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CDMA
10-18-2000, 10:47 PM
Ok I know this is a Donzi site but Scot please forgive me. Due to recent prodding by yours truly my dad seems to have his heart set on a Corvette Stingray. I was shooting for another Donzi but geez never thought a 427 vette was in order. But hey. I know that Rich F near me and Gene both have corvettes of that vintage. First of all are either for sale second of all is there anything I should look for specifically. As far as I can tell my dad wants a really nice piece but still something he can drive often and with confidence. By no means a show car.

Rich,
Can I drag my dad out for a ride sometime soon? I had the pleasure but he never did.

Chris

olredalert
10-18-2000, 11:31 PM
CDMA.........Having no small amount of Corvette experience of the 427 era I can tell you to spend a little more time narrowing your desires [or your fathers].Big blocks came in corvettes first in 65 and high performance versions lasted until 71.Vast differences in value exist between the various years.Also,remember that originality and cost go hand in hand as well.As a parting statement I would say to buy the best car you guys can afford because generally speaking,restorations dont pay.Learn as much as you can before purchase and beware of rust because even if the body is fiberglass,the frame and a multitude of other pieces are not,and can cause much heartache.Find someone knowledgeable to go with you on purchases because what you pay him will pay you back many times over.So speaketh.............ol red!

GeneD
10-19-2000, 08:30 AM
My advice, for what it is worth.
I wrecked my first Corvette, (through no fault of my own) and it took me 6 months to find another one that I considered to be worthy.
There are many things to look for. May I suggest going to the book store and getting the Corvette Black Book. It has a bunch of iteresting facts, and tells you exactly what came with what car. Colors, options, motors, ect.
Contrary to popular belief, all Corvettes, prior to 1983 (there is no 1983 Corvette by the way) came standard with 4 speed transmissions. The Turbo 400 automatic was an option, you paid extra for it.
Leather interiors were options too, as was Deluxe Interior - this is the door panels, center console, and carpet.
Things to look for are those things that will hold their value later on. You can NEVER lose money on an older Corvette, purchased wisely of course.
Air conditioning. Worth at least $1000 on re-sale.
Convertibles, worth mega-bucks.
Watch out for rust on the frame. Bad areas are in front of the rear wheels.
Exhaust. Make sure it is in good condition. A new exhaust runs a couple of hundred dollars, and it's not fun.
Look for signs of leaks in the footwells, this may mean a few things. For one, a rusted out windsheild frame, or "cowling". This is a word you are going to run across a lot. This is where the fiberglass firewall is riveted to the frame just under the bottom of the windsheild.
Make sure the windows go up and down good. There is a weak link in the Corvette window regulators, and even manual windows have regulators - it is not electrically related as I found out the first time I broke one. That is just what it is called. They cost over $100 new, and they are a bitch to replace.
Motor condition and tranny condition is your bag. I assume you know how to check that stuff and I'll not get into it. Though as someone else said, stock and originality is the way to go. Custom and or modified Corvettes are looked at with distain by other Corvette guys and don't hold their value.
Original wheels. Corvettes came with some nice rims, stay with them.
Brakes, another Corvette weak link. Make sure they work. Though replacing the master cylinder is pretty straight forward and relatively simple (ask Jimmy C), the 4 piston calipers are expensive, though going down in price lately, and are pretty fickle sometimes. Then there is the parking brake. Most Corvette parking brakes don't work because the owner doesn't know how to fix it, or is too lazy to do so. Repairing it means taking off the wheel, then taking off the caliper, then taking off the rotor, then taking off the halfshaft, then removing the spindle. The spindle can only be removed using a special tool that costs around $20. Not much, but when you don't have it...well, you get the picture.
Rear wheel bearings are another area that sucks. There is no adjustment on this. They are bolted in tight, with built in clearance. This can only be done by a shop. I have done it, and I do it alot. I bought the tools to do it, but it still is a pain in the butt. You can check this by grabbing the top of the rear wheel and rocking the car. Check for wobble. You might get some wobble, and it might not be the bearings. The yokes in the independant rearend might be worn. These are over a $100 ea. and requires removing the rear from the car.
Make sure the headlight buckets go up and down. They go on with the switch, and inside the switch is a valve that opens up a vacuum switch to pull the lights up. If that doesn't work, there is an emergency switch under the steering column, that gets pulled down. If that doesn't work either, then there is a problem that could either be expensive, or cost nothing to fix. IT is all vacuum operated so there might be a hose off. Or the actuators could be blown out. That is over $100 ea too. You will soon discover that most things on a Corvette cost over $100 to fix. This is the magic number.
Make sure you check the VIN number before you put any money down. There are a lot of Corvettes out there that are illegally registered. The VIN number also will tell you what year it is supposed to be and what engine it came with. The metal tag riveted to the inside of the door jamb with tell you what interior options it came with and the original color the car was.
Make sure you check the body mounts. These are visible through the wheel wells.
Check for broken bonds, (the Corvette is "glued" all over) by grabbing the fenders above the tires and pulling. If you can move it, the bonds are broken.
I think that is about it. Don't buy the first car you see. Go and look around. There are a lot of cars for sale on Long Island that are complete junk, but the owners think they are worth their wieght in gold.
Kinda like some ebay Donzi owners huh?
The best advice you can get right now is to go get that book. It tells a lot of things.
Don't hesitate to contact me. I am an expert on buying Corvettes. I looked at 32 cars before I bought this one. That is a lot of cars, and a lot of traveling. I do know what I am talking about. I have owned a Corvette since I was 26. That was over 15 years ago, so I got some experience here. I have done everything that can be done to a Corvette.
Good luck.
One more thing.
The BB cars are worth some jack, good investment. But me personally, I would stay with the SB. Less trouble, less money to fix. Less HP of course, but we can live with that to look cool, can't we?

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GeneD
007
Melbourne, Florida

CDMA
10-19-2000, 11:30 AM
Thanks Gene just what I was looking for. It will make it a lot easier to have an idea where to look?

Chris

RichF
10-19-2000, 12:17 PM
Hey Chris:
If you have lots of money or just want to dream, go to Unique Corvettes on Belle Meade Rd. in Setauket!! You can get some idea of price for the cream of the crop! Also, check out www.corvetteforum.com (http://www.corvetteforum.com) It's a wealth of info of all types. It would be my pleasure to take your dad for a ride!! We'll hook up one of these days. Shoot me an e-mail. P.S. If interested in a '64 327, nice shape, let me know. I might know of one for sale.

http://www.corvetteforum.net/classics/richf/vette20.jpg

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Rich mailto:fngrht@aol.comfngrht@aol.com</A>
http://www.corvetteforum.net/classics/richf/wave.gif

[This message has been edited by RichF (edited 10-19-2000).]

[This message has been edited by RichF (edited 10-19-2000).]

FrequentFlyer
10-19-2000, 08:57 PM
Chris -

I bought a Vette with a friend of mine years back. We found a great car by getting in touch with the local Vette club on LI. They were a tremendous source of knowledge and for a few bucks they had several guys who would "survey" a car for you. These guys knew EVERYTHING. The steered us away from a few cars and in the end helped us find a terrific car. She still has it and now it's now worth a small fortune.

Good Luck.

Alex

Emmo
10-20-2000, 10:25 AM
Try cars-on-line (http://www.cars-on-line.com/Corvettemenu.html)

http://204.168.70.10/~trinity/2fdirectory/67corv4319-A.jpg

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Emmo mailto:emmette@emmette.comemmette@emmette.com</A>


[This message has been edited by Emmo (edited 10-20-2000).]

CDMA
10-20-2000, 11:24 AM
Thanks guys,

We are off tommorow to Unique Vettes just to look and Sunday to a Owners association meeting. So we will see. We have narrowed the search down, if this really happens, to a 65 -67 Roadster and most likely a SB. I think you all are right on with the dissadvantages of the BB. I will keep you posted.

Chris

CDMA
10-21-2000, 06:30 PM
Well spent a couple hours this morning at Unique Corvettes a place that just deals in perfect condition old vettes. The cars were all 10+. It was good to see and a great learning experience. I doubt it is a place we would buy a car because the prices are just so way out there. However we have narrowed our search down to a 65- 67 roadster with a 327. Those are the definite requirements but red, sidepipes and a black interior as well as the 350 hp version are also considerations. So it looks like my dad is really seriuos. I say there is a really good shot this could happen. Our only real problem is a place to keep it. We have a one car, not doing so well garage which is said. There are plans for a nicer 2 bay garage for the Donzi and one car but as of now they are just that ...plans. Tommorow we are off to an owner's association show...

Chris