HELP! Should I buy this '67 big block?

[Gary Rubalcava]

I am on the fence on whether to purchase a 1967 4 spd, 427/390, Marina Blue on black coupe with undocumented options of A/C, sidepipes, PS, PW, speed-warning...price $79K but may go less. The good: the cosmetics are nearly flawless and correct (frame-off restoration 10 years ago), Bloomington Gold 10 years ago, runs/drives well, photos of restoration. The bad: No POP, No Tank Sticker, I can read the VIN stamping on the block but not the numbers preceding it although the castings on the block are correct, the rear of the car lists/sags to the drivers side about 1/2 inch and I am not sure if this is a sign of something major (any help?), no receipt for the restoration labor...only for the parts, AC does not work. My fear is this car was torn apart 10 years ago and Frakensteined back together and may not be original. The only thing I see that ties the 427 motor to this car is the VIN on the block and for all I know it may have been re-stamped. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated, this is a lot of money and I am by no means a rich man.

Thanks

[Mike M.]

Re: HELP! Should I buy this '67 big block?

get a kniowledgable NCRS judge in your area, or hire an appraiser, to evaluate the car before you jump in.good luck, mike

[Gary Rubalcava]

Re: HELP! Should I buy this '67 big block?

Does anyone know of a NCRS judge in the Sacramento, CA area?

[Ken A.]

Re: HELP! Should I buy this '67 big block?

You mean BESIDES Nolan Adams? Go to the contact section of this site and look up Joe Selva. He is the chairman for the Northern California chapter of NCRS. He will be able to put you in contact with someone. There are several good judges in the Sacramento area.
Ken

[mike cobine]

Re: HELP! Should I buy this '67 big block?

With the prices of big block '67 Corvettes extending to $200,000, then $79,000 tells you a lot.

Documentation. This is highly overrated. Why? Because realistically, most cars lost that after the first owner. This has been discussed before. If this Corvette was traded after 2 or 3 years as was not that unusual, then the dealer stripped the car of all previous documents so potential buyers couldn't contact the previous owner, especially if the car had any "fun" history and wasn't driven by some 70 year old guy or a little old school teacher.

Much of the docs now have been "found" or created. And often the docs with one really don't say anything. The Bloomington Gold say more. You know that 10 years ago, it passed that. However, things can and often do change in 10 years.

If you fear that the car was a Frankenstein, then you may be very accurate and then you should probably walk away. The '70s was a period of hot rods, and engine swaps, replacements, and such were common. It sounds like you are looking for those rare one- or two-owner cars, or similar low number of owners, a history of loving care and no abuse, and you have a trail of how the car lasted. Frankly, most do not have that, regardless of stories today. It is like finding a Ninja 900 in southern California that was "never raced".

You aren't a rich man, so walk away from the '67s. They are far out of line. Buy a '66 or '65 if you want most of the refinements of the '67 at a much lower price. Buy a '63 if you want the "collectibility". Or buy a '64 if you want a really nice midyear at typically a bargain price.

Otherwise, buy this '67 for just what it is - the things you has seen and told us. Don't think you have found some super bargain of a rare diamond.

[Geoff C.]

Excellent Mike. Read "Fraud in our Hobby"

Mike:

That is excellent and so true. 64 is the bargain and 67 is the prom queen and everyone has or wants that prom queen with the besr dress.

I would encourage anyone concerned about Corvette fraud to read this message titled “Fraud in our Hobby” authored by the administrator of another chat room as he addresses this issue. He clearly outlines the issue and their succinct position.

http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/forums/showthread.php?p=630044#post630044

Geoffrey Coenen




“Fraud in our Hobby”

[Patrick H.]

Re: Excellent Mike. Read "Fraud in our Hobby"

Geoff,

It won't let me in to read it, even after I log in. Had to dig out my password to even get that far.
So, I hope it was a good read.

Patrick

[Jack W.]

No longer available to the public

Doc - hope you copied and saved those threads that were once over there regarding that "89" car, because they exercised their right to send those to the boneyard, lest the questionable car be haunted by the suspicions raised as to legitimacy.

of course, there is this Wayback machine thing . . . .

[Geoff C.]

Re: Excellent Mike. Read "Fraud in our Hobby"

Patrick,

Same here, no access. It must be x rated or perhaps he lost it, started calling folk names, told them to shut up and just kicked everyone out of the toy box. I’m guessing because I never sausage a thing actually happen since I was looking at property and camping in VT Thursday to Sunday. I only had spotty cell service and fuzzy cable on top of that. But that Pinko Liberal NYTimes was still only a buck at most every General Store.

Geoffrey Coenen

[Geoff C.]

Re: No longer available to the public

Jack

After being away in VT, I now see that the internets own Corvette Action Center chat room, (not to be confused with the formers genuine GM Corvette Action Center) has removed their policy statement on Corvette fraud or conterfeiting. I read it before I left and was actually surprised they even bothered to write one and actually post a link here on the NCRS venue. It probably matters little, and do they really care about fraud or was it just politically correct acceptable gesture? Who can say?

Geoffrey Coenen

[Mike M.]

How? "UDo Not Have Permission to Access This Page" *NM*