I’m about to pull the trigger on a 1969 convertible 427/390. It’s a long way away and would like y’all’s opinion before making the drive. Appears to be an original number matching car.

 

Hello Dave,

It's difficult to form much of an opinion based on those few photographs.
The engine bay seems to show a compartment that is a bit 'needy'.
The interior photo shows what appears to be a nice interior.
Is the car rusty?
Is there any 'paperwork' with the car?
How many dollars?

Regards....

 

I’m told no rust. Of course I’ll verify.
what do you notice in the engine compartment?
price is less than $40k. Seems good to me for a numbers matching ‘69 427/390

 

The valve covers are wrong. They should look like this..

https://www.ebay.com/itm/40624133237...QVUNOeP8Bu0ik4

 

That’s interesting the smog pump was removed but not the tubes. Did they join the smog hoses that go to the pump together?

 

Those manifolds and ht ehoses are worth some money if you decide to get rid of them....You could go back to stock if you are into the NCRS look

For rust and what to look for read this
start at post 107
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1589113931

 

I saw that car on Facebook. It’s been sitting out there for over 6 months. It looks very nice in the pics but like everyone is saying, you need to inspect the typical rust prone areas. If all checks out the price he is asking ($39k) is very fair for red/red vert L36.

 

Replacement radiator, missing shielding, the "interesting" approach to removing the A.I.R. pump (as avalonjohn noted), the wrong valve covers (as pointed out by SEVNT6), it has the correct 3 groove water pump pulley but the belt routing seems wrong (even taking into consideration the missing A.I.R. pump and belt), and just the overall look of the engine compartment, vacuum hoses and wiring as Alan said looks a little needy.

The interior looks decent, but the radio is an aftermarket unit and (ugly to my eyes) speakers have been added to the kick panels. It's hard to tell from the picture, but it looks like it has a leather shift boot instead of the rubber boot used in 69 and I don't see any seat belts unless they're the black thing partially under the right seat. If they are the belts, the original ones would have been red, not black. The trim tag says it came with red "Comfortweave" vinyl seats, but it looks like it may have leather covers or smooth vinyl ones now. I can't tell from the picture but I assume it has the correct low back seats and adjustable headrests?

For the most part these are little things, but they're worth noting, and variations from original.

The picture of the pad is of such poor quality, and shows so little of the pad, it's impossible for anyone on here to say if the car is "numbers matching".

It could very well be a decent car for the money, but from the quality of the few pictures provided, and the lack of any exterior shots it's really hard to make any kind of an honest assessment about the quality of the car.

 

It's listed on the forum here, with more photos:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...nvertible.html

.

 

Based on the pics and the price Id make the trip for futher inspection.

 

Distributor Ignition shielding missing.

 

That radiator fan only has 4 blades ,non-air corvettes had more fan blades.

 

Minor differences I spot

Coffee-can style wiper door actuator looks about right for an early 69

My early 69 (and later than this) had 68 style handles on the heater controls and not the round *****.

 

My 73 was a numbers matching car when I bought it.
Basically it means the original engine, transmission and rear differential are the originals.
If you are lucky and find a factory numbers matching car, it would be a survivor, the way it left the factory with all the factory number matching components.
Since you are looking at the car soon in person, you can evaluate its overall condition, determine if it is worth it to you to make the purchase and what it will take to make it the car you want.
The factory interior in my 73 looked to be in really nice condition until I started to disassemble the car and found a prior owner had changed the color from saddle to black and had replaced every oem interior panel with aftermarket pieces.
Many of the factory components under the hood had been replaced even though it appeared to be original.
Even the steering box had been replaced with an original GM from a 79 corvette.
Over all my 73 was a beautiful car and had been well maintained over the years which made it worth what I paid for it.
Good luck.

 

Like Ed mentioned, the car has been on fb for a while. The trim tag is original. Have the owner get you a picture of the front engine pad cleaned off. Tell him not to use a wire brush. There are a lot of non original parts on the car but the plus is that is a red red 69 convertible. I would check the normal areas for rust and the condition of the paint matters. It is hard these days to find a good shop that will paint these cars.

 

There are plenty of great quality painters by me, ( some of the best in the business ) but the cost will be more then most of the cars here on this forum !!!
MIND BOGGLING ...................

 

You also buy those and install for $250.00 then it is "correct" looking

 

Ain’t that the truth! We have talent on Long Island but nothing is inexpensive. Especially out here.

 

If the “rust free” should not truly be meant to say “free rust with purchase”…I would bullet point the things that have been pointed out here and use them in negotiation. If it’s been for sale for 6 months then it must not be a steal of a deal. Not that it needs to be a steal of a deal and maybe the seller is willing to negotiate down to reality.
I always put feelings aside and buy on logic. Money is made or lost at the time of purchase, not at the time when you decide to sell it. Not saying you are trying to make $ or plan to re-sell, but having instant equity vs instantly being upside down is a goooooood thing!
Patience is a virtue and really good deals can be found out there if you are. Great start running it through here and getting advice from those who know. Some great observations from very knowledgeable folks here.

 

As you read my comment, keep in mind my 73 was beautiful when I purchased it and was visibly without any flaws to the body and paint.
I think when it came down to it the labor cost of actually applying the paint and the paint itself was the least expensive part of the paint job.
I delivered the body to the shop completely disassembled and off the frame.
Once the shop completely stripped the repaint layer and actual factory paint, they found several stress cracks that needed to be repaired.
They also discovered that at some point both rear quarter panels had been replaced.
The panels were factory replacements but the work was poorly done, the panels were both removed and the prior work was repaired correctly.
Then they found that both inner front fenders were stress cracked along both sides of the radiator surround which added additional labor costs.
The original rubber front bumper had been repaired, painted over and needed to be replaced.
The cost of the bumper wasn’t bad but reshaping it to fit added to the labor.
Then there is the labor cost if you want all the door and hood seams to fit and measure perfect.
The cost of a repaint can become extremely expensive and you really have no choice but to move forward to make it right.