New to the Corvette hobby

[Scott S.]

Hello All - I recently purchased a 1980 corvette from a co-worker and I'm looking for 2 pieces of information. 1) what's it worth and 2) what should I do with it moving forward? Here is the story and some details. I was talking at the break table at work about heading out of town to look at a '69 Z/28 (yes, a true Z/28) Camaro that I could use as a driver while I complete the restoration on my other Z/28. A lady I work with asked if I'd be interested in buying her corvette. I got a few details and set-up a time to take a look at her car. She bought the car in 1980 from a local dealership that used it as a demo car. She said it had ~200 miles on it when she made the purchase. Unfortunately, she did not have any documentation. The car is dark blue with white leather interior. It has a 4 speed mated to the L48 with 15,700 miles on it. Power windows, power locks, rear window defogger, aluminum wheels, and air conditioning. The T-tops are dark blue. As best I can tell the car is fairly original except the 8 track player has been replaced by a cassette player (she is looking for the 8 track player), newer tires, battery was replaced, the valve cover bolts and retainers are incorrect (she said last year 1 gasket was leaking), and there are 2 hose clamps in place of the tower clamps on the radiator hoses. The paint is in bad shape on the top side and in fair shape on the sides. The front bumper is 95% faded to a dull black color. After spending a few hours the interior cleaned up real nice. The engine bay appears to still have all of the original stickers / decals. I also noticed the original decals on the front coil springs. A friend suggested I join this organization and enter it for judging. After briefly reading through the judging catagories I believe this car would make a good candidate for the "bowtie" and / or the McLellan award. Please let me know your opinions on both subjects listed above. Thanks

[Alexander C.]

Re: New to the Corvette hobby

Welcome!

Pictures!

I can't help you with the value but sure sounds like a good buy with those miles and from the original owner...

[Tom H.]

Re: New to the Corvette hobby

Welcome to the NCRS board ! I would have a hard time evaluating the value without pictures, but would guess 10K, give or take a little. Value is kind of a personal thing and not a science, as you know by now !!

Take the car as it is to a chapter meet and have it evaluated. See how it scores then you will know weather to preserve it, freshen it up, restore it, or drive it and have fun with it.

Pop us a few pictures of it. Sounds like a neat car with neat history and an interesting color combo.

[Paul J.]

Re: New to the Corvette hobby

Scott;

You should listen to Tom's comments and heed his advice. You can also get some idea of what asking prices are in the market by combing the sales web sites. There are tons of them, but some are www.usedcorvettesforsale.com, www.vettefinders.com www.corvetteblogger.com, www.holtautosales.com, www.digitalcorvettes.com, www.vintagevettesllc.com, www.dmcorvette.com, www.aandmcorvettes.com, and on and on and on...

The Mecum Auction web site has the prices of cars sold in past auctions, which may help you find what actual sales prices are, although the sales records don't provide any indication of condition and options. You can also look at the classifieds in your copy of Driveline, which you should get soon, if you have'nt already received one.

Paul

[Gary C.]

Re: New to the Corvette hobby

Scott, best thing to do is get involved with a local Chapter and take it to a Chapter meet as Tom recommends. Lots of knowledge good members that are eager to share. Check the contacts page under Member Services pull down menu. Your profile says you're from PA - Pittsburg Chapter info below. Welcome aboard. Gary....
Pittsburgh Tri-State Chapter
Don Geary - Chairman
117 Caldwell Dr
Jeannette, PA 15644
Phone: 724-834-5586
E-mail: dlgeary@comcast.net
Web: www.ncrspitt.com

[Jack H.]

Re: New to the Corvette hobby

If you've purchased the club's NCRS Corvette Judging Reference Manual, it describes/explains the various recognition programs we have. Simply based on your thumbnail, I see several avenues for you.

First, we have two basic categories for judging: (1) restored cars, and (2) unrestored cars. You might qualify in both areas...

(1) Restored cars qualify for Flight Judging and that takes place at Chapter, Regional and National levels with Top Flight being the high end water mark. A step beyond Flight Judging is our Mark of Excellence award. This is more involved and a HEALTHY undertaking in terms of time/travel in its pursuit.

(2) Unrestored cars can participate in Star/Bowtie judging. This is a horse of another color where each aspect of the car (Interior, Exterior, Mechanical and Chassis) are judged separately with a Star award offered for each area that meets the criteria. In the event a given car qualifies for Star in all four areas, the award changes name to Bowtie. ONLY factory originality is considered (condition is ignored) in this judging which is done ONLY at the Regional/National level. If you seek to pursue this avenue (a car CAN go both ways--restored & unrestored), read the award rules very carefully as a given car can campaign for this award ONCE in its lifetime!

(3) For simple fun and involvement in the club, read up on the Founder's award. This is one that's basically 50% to the car and 50% to the owner. It involves a little judging, and a lot of actual driving/use of the car. In my book, in addition to restored/unrestored judging, this is an award that's PACKED with FUN!!!

[Scott S.]

Re: New to the Corvette hobby

Thank you for the information and insight. I'll post some pictures as soon as I figure out how.

[Scott S.]

Re: New to the Corvette hobby

Attached are a few photos. Let me know if you're looking for something in specific.

[Jephrey S.]

Re: New to the Corvette hobby

The more I look at that blue/white combination, the more I like it.
I was also looking for a 69 Z28 when I stumbled across the 70 LT1.
I have never looked back.
Weclome!