I have a 1795 stingray with 35,000 original miles, original interior in good shape (one door card and arm rest slight damage) , fiberglass bumpers(which where painted of course), it appears the front clip was resprayed as well. has chambered exhaust, gymkhana suspension, converted A/C, clock only thing not working in the car, original radio in a box not working, this car is good condition, few paint chips, some stress crack behind rear window, all in all very nice drives and runs great. the bushing had been redone so squeaks or rattles. just the almost straight pipe exhaust note. please excuse my rambling on by I always wanted one and as of last summer I got a nice one.
My question is:
I wan't to know oppinions on if it would be best to?
Option 1) keep this car as a(some what) survivor in condition it is in, doing only up keep of mechanical breakage and wear parts

Option 2) respray,fix stress cracks, restore/maintain (not nut bolt) to OEM...ish standards, leaving newer exhaust. fixing door card ect..

Option 3) same as opttion 2 + remove luggage rack add front and rear Daytona spoilers

Options 4) same option 3 + wrap seats in leather, wrap all plastic inside in leather, add new heads, intake, cam (fuel pump if needed), electronic ignition, remove smog pump etc... would like to get to at least 350hp keeping #matching status of trans, car, and motor.

a lot here I know. just would hate to ruin a good car and make it less desirable.
any thoughts appreciated
Chuck

 

Wow that's an old Vette, George Washington's old car? But seriously, it's post '73, so any mods really can't affect its value.

 

those were my thoughts as well. but with it being a never out in the nasty weather nice car. I just didn't want to be like this after I was done.

Thanks

 

Fix it up and run the crap out of it !!! Don't make a show car out of it. 4 spd car?

 

FWIW: leave it alone and you avoid that possibility. That said, it's your car and you can, of course, do what you like. You're the only one who can determine what's best for you.

 

not looking for a show car but I have seen some goodideas gone bad. just want a nice car that has some get up and go.

 

I just keep going back an forth there are many positives for both situations. if it was a more, as some would say, desirable year(Pre-smog control). I would have no question. but I feel this car is gray area nice 75 driver. guess I should have bought a piece of junk for low dollar and put the money in, or bought a earlier c3 model in good shape. ha ha

 

I'm bringing a 75 back to life that my mom is purchasing from me when it's done. The theme of the car is "original-ish." It has seats out of a 79, some (but not all) of the deluxe interior options installed, and the engine will have aftermarket performance parts dressed up to look original. I like modifications that enhance, but don't fundamentally change a car's character.

My 79 was original when I bought it, had some engine mods done when it was rebuilt, and I'm slowly migrating it back to being more original-ish.

 

I got american racing turbo thrust wheels polished alloy 1 piece for Christmas. can't wait to see what they look like on. other than that I want it to look pretty stock I believe. Just materials up grade on the interior and a few HP under the hood. with out going crazy.

 

I caution you on that thought. A piece of "junk" will turn into a much deeper money pit and time commitment. It sounds like you want to be convinced to keep this car close to stock but you would prefer to modify it to your taste. BUILD WHAT YOU WANT.

 

Changing the wheels, restoring the interior with new replacement parts, refreshing the original engine and tranny to make it run better - all these can be done and retain originality. Just keep your original parts in storage somewhere, in case you or the next owner wants to return it to original.

 

considering I want to drive it and have to do things piece by piece(my money tree shriveled up and died) i think this is probably the best option.

on a side note it was beautiful out yesterday. got her out for the first time this year. she may not be the fastest, but looks good and can still catch some rubber shifting to 2nd

 

That right there is what it's all about