Hello again..Thought I would get a 2nd opinion..Had this car since last August..Done some work on it..Has rusted/holes in floors.I stripped interior and I got the replacement pans and took it to a good friend and mechanic.(he restores vetts/camaro's).He placed it on a lift and then I got the "dreaded call" from him..He said you need to come look at this..He showed me where radiator support was about gone (I knew about that) and also rusted/separated body mounts. ..He also said that he would have to re-glass the area around floor pans..He said he would do it BUT he recommended car is not worth putting this kind of work/$$$ into..He said to either part it out or sell as a dragster/project car...The car drives and runs well...Has new tires and brakes(replaced rear calipers).It has a '69 300HP engine and strong transmission..This was supposed to be my "hobby-car".I have alot of parts new I was going to put on it..I guess "lesson-learned" is when you buy an old car ...put it on a lift!....Any suggestions/estimates welcomed!...In all of this I do not care..I'll still love C3 vettes. .Thanks,Pete

 

Pete,

You really should consider the value of the car before you proceed.

This post in not in our best interest since we sell parts and service cars for all years! It is the truth and should always be considered before moving forward.

While it may be a project car you don’t want to have double in the car than what it is worth.(or what you can purchase the car for in the shape you are bringing the car to whne the repairs are done). Many times customers pays top value for a car and then have to spend a bunch of money to repair the defects. It is easy to get out of hand and you should be careful how you move forward.

Take what you paid for the car; add the estimate to repair the car to this. While I don’t want to see any car cut up, you may be better off selling the car than fixing it. This simply up to you and how much you paid for the car vs. the cost of the repair in relation to the value of the car.

Go to the dreaded “flea bay” and do a search on cars that have sold under completed listings. This will give you a good idea of what people are willing to pay for a car with shipping charges involved. You have to weigh in the cost of the shipping when you do this since it can run from a couple of hundred dollars to ship a car. You can throw out cars that did not meet reserve or ones that just did not sell period. You are only interested in cars that sold! You can also use auction results from various companies to arrive at this figure, or sales results from Carlisle, Bloomington, or Knoxville. (as an example)

Another rule to use when buying a car is to start at the value you could purchase this car done! Then look at items you know the car will need plus labor charges. Use the cost of the part as a doubling figure! In other words, if carpet is 179.00 then deduct 350.00 from the retail (not the asking price) value of the car. If a dash pad is 275.00 then double this and subtract from retail. It works pretty well!

Remember any car running and driving regardless of condition is worth around 3500.00 so if you can purchase one below this always buy it. Good luck in what ever you decide.

IMHO,

Willcox

 

Depending on what you paid for it you might be able to part it out for what you have into it. Costs add up real fast on major projects like this. I'm sure the frame is marginal if all this other rust is there also. Look into it real good before socking a ton of money into a bottomless hole.