Hello,

Sorry to be long winded, but wondering if anyone could direct us as to a reputable source to establish the actual value of our 1972 Corvette (Idaho)? We bought it in 1985, but a little more than 1-1/2 years ago my husband had a traumatic brain injury and I've recently lost my job due to business closure of my employer, so we are facing bankrupcy. We have found that the collector value books don't give any criteria to consider the following:

By it's VIN number (1Z37K2S513841) it is a two-door coupe, 350 (not LT1, apparently indicated by the "K"), and is a 4-speed. Engine is not original; had a 327 when we bought it, though should have been 350. A machine shop put a 350 of some kind in it in about 1988 or 1989, and we think he said was a Corvette 350, but don't know what year; runs pretty well, some oil leakage, steering is little sloppy. Odometer hasn't worked since somewhere between 1987 and 1990, so we have no idea how to guess mileage. We assume transmission & rear end are original.

As far as we know T-tops are factory (not glass) and we have only the one set. Has pop-out back window and chrome bumpers, no air, no power windows or steering, smog equipment had either been removed or wasn't stock when we bought it, and has no seat belts (may not have been stock?)

Leather interior is light or medium saddle color in fair to good condition, some wear. Has matching aftermarket carpet from Mid-America or Ecklers about 12-13 years old; seats and dash appear to be original. We believe was originally green exterior, is on 3rd paint job that we know of, currently white; body apparently had some body putty at some point, and some fiberglass repair. Missing its visors, and wipers don't work; headlights functional, but not very smooth while lifting.

Front body (nose piece with side fenders) is apparently aftermarket as it has no egg crate grills, so we assume must have been wrecked at some point before we bought it, and not sure if that's what happened to engine or whether was blown. Does have front egg crates, and we had aftermarket Stingray emblems installed during one of the paint jobs.

Steering wheel is a miniature approximately 3/4 size with the wheel made of wood, which was there when we bought it, clearly not original.

Had no console between seats when we bought it; (Instead has some kind of a 1" thick cloth diamond-tucked "pillow" covering the empty spot)

Knock off wheels not there when we bought it; wider, low-profile tires; we assume all glass is original, except front windshield, which has been replaced.

Clock hasn't worked since we've had it; radio has been replaced with AM/FM cassette; on rest of cluster, only the temperature guage and oil pressure guage work; speedometer hadn't worked for years, but replaced this past summer with aftermarket from Jegs, although shipped wrong one with no tach drive and we had it installed for time being.

Has aftermarket dual-point distributor; aftermarket shift knob; we assume the shifter itself is original.

Passenger door mechanism was broken and replaced years ago, but still didn't and doesn't open from the outside (rarely). Has some kind of burglar alarm key hole (we guess) on center rear between tail lights, but no key.

Has possible wiring issue approximately left of right front tire area (shorted and smoked once when put on battery charger, but possibly because battery cables are both black and couldn't tell which was positive at first.) Has some other wiring issue our mechanic said will need to be addressed, but don't remember detail.

Thanks for any info you may have.

Hi, welcome to the site. Sorry to hear about your misfortunes.

As far as the car goes, you have described many typical problems on older corvettes. Some are easy to repair, some take considerable time and money. You have what I consider to be a driving project car. Many people look for this, as they can enjoy the car while fixing it up. The value will be affected by all of the things you mentioned, including the non-original motor, but you do have the benefit of having a desirable chrome bumper car.

Unfortunately it's not a great market or a good time of the season to sell, but people are always looking for project cars. I would probably consider that about a $6,000-$8,000 car, not knowing any more of the current condition.

Good luck,

Matthew

You could also try selling it at a higher price (maybe how much you want) on ebay and acccept offers. I'm not saying your going to sell it but should get an idea of demand. Make sure you give a good description and include lots of pics. It will sell but probably not for what you were hoping. Be careful with the payment options and disregard any idiot that wants to give you more than what your asking for.

In the collector car hobby, there is a grading scale of 1+ through 6-.

1+ would be that Pebble Beach Concours car. Perfect in every respect.

3 would be a nice driver that would still look nice on a Saturday show 'n shine at the local Bob's Big Boy.

6- is a hulk of rust as seen in a post-apocalyptic movie!

What you are describing to us is a tragic situation. First, I am so sorry that your husband need brain surgery. My brother had same for a tumour some 9 years ago. I know what you are going through. I feel it... I really do. Same goes for the job... been there, done that.

I understand the need to liquidate to make some money.

On the plus side, the early C3 Corvettes, 1968-1972 are still rather desirable as collectables. They are called "bumper" cars because they still have a chrome bumper on them.

On the downside... pretty much everything... non-original motor will suck down 20% of the cars max value. Easily. According to the 2010 Corvette Market Value Guide (and this is just a reference, it is based on past years performance at auction) shows a range from $18,500 to $56,000 for a 1972 Coupe. The range is based on powertrain and luxury options, plus, condition and low mileage. Also tossed in there could be celebrity ownership (the Elvis connection!).

The "K" = 350ci/200hp engine, so you are right, no LT1. That would have an "L".

Knock off's didn't exist in 1972... they were legislated out of existance in 1967. The car should have some smog bits, for originality sake, but that's it... EGR and PCV. The AIR pump was CA only, IIRC.

Considering the project nature of this poor thing, the non-original motor, the suspect electrical, the non-standard bodywork, non-original paint, the 70s hot rodding (steering wheel, diamond and tufted stuff)... it needs a full on restoration, or, someone with the desire to do a full on resto-mod...

I would have to say that if you were able to get anything north of $5,000.00, you have won the lotto. Seriously. It is what we call a basket case. Figure a 4 on the above scale.

You may want to eBay it, with little or no reserve. I am serious. Let the market set the price and just get out from under it. There are times when just getting rid of something is enough.

And right now, the market SUCKS... sorry... I don't want you to think rosy thoughts right now. I am concerned that if you ask the $5k, you will get it - I am not so sure.

Here is why: Let's say someone buys it for $5k with the desire to restore it. They put $30k into making it right, what is it now worth? $20k, tops, remember, no matching engine. So what is the scale of economy? There isn't one. At this point, it is worth the sum of its parts...

And this is not 2004, when the resto-mod craze was at its peak. Then, someone would have died for such a Vette at $5k! They then put $70k into resto-modding it and sell it at Barrett-Jackson for $100k. Those days are long gone with sub-prime mortgages and cheap gas. The luxury of disposable income is done for a while.

A couple of more thoughts on this:

1. Don't believe the values given by Corvette appraisers. I hate to say it, but it is in their best interest to inflate the values. If a Corvette dealer says it's worth "X" then ask them to give you "X" for it and watch them back track faster than a sinner at a revival.

2. eBay can be a snake pit. As Tommy said, if they offer you more cash for some kind of send me change deal, it's FRAUD. Tell them to bugger off.

I wish you all the luck in the world. If I run into someone looking for a project, I will direct them here.

Some added info:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1958-C ... hash=item20b51ea1cc#v4-44

I saw this in another thread called "Isn't that ugly" or something to that effect (and yes, it is).

If that car was stock, original body and engine, it would be worth no less than $35k~$40k. Seriously.

There is a book pulished quarterly called old car price guide which gives an explanation for the cars rank from a pile of parts to excellent. In the past the Vette prices seemed a little on the higher side but not as much as others. you may find this at a barnes and Noble or similar large bookstore

Pictures tell the whole story post some up

I would never ever sell a car on ebay. I've seen countless times that a local sale will always sell higher than ebay. Ebay costs money and doesn't attract serious buyers.

I would try craiglist first, including all the nearby counties.

Thanks to all for the info & well wishes. Not looking to sell, just to estimate value of our assets, as apparently we can have $7000 equity in the vehicle above any lien, and we did have to borrow against it last year. Did find a value book Cars of Particular Interest (CPI) now called Black Book. Thanks again for the replies.

Serede,

So you are hoping to keep it through the bankruptcy? Good luck with that... I know they let you keep a car, but be sure this is one you want to keep, too.