To restore or not to restore

[Ron R.]

Since I'm thinking about retiring, I need to stay busy, so what's a better way than to maybe restore a 63 I've owned for over 45 years. What I have is a 63 fuel car with NOM, radio delete, power brakes, big tank, racing seat belt. My question to you is, how much approximately would it take to make this car a number 3 or 4 car on a scale of 5.Ron

[Harry S.]

Re: To restore or not to restore

Since I'm thinking about retiring, I need to stay busy, so what's a better way than to maybe restore a 63 I've owned for over 45 years. What I have is a 63 fuel car with NOM, radio delete, power brakes, big tank, racing seat belt. My question to you is, how much approximately would it take to make this car a number 3 or 4 car on a scale of 5.Ron

Much of the answer depends on how much you will be doing. Figure most restoration shops are around $80.00 ( + or -) an hour. If you do nothing but write checks I think your in for $100,000.00. If your going for a 5 out of 5 then add another 25 to 50k.

Saying that, what will your farm out then we can make a better guess.

I did my 63 except for the heavy lifting and body work and paint and I came in under 50k. I had the original non-FI engine.

[Bill M.]

Re: To restore or not to restore

ron

love tank cars never able to own one can you post a picture?

[Steve B.]

Re: To restore or not to restore

Another thing to consider is how complete is the car. If you have all of the parts that you need then you are ahead of the game. Parts prices can add up very quickly.

[Gary F.]

Re: To restore or not to restore

Mine was crashed, customized, then left for dead when I bought it in 1974. It had to go back to basics. The rust did a number on it. It still has a long way to go. What's in your wallet?

[Joe R.]

Re: To restore or not to restore

Since I'm thinking about retiring, I need to stay busy, so what's a better way than to maybe restore a 63 I've owned for over 45 years. What I have is a 63 fuel car with NOM, radio delete, power brakes, big tank, racing seat belt. My question to you is, how much approximately would it take to make this car a number 3 or 4 car on a scale of 5.Ron

Ron,

Yes, any 63 with a big tank, radio delete, power brakes is well worth restoring. You should look into the history of this 63 and see where it's been. Educate yourself on the 63 you have and don't take advise from just anybody and everybody. You very well may have a very valuable 63 Corvette.

JR

[John R.]

Re: To restore or not to restore

Hi Ron,

congratulations on being able to retire, I hope you really enjoy yourself. I'm new here and like Joe said, there is lot's of advice on forums and not all of it might be right for your situation, especially from a new guy. However I have a thought on this, and that is maybe ask yourself "do I want to restore, do I want to drive, or do both?" If you are doing everything yourself and you completely disassemble your car, it may be a long time before you experience the joy of firing that baby up and going for a ride. Consider setting up a list of projects you can do without taking her off the road for more than a few days at a time. In this way you experience the satisfaction of restoration and the joy of driving. Just a thought...

John

[Paul J.]

Re: To restore or not to restore

Much of the answer depends on how much you will be doing. Figure most restoration shops are around $80.00 ( + or -) an hour. If you do nothing but write checks I think your in for $100,000.00. If your going for a 5 out of 5 then add another 25 to 50k.

Saying that, what will your farm out then we can make a better guess.

I did my 63 except for the heavy lifting and body work and paint and I came in under 50k. I had the original non-FI engine.

Ron,

To add to what Harry said, I'm restoring a 64 FI car and my estimate is around $34k, and that's doing most of the work myself. I am also planning to campaign this car for NCRS judging.

It's hard to make a reasonable estimate of the cost based on hours, because these can fluctuate greatly. If you look at the additional parts that you need and make an estimate of vendor's restoration costs for all of the parts that you won't restore yourself, you will come up with a pretty good idea of what the final cost will be.

One other thing, I've found that cutting a check for six figures is sticker shock, to say the least. If you can expend a little money at a time, like you would if you were doing this yourself, the costs are a lot easier to swallow.

Paul

[Michael J.]

Re: To restore or not to restore

Without a better description of what condition it is in, and how complete it is, it is impossible to guess what it would take, the error bar around that is huge. Rust and corrosion on these cars is very expensive and time consuming to repair adequately, and as mentioned if you want it NCRS TFP the parts are horrendously expensive.

[Jim L.]

Re: To restore or not to restore

Since I'm thinking about retiring, I need to stay busy, so what's a better way than to maybe restore a 63 I've owned for over 45 years. What I have is a 63 fuel car with NOM, radio delete, power brakes, big tank, racing seat belt. My question to you is, how much approximately would it take to make this car a number 3 or 4 car on a scale of 5.Ron

Since it's been in your care for 45+ years, I bet it's got a boatload of personality and character from the patina of use and love. Are you sure you want to strip all that away by restoring it to a condition it probably wasn't in when you got the car?

Jim

[Ron R.]

Re: To restore or not to restore

When I purchased the car from a local dealer, long gone, I was told that it was owned by a GM executive from the Chicago area. The original color is Sebring Silver w dark blue interior, front bumpers were removed, fuel injection emblems removed and holes filled, chrome reverse wheels, 427 hood, racing seat belt on drivers side only, side pipes w/o covers, Z06 shocks,frame in excellent condition since garaged last 45 years, but can't find numbers on frame. K D James stopped by years ago to check car, talked to one of the Nabor brothers a few years ago at Bloomington with pictures and Kevin McKay...........just want this car to be a nice driver to enjoy.......this is a early Nov. car(5th or 6th) Ron

[Steven B.]

Re: To restore or not to restore

Z-06 shocks, tank, etc.---is it a Z-06?

[Duke W.]

Re: To restore or not to restore

That is the key question. If it is believed to be an authentic St. Louis-built first release Z-06 then it's worth a whole bunch more than any non-Z-06 '63, and it may be worth restoring to original condition.

Duke

[Harry S.]

Re: To restore or not to restore

When I purchased the car from a local dealer, long gone, I was told that it was owned by a GM executive from the Chicago area. The original color is Sebring Silver w dark blue interior, front bumpers were removed, fuel injection emblems removed and holes filled, chrome reverse wheels, 427 hood, racing seat belt on drivers side only, side pipes w/o covers, Z06 shocks,frame in excellent condition since garaged last 45 years, but can't find numbers on frame. K D James stopped by years ago to check car, talked to one of the Nabor brothers a few years ago at Bloomington with pictures and Kevin McKay...........just want this car to be a nice driver to enjoy.......this is a early Nov. car(5th or 6th) Ron

Post pictures of the master cylinder, brakes and engine compartment. If it's apart a picture of the underbody behind the gas tank and a picture of the floor under the radio speaker.

If it's a Z06...... I just witnessed an owner of a fully restored Z06 tanker turn down 650k

[Ron R.]

Re: To restore or not to restore

I'm ben told this is NOT a Z06 and I believe it, I think this car is one of the first BIG TANK cars produced before the tank was offered to the general public. I will post many pictures after work today of the tank, when I bought the car in 68 it had a 283 engine and a 64 master cylinder............vin # is 3022