About seven months ago I bought my first Corvette. A 1989 red covertible. I call it my "Beater Corvette". When I drove it home it was in rather poor condition with a 20 to 30 foot paint job. But, it was cheap, a convertible and , oh my God, it's a Corvette! After cleaning it up, fixing a couple of minor problems I have a great driver convertible that looks pretty good as well. A previous owner had converted the first generation C4 into the second generation C4 by installing a "body up-date kit". If I leave the body up-date as is will that adversly affect the value of the car when I go to having it repainted? I do like the look of the car but plan on drastically improving the outside finish.

 

The 4.1 vs 4.2 body isn't going to have much effect on the overall value unless you find someone who particularly wants either one.

Also, remember it's a C4 and currently not as desirable as a C3 or C5. That fact is going to affect your value more than any minor cosmetic modification.

 

Museum quality, mint original, yes. Average condition, no.

 

If you plan on keeping it for a few years do it the way YOU want it. The resale price down the road most likely won't be affected

 

Ok here's a thought...I have seen many 74-79 C3's updated with 80-82 bumpers over the years. It's easy to see how this could happen as these cars used to be a dime a dozen and the owners took a opportunity to "update" their cars during collision repair, repaint etc.

Did it hurt the value in the short term, no. Now that some of these cars are starting to to seen as desireable by collectors, I think the incorrect body parts would in fact hurt the value of the car.

Now in your case (or mine as I also have an 89) I think the answer is the same. Right now, some may see the updated body as a bonus. I have even thought about updating mine when I repaint but honestly the cost of the new parts really isn't worth it and my body is in good shape. Conversely, right now for you it would not be worth the cost of changing back to original that is unless you plan to do a restoration. Just know that at some point in the distant future the car may be a tad harder to sell or bring a bit less partially due to the incorrectness of the body parts and partially due to the fact that many buyers will see the obviously replaced front and rear bumpers and wonder what extent of repairs lurk behind those. Just my .02

Dave

 

If it were me, as soon as I noticed that a car I was looking at had body parts on it from another year, I'd just walk away. An older model year C4 dressed up to be a newer model year C4 with attached body parts from the newer year just screams that the owner was too dam cheap to get the real thing. He's only fooling himself as any real Corvette enthusiast or owner is going to spot the "updates" immediately. Sure it may look OK. But this question is always going to come up when the car is sold. "Why did you do that?" Worthless? No. Worth less? Yes. In my opinion.

 

"Too damn cheap". That's odd someone with a Corvette would even say that! Nothing about choosing to "update" a C4 is cheap. Doing it on purpose -- like I did was neither stupid or cheap. It's simply a choice.

From most of the people I talked to, the 4.2 body-style is more widely preferred. Not everyone likes it best -- so don't complain if you're reading this and disagree. But, a major reason for the change was the release of the ZR1 -- with the "square" tailight bumper was so sought after, GM decided to put it on their 4.2 models.

Personally, I couldn't afford (as low-mileage of a) later C4 as what I bought. In 1999, I bought an 89 with 14k miles. I paid $14k. The best I could do in a 93-96 model was about 75k miles or more. And, it still would have cost another couple thousand.

I was thinking of a bumper upgrade AND a paint refresh when a minor parking lot bumper tear made the decision easier. My insurance would be buying my new bumper -- and it didn't cost any more to do a newer vs. older one. The rear I already WANTED to do.

I got the newer looking bodystyle I initially wanted -- and am much happier. Now that it's a resto-rod and customized, it still doesn't matter what bumpers are on it. It's a matter of finding the person who wants the custom job I did -- just like it would be if I'd left everything stock -- except the 383

The problem is -- with ANY restoration, how often are you going to find someone wanting to pay $15k $20k, or even more -- because you restored a 100k (or even 50k) car to original condition. Most of those collectors are looking for that 5k mile specimen -- that'll start leaking like a sieve -- if they ever drove it.

Any other person is left to judge the condition of your car by seeing it, hearing what you did, driving it, and looking at it. Anyone who walks away -- just because a part was changed from stock -- will stay in a small, narrow box and miss out on some of the more fun things people do with cars.

Personally, I envy most every well-done customization out there. It takes some real skill and know-how to do some of the builds you see at car shows.

Foose is about your number 1 example of that ideal.


Oh yeah...I forgot to tie the comments above to a conclusion for the OP. It should be obvious what I think...you should leave it. Plenty of people will like the ability to purchase the newer style for less than the cost of an LT car. For those that don't race higher speeds, they might even like the torquey feel of a TPI? (That's not why I bought an 89 though). The point really made best in Post#2. These cars aren't valueable enough to spend the money on a body conversion. The only reason to swap one way or the other -- is because you like it.

In my case, I couldn't afford what I wanted, so I purchased something close. Then, I later learned the parts were interchangeable. When I decided it was time to paint (pretty much guaranteed for any car this old), it wasn't very costly to swap.

I got the style I wanted...with newer better-than-new paint. I'd drive that (and buy that) way before an original, fading paint job -- that looks like it's in serious need of restoration. Doesn't matter what bumpers it has. It matters how well it was taken care of. Real car guys can tell that when they go look at cars. (They can also spot the well-intended specimens -- that didn't quite hit the mark too.)

 

Thanks for all the great comments. Most of you agree that the 4.2 body panels won't make much of difference in the value of this car. That is the response I had hoped for. I am very much a traditionalist; that is the car should stay as it was from the factory. But this car looks good the way it is. I didn't want to spend the time and money improving this car only to find out that returning it to original condition would have made a tremendous difference in its value. A small reduction in value is a small price to pay to enjoy the car as it is now.

My plan is to spend the winter (it comes early in upstate New York) building the foundation for this car. I have a whole list of basic repairs and maintenance items we need to catch up on before I concentrate my efforts on the final project, the new paint job and body work.

There will be a few more weekends to enjoy top down motoring here in the mountains before the jack stands come out. I believe these cars should be driven and not just placed on a pedestal. This car runs better each time I take it out; so it must have sat around a lot before I bought it. The last owner of this car claims to be a master mechanic who did some engine work after he purchased it down south. His plan was to remove the body and put a pickup body on it. The drivetrain is great and it runs very well. It would have been a shame to take the body off and loose another Corvette to the customizers.

Thanks again for all your comments; your insight is very much appreciated.

Rich

 

[QUOTE=GREGGPENN;1581950231]"Too damn cheap". That's odd someone with a Corvette would even say that! Nothing about choosing to "update" a C4 is cheap. Doing it on purpose -- like I did was neither stupid or cheap. It's simply a choice.


OK. I'll rephrase my comment. I didn't mean that it would be "cheap" or "stupid" to do this update a C4. I'm sure it was a LOT of work and did cost a few bucks to do it. I simply meant that this update stands out like a sore thumb to me and most educated car guys will spot it immediately. Almost like putting a Ferrari replica body on a Pontiac Fiero chassis. Or adding a third brake light to an early C4 to make people think it's a newer C4. It might look good, but the truth is it's not the real thing. Only a replica. I know that I catch these "updates" right away and think to myself, who is this guy trying to fool? I'm sure most are happy making these type changes to their car, but they will have to convince the next buyer of it that it was done for their own personal taste rather than trying to make the car look like a newer model to others. The group of interested buyers will be a smaller group that will be interested in a replica car and the price will be affected. Usually lower. It's something I'll never do. If I want a 1996 C4, I'll just buy a real 1996 C4. No one on this forum can say that that aren't cheap enough right now.

 

Still can't say I appreciate the rewording. It implies mine's not a "real" Corvette. There are a set of people who are purists, NCRS guys, or whatever. Sounds like you're one of those...and you probably don't care for custom stuff.

Fair enough. You want it like a factory does it...not how an individual can do it. I still think you have narrower tastes than the majority. And, would be missing out on enjoying/appreciating all people's work.

BTW: Because it's been restored, mine is tighter than 98% of the 96 units out there. And, it's more fun to drive. I know because a member with a 96LT4 lives nearby. The torque and acceleration have a marked difference. Sometimes a person CAN outdo the factory.

 

[QUOTE=FOURSPEEDVETTE;1581952081] Well said!

Although there are a few that may disagree, get the real thing, they're not that expensive one way or the other!

Or to put it another way..... Why be a poser??? Is that who you what to be?

 

"Fair enough. You want it like a factory does it...not how an individual can do it. I still think you have narrower tastes than the majority. And, would be missing out on enjoying/appreciating all people's work."

Thank God people didn't think like this when C1 & C2 Vettes were cheap or we'd have the majority of them looking like the grotesque, hacked up 30's Ford lead sleds we are left with today.