1969 427/390 T-top side pipes, tint, 4 speed,58k. This car has set in a garage for 9 years.
I need to get it running for sale. How much will it cost to get in shape to get a good price
or should I sell as is?

 

either 10 dollars of gasoline or a million dollar restoration

 

 

 

How could anyone possibly answer this question

 

location ?

 

IMHO, sell it as is. You do not know what all you need without spending a bunch of money. And, you could be opening cans of worms. Most who restore most of these C3's do good to break even. "Barn finds" or C3's that have sat like this one are understood by potential buyers to have a number of unknowns and they expect to do some rebuilds of different components. Suggest you list on ebay with what you know, good and bad, lots and lots of photos, no reserve with a starting price of something reasonable and see what you get. Also, include photos of the engine stamp pad and the transmission, important to determine if both are original as best you can. Plus photos of degree of frame rust. Get expert help to get accurate photos to inform potential buyers as much as possible.

Good luck and hope this helps!

 

 

 

 

and read the 10 rules sticky at the top of this section. it will tell you what to look for as far as basic overall condition. thus giving you an idea if you have a rusty POS or potentially valuable car. and as said before, where are you? on of us is most likely close enough to give you a quicky appraisal of basic value and feasibility of making it live.

 

A lot depends on what you can do yourself. If your able to drain the gas tank and add fresh fuel. Check or replace points and plugs, replace the battery. Then you could try to start it. If it starts and runs, fine. If not there could be any number of problems . Brakes are also a big IF. Rotors could be rusty and frozen, calipers leaky, brake lines rusted. Again, if you can do the work your self the cost is much less than paying a pro. If it starts, and drives you'll get a better price than if it's a non running car. But if you have to pay someone to do that work for you it's probably not worth it. Shop rates hover around $100.00 an hour and all your parts will be full retail. Then there's the cosmetics, is the interior just dirty or mouse eaten and shot. Wire harnessing is a favorite food of mice.
If you can do the work yourself to get it running and cleaned up then give it a shot. If you have to pay then sell as is. Just my opinion.

 

Mindy,
Welcome to the forum! Your location will help with the evaluation. As already stated, unless you can turn the wrenches, selling as is might be the best bet. A running car will sell faster for a better price. If you decide to get it running, research what needs to be done before turning the key. Look carefully for rodent damage. If you find nests under the hood or damaged upholstery you can be sure there is a lot of hidden damage. Inspect the tires. They are at least 9 years old. Old dry rotted tires have been know to blow out while parked in the garage. You don't want to get it running, take it for a quick spin and have a tire blow. In addition to risk to your well being, a blown tire can damage the fiberglass around the wheel well. We love pictures. Post some if you can. There is a wealth of knowledge on this forum. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Good luck with your decision.

 

Sell or???
Central Pa. Harrisburg area.
First I can do most of the work. New batt, change fluids. This is like day one.
Not even up on stands yet. I need to get under the car and check everything out..
Interior is clean body has some flaws. I saw no rust yet. It will help you to know this is not my car.
I will not be the $$$$ source. Things are still very up in the air. The car needs to run and move
before the final decision is made. The Lady who owns it used to be a racer.
1/4 midgets, carts and some stock cars. She has a room full of trophies. This job will be very interesting.
How hard is it to rebuild a holly carb. I want to get it off and make like new.
I don't have a lot of time on my hands so this may be slow a painful.
My name is Fred (I'll explain later)

 

The car came with a Rochester Q-Jet, not a Holley. The side pipes were likely added, few C3s came with them from the factory. Check the motor stamp pad for the VIN derivative. If it is the original motor, then the car has a lot more value than if it has been replaced...which is far more likely. These cars are money pits and few on this forum think they are worth what they are selling for. I have the exact car as your lady friend, so do several other forum members. There is an L36 coupe just like mine in the for sale section, with A/C but without side pipes, for upper $30s only. I would not even consider selling my mostly restored, yet original paint car, for less than $80k. Looks like it will be passed down to my heirs.

 

If it is a Holley carburetor on it, they are very easy to rebuild. If you're not aware, that is a highly prized Corvette and should be priced accordingly (given overall condition and assuming it can be documented as originally produced with 427 4 speed). I've had a lot of old cars (sitting outside year round in Saskatchewan) that have sat for many years and there wasn't a one of them I couldn't get started with some effort other than those that had gotten water in the cylinders.

It is well worth your while to invest the time and see if you can get this running, that alone will add a lot of value to the car compared to not running which may leave the buyer to assume the motor is no good. At the very least, take the spark plugs out, put a bit of automatic transmission fluid in each cylinder, let it sit for a day and come back and see if the crankshaft can be turned.(possible buyers will feel better about that at least, if it isn't running) As other have said though, it is not worth your time to fix anything beyond a day or so spent trying to get it running.

So, perhaps you buy a carb kit, rebuild it yourself, drain the fuel tank, new spark plugs, points, condensor, maybe a distributor cap and spark plug wires, you're into it for maybe $100 or so and you get it running (particularly if you get it running well), you'll get way more than an extra $100 for the car.

 

pics would be worth a million words here.

 

 

The car is more valuable if it is running and driving. Otherwise, potential buyers have no idea what it will take to get it to that point

Good luck

 

Hi Mindy,
In my town, we call a 69 427, 390 HP car an L-36. Welcome to the forum. A Corvette that has set for 9 years will need a decent budget to get it safe and mobile. Just for starters I would budget a 1000$, and you will most likely exceed that threshold, unless you do the work yourself . Tires will be dry rotted and need to be replaced to be safe. Brakes will likely be completely shot. New wires, plugs, cap and rotor will be a must. Belts hoses and fluids will need to be changed, along with a fresh tank of fuel. Don't forget a new battery as well, to spin it over. Once all this is done, you will have a better idea of what the car is, and how much it will bring.