Question: New car to me. Did I pay too much?

[Scott Benedict]

I am new here and would like to stir up the opinion pot a little. I just pulled the trigger on a 1960, bright red with white coves. I am hoping I didn't pay too much. This is a non number matching car. 350 with headers, exhaust all the way and out the bumper, Muncie 4spd, disc brakes, new american spoke mags, brand new Goodyear tires. All bumpers, grill, windows, stainless on coves all look good. I paid an appraiser to go check it out as it is across the country. I could tell from the dealers pictures that the car was pretty rough once you got by the nice paint. Sloppy wiring, battery in trunk etc. I was mainly concerned about the frame and the body. He said the body was original and showed no signs of repair anywhere. All the seams looked good, very minimal amount of small cracks. Interior is worn black, but all there. it has the 6500 red-line tach. No hard top, white soft top. The disc brake conversion looks sanitary, new wheel cylinders can be seen along with all new steel lines, done well. but the frame...pretty bad by my standards, for back east this is mild rust. It shows evidence of small patch work just under the forward leaf spring mounts, and on the rear cross-member. The usual places. He said the thing runs strong, trans felt real good, no rattles, no squeaks, very tight for the way it looked. They had this thing priced over $50,000 and dropped it to 49,000 just as I noticed it. I saw the rust in the pictures they sent me, called and got them down to $40,000 and got it for that. I don't have a lot more than that so I felt good to even get one as I have been looking for a while and man they ask a lot for paint and interior when most of the time the under side or the engine is badly in need of help. I ran my own auto repair business for 35 years, still have the shop, so I am OK fixing this thing. I figure if all else fails I'll stick a frame under it with a body this good. I have two 283's, that are early 60s, maybe one is a 60, I hope. I plan to slowly get it a little more stock appearing. I do like the wheels very much so they'll stay for now. I am going to try to post a picture here if I can figure it out. Did I pay too much?

 

[LLC5]

First off, this is the wrong time to be asking that question.

Second , if it's what you want and what you like then it is worth every penny.

Third, buying a vehicle already done and the way you want it is almost ALWAYS cheaper than trying to do it yourself, especially if you put a monetary value on your time spent doing it.

Enjoy it and drive it, looks like a real nice vehicle.

 

[Scott Benedict]

Yes I know all of that. Retired ASE master tech and I still have my fully equipped (now closed) business. It was on my acreage, so I have three bays, two lifts, and time. I won't count the labor as a cost just a hobby. This is a long time dream since driving one a lot in High school. The price of one done the way I want is way out of reach, and there was a draw to not perfect, not virgin, which translates to you can drive it and thrash it a little. Then with time, slowly improve it which should up the value in the long run in case (further) old age warrants selling it. I was just curious about the deal i did or didn't get. It's definitely hard to find anything under $50,000 it seems, I have hunted for a while, limited to 58/59/60. I am pretty sure I'll be happy with most of this vehicle, time will tell.

 

[LLC5]

Yes I know all of that. Retired ASE master tech and I still have my fully equipped (now closed) business. It was on my acreage, so I have three bays, two lifts, and time. I won't count the labor as a cost just a hobby. This is a long time dream since driving one a lot in High school. The price of one done the way I want is way out of reach, and there was a draw to not perfect, not virgin, which translates to you can drive it and thrash it a little. Then with time, slowly improve it which should up the value in the long run in case (further) old age warrants selling it. I was just curious about the deal i did or didn't get. It's definitely hard to find anything under $50,000 it seems, I have hunted for a while, limited to 58/59/60. I am pretty sure I'll be happy with most of this vehicle, time will tell.

I'm sure you will enjoy it, and restomods are all the rage now so holding it's value shouldn't be a problem, just check out a Barret Jackson auction sometime, quality restomod prices are out pacing OEM originals.

 

[Toms007]

Well,a welcome is in order first I think if you are happy with the purchase, then you did ok. Yes, it is pretty hard to find anything for less than $50k. I think all of us are anxious to see how it looks in your eyes when it arrives and ready to follow the progress as you make it your own.

 

[Scott Benedict]

Thanks for the welcome.

The waiting for this baby is going to be the tough part. I still don't have a truck yet. I hope they call Monday. The suspense of what did I get? is going to be tough. There won't be anything I can't fix, I am just hoping to drive it this summer, and it doesn't even have seat belts yet. that won't be easy from what I read. I am hoping someone just pulled the belts and the brackets are still there, but I scrounged it all up on eBay just in case. It will all be here when the car shows up.

I'l do an update when the car gets here, this should be interesting if nothing else.

 

[Tom Bryant]

Scott, Welcome to the CAC

That seems to be a pretty nice driver for the money. With all the mechanical updates already done it should be a decent driver. You will know for sure once you get it up on your lift and get a good look at the frame. I hope you are happy with your purchase when it arrives. Summer cruising is just around the corner.

Tom

 

[Otter]

Sharp car. And, as Tom said, I hope you check back in and update us once you get it and check it out yourself.

 

[Wayback]

a 61 nom around here,so yours is in the ballpark,but Wayback I paid $500.00 for my 58,them days are looooooooong gone!
1961 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible - cars & trucks - by owner - vehicle automotive sale

 

[billknight]

Mirror image. My car is white with red (yes I know that was not an option in 57, but they look soooo nice I can't bear to paint them silver and only the true Vette people know, but they always notify me and that is getting old). 4 speed F.I. (250HP) Wonderbar, courtesy lights and heater. matching numbers car I paid $5K back in 1979. Would have been better off investing it in the stock market, but you can't drive that. Replacement parts are mostly available but expensive. I need a set of front bumper brackets for a 57. THEY ARE NOT AVAILABLE!
Also be careful about switching the frame. it has a VIN number on it that will not match the screwed on vin number on the body. Some DMV's will balk at this unless you follow certain procedures. Check with your DMV first!

 

[Wayback]

Who needs bumper brackets anyway. I gota admit, this movie had a profound effect on me !

 

[billknight]

My car is a lot nicer than that one, so I need the brackets. I am really surprised that no body sells them. 58 and up there are millions of them. 57 and less there are none.

 

[Tom Bryant]

The only bumper brackets on the front of a '56/57 are the ones for the bumperettes in front of the grille. Zip and most others have these. The bumper pieces on the front of the fender just bolt through the body. No brackets to the frame. Just decorative with no crash protection. Same for the rear. There is a horizonal bracket that the middle horizonal bumpers on both sides of the license opening bolts to, Zip also has this but not many others,
but the pieces around the exhaust opening just bolt through the body.

 

[corvette boy]

if its what you want and you can afford it, it doesn't matter what the price is, I've got 2 Porsche 911s, a 930 and just bought a 65 conv. sting ray that is showroom looking, just put a tremec 5 spd so the rpm at 70 is 1900 on the tach, some purists will turn a ugly eye towards that, but it makes it a better car to drive, and I drive them all, the smile on my face when I'm in any of them makes me forget all about the price paid...

 

[Scottsredvette]

His last post was on Apr 10, 2018. Wonder if he ever got the car delivered and what became of it.

 

[Toms007]

Last activity was April 2018.