I think the problem with mods is that it brings up a lot of question on the quality of work. Was the work done in a professional manner or was it done by Bubba and his drunken cousin out in back of the trailer house? I have seen too many "custom" radio installs with enough wire hang out from under the dash to wire a small town. If the car is original or unmolested chances are that you only have to deal with problems cause by age, no problem caused by Bubba.

If I was looking at a car that was modded and could not verify who did the work I would shy away from the car. But if the mods where done correctly I don't think that most mods would devalue the car.

 

Why people make mods is a good question, I did it for performance plain an simple. The out side looks stock other than the rims but when I got it I realised right away that I needed more performance.

I always heard that vets were fast but in stock form mine wasn't but is a little faster now. :D

 

My boy, you have touched on a touchy subject!
Being an NCRS card carrying member I think I can shed a little lite on the subject?
Let's take a 77 vette that is in rough shape in the local quick quarter paper, you got it for a super deal of 29 hundred bucks! Yea Ha. You bust your but cleaning and touching up the interior and do a tune up and even put a nice back yard paint job on that little bugger, and you brother in law takes those aluminum wheels off your hands for a couple of bones and you get a nice set of {whatever brand wheels and tires}. Man you have 65 hundred in that babe- catcher. Yea those valve covers and rims will add to the value of the car and you will probagly get your money-less labor out of the car!!!!! :)

Now we found a nice 70 conv, has a 350-350 and is a nice-but needs work- driver. Man I had to give 11 for the car. Not hundred but thousand. The A/C dosen't work and the funky hub caps are lame. That old high compression engine is smolking a little when I get on her hard SO I"m gunna put a ZZ motor in that girl and rip that A/C out and put headers. That blue paint is faded and checking so RE sale red is gunna be put on the body! Man she's a looker and I also refurbed the int with a new kit from ZIP--corvette america!!! Man I have 20k in the car I should get 30k-------------------NOT NOT NOT

85hundred if your lucky. So you can mod and break even but not always. A little 71 coup that is mostly origional will out sale-price wise a blown or super hot rodded 76 any day! Thad Lets have it :boxing

 

Like most Vettes on this forum, mine was modded when I bought it. I knew going in that very little was left original/stock. The L-46 engine, shifter, wheels, radiator & paint were all changed. I discovering new items daily. I wasn't concerned about originality. I got what I thought a good deal & never owned a car I didn't mod so I knew the path of this Vette.

I know I'll never get what I put into her but my changes won't be worthless either. Most hot-rodders never get thier entire original investment back anyway. It's a hobby! There are a lot of "stock-looking" Vettes out there and if there are more than two of them together at a show I usually pass them up. If I've seen one stock Vette I've seen enough. They all look alike after a while. There's something about hubcaps on a Vette that just doesn't sit right with me and why GM put them on a Vette I'll never understand.

I like 67Heaven's philosophy: Let my heirs worry about resale value.

Midget----I was at a car show in Lawrencville Park last Sunday---were you there?


[Modified by 1970 Stingray, 5:23 AM 9/14/2002]

 

Trouble is- MOST guys really want to own modded Vettes-----but ONLY modded by them!
:lol: :lol: :chevy :lol: :lol:

 

This is a great thread. I'm guessing that possibly the majority of us paid under $10k, and almost all of us in C-3ville paid less than $15k to enter this hobby. When most of us are done repairing and replacing just about everything on these 30 year old cars, we'll be invested in the $20k's. Some in the $30k's. A few beyond that--the L-88 stock guys.

We still haven't gathered enough here to buy a fully decked out Taurus or many of the common SUV's. On the performance side, how about a new top end Mustang or entry level C-5? All of these depreciate, while the C-3's will continue to either hold their purchase price (despite most mods) or appreciate.

Let's say in the end (I know there's no end) you've sunk $25k. I'm thinking it's a great car at this point, stock or not, and re-sale is now $17k for your modded beauty. It's taken you 4 years or so to get to this point. You're out $8k, but you don't want to sell it anyway. How much has your SUV plummeted? How about your 1998 C-5 that you bought new and don't drive in the rain or snow either? Don't forget, you still possess the coolest car on the planet. (Funny how if you bought a new Explorer, neither your boss or nor your neighbors would think much about it, but if you buy a C-3, you must have lots of discretionary income and are suffering from a psychological disorder--midlife something or other.)

The fun in a C-3 is a serious bargain. I recently got trapped into being concerned with getting my money out of this car. This thread snapped me out of it.

As always fellow forum members, thanks for the help. :cheers:

 

Yikes! :eek: :eek: I've been unveiled! :bb Now they know I'm bonkers! :lol: That's exactly what my neighbors think! :yesnod: :lol:

 

The short answer is yes (maybe). Now the long answer. I agree with the other guys postings about the quality of the mods are the important part. Don't take a hacksaw to your car and chop away.

If you've got an all numbers matching 68 or 69 you may really want think hard about mod work. If you do the mods, save all your original stuff in case you want to go back some day. Especially keep the original block trans and rear. Don't be tempted to sell that stuff for a quick buck, you'll never get those parts back.

A couple years back I belonged to a Vette club that was basically divided into waxers and racers. The racers could care less about a little dirt or scratches, whereas the waxers would choke when they saw a roll bar in an interior and fender flares on the outside. That doesn't even get into the custom guys. Got to admit however that both groups helped eachother holding events.

Bottom line is if you bought the vette to be an investment the only way you'll get your $$$'s back being mod is to find someone like yourself to sell it to, which may be hard. On the other hand if you bought your car to do some racing (Solo 1, Solo 2, drag or even road racing), some showing and for just enjoyment then go ahead and make your mods. It's your car.

 

Thad, your post makes sense, but what about this scenario. Mine is NOM. With so much missing, do I spend $30 to $35k (including car cost) to return the car to stock with an all original body, interior (some repairs need), chassis, end built to 1970 specs but still NOM OR do I spend $20 and leave the body, chassis, interior stock and mod the engine?

This is a serious question since I am in that position. I might get more resale on the first scenario, but my net loss would be greater.

 

To own a car that I couldn't fix up to the way I like isn't worth owning so who cares if the resale value is'nt what some one else would pay. If I never sell my car it is because I fixed it up the way I wanted it to be.

 

Do mods kill resale value? - I think that the wagon conversion and caddy conversion would probably hurt resale if done today :D :D

Depends on the mods and the sucker you are selling it to! When I found my 69 vert, I knew it was "THE CAR" I have always wanted, could never afford but had to have. Some people might not have paid 1/2 of what I paid and I probably would have paid MUCH more than I did if the asking price was higher.
About a year ago, I looked at a SB 69 vert and thought about buying and modding it and decided against it. In the end it would cost close to 30K and it would still be a SB auto original car with a resale in that price range. I was lucky enough to find an original BB manual vert in the desired color, paint scheme, hood, tires, rims, engine, trans, interior, and rearend for half of what I would have put in to the earlier car I looked at. If given the choice of my car as it is now, or my car as it was off the showroom 100% NCRS for the same price.......As it is now wins every time!!!!