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I know there’s many of you that have owned your C2’s a lot longer than I have owned mine. I find myself looking on eBay and the parts section of this forum searching for parts even though I don’t need anything.
I have to believe that that many of you likely think to yourself “I should have bought this replacement part when I had the chance either because it was cheaper or a part you could actually find”.
What part was it, when did you pass on it, and how much was it when you could have bought it?
I'm gonna' go with those OEM teak steering wheels for $500 and those 427 3X2 complete upper end (manifold/carbs/air cleaner) assys for around $1,000. Of course, all of this happened quite awhile back.
Years ago put an ad in our local" Nickel Ad paper" wanting '57 FI unit. Lady called and said she had one in her basement for sale. As it turned out it was a '63-'65 unit with air cleaner and distributor with a price of $125. Not what I wanted so I passed. Many of you have similar stories. begee22
Hundreds of parts. Looking back. But I also bought and sold hundreds of parts over the last 40 years. Some have actually come down in value in the last 15 years or so since the restomod craze began. I would like to have a teak wheel but I am certainly not going to pay the going price today. I would LIKE one but don't really NEED one. I had one on one of my 66 Corvettes years ago.
I know there’s many of you that have owned your C2’s a lot longer than I have owned mine. I find myself looking on eBay and the parts section of this forum searching for parts even though I don’t need anything.
I have to believe that that many of you likely think to yourself “I should have bought this replacement part when I had the chance either because it was cheaper or a part you could actually find”.
What part was it, when did you pass on it, and how much was it when you could have bought it?
Ed
The fellow from whom I bought my injected '60 was a wise fellow. He counseled me, "If you ever see something you need for the car, buy it right then. If you don't, either you'll never find it again or it will cost you more if you do."
In every single instance in the last 40 years, his advice has been spot on.
GM 3 series posi cases- now obsolete
GM rotors
GM ps hoses
GM control valves
10-17x 30 12 bolt spiders- good ones are gone now
12 bolt diff case shims
All those and more are available in the aftermarket but they are no where as good.
Almost forgot, I would have bought 500 GM rag joints, 250 of each type!
friends uncle had a shop,,when he died,there was a wall with 20-30 F.I. units and dist/air cleaners,he took them off in the 60's because nobody could make em run right,and a stack of 10+ teak wheels.this was 30+ years ago and I never found out what ever happened to them,,sad
friends uncle had a shop,,when he died,there was a wall with 20-30 F.I. units and dist/air cleaners,he took them off in the 60's because nobody could make em run right,and a stack of 10+ teak wheels.this was 30+ years ago and I never found out what ever happened to them,,sad
same story but only 10-15 years ago, guy had 10+ fi units from pulling them off, was looking for parts for another gen car at the time so i didnt ask.
GM 3 series posi cases- now obsolete
GM rotors
GM ps hoses
GM control valves
10-17x 30 12 bolt spiders- good ones are gone now
12 bolt diff case shims
All those and more are available in the aftermarket but they are no where as good.
Almost forgot, I would have bought 500 GM rag joints, 250 of each type!
Amen - I just paid a princely sum for an NOS piece for my '63...
I do try to stockpile a few rare, original parts....
I have a completely restored (by Andy Cannizo) 63 non-power window shifter console and extensions on the shelf...
A spare correct "628" 63 alternator (upgraded to 100 amp output)
A spare rebuilt "no frog pad" 4657 fuel pump
Two "getting hard to find" WCFB 63 only carbs (rebuilt)
A pristine set of C2 front bumpers - top driver quality but would need show chrome for some applications
Original 63 fiberglass headlight buckets (late)
When I see a honking deal online I jump on it...
Last edited by Frankie the Fink; 06-17-2019 at 07:31 AM.
The very definition of "unobtanium".... Moderator vettebuyer6369 got the last original I heard of, Dr. Rebuild had a few but they have been long since sold....
Chances of finding one are the same as your odds of being mauled by a black bear and a polar bear on the same day (the Mega Million odds BTW)!
In 1971 I was finishing up putting my '63 convertible back together after stripping it bare and having it repainted, along with building a new solid roller engine with 4:56 rear gears. A good friend who was an engineer working for Mobil at the time and had already owned multiple Corvettes, asked what I was going to do about an induction system. At the time Edelbrock had just released a new intake manifold called the Tarantula and I was planning on a new Holley, 950CFM, 3-barrel. The pair could be purchased new for about $250 back then.
It happened that he had just set up a complete '65 fuel injection set-up to put on a future project and thought it would be great for my car. He was a great individual, always offering his encouragement and assistance to help his friends keep their projects moving forward, and his passion was Corvettes. I really liked the idea, especially since it came with his expertise and he was the go-to guy in our area then if you wanted to make yours FI run well. I asked what he needed to get for it and he said $500. Being a 'poor' college kid at the time and considering back then the norm (for the unknowing) was to remove them and replace them with a carburetor, I decided the Tarantula and the Holley was a safer and less expensive route to take. Needless-to-say, it's a decision I regret still today.
The bad news was I passed on it, but the good news was he put it on his recently purchased, 1970, LT-1. When I later (about 1973) asked how it performed, he told me it ran great, at least as well has the Holley it came with did. But, it got much better mileage.
06-16-2019, 04:36 PM
Parts you wished you would have purchased??
