Check out the mecum auctions there are some that that have gone for that amount with very low miles (8k or so). Not collectors editions (L82s).

 

Mecham and Barret Jackson are also not what I'd call "real world value". Those are over the top cars that are not common, bought buy rich guys who like to throw money around. I know guys like that. Unfortunately I am not one of them!

 

At few months back. we picked up a nice L82 1974 version recently for 5,500. Now, the bumper was not installed and the fender needed to be redone. No brakes, uninstalled cooling system and not knowing the engine worked. So far we have about 7500 into it. We need to buy new tires and pay for the registration once we have the brakes and borgeson steering installed. We are working on upgraded steering and new brake calipers on all four corners plus resprayed fender and installed nose. Everything working properly except for the AC. So that should give you an idea. The corvette has leather interior, power brakes, AC, power steering, tilt/telescopic steering column, M21 4 speed, numbers matching engine with stainless steel hookers and chrome pipes. Total invested is 8500.00 for a nice driver quality California (non-rusted version) by the time we get it registered. Just a reference for you to think about what you are getting into is all.

The deal with my son was we would match his money so that puts us right where we needed to be to make it even.

 

I would consider a later model rear bumper with the spoiler on that '74, since you need to replace it anyway. They all need a little work to make them fit when you get a new one anyway. I wish I'd done that before I painted mine.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

I do like those spoilers.

 

I just don't want to put any money in a car again that isn't "worth" it. No matter what I get, I have no intention of flipping it, just want it to retain or increase its value if I have to put money into it.

 

I would find another candidate. Find a 454 or L82 that is an honest car. Numbers matching not too altered but been used. My son's car is very close to that. I knew I was going to have to tackle the bodywork. It was easy to tell where the problem was with the passenger fender. I knew most of the car was original with original trim codes. Nothing really missing other than the calipers (not a big deal since the original ones leaked).

Avoid resprayed cars with change in colors from the trim tag.
Avoid any rust showing from the birdcage. You can get underneath and look at the kick ups to see if there is significant rust.
NOM might not be a problem if you are not concerned with numbers matching. Something to check and its easy to verify.
Avoid conversions from auto to manual or vice versa.
Rough interior should not be a deal breaker as long as the stuff is there to work with. You can get replacement stuff for the seats. In my son's case the driver seat was worn. For now, we just switched to the passenger seat.
Engine modifications are fine as long as you can tell what's going on. A good example, my son's corvette has the correct pan which was freshly painted. That leans to me maybe a new gasket and possibly a new rear main seal (who knows).

My advice find an honest corvette. Check the vin against the engine pad. Check the trim codes to see what was optioned and see if those options are there. Avoid replacement or state issued VINs. A 74-75 is worth more than people think especially in CA since those are smog exempt now. It used to be 73 and older. They changed the year and increased the value for 74 and 75s. Dont forget to look at corvettes on facebook marketplace. There are groups out there too where C3 corvettes are up for sale. Just another source of finding a good candidate. A modified body might be cool but hard to resell since you have to find the one person who would like to have it.

 

As a comparison 1979 7,500:

 

Great points.

 

Here in Australia it could sell for 60 - 65 K. Around 42K USD.

 

[QUOTE=4-vettes;1605877425]In spite of all the fire the chrome bumper guys put out there.
You'd be surprised at what I've sunk into a 77.

/QUOTE]

Please surprise us. 😉

My 19yo son has a ‘74 with a Ridetech coilover system and is having a 454 built. Over $30 in it and it’s got a long way to go.

He doesn’t care that It’ll never be worth what he’s putting into it because he’ll never sell it anyway. He’s rather have something vintage over a modern dime a dozen charger, mustang etc…

You never know. It might be worth $70k + someday.

 

[QUOTE=JakeLucas;1605882479]Maybe but that would mean my 62 would be worth over 100k. Now, for my son's 74. No way, am I gonna dump 30k into it. Now, under 10k sure that makes sense. I would rather having him drive it for a little while then sell it for the fair market value to find another car. He could do that about three times and make enough to buy a C6. Probably not a C7 at that stage. Heck years ago, I should have done that with my basket case. I could have sold all of the parts for double what I got into it then find another deal to flip until I had enough cash to buy a duntov award corvette. Its easy to do once a person understands everything about a particular car and knows what to look for. Now, there is a limit to the flipping cars since in CA it has to be under so many per year.

If your son is happy with the build then thats good...

 

Does Kalifornia really have a law limiting how many cars you can buy and sell per year? Plus all the other laws? Well, I guess the weather is nice...

 

[QUOTE=jimh_1962;1605882540]Yeah. That’s the measure, if he’s happy with it… After all the ups and downs, he is.

He doesn’t care that conventional wisdom dictates, buy the car you want, as opposed to building it.

To him, that would be someone else’s car, not his, not the car he wanted to make it his own. He had strong ties to the former owner and had a vision of what he wanted it to become. He never wants to sell it.

Keep in mind, he was 15 1/2 years old. Think back to where your/our heads were-at that age. I told him that it would be more difficult/expensive than he thought but sometimes kids have to learn for themselves. It’s been an amazing ride, (pun intended) so many lessons learned and more to come.

All of the, “You’ll never get your money out of it” talk is irrelevant to him. He’s worked hard for his money and this is what he has decided to do with it.

It’ll be a vintage car, modernized with a full ridetech system, Wilwood brakes and a monster built 454. He’d rather walk than drive a run of the mill modern, chall-stang-ivic. It’s just one of many cars he’ll own.

I’ve said that he’ll buy a big house with a two car garage. Live in the garage and convert the house to store all of his cars.

You make very solid points overall.

 

You need a license. Too many scams.

Here’s a post that I read:

”Are you referring to buying a car, fixing it up, and then selling it again?

The only law I know that may apply is one that restricts the average person from having more than five vehicle transactions per calendar year.

That means you can buy three cars and sell two, buy five and sell none, etc.

Note - This is buying and selling cars without a dealer involved. Dealers can buy and sell as many cars as they can. But they must be licensed. Pretty much anyone can apply for a dealers license, and as long as they meet the requirements, they’ll get one.

There is also a license for dismantlers, allowing them to buy and sell as many cars as they want, but they are also required to have a wrecking yard, which requires local zoning, permits, environmental reports, etc.

I don’t know, but I assume an auto dealer isn’t required to have a dealership. But he is required to have a license (looks just like a drivers license, picture and everything).

There is a big (illegal) business in California, buying and selling cars simply for the registration. It works by buying a car with recently renewed registration, then selling it to an illegal immigrant, who then drives it until the registration is due to expire, where it is then bought by a legal resident, who then registers it, renews the registration, etc. The scam here is that the illegal immigrant, besides buying a car, is buy a registration. He drives the car, but never registers the car in his name. He can’t. So the greater value in the car is the remaining time on the registration, not the actual value of the car.

I mention this primarily so everyone will recognize the importance of notifying DMV that they sold their vehicle. Not required, but the current registered owner is responsible for his vehicle until DMV is notified. In the past it was assumed that the new owner would immediately file to change of ownership and registration papers, but now-a-days it’s not worth the risk. Notify DMV immediately if you sell a vehicle.”

 

Wow, the vehicle's registration is worth more than the vehicle itself, never considered that.

 

Yes, you can only sell up to 5 vehicles in a year.

 

Yea, we sold a car that came back to us that we owed money for a bunch of parking tickets that the new owner had gotten. I remember turning in the DMV paperwork for liability as soon as the vehicle was sold. Apparently, it was during COVID lockdowns. The DMV was backed up on paperwork. Luckily, we had a copy of the records and could prove when we transferred the vehicle. New owner drove around without registering the vehicle during the whole lockdowns go figure... Always, take that piece of paper in once the deal is done.

 

[QUOTE=JakeLucas;1605885690]You son sounds like my oldest son. My youngest son is learning on his 74 corvette. He just wants to drive it and not worry about it so much. I told him that will not be the case when you drive something that is almost 50 years old. He will get to know his corvette quite well.