Thoughts on this 65? Considering an offer.
 

I am considering making an offer and would love the thoughts of the community. Thank you in advance!

https://www.google.com/url?q=https:/...fmhKRAqpPdKdJw

Seller says the car has original black plates from new, but the plates are 1967 issue, two years later than the car. So, the car came in from another state or had the original 1965 issue plates replaced. If original, the plates would be a K, L, M, N prefix, not a V.

Unless you can do the paint yourself, that is an expensive proposition. To me, both cars look very nice, but $70K is all the money in the world for a base motor '65. If white is original to the car, you disrupt the integrity of the car's provenance by performing a repaint. A trip to Florida is a $1,000 ticket. It might be worth the flight or, perhaps, you might want to hire someone to do an eval on the car. Before you do anything, you need to have both cars inspected before purchasing them.

I cannot even fathom painting a nice Marlboro Maroon car white. Not even a little bit.

agreed........60k would be more in my 'wheel house' ...... or less !

:iagree: You're paying a premium for originality with the white one. If you repaint it, all you would be doing is spending money to devalue the car. You'd be much better off buying one in a color you like and avoiding the expense and hassle of a paint job. The one in Florida looks nice, and 300hp is definitely more desirable than 250. If you like it have someone inspect it for you... you could start by posing a request here on the forum.

Not so sure about your license plate letter assessment. I am the second owner of an "early" '63 with the original license plate starting with a K. Remember, when the plates were first issued in '63, they were sent all across the state in batches to many different DMV's. The plates were issued as they came off of one of the many stacks throughout the state. No way to know what letters the individual DMV would be distributing in '63, let alone '65.

I think the CA white '65 has a '67 master cylinder. :cheers: Dennis

Some of it depends on population of the areas the plates were distributed. An early '63 that was sold new in '62 in CA would have had a yellow plate, and it would have been replaced a bit later. A K prefix would be late '63-early '64, IMO. I have seen 1963-issue black plates on 1967-68 cars (A-prefix) that were sold new in remote areas with low populations. The plates simply sat until issued. In 57 years of living in CA, have really not seen it work the other way, unless the car had its original plate stolen, or was imported into the state at a later date. I've had several cars of 1965-'66 vintage that had later issue plates (V-Z prefix) and all of these vehicles came from out of state. My '65 GTO has a '66 plate (R prefix) because it was sold new in Washington and came to CA in 1966 when the owner relocated.

The maroon '65 looks to be a really nice car for the price, but interesting that the ad says original caps and wheels but they are 66 caps. Also unmolested would be Milano Maroon, not Marlboro. Just sayin...

Too much money for the small block engine. I'm thinking offer $49,900. Then tell him to get back to you if he's interested.

People are making sense here. To overspend and then paint it, makes zero sense. For me 250 hp more than kills it. You can get a righteous small block pretty much the way you want for 70k. This white car is just silly at 70k. You asked for opinion.

If you are going the Resto-Mod direction, you can do what ever you want with the Corvette. Your budget is the only limit you have and no rules to follow.

Agreed. The utterly undesireable motor makes this a $50K Sting Ray on a good day. The originality, docs, and history might add around $3-4K to the right buyer.
The same car with L84 or L78 is pushing 6 figures. But this one, only half that. Keep looking.

What HP are the L84 and L78 engines?

375 and 425



not saying that 250 hp is not enough to move your butt down the road. Just saying that the market for a 250 hp 65, (or 64) is infinitesimal.

It's not just the hi perf of the L84 and L78, it is the rarity of them, combined with the hi perf.

Maybe not so nice if you saw it in person . If you look close at some of the pictures you will see a lot of ripples in the fiberglass. You might be disappointed . Pictures always make it look better .