My 1st Vette
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Joined: Sep 2023
Posts: 9
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From: Wisconsin
My 1st Vette
This is the 69 I bought from my brother's estate. It was a barn find he picked up. The front end is a shark I believe. Note headlights are in grill not on the fenders. Could that be factory? 1969 427, 4 speed. Still needs some work but he had it running before he passed away. Then the day of his celebration of life a family friend hooked the battery up backwards, but that seems to be a problem of my getting home to find fusible links and testing a few electrical parts. Do I need to buy a new front end as well??
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Jan 7, 2024, 02:02 PM
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 33,025
Likes: 6,538
From: Rochester NY
St. Jude Donor '09 thru '26
If this is now your car, you don't have to answer to anyone on how it looks or what you do. If you want to return it to original, go for it. But it certainly is not "wrong" to drive it as a customized C-3 - there were a lot of them back then and you have a "time capsule" of that era. I dare say it will get more attention in custom form.
My suggestion is FOR NOW, get the car safe and reliable (new brake lines, tires, radiator hoses, whatever else has deteriorated) and get it on the road. Get to know the car and run up some miles, THEN decide what to do, or not do, about the nose. You may grow to love it, you may grow to hate it. Either way you'll have some fun getting there.
Good luck and rule #1 is to have fun and enjoy the car.
My suggestion is FOR NOW, get the car safe and reliable (new brake lines, tires, radiator hoses, whatever else has deteriorated) and get it on the road. Get to know the car and run up some miles, THEN decide what to do, or not do, about the nose. You may grow to love it, you may grow to hate it. Either way you'll have some fun getting there.
Good luck and rule #1 is to have fun and enjoy the car.
1967 Pedal Car Champion
Joined: Mar 2020
Posts: 9,135
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From: US-PNW
This is the 69 I bought from my brother's estate. It was a barn find he picked up. The front end is a shark I believe. Note headlights are in grill not on the fenders. Could that be factory? 1969 427, 4 speed. Still needs some work but he had it running before he passed away. Then the day of his celebration of life a family friend hooked the battery up backwards, but that seems to be a problem of my getting home to find fusible links and testing a few electrical parts. Do I need to buy a new front end as well??
The headlight placement is not factory - for all C-3 Corvettes ('68-'82) they are a pop-up design located in the top of the hood surround above the bumper area. If you want to return to a factory look, then, yes a new front end is in order. This won't be cheap as you'd need to replace the chrome bumper, support hardware, headlight buckets, and all of those mechanisms as well. Who knows the history of the front end and why it was changed -- could be due to a collision that could cause further fitment issues of the necessary parts.
CF Community Team
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From: Cape Cod, Mass.
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Tough way to get your 1st Vette. You probably wanted to post in the C3 Section.
No 69 Vette ever left the factory with that nose and headlights. Aftermarket, for sure. Whether you change the front end is up to you.
No 69 Vette ever left the factory with that nose and headlights. Aftermarket, for sure. Whether you change the front end is up to you.
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 33,025
Likes: 6,538
From: Rochester NY
St. Jude Donor '09 thru '26
If this is now your car, you don't have to answer to anyone on how it looks or what you do. If you want to return it to original, go for it. But it certainly is not "wrong" to drive it as a customized C-3 - there were a lot of them back then and you have a "time capsule" of that era. I dare say it will get more attention in custom form.
My suggestion is FOR NOW, get the car safe and reliable (new brake lines, tires, radiator hoses, whatever else has deteriorated) and get it on the road. Get to know the car and run up some miles, THEN decide what to do, or not do, about the nose. You may grow to love it, you may grow to hate it. Either way you'll have some fun getting there.
Good luck and rule #1 is to have fun and enjoy the car.
My suggestion is FOR NOW, get the car safe and reliable (new brake lines, tires, radiator hoses, whatever else has deteriorated) and get it on the road. Get to know the car and run up some miles, THEN decide what to do, or not do, about the nose. You may grow to love it, you may grow to hate it. Either way you'll have some fun getting there.
Good luck and rule #1 is to have fun and enjoy the car.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 6,539
Likes: 1,971
From: Temple Terrace Florida
Sorry to hear about your brother. If you plan to change out the front clip, do a thorough inspection to determine if the lights were glassed over. The lights and their hardware may still be under the nose. I would get a copy of the 69 AIM (Assembly Instructional Manual). It will show you what parts you need to bring her back. As mentioned above, make it safe, brakes, steering fuel, etc. and drive it and have fun. Jerry
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From: Danville Illinois
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Sharp ride, leave it the way it is, get it safe, leave the nose alone cool custom 
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Lifelong Vette Lover
Joined: Feb 2016
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From: Naples FL
Looks like a fun car that will, hopefully, give you many years of happy memories. Sorry for your loss but I'm sure your brother is thrilled that his baby is still in the family. Make it a driver or whatever you choose but enjoy it either way.
Drifting
Joined: May 2020
Posts: 1,663
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From: Baton Rouge, Louisiana, metro area
Very cool!
Sorry about your brother. He must have been an interesting person. Nice little legacy to leave.
That front end is certainly an eye grabber.
If it were mine, I wouldn’t think about changing it.
Cool Jeep in the background also.
Sorry about your brother. He must have been an interesting person. Nice little legacy to leave.
That front end is certainly an eye grabber.
If it were mine, I wouldn’t think about changing it.
Cool Jeep in the background also.
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2005
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From: Southeast, Tennessee
St. Jude Donor '09 thru '26
sorry for your loss. the bottom line is just like railroadman said. it's your car and you should do with it as you wish. get it safe to be on the road and dependable so you can enjoy driving it before you make any drastic decisions. you'll be in better shape to make a better decision at that time. years ago i took some heat when i decided that the 78 pace car i was putting back together (the interior was trashed etc) was going to be modified to make it more the way i wanted it. (it was very mild stuff: built a 383 stroker and machined the oem engine .030, and swapped the 350 automatic for a period correct 4 speed manual). i enjoyed the car just that way. drove it that way for almost 10 yrs before i sold it and move on to my next corvette.
Is my vette stock?? HAHA
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From: Im not allowed to tell you
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That Mako nose looks great, I would leave it. Its a rare look so you will be an original at any cruise in or car show. As for the wiring once you get it in the air you should find the melted wires pretty easily. You can check the wiring under the hood on th edrivers side now...it has a few fusible links near the horn relay. Thats an important part of your wiring as it acts as a buss bar for the interior power as well as the starter have a power line going to the firewall socket