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Hi everyone, I've been looking at and negotiating a price for this 68, can you give me your thoughts.
Details;
GOOD
Solid frame, birdcage and body mountsHas new soft top and original hardtopNew bushingsNew trailing arms
Headlights come up and downPaint is driver qualityNew mufflers
4spd
BAD
Non numbers matching 327 (275hp in it now)
Non original paint.
Wipers do not workA few paint chips showing previous paint.
A few cosmetic interior flaws.
Some tail light issues (grounding)
Valve covers and distributor gasket leaksOil dipstick broken.
Exhaust leak from passenger side manifold
All in all I think it's a solid car with minor issues for the most part to fix.
What do you guys think the worth is?
Thanks in advance. Engine code Body mount and frame Paint chip showing previous paint
It looks good from here...but I'm a rookie at pricing a car.
Lol, me too. I'm in an area where there are not many C3's and even less with solid frames like this one.
so they never come up and because of that the prices I feel are higher than the rest of N.America
You listed about $500 in repairs which can be expected (IF you do the repairs yourself). I am resto-modding a "bucket of bolts" '68 convertible myself and will have $20,000 invested including new paint job....if that info helps any.
Really hard to narrow the range without a lot more details.
No disrespect but how do you know the frame and cage are good? To what extent have you inspected for rust and/previous repairs?
Is the car a no-hit body?
When was it painted? What paint was used e.g. lacquer, enamel, PPG, DuPont, etc?
What history is available? How long has the current owner had the car? Why is he selling?
Is the transmission and differential original?
Agree the issues you raised are, generally, minor, as long as you have the time and ability to address. If you have to take the car to someone to work on it, that can be a slippery slope.
The 68’s have a lot of one year only parts so they are more problematic than the 69.
Haggerty rates a “good” condition 68 in the upper $20k range. Assuming no other glaring issues, I would guesstimate you’r looking in the $25-28k range.
It looks really weird without a front emblem, but otherwise appears to be a clean car.
What does the paint look like in person? It could just need a polish to get rid of the swirl marks, but in the reflection it looks like waves on the driver's door. Not a huge deal, I'm sure it shines up nice, but don't pay for perfection. To me, at least, a well painted black car is worth more than the 988 Cordovan Maroon it replaced, and good on the PO for not adding a forged trim tag.
I couldn't even guess a value. Perhaps you can get it for $20K, fix it up and it would be worth $25K? Maybe $25 and $30K? I really don't know what the NOM, or Canada, do to pricing.
Really hard to narrow the range without a lot more details.
No disrespect but how do you know the frame and cage are good? To what extent have you inspected for rust and/previous repairs?
Is the car a no-hit body?
When was it painted? What paint was used e.g. lacquer, enamel, PPG, DuPont, etc?
What history is available? How long has the current owner had the car? Why is he selling?
Is the transmission and differential original?
Agree the issues you raised are, generally, minor, as long as you have the time and ability to address. If you have to take the car to someone to work on it, that can be a slippery slope.
The 68’s have a lot of one year only parts so they are more problematic than the 69.
Haggerty rates a “good” condition 68 in the upper $20k range. Assuming no other glaring issues, I would guesstimate you’r looking in the $25-28k range.
Thanks for the reply.
I took a look at the bodymounts, frame rails and put a scope in the frame cut-outs to see inside and there was no rust or scaling on the outside or inside of the frame rails.
There was a incident in the rear right but the straps are all still in tact and you.see the pics of the rear lights the only indicator of an incident is the smallest of differences in trim reveal.
I don't know what paint was usedThe current owner has had it for 9yrs and it hasn't been driven for 2yrs (covered dry storage) previous owner to him I'm told didn't drive it for 10yrs.
The speedo doesn't work so actual miles are unknown but the odometer reading is 34k kms = 28k miles
Trans and diff are original 4spd M21
Thanks again for the reply, it sounds like you know a lot about these cars so hopefully my additions help
if the frame and cage are that good i would say 25 or so. getting hard to find really solid ones. that is worth more than shiny. provided it is that solid. prices have gone up. it may take 30 to get it.
I’d offer 20K for it
everything can be repaired and replaced, or modified if you like.
Pull those kick panels under the dash and look into the #2 body mounts. If you see piles of metal the top of the birdcage is bad. If the frame and cage are solid, she is a keeper.
it’s a 53 year old car, so we got to expect something
It’s good that you ‘scoped the frame but you didn’t mention the cage in your reply. Search the forum for birdcage and see some of the horror stories others have discovered. You need to remove the interior kick panels and windshield trim to see the actual cage condition and that only is a portion of the exposure. Of course you can’t remove the windshield as part of a pre-purchase inspection but you can carefully examine the area around the VIN tag. Look for evidence of any bubbling of the paint. If the owner will allow, remove the small access panels in front of the rear tires and look at the #3 mounts. The longitudinal sections of the cage above the frame rails are an inverted “U” and are hard to see but since you have a ‘scope, inspect carefully below the #2 and #3
My general advice is to think long term. Are you buying the car (or any other you may consider) for the joy of ownership of one of these cars? Along with the joy of ownership come the acknowledgment that you are buying a 55 year old Corvette which will need constant care and feeding. To some (including me) a good part of that joy derives from working on them, learning about them, interacting with fellow enthusiasts on how to fix them. In too many cases, however, people buy a car and then realize they are in over their head and/or experience the shock of the cost of finding a terminal issue (cage rotted), deciding shortly afterward that the paint wasn’t as good as it initially looked (it almost never does), then find out a paint job (today) costs about $10k and/or are frustrated that something quits working and they have no idea of what to do about it, each of which leads to disappointment.
It’s good that you ‘scoped the frame but you didn’t mention the cage in your reply. Search the forum for birdcage and see some of the horror stories others have discovered. You need to remove the interior kick panels and windshield trim to see the actual cage condition and that only is a portion of the exposure. Of course you can’t remove the windshield as part of a pre-purchase inspection but you can carefully examine the area around the VIN tag. Look for evidence of any bubbling of the paint. If the owner will allow, remove the small access panels in front of the rear tires and look at the #3 mounts. The longitudinal sections of the cage above the frame rails are an inverted “U” and are hard to see but since you have a ‘scope, inspect carefully below the #2 and #3
My general advice is to think long term. Are you buying the car (or any other you may consider) for the joy of ownership of one of these cars? Along with the joy of ownership come the acknowledgment that you are buying a 55 year old Corvette which will need constant care and feeding. To some (including me) a good part of that joy derives from working on them, learning about them, interacting with fellow enthusiasts on how to fix them. In too many cases, however, people buy a car and then realize they are in over their head and/or experience the shock of the cost of finding a terminal issue (cage rotted), deciding shortly afterward that the paint wasn’t as good as it initially looked (it almost never does), then find out a paint job (today) costs about $10k and/or are frustrated that something quits working and they have no idea of what to do about it, each of which leads to disappointment.
Keep us posted.
. Thanks for the great reply. I did check the bodymounts behind the kick panels and they are good with no sign of rust, and the area around the VIN has no rust or bubbling either.
As for reasons to buy a C3 it's 50/50 for me, half driving and half working on it in the garage over the winter.
Thanks, again and I'll keep you all posted
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
I bought my 68 7 years ago in very similar shape for $19K. The appraiser said he valued it at $21K, it would have been $4K higher with the original motor in it. I found it for $1500 more. MY headlights worked, the wipers did not. The paint was a great 5 footer, interior was all there but there was a lot of Buffoonery going on under neath with bad wiring, cut Fiberoptic cables. wood screws holding trim on, lag screws as seat hinges, roof on crooked ( still ahvent fixed that mess)
Just so you know and you will find this out, the 68 has some 67 parts, a lot of 68 only parts and anything that is sold as fits "68 to 82 does not" and a lot of "68 to 72" may not be. Other than that the hood may pop open on most rail road crossings and the body will flex so much when you jack it up you will think you broke it. ITs a great car and very fun. Make sure the brakes are the first thing you check and et working correctly
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
PS get a detailer to buff out the paint, It may be all you need for quite a while. And check the date code on the tires, Im willing to bet they are older than you think. Thats a darn pretty car you go there. Mines about 10 days older than yours
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
And the taillight issue could be the light bulbs are incorrect or shoved in there incorrectly. They have 2 posts and some folks just like to ram the bulbs in and twist and the posts dont line up if they are 180 degrees off
I probably live close to you. Burnaby to be exact. I’ve seen this car a few times but not up close. Being a 68, there are a lot of unique one year only parts. I’m not sure how much of a factory correct guy you are, or even if it’s an issue, but it is something you may want to consider.
As mentioned the frame and birdcage are the key worry areas. Frame looks to have been repainted. Most C3s in this area I’ve seen do not have frame rust. But the birdcage can definitely hide some.. If exterior paint is decent, then it’s just mechanical. However as mentioned, this is not a factory black car, but rather maroon.
I have seen the local ad for this car. I don’t think you posted a link to the ad, so I will not as well to respect your reasoning. Lots going on under the hood that is not original. Steering wheel also not correct. Again this may not be important to you. To me the ask price is too high for a incorrect colour car based on some other local chrome bumper C3s I’ve seen for sale. $15-18K off the ask price might be ok if all checks out. Just my opinion.
68 Convertible Price question
