 71 seats I would just recover those and keep these as they are. Thanks for the input!!!!
Leave All Original?????
