Does Originality Matter for Corvettes?

All depends on if you find a buyer that wants the same exact mods done to their car. I think in general almost all cars benefit from being original and well maintained as it keeps getting harder to find as they age. As for mods hurting resale, I would say ones that are easily reversible maybe not as much.

 

Any Vette that costs more than 500k absolutely.

 

Of course it matters-especially on the rare models. L-88s, ZL1's, original Z06's , etc all have values affected by originality. The NCRS Corvette guys and Gals are every bit as fanatical about their cars as the europhiles.

 

It also maters what has been changed. When I was looking for a 1953 or54 Corvette it was important to have the original engine and transmission. I also wanted the body to be original. It bothered me a little that the 1954 Corvette had the trunk repainted with the proper color but the wrong paint. The 1954 paint today cannot be purchased.

My 1965 Corvette looks stock but has misc parts. The cost was okay so I bought it. Okay I did not know it was not all stock but if a knew I would have bought it anyway.

I think it matters on most if not all collector cars especially the big $ cars.

Best

Lee

 

Originality only concerns you and the price that you pay for the car itself. I have owned quite a few big block vettes that had documentation but a replacement block. I even had an LS6 1971 with a 1973 front end. I paid $11,000 for the LS6 which was the right price for the condition of the car and a replacement block. If you overpay for the vette and then find out later that it is a fake or the parts aren't original then it does matter because you have diminished value.

I would personally love to have a well done C3 vette like Forza's.

 

I pick the blue vette,,

 

If it was me, a supercharger on a Vette would be no-go. Whoever put it on there, put it on there for one reason; to run the hell out of that car. No one builds a 710hp Vette to drive their mother to church on Sunday's.

I don't think I would ever trust an aftermarket boosted engine unless I was very familiar who both the seller and who did the mods.



Mark

 

Ahhh, the Corvette has plenty of torque and power. What it needs are seats and shocks.

 

Why do you think they're on Craigslist? Because, no dealer will touch them (or pay anywhere near what people think they'll get privately).



Mark

 

Late model vettes with performance mods, unless mods performed by a reputable tuner in YOUR city, would be off limits for me. Too much trouble should problems show up. I had a C5 Z06 with a supercharger and it was great but ProCharger is based in my town and the tuners here get great support. Lots of tunes are mail order now which would also scare me off someone else's car.

 

Hey man,

You are right in my wheelhouse with the cars you are looking at. I owned a C5Z for years and tracked it. Fabulous cars for the track but agree you will want seats and harness. As for mods, I would look for one with minimal mods or at least valve springs. I would also go for the 02-04 and not the 01. Has nothing to do with the power difference (385hp vs 405hp) the 01 had crappy rings and would use oil. I ran headers and a tune until I dropped a valve (broken spring) and needed a new engine. Suspension on these things are good out of the box. Coilovers all around and remove the leaf spring and its another world. Brakes need upgrading if you do a lot of track with it and push it. I know you have the skill to exceed them fairly quick. Would not hurt to upgrade the radiator and anything you can to cool the tranny. I have seen overtemp a couple of times myself. Would pull in and let it cool down and then back out.

Other than that these cars are a real fun and fairly cheap to maintain IF you change the valve springs. If not then it could be a $10k new engine. Let me know if you want me to go with you to look at one of these. I had two for over 10yrs.

 

FYI - I would not by a high mileage one when prices for low miles is in the $20's. Go over to corvette forum and look in the C5 section too. That is where I sold mine last summer.

 

You would most likely burn in hell if you repainted the '04 anv edition. It was limited production, first corvette to have carbon fiber (hood) and last of the C5. That blue looks awesome in person but I never liked the stripe.

 

i would not worry about originality with any of those..... C4 seem worthless and C5s not far behind...

the bone stock 26k mile zr1 i just bought cost less than HALF the 165k mile e30 m3 i bought off BaT.

 

I'll speak a little bit about the C1-C3 generation - originality matters much to the diehard collectors with respect to value. Beyond that group, not so much. I agree with earlier post that to the diehard group, originality is every bit as import as with the Europhiles, even if the car is not an L-88, ZL-1, L-89, Grand Sport.

 

I agree with your post about value. I also like the car to be original so I can feel and enjoy the car driving experience of that era. I do not understand why someone would buy a classic car and update it. Why not just buy a new or newer car so it drives better.

Of course there is no right or wrong just how I feel. Some people must agree because original cars are usually more expensive but no always.

Concerning Europhiles originality is really important for some marques like Ferrari. I just looked at a 1971 Testaroosa for sale. It was bone stock. If it was modified it would have very little value.

Great thread

Lee.

 

Hi Lee,
I'll try and explain why I modify some of my classic sport cars. Most of us that purchased a C2 Corvette or musclecar back in the day couldn't wait to get them home and modify them for increased performance and/or to suit our aesthetic needs. Most of the manufacturers understood that we were going to do exactly that-even going so far as to include headers in the trunk(AMC) of very restrictive factory exhaust systems(certain Mopars and the ZL1 Camaro for a couple examples). That's why many had narrow steel wheels and tiny hubcaps-they knew the wheels would be trashed immediately. Perhaps that's why "Day 1 and 2" mods are so popular these days.
For a pure show car that will be trailered to shows and never driven, its nice to see them in pure as delivered condition. For those of us that like to drive them as their designers intended, some mods make all the difference in the driving fun factor. Probably why the RGruppe Porsche's are so popular.
To illustrate further-I run a number of my cars in vintage rally's that feature sections where enthusiastic driving is possible. At one such rally I entered my 67 Corvette coupe. It's modded with Konis, some Guldstrand bits, performance built engine, sport seats,etc. Still looks pretty stock and nothing I did can't be returned to stock without trouble. At the same event there was a beautiful 67 427 Corvette with a fantastic stock restoration. At the end of the first stage I was relaxing with my co-driver when that Corvette rolled up about an hour after us. The owner was mystified as to how it was possible that my small block was able to easily out pace his monster 427. I explained to him that his period narrow white wall tires, stock, NOS delco shocks,etc were not conducive to driving in a spirited fashion. His car had also never been treated to a proper dyno tune and performance alignment. So, while his car was a perfect period correct example of a 67 BB Corvette, it really didn't drive that well except to Cars and Coffee. For some that is fine, for others like myself-we understood the mission that Mr. Duntov envisioned for his Corvette and have tried to honor it by driving them like a sportscar.
pics of my 67 and my 69(also modded while looking mostly stock)
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