Cheap Old Corvettes

[Geoff C.]

I'll bet this is not the cheapest old Corvette ever sold. I'm talking about basically complete cars, not a pile of parts, missing the nose. Darn I miss the gold old days.

Geoffrey Coenen

PS Remember 1979 was the first base Corvette with a sticker price over 10K, besides the 78 Pace Cars.




Cheap 1959 Corvette

[William C.]

Re: Cheap Old Corvettes

I bpught a complete '61 in 1970 for $300, started stripping paint, the more I stripped the worse the front fender looked, a guy came by and offered $600 for it and it was gone. A few years later bought a '59 with PG for $450, bad frame, but complete car.

[mike cobine]

I miss the old days, too

You had a big selection of running, decent Corvettes for $2000 - $2500. While many can argue it was still proportional to today (1/3 typical annual salary), the idea of dropping $20,000 - $25,000 requires a lot more thought (and a whole bunch more $100s in your pocket) than dropping $2500 on an old Corvette.

And unless you did something stupid with the car (paint it purple and green metalflake and put a 12 bolt where the IRS was or a dropped axle in the front), you stood to sell at the same price so you could buy your next one.

Thanks for sharing the pictures.

[Mike M.]

Re: Cheap Old Corvettes

57 250 Pg with 250k mile, bought in 1970 for $450 out of pittsburg. 1957 283 hp, about 60 k miles , $900 in 1969 out of wash. Pa. best buy of all: 65 FI Roadster, loaded with 19k miles and seized conn rod, 650 bucks out of mt. morris, pa in 1971. Still have all three, still looking for similiar buys but far and few between. mike

[Brian McHale]

Re: I miss the old days, too

In 1974 I turned down a 1966 Coupe, 327/350 4spd. A/C, AM/FM, Teak/Tele, PW, P/S, low milage 1 owner car with slight nose damage. Price $2000.00 The slight nose damage scared me off.

[Loren L.]

OK Doc, but $650 is my FINAL offer!

1977, I drove home a '62 300 HP with both tops for $1100; figured inflation was having an effect because the 63 FI coupe I drove home in '74 was only $1000 - sold the '62 in 81 for $12,500 cash, let my wife count the $$ and she said "You can keep doing this.".

[William C.]

Re: OK Doc, but $650 is my FINAL offer!

I always knew you were a smart fellow!

[Dave Suesz]

Try this one!

From about 1973 till about 1975, a junkyard in NJ (still there) had, near the office, a white 1954 Corvette with an aftermarket hardtop on it. Car was stone stock, including radio, wheelcovers, etc., except for a very cleanly installed V8/4speed. Here's the kick- Price on windshield- $400. Mind, a used Mustang at this time usually cost at least twice that much. Took them years to sell it. Was probably driven away by the eventual buyer.

[George Romano]

Re: Cheap Old Corvettes

I remember that 3 or 4 bay garage on Norman Street shown in the last picture. The school bus I rode used to drive by it everyday on the way home from school.
One day I saw a black 63 or 64 convertible in the driveway, mostly taken apart. At that time, the guy who owned a tuxedo rental place in Fairfield "lost" his black 63 SWC. Car was stolen from his driveway, and when I saw that black 63-4 body in front of that garage, I told my dad, who called the tuxedo place to inform him that we might know where his car is. The owner drove to our house, and I directed him to that garage about 4 blocks from my house on Wood Avenue. He looked inside, and said that it was a convert, his car was a coupe. He thanked us for our time, and dropped us off. He eventually found his car in NY, and still has it as of a few years ago.
Was that black 63-4 vert I saw all apart one of your projects?

George

[Robert D.]

Re: Cheap Old Corvettes

Geoffrey,
What a great story and photo's. While in high school in 1971 I purchased a tasco turquoise 1960 with the original paint and interior, wrong motor and trans ( was an auto converted to a 4spd. Whitewall cheater slicks with chrome reverse wheels. The owner drove it over my house for $470.00. Oh well !

[mike cobine]

Re: Cheap Old Corvettes - Not where I lived

Reading all of these stories is neat, but Corvettes weren't that cheap where I was. In '70, one of the used car saleman-type lots had a black 62 and red '63 convertible with lights in the grill. '62 - $1299, '63 - $1399.

In '71 I tried to buy a wrecked '65 hardtop, had no engine or tranny, broken parking light pod and cracked fender lip. It included a '64 from doors forward with an LT1 and 4 sp. He wouldn't budge below $1250.

I bought a '67 BB cpe in '74 for $2200 and it was a good price. In '76 I bought a '63 conv at $2100 and it was a good price, since the car was not that nice. I had looked at a '65 conv for $4000, another '65 conv for $3500, and a '68 for $3000, which was far above market. At the end of '76, I looked at a '62 with high horse tach that the guy was firm at $3800. Don't remember any FI on the side so it may have ben an original 340.

By '77, most midyears were in the $3000 to $5000 range, the '68 and '69 were the lowest ones around at $2500 to $3500.

No wonder some of you stuffed a few in garages at $600 or so a car. I'd have grrabbed several at those prices.

[Roy B.]

Re: Gee you guys are old

When I started Vintage Corvettes of Southern Ca. in 1968 in Burbank I was buying 53 to 57 Corvettes from $50.00 to $150.00 dollars . Some may remenber my 57 on the cover of the restorer in 1985 that I got in 68 for $150.00 It was a FI, auto, P/W,P/T Corvette that NCRS never thought GM made back then. I sold it last year after driving every were for 45 years for $65,000. Few people in the club then paid more then $200.00 for thier Corvettes. Remenber they were only USED CARS.
I here these stories of guys finding Corvettes in barns and think Oh yea!
But I just found a 55 Corvette in a barn 20 miles from me that was in our local free paper for $10,000 complete but apart.Dam! and to day that's cheep.

[John H.]

Re: Cheap Old Corvettes

'65 327/365 Glen Green/Black A/C Tanker, leather, teak, telescopic, AM-FM, bought in '72 for $2200, needed TLC (but drove); did a full body-off, sold it first day out right off the show field two years later for $10K. Shoulda kept that one....

[Dick W.]

Re: Cheap Old Corvettes

I guess I have to add my two cents worth. My first Vette '61 purchased in '62 for $1650. Drove car a year and made $800. 1973- '66 425 coupe with 36 gallon tank, had brand new '67 bolt ons for $2,100. Kept wheels and turned car for a whopping $2800. 1980 '69 L/88 roadster for $3500 and a crapped out '76 Vega. Kept car 10 years and all I will say is that I hit a home run.

Mid '70's could buy all the mid years you could ever want for under $2000 and dealers were happy to get that.

A friend bought a real '67 L-89 coupe in 1978 for $3000. Still complains that he paid too much for it.

[Larry Clain]

Re: Cheap Old Corvettes - You be the judge

In '72 I bought a '69 Baldwin Motion Phase III vette for $1800 and a TR-8 cpe. That was about $3000. Couple of years later I found a '70 Motion car in Dallas for $3400 with only 9k on it. Also paid $2200 for a '65 365hp S/N 11 conv. I still have them. Sure wish I had held on to some of the BB cars that I bought and sold through my carlot back then.