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Try to keep in mind. It's easy for a lot of people online to say these cars are worthless. But I believe a lot of them are living in the past. A decent paint job on a C3 is indeed 10K.
Trying to find one with good paint, frame and interior for under 20K may prove to be impossible. Everything else can be replaced/repaired.
And they are NOT going down in value at this point in time.
That is what I am encountering 4-Vettes. The C3s I have seen for $12,00 to $14,000 price range need a new paint job and all new interior. Carpet, set covers, door panels, etc.... This one has had a new paint job (could have been a cheap paint job, I don't know at this point) and all new interior. If I buy a C3 for say $13,000 and completely do the interior and also a decent paint job and clean up the engine, I feel like I will have spent over 20K when you include the price of the car. It is not easy finding something decent for $14,000 or even $19,000. I located another one in Ohio that is listed at $21,000. Has a decent paint job (something I can live with) and a really kept up interior. BUT it has 104,000 miles on the odometer. I feel like even if I got this Ohio vette for 16K that would be too much for a car with over 100,000 miles on the engine. Not that easy finding one of these at a decent price.
If i was looking for a vette i would spend time in the for sale wanted section..here on this forum.anyone with any history here would have a decent understanding of the car.
here s a first take! https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...tte-coupe.html
Last edited by interpon; Sep 19, 2022 at 08:27 PM.
That is a nice one listed for $15K. Wow. Seems really reasonable. I will stark looking at the for sale section on this site Interpon. It is a cool color. Wondering if it was hit up front or maybe pulled in too far while parking and bumped a wall or something. Looks like some kind of stress fracture or something going on with the front of the car at the corner of the passenger headlight. Other than that, the body and paint on it looks outstanding. Really cool car.
Bruiser: Can't believe they put the valve cover on ***-backwards on the white 77 I am (was??) interested in. Holy crap. Does't sit well with me. What else was done wrong when they freshened up the engine? Or interior and paint. Geez.
Looks to me like both valve covers are on backwards. You can see the fitting on the air filter housing on the passenger side that the pipe went to. (white plastic). it looks like they put a extra PCV valve in the hole. How's that supposed to work????
my 77.
The passenger side is an older photo. But I think you can see how the engine should breathe.
And it has 98 thousand miles on the clock and runs better than it looks. It's not about how many miles are on them at this age. It's how well maintained it has been.
Thanks 4-Vettes. Holy crap that looks awesome. Love the valve covers and how you have painted the alternator to match the car. I am still on the hunt for a good C3. Feel as though the one I liked in TN that started this thread is just WAY too much money and looks like she was prettied up by folks who probably don't know what they are doing. I have found another that I like in Ohion that looks like a time capsule. Silver with black interior, but the engine is completely unmolested. All original parts there. Downside, it has 103,000 miles on it and they want 20K. Ouch. You can tell it has been taken care of really well, but the entire underneath would need to be gone through because it is a time capsule. All new exhaust, shocks, front end parts, etc...etc.... These cars aren't listing for cheap. I figure a C3 like that should fetch 12K because of all the work and mileage and not 20K. It does have REALLY NICE paint and the interior was always taken care of. Its the rest that needs to be gone through and old parts replaced.
Like I said before, with cars of this age it's not about mileage. It's about condition.
A car with 20K miles on it and 40 years old is going to need a TON of work. Sitting is absolutely THE worst thing for any machine.
100K miles is actually very little for a 45 year old car. Think about it. How many miles per year is that?
And the 100K car is more likely to have been maintained.
But not always.
There is nothing on my car that hasn't been gone through, freshened up, replaced, upgraded or rebuild. Some things 3 or 4 times. These cars are 45 years old. Chevy designed them to last 10 years on average back in the 70's.
They are way past there use by date.
Think condition.
Not miles.
Good point! It's hard to remember that when looking at that 100,000 mileage and the 20K asking price. The car looks very well maintained. It looks like they really cared for the car outside and interior. And the engine looks completely original and stock. The engine hasn't been freshened up and cleaned, but that's not a bad thing. Again, time capsule. Good advice 4-Vettes. Thank you!
Cheers Mate. Remember, 350 Chev engines are about the cheapest to rebuild. There's millions of them out there.
Paint is way more expensive, suspension bushings, and brakes and on and on with the car that sat.
