Fiirst Vette, '69 BB in Riverside Gold HAVE QUESTIONS
 

Hey everyone.

Never thought I'd actually buy a Corvette. I have a tall torso, and don't really fit in them well. (Certainly not a C5 or C6 with a helmet on unfortunately).

BUT,.. I saw a 69 in Riverside Gold with the P02 hubcaps and the chrome fender louvers,.... and well,... screw it. I'm buying one LOL

So last night I bought one in Riverside gold with a rat.

L36 427
Auto trans
Posi-Traction rear axle
Leather seats
Power windows
Tilt / telescope steering column
Power Brakes
Soft-Ray tinted glass
U69 AM/FM radio

But;
NO A/C
NO Power Steering


Car had 51,000 miles on it when it was lightly restored (frame on) in 2006. Has 230 miles on it since then.

Anyway,.. ordered chrome fender louver trim for it from ZIP Corvette today,.. and also a set of Goodyear Speedway raised white letter nylon tires,for the look (even through the tank sticker seems to indicate 02PT7AA,. which would be white stripe)
https://www.zip-corvette.com/68-72-g...te-letter.html

QUESTIONS

1. Would it hurt the value if I add the chrome louvers? I'm guessing not,.. as it's not some highly valuable 4-speed, tri-power, A/C car,.. and being that it has a clear-coat paint job,.. it's not like it's going to win a Bloomington Gold award anyway. And if someone DID want to take it to that point,.. they'd have to strip and re-paint it anyway,.. and they could just fill in the holes then.

2. Would adding power steering affect it? My guess is it wouldn't hurt it's value,... but wouldn't help as much as it cost. Easy to add and remove. No cutting.

3. What floor mats would this have come with (leather seat car)? It currently has replacement black carpet and what looks in the pics like loop floor mats with Stingray embroidered into them. Would they have been rubber mats? Or plain black loop carpet mats?

I'll get to see it for the first time in a week. It's a couple states away. Bought it on Ebay.

Not looking to have a show car,.. just a nice looking car to putter to work in on occasion,. and the wife could drive it too. P/S would help that last bit.

Seller's photo of the car.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...527dddcde9.jpg


Picture edit.
July 15th,.. after adding chrome louvers and period correct nylon tires.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...75b1e143a7.jpg

Probably not if you are not concerned with keeping the car original.

Factory power steering wouldn't hurt.

None. IIRC, black rubber mats were available through Chevrolet dealers.

Congrats on the 69.
:thumbs:

Thanks Mike.
I'm a fan of owning a couple sets of floor mats, so that at any time I can swap them out, and clean the dirty ones at my leisure.

Looks like I'll pick up some plain black ones,.. so as not to attract attention to them, but still protect the carpet. (The Stingray ones look great,.. but they scream "not stock")

Perhaps a rubber set also.

You got a great deal on that car. Congats! I have been following it on ebay for weeks. The seller has been trying to sell it since last year. Its a nice looking car in the pics. If you check your tank sticker you will see it also did not come from the factory with the PO2's. No such thing as power locks from the factory, I don't think this car has them.

Adding options that it did not come with would hurt its value to the purist. But overall not by much.

The only thing I did not like was how they started to cover the frame with black spray paint in areas. You can see they just started trying to cover surface rust and didn't mask off anything. No big deal, but just a silly move by a seller to try to cheaply clean up the frame.

Enjoy your new purchase!

Ahh, Ok on the locks. Tank sticker is in poor shape,.. with a poor picture of it.

I saw that on the frame. looks like they sanded off some of the surface rust, and sprayed it with a rattle can. And kept going onto places where they didn't clean. And as you said,.. they didn't even put a piece of newspaper over the top of the frame. How hard would that have been?

I might have done something similar to stop the rust and tidy up the look a bit,.. but I would have gotten all the rust cleaned up,.. but some rust stop on there,.. put something betweenthe frame and the body,... and sprayed it with black appliance epoxy. That stuff is like nails. The suspension bushings, , brakes, gas tank, carb, etc, etc were all done at the time of the light resto in 2005-2006,... I may pull the suspension apart and clean up the bits,.. replace brake splash guards, etc etc,... so it looks tidy from underneath.

Anyway,... it should be a very nice driver. I'm sure I won't bother with the P/S. Though A/C is tempting. A lot more money and effort,.... and it would make it a 9 month car instead of a Spring and Fall car. But I guess I have other cars.

I have a detail guy scheduled to take care of the runs in the clear (above left exhaust tip) and to generally clean up the paint. Will probably replace the center console bits around the shifter. I notice it's missing a screw,.. and the screws should be black and not chrome.

Who knows what else I'll find.

Safe to say it will be a much nicer car after I've had it in my garage for a month.

So excited

Be sure you check the brakes, as it has been sitting basically idle since 2006. Its quite possible the seals are leaking or on the verge of failing (if they haven't been changed to 'o' rings).

My .02 cents.....

I have a 1969 Riverside Gold coupe 350/350 and I prefer the look of the side louvers without the chrome inserts.
But that is my opinion as others prefer the look with the inserts.

p.s. I am the original owner and bought it new in 69.

I like the look of the inserts but I would not say they are chrome.

https://photos.smugmug.com/1969-Corv...15meoac-X3.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/1969-Corv...he29fvj-X3.jpg

That argent on the gills is nicer than chrome, I think. It is an accent without trying to upstage the rest of the car. To OP: You are supposed to buy a 75 or 79 for your first Vette. That way you can go the next step when you find a clean Riverside Gold 69 427 car. Do the AC. These cars have great heat even with no heater core installed. Power steering is cheap and easy and pure bolt-in. And enjoying the ride while spousal unit drives? Priceless...

Thanks everyone. Dawsone and Derek,... yeah, the inserts are really silver paint,.. over chrome. With just the edges showing chrome.

LOL I did actually start looking for a 77 Vette. Thought it might be a cheap way for wife to have a toy car too.

Then I started looking at what had been a favorite year of mine,... the '72. Love the egg crate gills and chrome bumpers. A friend had one in high school. Always wanted one. That third year, the egg crate gills got chrome on the edges.

There's a clean 72 near me in War Bonnet Yellow,... which was very tempting. Especially as it had A/C, tilt and P/S. But,.. it's just an L48 auto car,.. and I didn't think I would hold my interest for long. The ultimate one would probably be L82 with the Muncie. A hot small block seems to be the perfect combo in these cars.

But then I started studying 68-69's for the first time. Love the more slender look of the sides without the flares behind the wheels. Then I saw a base coat clear coat 69 in Riverside gold with the louver inserts and the p02 wheel covers and my jaw dropped. This car in the link. The young owner died in a truck crash. The parents had paid to have the body re-done ($17k),.. plus the entire interior replaced, engine rebuilt, etc, etc, etc. Can be had for $21 ish I'm sure. Has P/S,... but no A/C. And an L48. But wow,.. the body and interior are an 11 on a 10 scale.
https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds...e/2026151.html

So there I was,.. suddenly looking for Riverside Gold 69's.

Was able to scratch off 2 things from my bucket list,..
own a Rat motor Chevy
Own a car of my birth year

Would have loved to be able to say it had a Rat motor with a Muncie Rock Crusher. How cool does that sound? But just couldn't find one.

Duckstu,
I was watching that 69 on eBay. I had a 69 427/390 with a 4 speed. Your gonna love it. With the BB asking prices I have seen, I think you bought it right. Keep the forum up to date on your new purchase. And don't forget, lots of photos!

You will find that parallel parking the car without P/S requires a lot of effort. My 68 convert with NOM 454 and no P/S steers really hard, but I am willing to put up with it. If you decide to convert, the kit and brackets to attach the P/S pump to the engine will set you back about $1500. You might want to consider converting to rack and pinion at the same time. Good luck with your new Vette. You will find people on this forum to be very helpful and glad to have a new member.

ddawson said " inserts but I would not say they are chrome". I have seen two versions of the inserts available. One version has a complete set for one side for about $100. Another version which is supposed to be authentic replacement (NOS) for about $100 for each piece.

Got it delivered.

Smells of old gas and moth-balls. Found a small mothball inside. Have to deal with the 1/2 tank of old gas in a bit.

Cleaned the idle jets,.. set idle and idle mix (still a bit lumpy when warmed up). Inspected the dizzy cap and rotor (both perfect).

Engine doesn't smoke,.. and there's zero blow-by. with the oil cap removed.

Bottom of the engine is dry as a bone. Though there is a tiny bit of weeping below rocker covers at the front.

The vac system all works (headlights, wider door etc). All 3 cans are new.

Brakes are a bit spongy,.. so I decided to flush the fluid. I'm using Valvoline Dot 3-4. IS THAT OK?


Wanna make sure it's OK to replace the Maxwell House brand brake fluid that's in there.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...f02cf719c9.jpg

my version of 69 Riverside Gold ! https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...a54778db34.jpg

Very nice. How long till she's finished?

I have nylon Speedway tires waiting at the local tire shop. Need to find time to get them on. Also need to acquire a replacement P02 Hubcap or two. Couple of mine are dinged up.

Very nice, especially the BB. :thumbs:

Always been curious as to how many in the one year Riverside Gold color were actually produced.

Progress. On the road occasionally.

Gas drained and 1/2 tank of fresh gas

New screw kit for interior.

Interior cleaned with Cockpit Premium

New tires on day after next.

Two mint hubcaps on the way. Two of my 4 just need cleaned up.

Brake fluid flushed

Rotten hose to trans modulator replaced.

Chrome louver vents installed

Oil, filter and plug change today.

Paint to be cut and buffed in a day or two.

Installing a motor-mount now. Driver's side one has more movement that I'd expect.

Super-wombat timing light in the mail with dwell, tach and dial-back features for checking the timing. Should be here day after tomorrow.


Today I put the car on scales. With about 11 gallons of gas in it, it weighs 3,399 lbs. (1796 front, / 1603 rear.

So weight bias on an L36 427 with a TH400, no P/S and no A/C is 52.84% Ft. and 47.16% Rear. Not too shabby. Truly a mid-engine car (ft-mid engine).

T-Tops weigh 29 lbs a pair. Those P02 hubcaps are 8.2 lbs each! Wow. 33 lbs for hubcaps. Well,.. I like 'em anyway.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...c5c4b80123.jpg