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I know Gary well and he knows his stuff. Like I mentioned before the car was sold in the past a number of years ago as an LX stamped car with a 4 speed conversion back when Billy Bob's cars in NJ had it for sale. At that time I believe it still had the automatic cross member in it. The stamp pad back then was before the block was decked and restamped. The VIN portion of the current stamp is not typical factory production. There are consistencies in the engine stamping and vin stamping depending on when the car was built in 69 that this stamping should fall into. The number 4 is not the only issue with the stamping but I agree with Gary's assessment that it is restamp. Did you buy the car believing it had the original motor or did you believe it was a restamp? The engine stamping issues and the trim tag being removed lowers the value of the car, but if you bought it right and just plan to enjoy the car then you should come out ok.
Well it seems Gary sees it as the original motor, recommending advertising it as numbers matching/restamp, which is a good thing. I bought the car believing it was an opinion it was a restamp and not a definite fact. The last owner bought it and sold it as original motor.
What price range would be considered a fair price for the car? It sold at Mecum for 55k back in November/December of 2022.
DKM-106, do you have pictures of when it was at Billy Bob's? You say the stamp had broach marks, i would be interested in seeing that.
Last edited by prestodixo; Apr 13, 2023 at 02:23 PM.
Prestodixo.. Do not put words in my mouth. I also told you the broach marks were not correct. If the broach marks are not right, how can either of the stamps be correct.
The numbers do match. Are they original , no! Big difference in nomenclature.
Gary Bosselman
Prestodixo, So the block could be the original to the car but with the surface decked, no broach marks and restamped the only was to describe the car is to label it as numbers matching which would be correct. To address your question about the value, it would depend on why you bought the car. If it was to drive and enjoy then it fits the bill. If you bought it to take to judging events and then sell it down the road to make $$ then it is not the right car. The good is that it is a sought after color combo and a big block with a 4 speed. The bad is that the car has been changed over from an M40 to an M20 4 speed (M20 wasn't available with the L71) the engine has been decked and not restamped correctly and trim tag has been off the car. I also assume there is no factory documentation. I would say the value is equal to that of a nice driver, non original motor big block car which would be in the $50k range.
Prestodixo, So the block could be the original to the car but with the surface decked, no broach marks and restamped the only was to describe the car is to label it as numbers matching which would be correct. To address your question about the value, it would depend on why you bought the car. If it was to drive and enjoy then it fits the bill. If you bought it to take to judging events and then sell it down the road to make $$ then it is not the right car. The good is that it is a sought after color combo and a big block with a 4 speed. The bad is that the car has been changed over from an M40 to an M20 4 speed (M20 wasn't available with the L71) the engine has been decked and not restamped correctly and trim tag has been off the car. I also assume there is no factory documentation. I would say the value is equal to that of a nice driver, non original motor big block car which would be in the $50k range.
No value in being correct early 4 bolt main block, solid lifter, tri-power?
Prestodixo.. Do not put words in my mouth. I also told you the broach marks were not correct. If the broach marks are not right, how can either of the stamps be correct.
The numbers do match. Are they original , no! Big difference in nomenclature.
Gary Bosselman
Gary, i am not the person you did the inspection for. That person is in Wisconsin. He bought it at Mecum and had you inspect it and when i asked him about it his response is in RED in one of my posts.
I am on here trying to find out about the car not misrepresent it.
At least i was “jumped” on by someone well respected in the Corvette world, not something just any can say.
Maybe your upset I dropped your name into this thread? If so, i apologize but also am glad someone told you about it.
Mike Dixon
You asked for opinions on the value and I just shared my thoughts having owned a lot of tripower cars. The challenge is that unless you have original documentation or the original motor that shows it was a factory built L71 car and red/red then the value in my opinion is in the range of a non original big block car. Nothing against your car, but having the original engine and transmission would increase the value quite a bit. If your car had the original motor, M40 CY code trans and docs it would pull in the $80's. Corvette collectors pay up for originality and documentation and those cars set the benchmark on values and nom cars then fall underneath those.
Thanks for the input, i almost didn’t buy it because it was red/red, at the time wished it was black interior. The dealer paid 55k at Mecum so obviously i overpaid, but damn, it is a blast of a beast to drive!!!!
I am confident i will have questions on things in the future and will enjoy mixing with ya’all.
Here is a pic of the trim tag.
The block is a 439 casting with a date of June 14 1968. I have pics of those casting numbers. I have a different pic of the stamp where you can see the X better but they really messed the pad up.
I attempted to PM you but your message box is full. I’ve started my journey into the history of the car. You mention you have some pictures of the block from a while ago I presume when it was for sale a while ago.
would you object to sharing those pictures with a short explanation of when they are from? I would be very appreciative.
My email is mn763@aol.com
Thank you
Mike Dixon