Bought this for my wife 3 years ago glad I did

 

The definition of worthless from dictionary.com-
adjective
without worth; of no use, importance, or value; good-for-nothing: a worthless person; a worthless contract.

And from Merriam Webster--

Definition of worthless
1a : lacking worth : valueless worthless currency
b : useless worthless to continue searching

Get real, Gary. We as C3 owners are all on the same side here. Who thinks the LT1 is worthless? Inflammatory comments like this are not productive, and I'd like to see you or anyone else here point to specific threads on THIS forum indicating the LT1s are worthless - Any quotes even hinting at that anywhere on this forum. There is a difference between worthless, and not worth as much as you'd like your LT1 to be worth.

As C3 owners (even if we are not LT1 or big block corvette owners), we WANT to see values of the small block Corvette go up, be it the L48, the L46, or the LT1, as all ships tend to rise with higher valuations for the C3s; however, fantasy evaluations for a small block Corvette (LT1 or no) are not realistic. LT1s are not 75k cars yet - not when buyers can buy a big block Corvette for that money (and generally a lot less than that), regardless if LT1s are considered rare, or big blocks are more nose-heavy. Right or wrong (and arguably), for similar money, BB Corvettes are what buyers have traditionally wanted and want now - at least from what I've seen over the years.

As I've said before, there are exceptions to this, and there are folks who are willing to ask more than their Corvette is worth when selling, and there are buyers who are willing to spend more than the car is worth. That happens every day, and is not exclusive to the Corvette.

When the big block cars hit 100k + consistently (not including the L88 - already quite rare and expensive), that means that the 1970 LT1s may likely hit their stride at ~75K, thus bringing the value of the L46 to ~60k and the base L48 to 50k, consistently - but that's not now. Who knows, the LT1s may even be worth more than SOME (427/390 or lower output 454s) of the big blocks some day - the 1970 model, that is, but we will see. Even so, I'm skeptical that the 1971 and 1972 models will be worth ~75K (for a long time at least). The 1970 LT1 is king.

I imagine that the 1971-72 values will hover around the price of the 1969-70 L46s - cars with more HP which are faster and than the 71/72 LT1s, stock for stock - but alt least the 72's are smoother because that's when they moved to rubber frame mounts. Moreover, the 1970 LT1 was barely able to outrun the L46 - it was really close. That for a solid lifter and peaky 350 that is not as street-friendly as the L48 or L46. It takes a special crowd to deal with the relatively regular adjustments of a solid lifter 350 that is peaky and only makes 20 more HP than the the L46 at the top.

Given the choice, if someone had to pick between a L71 or L89 BB (essentially the big block version of the LT1), and a LT1 for the same money - condition being equal- what do you think they would choose? That's not even a decision you have to think about. Perhaps you bought the LT1 because it was more affordable than a big block, and you thought eventually it would be worth more someday because it had a bit of rarity to it....but so were/are the L71s and L89s, so why not buy one of those?. Small block handles better? Nobody buys a C3 in stock form for its handling prowess, small block or otherwise. It's based on 1960's (C2) technology. Compare a C2 and C3 frame - basically identical.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The C3 LT1 is a great collectible car, and a good investment overall IMO, but you can love something and be realistic at the same time. Your LT1 worth more is good for all of us.

 

I've been seeing LT-1 prices raise and with BAT it's good that you can look back over previous completed sales. My insurer agreed £80k replacement value on my '71 TF red LT-1 and £50k on the yellow one after a slight back and forth over shipping and import costs to the UK. An Ontario Orange one sold here recently for £55k which had a poor repaint, a re-stamped block and headlight support bracket dimples...

The recently bought red one above was an outstanding deal for the buyer on the face of it

I can see the trend continuing a bit yet

 

Yeah I think that is a little over the top but I guess exposingtime can defend himself.
Pray tell how does Merriam Webster define "worth less" as in "worthless" because I accidentally missed the space bar?

Originally Posted by exposingtime View Post
I went through this last month with my insurance renewal. Regardless of what anyone thinks your car is worth, you can add a higher agreed value to your policy for a little extra money so you should do it.

I added $40k in agreed value for $180 a year. Money well spent in my opinion even though most people on this forum think our cars are worthless.

Gary

 

Another 71 LT1 just sold on BAT for $62.5k, fresh paint but not the original color,wow.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...t-corvette-78/

 

I was following that one to get a better idea of the market. The final price seems quite high for that example.

 

Maybe just a little, but if a coupe is your thing hard to find better examples for much less.……. I just paid close to the same for a restored 71 LT-1 convertible with documentation and original drivetrain, albeit from a dealer.