Thanks to all of you who replied to my post. I'm happy to report that I closed the deal on my '81 Two Tone yesterday and she is in my garage. Here are the details: 1981 Silver Blue / Dark Blue. Paint is good to very good. Decal on the hood is in perfect shape, no peel. Dark Blue interior - driver seat has small hole on side bolster which can be repaired. All orig inside except has Kenwood Cd Player (Seller gave me the original radio) New Goodyear Eagle 2's- Rims in great shape-missing one center cap on left rear. Auto trans, engine compartment prettly clean but I'll buff it up. Undercarriage clean, no leaks, Flowmasers with low restrictive cat. 54,000 miles verified by carfax. Second owner. Just passed inspection and emissions in early October. Seller came down to $7,500 and I pulled the trigger. I was a little hesitant about two tones but thanks to your replies I made the deal and I am now one happy camper. Oil change, coolant change and tune up this weekend.
Thanks to all for your advice and comments.
Steve on Long Island. :seeya


[Modified by steve97, 8:49 PM 10/24/2001]

 

sounds like a good investment to me..i love those s tone coloured vettes..is the paint in good shape cause being 2 colours means a lot of extra bucks when it comes to repainting..thats the only drawback i see of owning one..the positive is that u dont see many around :D

 

Two-tones are the WORST Corvettes ever made... ;) ;) ;)

 

Steve, I have always been partial to the two-tones as the first 'Vette I can recall seeing was a '78 Pace Car in 1978. The '81 - '82s can be very expensive to have repainted and the decal kits are no longer available. I have knowledge of someone who was supposed to start making them but no luck yet. The problem is that so few cars were painted two tone, the stripes are unique for each color combo and therefore demand for these kits is way to low for someone to retool and produce them. I have seen several cars with the stripes painted on, they look good but not as good as the original. Most body shops can do the pin stripes around the car where the two colors meet but don't put the one on the hood which I believe really sets the car off. A two tone paint job is almost twice the money because almost twice the work has to be done.

As far as selling for any higher or lower price, I believe these cars are unique but will only sell above average to certain buyers. Most 'Vettes are like that though, it's like selling a baseball card, right buyer = more $.

As background though, only the '78, '81 and '82 C3s received the two tone paint option. In '78 over 15K received the S/A paint and 6,502 the Pace Car. '81 saw 5,352 total cars (of 40,606 produced) receive the two tone paint job, there were four color combos to choose from. In '82 only 4,871 cars (of 25,407 produced) received the two tone option, again, broken down into four color combos. Overall, you either like em or hate em.

I advise you really look the stripes over on the car you are checking out. If they are original they will go all the way around the door, continuing inside the door below the striker and on the rear quarter panel by the strike plate disappearing in the carpet. I will be surprised if the car has a hood stripe if it has been repainted.

Need more info to give any real advice on the value of the car though, miles, original motor or rebuilt, options, ect. Good luck. Oh, BTW, I guess I'm a gluten for punishment, not only is my car a two tone but it's an '82 so I have the Crossfire to deal with...love a challenge!

 

Have to agree with 79Vette-SA. Can't undrstand why anyone would want a two-tone Corvette. ;) ;) :D :cool:

 

I love my color combo....82 SilverBlue over Dark Blue. The PO had the car painted in 95 at a cost of about $6k. This included new factory stripes on the hood and sides. The car has only been driven about 9k miles since then. I picked the car up for 7 grand. I considered it a steal.

 

Sounds like a really good deal to me. If it pleases you then that is what matters most. Jump on it. :cool: :cheers:

 

what are u talking about they are the worst corvettes ever made...i got a 1978 vette indy pace car and its two tone...car looks mint

 

ya i have the 78 indy pace car..just got it painted....was a few grand and put a new strripe kit on it too...looks mint...a real head turner

 

nice car......i like the color combo too....my vette is midnight black with indy silver on bottom... :cheers:

 

Two toners are ugly!!!! :lol:

 

I really like my two-tone '81. Get alot of nice comments
about it. Everyone has different taste.

 

I had a 2 Tone Honda CRX-si that I bought new in 85..I liked that ...and I like the vette two

 

Yep, Two tone vettes are terrible. ;)

 

Steve97 -- How we feel about two-tone Corvettes isn't important. The important thing is how do you feel about this particular two-tone? Is she the one for you? If she is, she'll tell you and you'll know it. :)

All the two-tones were assembled at Bowling Green. All have clear-coat/base-coat acrylic enamel. All have computers. There were no optional engines. 4 speeds were available in '81, but not in '82. You will be able to order a copy of her build sheet from the NCM.

:flag


[Modified by Easy Mike, 9:12 AM 10/22/2001]

 

there are members here with two toned vettes like me , I have the 78sa silver/charcole scheme , red int .. a nice cruiser .. i bought it and like it very much .. I'm been learning alot from the members over the past year or so .. the place to be .. :cool: :cheers:


[Modified by Purplerainz, 2:37 PM 10/22/2001]

 

sounds like a great deal to me! :yesnod:

 

Hay ! If you like it, buy it.

 

Go for it! You can always paint it Classis White! :D

 

Thanks again to all for your help!