To change or not to change colors ?

[crow]

Hello Friends,

I would like to hear some pros/cons about changing the color of my Vette ,it is a 73 coupe w/ L-48 , auto trans , deluxe leather int , power windows , tilt - tele , a/c etc... and is bone stock . the ext is white w / med saddle int . My sensible side tells me to leave it stock and paint it back white and it will continue to keep its value. My emotional side tells me to paint it any color I like , maybe red or black ( not available in 73 ) because it is not a rare B/B or anything it just a sweet little Corvette
Thx crow

 

[78SilvAnniv]

Your vette...

...do what YOU want.

If it is numbers matching, I would probably hesitate to change the color.
However, if this is a vette that you plan on keeping forever...paint it and let the next owner worry about the 'correct' color.
Heidi

 

[huladick]

Bone stock ? ... Keep the original color....just another opinion

 

[Dave L.]

I would keep it the original color.

Dave

 

[silver 80]

HMMMMM 73 L48 auto coupe... How many miles you got? not going to drive it much or put alot of mile on it.
check out some other web sites to see how much yours would bring.
i'm going to be going through what you are going through now, I've been looking at different sites to see what color mine would look like, and in the end I think I'll stick with silver but I'm going with the 2000 color not 80, but you never know until it's time to choose a color.
tom

 

[WhalePirot]

I'm with Heidi

Red is not my fav color and black is a b-t-h to keep clean.

With a color change, the door jambs and inside the hood will require a lot of atttention (read $$) to look great.

Can you have the best of both with some creative and special accent treatment, like stripes or such?

I've been a keep-it-stock kind of guy for a long time, but hell, life is short and THINGS are to be enjoyed, by us, not preserved for some fictional future character, who MIGHT (no, WILL) want it another way.

Personally, I think all Vettes are WHITE, unlike the book title.

Mike


1984 Z-51 Corvette (white/carmine) 406 cid four bolt, forged crank; 11:1 with aluminum Dart Pro-1 heads
FMS injectors- 30pph @45 psi; BBK 52mm Lingenfelter Superram plenum, runners & base
Comp hydr. roller- 230 intake; 236 exh @.050
TPIS long tubes feed 3" system through new, stock '84 Vette cat to Flowmasters

Bilsteins revalved to 'Challenge' specs Heim jointed 3.73:1 rear; poly, poly- everywhere
strengthened: super T-10 and Doug Nash O/D
Optima battery, inside, behind passenger 'export' taillights
New leather/cushions/wood dash/wheel

 

[radar1970]

Crow, I have a matching #'s 1970 ls-5 that is suppose to be Laguna Grey. I am in the process of getting it painted original. I wanted Millenium Yellow, But everyone says if there is a chance you want to sell it for top dollar, original is best.
Ian

 

[Red76Vette]

do whatever you want Red looks good, look at mine

 

[69MyWay]

A couple of thoughts.

A decent paint job will last (in good condition) between 3-7 years, right?

So how long are you going to keep it?

Second, the extra big money comes in when doing a color change because the weather strips have to come off, upper door trim, door handles, doors off, hood off, and the front bumper should be pulled loose from the body to get into the gap etc.

This is the same stuff that needs to be done to do a first class repaint even in the same color.

So, if you paint the car this month, then keep the car for 8 years. When you go to sell it, it most likely could use a new paint job anyway? So the value of original or non original paint should not matter.

If you are going to sell it in one year, then you are not keeping it long enough to really enjoy anyhow, so you should paint it back original and be done with it.

In other words, if the paint is no longer perfect anyway when it comes time to sell it, it won't really devalue the car at all because the new buyer (if they are a purist) will have to strip it all down and start over anyway.

So, paint it whatever color you want. It is only paint!

 

[tonyk72]

My .02

When I was shoppin around, I really wanted a Red 'vette...but it had to come from GM that way....if it was a white 'vette painted red, I passed on it...but I'm more of a matching #'s freak...:Roll

But if you're gonna keep it, paint it whatever color you like...

 

[mvftw]

Did you get prices for White and a color change yet? That might make your decision for you. A Good color change has to be $5,000...

 

[Pegasys]

If it helps, I have a 1973 L48 Coupe (see attached) so you could see what you might be getting.... Mine was originally Orange! I guess when my turn comes, I'll have to decide if I should leave it red (which I like a lot) or go back to it's correct orange. Mine is also numbers matching.

Mike

 

[Derster]

Its true

Its only paint, you are not changing anything or ruining the value of your car. Its something that can easily be returned to original color if desired. If it is not the original finish then what difference does it make to the color? However, white vettes are great and it would save time and money if you don't have to do all the jams as you would with a color change

If you want red do it! It's your dream and it's all about enjoying your vette!

Steve

 

[Radar]

I would keep it the stock factory color.

Radar

 

[crow]

Thanks Everbody for the input and opinions , the car is a NOM and it has 140,000 miles It was a trade in from a ol'lady in Sun City , she was as far as I know about the 5th owner, she gave me maintance records from the early 80s to present from past owners , I painted cars when I was a kid out of high school but never any Vettes , so I want to paint the car my self and will be asking more questions in the future about this crazy stuff called fiberglass ( hey my Jeep does'nt have cracks in the paint ) thanks again for the input , this is by far the best online Vette site I have found : )
crow

 

[SLICKMAN]

If its #'s matching, keep it orginal!