So I've been searching for a while and through word of mouth I found a 69 Vette through a friend. The car needs a total restoration but it is an original 427 Big Block car. The car was this older lady's soms car who unfortunately passed away. The original motor is missing but I have the Vin. Is there any way I can find the build sheet with just the Vin? I know there was originally a Tank sticker build sheet but just wondering what else more obvious i can look for to see if its worth buying and restoring it. I'd it's an original 390hp car it's probably not worth the money, time and effort i assume. Thanks in advance!

 

No. Records are not available from GM and there is no option information in the VIN. If there is a tank sticker with the car, you definitely will want it.

 

This confirms what Easy Mike said. Nothing earlier than 77'
https://www.corvetteactioncenter.com...x.php?cmd=area

 

If you get lucky and the car was originally delivered to Canada those records are available.

 

Original engine or not, the car is probably still worth restoring. What is the asking price in its current condition?
Cheers, Greg

 

Thanks for all the replies guys. I'm going to see if I can find the tank sticker. We haven't even discussed prices as it's more of a sentimental value kind of thing to her. I'm just trying to determine if it's worth sinking upwards of 6 figures to fully restore the car being the original engine is gone. I was assuming a 390hp car I'd be upside down on after the restoration costs.

 

And that would stop you? It didn't stop any of us.

 

you arent going to make your money back on a 6 figure restoration without the numbers matching motor, no way. doesn't matter what engine the car may have had, if its gone, the value is cut way down.

the ONLY way you are going to have a 6 figure C3 is to have a pretty rare car- 427/435, factory side pipe, factory black paint. that kind of car.

 

Hagerty values:
#1 $74,500
#2 $41,600
#3 $27,000
#4 $14,800

 

Definition of a 'BARNFIND'.....you're upside down before you begin. (L-88's excepted)

 

So what? You still own a 69 Corvette. On what planet is a C3 Corvette a "financial investment". Sorry for bold response, but it gets old. Nothing about owning any classic car makes any financial sense. Neither does golf, private airplanes, soccer, owning a boat, or anything else that we do to fill our time. Its what money is for. Anyways, I personally think the OP should enjoy what he has found, no matter what it cost.

 

there is a difference between being upside down and throwing money away. OP is talking six figure restoration. Go by a driver 69 for 40. Flush 40 down the toilet and you are still ahead 20. you don’t put 100 into a car worth 40-50

 

You were so excited by the barn find that you forgot to type UNKAHAL

LOL!

 

As others have said, nothing is available from GM for anything prior to late-70s. If you don't find the sheet(s) on the tank or they're severely degraded, you may find a build sheet stuffed up behind the dash. Some folks have found them under a seat. My 2-page '72's Corvette Order ("build sheets") were behind the dash and compared to the tank copies very legible and almost pristine by comparison.

 

Six figure resto on an non numbers matching C3? No thanks!

 

My boss bought a 2017 Z06 Corvette for over $100,000 with the options he selected. He drove it 500 miles over a year or so......500 miles.....total. When he decided to buy a new ZR1 C7, he tried to sell the Z06, or trade it in, and could not get more than $65,000 for it. 500 TOTAL MILES.....always garaged.....perfect condition. He lost over $35,000.

So, toy cars are not an investment. I know Barrett Jackson, blah blah blah etc. all have stories of people buying and selling cars for ridiculous prices, but its not the average persons world. As previously stated, the OP has a 69 Corvette......just like my new project, and it WILL take a lot of money, and labor, to restore the car, but in my opinion, for me, it is worth whatever it costs. Here on a C3 Corvette forum, one would think that people appreciate and love the cars enough to understand that, but it seems more often than not, even on a C3 Forum, people just do not value or love the car enough to spend any money on it. People claim its all worth it for a C2 or C1,......but somehow a C3 is not worth doing. Don't get that. I guess if you are paying a shop to restore the car, then yeah, the price gets ridiculous. My labor, which is a labor of love, is irrelevant.......I actually WANT to restore the car, its a hobby, occupies my times, challenges me, educates me, and THAT has huge value. Money is only one singular measurement of value. What else would I do......watch STUPID reality car shows and pretend its real entertainment, and watch other people build a car? Worrying about being "upside down".......I would like to never hear that again.

I think we are all different. Not everyone has the ability, talent, fortitude, or desire to restore a classic car like a C3 Corvette,......or maybe your wife won't allow you, so I get it. But I also think many of these same people fail to realize the value in it. I started out this 69 with a very low entry buy of the project.....and it will take years, and money, to turn it into a beautiful 69, that will be rebuilt better than GM did, and its WORTH EVERY PENNY no matter what the cost versus sale price differential is. And frankly, I doubt it cost more than $50K ....not $100K. Those of you who choose otherwise are missing out on a very valuable experience. I guess go back to watching reality car shows or playing golf? You just don't enjoy the hobby or care about the cars enough. Anyways......

 

I don't see a six figure restoration unless you plan to out source every point of the restoration process. Also, if I had six figures to drop on a used Chevy it wouldn't be on a non numbers matching C3.

I really need to up date my older excel restoration spreadsheets with current prices but it went something like this;

Rolling Chassis - $1500
Engine - $5000
Chrome - $2500
Interior - $3000
Tire & Wheels - $1000
Body & Paint - Yea this is where we get screwed.

So call it $40K plus the cost of the car.

I have done two C2 and one C3 frame off bumper to bumper restoration in my standard home garage. Takes time and lots of effort to keep plowing forward and not go into burnout. Also takes a lot of tools and solid planning. After my last paint shop experience I decided if I ever did this again I would paint the car myself. I would rather have a $3000 ten footer than a $25,000 whatever. To be honest I would do all the bodywork, primmer, sanding ect. myself and just have Maco shoot it.

 

I’m an old school muscle car guy and had a frame on done to my 71 years back. It is a matching numbers car. Starting with a non matching numbers car if you’re budgeting that much you may want to consider resto-modding the car. As us older guys get older the market for the original cars begin to shrink. The younger buyers love the older cars and will pay dumb money if they’re modified. Just bouncing an idea out there.

 

Without the original engine, resto mod it and spend 6 figures, if needed, to do it right. Resto mods sell at B-J and Mecum in that price range.

 

Yeah.......numbers matching really matters. Total sarcasm. I have ZERO experience in buying multiple classic cars, so I could be all wrong, but as others stated above, resto mods are now becoming the thing, and wisely so. Younger buyers want more modern like performance, and are less interested in antiques that some organization approves of. And with all the great aftermarket performance parts available, you can really make a C3 into a great performing car.....relatively speaking. And what is ALWAYS ignored, is if properly restored with good components, finishes and talent, you essentially can build a "brand new" C3 Corvette. I always describe my 77 restoration as making it a "brand new" version of a 77 Corvette for far less money than a brand new Corvette. That is worth something. Because these supposedly "valuable" non restored, original cars are just one maintenance trap after the other, and they all have rust. Too much emphasis is placed on these fantasy dream cars that almost do not exist, and even if they do, they are still 40 plus years old, meaning old wiring, old rubber, old plastic, old old old. A good restoration replaces all the "old" with new, and you have a brand new C3 Corvette to reliably drive. And driving the car should be one of the main purposes in owning the car. Leave the others to museums. That's my definition of value. And since I will never be selling the cars, I am not interested in what the blind "market" says.