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1971 corvette ce block

shadowlakes

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Mar 5, 2009
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sc
Corvette
1971 convertible
i have a 1971 corvette that i bought from my high school history teacher. in 1975 he took out the original engine and ordered a new engine to 1970 lt-1 specs through a chevrolet dealership. i have the paperwork. my question is does this hurt the value of the car??? I spoke recently with a gentleman who worked at the dealership when this happened and he says the car is worth more with this engine than the original one. any help on this would be appreciated.
 
i have a 1971 corvette that i bought from my high school history teacher. in 1975 he took out the original engine and ordered a new engine to 1970 lt-1 specs through a chevrolet dealership. i have the paperwork. my question is does this hurt the value of the car??? I spoke recently with a gentleman who worked at the dealership when this happened and he says the car is worth more with this engine than the original one. any help on this would be appreciated.

Shadowlakes, I am sure someone will chime in soon with info on what you are asking, as there are alot of knowledgeable folks here, but I just wanted to welcome you to the:CAC
 
Shadowlakes,
Rather than have this thread in the Site Help & Feedback Forum (which is generally used for members having technical difficulties with the CAC itself), I think this thread will get you more useful help and advice if I moved it to the C3 Discussion Forum.

Hang on, this won't take but a moment.
:)
 
Most old Vettes are valued by how original they are. So yes it will hurt the value by having a replacement engine. But there are a lot of variables. Some will value performance over originality. In the end the value comes down to what a willing buyer and a willing seller will agree to.

tom...
 
As Tom said, some people will put a premium on having the original engine as delivered by GM. Back in the day before 'numbers matching' became important the car might have been worth more with the higher HP engine. Today this is no longer true for most buyers.

You can expect possibly a 15-20% decrease in value.
 
The guy who worked at the dealership is wrong. If the car didn't come with an LT1, you are basing its value on whether or not it is original and you're looking at the car as an "investment" then it will be worth more with the original engine.

On the other hand if you own this car for fun and/or there are other parts of it which are already modified (ie: it's a hot rod) then the swapped-in LT1 might, actually, make it worth more.
 
Shadowlakes, there's gonna be a variety of answers and no one will be true, or they will all be true.
The "worth" or "value" of the car is entirely subjective to who's being asked. Since the car is yours, the first person I'd be concerned about it you. Is it worth more to you with the replacement engine or the original engine?
Are you getting this car just to cherish it and baby it for the next owner? Or do you plan on keeping this car for yourself and your purposes? If you have little intention of selling the car, then it only matters what it's worth to you.
If you think that later on you are going to want to sell the car, then it's just a matter of finding this buyer who wants what you have. It will be more attractive to some with a higher output engine (the replacement). It will be more attractive to others that want a factory original. No matter what, there will be someone to buy your car should that time come. In the meantime, you should enjoy the car and not worry too much about the future. Unless you are in the speculation business and/or turn over cars on a regular basis, just enjoy whatcha got!
With that being said...

To add a little something to your question of "what about dealer installed options?" There are special examples of dealer modified cars that typically go for more, such as cars from the Yenko family dealerships.
In your particular case, since it was a 1975 car and the replacement engine is not a 'genuine' LT1 engine, it's really nothing more than a crate engine ordered by and installed by a dealership. Nothing really special there. You could do the same thing today. Order a base C6 and then order the LS7 Z06 engine via the dealer. Just because they do the install doesn't make your car a Z06. Later on, it will be worth more to someone looking for a car that already has more power than stock, but it won't be worth more to someone looking for an actual factory Z06.

Overall, the resale or collector value of your car is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. :thumb
 
...does this hurt the value of the car???...

Yes. Your Corvette now has a replacement engine.

...he says the car is worth more with this engine than the original one....

He is mistaken, but I agree with Tom: you may run across someone who wants your Corvette as is and is willing to pay for it.

You might want to consider trying to scare up the original 350. Does your teacher know where it went?

:)
 

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