Is the value of my car compromised? Please help!
 

Hi all. I'm thinking of buying an original 72 LT1 roadster with 66k on it. The car has impeccable documentation on it dating back to the day it was purchased new. It was judged at a ncrs meet 2 years ago with a 2nd flight as a survivor. I'm purchasing this car as an investment and occasional driver doing some restoration in the process. Unfortunately, it does not have PS or PB from the factory. My question is, if I were to add PS to the car, will it hurt the value even if I keep all original parts? Will it help to sell it in the event I do or deter a buyer knowing there is proof the car was born with manual steering? I want to make the right decision for the car and preserve the value. It's kind of tough given it's so original but shifting and steering that car, I imagine will be a chore. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks Dee

First of all Dee, purchasing any of these vintage cars for an investment is a foolish move. Too much volatility in the enthusiast market. Secondly, and no offense intended, if I were going for any C-3 with resale in mind, it would be a BB. I believe you would have a very small number of folks interested in a small block C-3, especially at inflated prices. Do yourself a favor and do the research before jumping into this with value added in mind and if you buy, drive it like it was intended and forget about the money! Good luck...:thumbs:

As an owner of a 427 manual steering, manual brake, manual trans car, steering really isn't a problem while driving. Your arms will get a workout while trying to park. It was a lot easier 40 years ago..............
Seeing it is the last year for a LT-1, I'd keep it as original as possible.

Probably not provided you make a factory installation using factory parts.

Relay rod and pitman arm will be the two stock items you will not use with the conversion to power steering.

Possibly.

Look at it this way, with the parts you keep, a potential buyer who wanted to revert to standard steering would have the required parts.

:)

Hope you bought the car but in my humble opinion do not add or change a thing on it from it's original sale if your really "investing" in this car. While prices fluctuate, remember they quit making the 1972 LT-1 44 years ago.
While you may or may not make a profit down the road, you can't take it with you so enjoy it.:flag:

if you want P/S or P/B,its your car,do it,these are not things that can't be replaced without wrecking the value of the car

now if you wanted to cut a hole in the hood for s super-charger,well?

PS is no big deal and can be added relatively easy.
PB on the other hand will be a PITA since you need to drop the column and clutch/brake pedal assy. to get to the proper holes for the booster.
I did a body off restore of a 72 LT-1 A/C coupe in 1988. It had PS but not PB and I thought it would be easy since I had completely disassembled the car. I wound up not adding it since I couldn't find correct dated parts. Good luck.

I wouldn't change parts on a car bought in investment condition. But, I am not a collector, so would check with the judging criteria used on the car.

I assume the awards effect the value of the car, and parts effect the judgement. Additionally, in todays world an investment car is only driven back and forth to the transport, at least that is what i see when any big deal cars show up.

I once heard a guy at a show guy complain that his restored harley davidson had the exactly correct color of paint but was marked down because the paint was not the correct cellulose paint, he had a modern paint formulation .