Hi, I am brand new on this forum, so please forgive me.

I have inherited my Dad's old corvette and unfortunately cannot afford to repair it. I'm heartbroken to get rid of it, but stick shift is tough to get used to in LA and it's crazy expensive for me to continue storing it. I'm located in Los Angeles, California and looked for some advice about how best to sell it and get a good price. It's original owner and I believe most parts and numbers should match and even has some spare Corvette parts in the trunk. However, the car has not been restored in away and would need some work to even run. It needs major work to restore the interior plastic and new paint, tires, basically it has been untouched for at least 30 years. So, everything probably needs work. As far as I am aware my Dad hasn't driven it since the 1980s.

What's a fair price for a car like this? I don't really see any comparables considering it is definitely a project car. I'd love for someone to purchase it who plans to restore it to it's glory. Maybe it could even end up being a movie picture car. That was my original plan, but I don't have the money saved to do it.

Please help give me advice on the best place to sell this, and whether it pays to get the title transferred to my name before selling. Should I have a mechanic inspect the car so I can accurately let sellers know what amount of work they are in for? Would this need to be a specialty mechanic?

 

I moved your thread from Cars For Sale, because your car is not yet for sale.

You have asked multiple questions including value, so its here in the General Discussion.

If you choose to sell at the forum and list it in the For Sale section, please remember that it must have an asking price, and the car must be titled in your name.

 

Sorry about the loss of your father.
you should post up more pictures and then folks can give you a better idea of what the cars worth.

 

Post more pics and you will get an honest assessment of the cars worth from the folks here. Under the hood, interior, underneath, etc.
Title should be in your name. Even if you are executor of your fathers estate. Too bad circumstances dictate selling the car. Try to get a feel for people looking to buy it as to whether they intend to restore the car or part it out.
Good luck.
RickM

 

Do I also need to register the car in California as well as transfer the title?

This car hasn't run since the family lived in NY in 1998. It was never registered in Pennsylvania, nor when I moved it out here to California in a rush two years ago. I was supposed to have enough money to repair it by last month, but after two big financial setbacks, including my industry shutting down in a strike... there is no chance for me to have the 15k to 25k to restore her. I'm also not someone with a lot of car repair skills.

 

I can absolutely do that in a few days. It's sitting in a storage unit right now and might be a big of an effort to tow out for photos or roll out.

I know it's the smaller 327 engine block. Saddle leather interior. No hard top included. As far as I know all parts are original. However, up until 1990 or so my father used to work on her himself. But, I can't ask my Dad for any info about the car. He's still alive but has very late stage Alzheimer's and is past the point of communication.

 

Or even space to restore a car.

 

Doubt there is need to register the car but best to get the title in your name. Now, many states differ. CA, I think back charges if registration lapses but if the car doesn't have a CA title and was never registered there it may not matter?
Someone else may have a better take on it than me.

 

Well, California is a better place to sell it than Pennsylvania. When you post pics, be sure to get the trim tag where the driver's door hinges are, the VIN on the driver's side of the windshield post, overall pics from both sides of the engine, the "stamp pad" on the front, passenger side of the engine about 6" down from the top, dash from driver's seat, and underneath the car front and back.

 

Your first need is to get the car titled in your name. If it was last registered in NY you won’t have a title. NY issues transferable registrations to cars older than 74. No titles. It works as both proof of registration and ownership. Only the registered owner can sign and “transfer” ownership to someone else on that card. Here’s the thing. Not all states accept transferable registrations. It becomes a real pita. Ask me how I know. You need to go to your local dmv and find out what you need to do to get it put in your name.

 

Corvette BRONZE, very KQQL. How many miles on the ODO ? Wondering since your dad bought it new is there any paperwork ? Does it run ?
Sorry to hear about dad, Aheimer's is difficult to deal with !

 

If the car is still very much original, particularly with the original engine and transmission, it's worth a significant amount if the frame is not rusted, although I don't know what the market for a car like this is now. I'm sure quite a few people in the National Corvette Restoration Society (NCRS) would be interested in buying it. Look up their website. NCRS.org They have a cars for sale section. Another source for automobile collectors is Hemmings magazine. They specialize in collectible cars for sale. https://www.hemmings.com. The 68 Corvettes are very desirable cars for collectors. It was the first year for the C3 design (1968 to 1982). It had some quirks that were corrected in 1969 and it's those differences that make it particularly collectable.

You need a Ca title. I'd recommend going to the So Cal Auto Club....AAA. Don't go to the DMV. I have a 68. it's the 350 hp 327.* I had the car in storage for many years. Although previously registered in Ca, it had been unregistered for so long, it was no longer in their data base. I had lost the title. So I drove the car to So Cal Auto Club.....unregistered! I fronted up with the car and NO paperwork. I told them it was my car and it had been in storage for years. They filled out the paperwork, I signed a document that the car had been in storage....to explain why I hadn't been paying yearly registration fees. They inspected the car for operability......and I walked out with a title to the car and registration. Since it was a 68, there was no smog test. I'm sure that if I took it to the DMV they wouldn't have been so helpful.

* If the car came with chrome valve covers from the factory, it's the 350 hp engine. There very likely is a paper on top of the fuel tank that tells what options the car was manufactured with. You have to drop the fuel tank to get to that paper! Somewhere in the Corvette Forum archives there'll be threads where people contribute to a long list of details that make the 68 C3's different than all the other C3s.

 

Oh no. Ugh. My dad has late stage Alzheimers. He is almost 85. Still alive, but wheelchair bound and completely unable to sign anything or travel to any DMV. He's in a memory care facility and has had a terminal diagnosis for 3 years. My mom has some limited power of attorney. My Dad attempted to make me power of attorney as well 5 years ago. Did the whole process and then never came back to do the second signatures because he forgot - thanks Alzheimer's. We all signed the first draft, not the final one. Made selling the house a disaster since it wasn't in my mom's name. There are no other living family members to contest anything, but he did absolutely no estate planning. Thought about it, mentioned it, and then forgot to do most of it.

So, i'll need to go to California and see if this is even possible. The car was likely registered and driven in NY and Florida later than 1968, but not past 1990 or so. It was always parked while I was alive. Never moved once we lived in Pennsylvania.

 

There is paperwork, and I can start to get that. We found all of it, when we had to have it to have it towed cross country out to CA. So, paperwork is safe and sound.

 

Thank you for that info. Very helpful. I wouldn't know any of that.

 

I feel your pain. My in-laws died in mid '22 and they had made such a mess, giving everything to each other, and making no provisions for my wife to handle anything. It was almost like they intentionally made it difficult for her. It is still an ongoing nightmare for her with lawyers, accounts, and such. The best you can do is keep at the power of attorney. If you can catch a good day, then if he signs, everything becomes much easier. If not, you need a sympathetic family lawyer to advise on how to take over since he is not able to handle his own.

NOW TO THE CORVETTE

You don't need to restore it. Far too many get caught in that trap. Unless it has been abused, you'd be surprised at how well they survive. Also, $15,000 won't come close to a restoration today.

If you sell it, and you have any emotional ties to it because of your dad, you will regret it.

Post pictures of everything. Here is a list of things to get pictures of and post here.

Engine compartment - both sides, then a few close ups of each side. Take some with and without the air cleaner.

Interior - door panels, dash board, instrument panel, gauge cluster, carpets, luggage area, seats, and console.

Chassis - pictures on both sides of car at the frame section under the rear part of the doors, up near the front of the doors, in the center under the nose, in the back on both sides around the mufflers.

Damage - any damaged areas, get clear pictures.

Post those on here and we can guide you through this.

It appears to run, otherwise you must be the strongest guy around to push a car out in a driveway like that and be able to get it back in. If it does, that is a huge plus for you.

If it runs, do the brakes work? If not, and if you are the least bit mechanical, you can put new ones on for about $500 or less. Not just pads, but new calipers since if the old ones have been inop for a long time, they probably leak like crazy. Eight bolts, four brake lines, and a couple of bottles of brake fluid makes it easy enough we can walk you through it online. Really.

If you are deadset on selling, then don't do much to it, as it appears to be mostly original, Finding original cars is harder all the time, and there is a market for them. So before you do anything, like replacing interior, fixing paint, etc., get this other information here so a plan can be put in place that best helps you and your family.

 

I asked this as well ( if it runs ) , since i can see what appears to be a tow rope tied to some part of the nose ??