My first C3 1969 riverside gold convertible is on its way!
 

Hello All,

I live in Orange County, California. I have not slept much in the last few weeks. All I have been doing is obsessing over buying my first stingray. I have wanted one for the last 10 years. I'm finally able to afford one and have spent the better part of the last few months trying to find my perfect car within my budget. Well today I finally made payment on the vehicle I ended up going with. It actually cost me 500 dollars more than the sale price, since I lost a non refundable deposit on a 1973 T Top I was initially going to buy, but after some indecisiveness I changed my mind and went with this beauty:

http://www.ellingsonclassiccars.com/...ible-Rogers-MN

I sent an appraiser to inspect the vehicle and provide me with a fair market value as well as point out any issues. I'm happy to share this report via separate message. He ended up appraising it for a couple thousand more than I paid. Please give some feedback to this novice classic car newbie! Would love to hear your thoughts and find out what I have just gotten myself into.

A few things I want to take care of as soon as I get the vehicle delivered (Sunday or Monday) is the AC installation and some form of sound (either a modern stereo or one of those new but vintage looking ones.

I also want to know what to expect as far as maintenance is concerned, and any advise on what to look out for generally, as an owner of such vehicles?

I'm a little concerned about the registration process in california for this out of state vehicle. I know it doesn't have a VIN sticker in the door jam, only a VIN plate on the windshield. Any feedback is appreciated.

Sorry about that. :)

Looks like a nice 69. Congrats.
:thumbs:

Congrats on the new purchase and welcome.

The blue VIN sticker didnt start happening until much later in the 69 model year than when your car was made. I don't think you will have a problem registering it. If so, let us know, I'm sure somebody on here will be able to help.

Thank you for that information! I'm glad to be part of this community!

Great color ! Happy trails

I went to AAA to register my C-3 a couple of years ago. They wanted to see the VIN # in two locations. Later I learned there is a second VIN number on the frame on the left side forward of the rear wheel, but it is impossible to read unless the car is on a lift. What saved the day, if you still have the original engine, a club member told me to look at the engine block just to the left of the water pump. There is a boss on the block with a serial number imprinted. The last 4 or 6 numbers (I forgot which) matches the last 4 or 6 numbers of your VIN. AAA accepted that. If not, I was told I would have to deal directly with the DMV.

It's a tough life... lol

Wow! Just what I was afraid of. My vehicle is NOM so looks like I'll face some trouble with dealing with DMV. I researched and also read about the hidden VIN you mentioned. Apparently that's a lengthy process and the CHP has to get involved to find it. So let's see what happens.

Part of the VIN is also stamped on the trans.

I had to go though the same thing when I brought mine into CA.

Great color BTW.

Beautiful car. I've heard sometimes you get lucky with AAA and they don't try to find the second VIN.

Hi S1985,
VERY NICE!!!!
I can understand why you're excited.
It looks like the car could be a lot of fun!
I hope it turns out to be a 'good one' and it gives you pleasure owning it!

In addition to the VIN tag on the driver-side windshield post the frame was stamped with a partial VIN number in 2 places:
The first is on top of the frame rail about where the driver sits. It can't be seen with the body in place.
The second, as Tom suggested, is on top of the frame rail just forward of the #4 body mount. It can often be read with a mirror. Sometimes the top of the rail needs to be 'cleaned' to make the stamp readable.

Good Luck! I hope you're driving it soon!
Regards,
Alan

The 69 convertible is a better choice than a 73 coupe. Consider the $$ well spent!

The frame VIN stamp location.
http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/c...DSC_0764-1.jpg

If you are not a AAA member, become one. When I registered my 67, they did not even ask for a bill of sale, only did a walk around.

It's no wonder you didn't sleep! Congrats and welcome to the forum.

NOW.....buy a $100 camera and keep it in the car for road trips!

:woohoo:

Awesome info! Thank you so much for this. Fingers crossed with the registration process. I really want to register it with the actual VIN. I have heard that at times, if they cannot find a second VIN the perform something called a blue vin process where the assign a brand-new VIN to the car. That would such as it would diminish the value of the VIN since the registration would not match the actual VIN. I want to avoid that at all costs.

:yesnod:

I am a AAA member. So my plan is to walk in and get lucky! Fingers crossed...

Hopefully the appraiser knew to look for birdcage rust and hopefully it's just surface rust in there.

Overall though, love the paint color. Gorgeous.

You could also get the repro blue label and type the VIN yourself and stick it to the door for probably around $10.

69, good choice over the 73! I myself was/am a novice as of August last year, but you get addicted to reading stuff on the forum, and next thing you know, you're figuring everything out. Everyone is super helpful too. Enjoy the car!

How do I do that? is their a vendor that prints those labels?