Worth restoring????????

[rfh11]

My sister owns a 81-82 vette that has been sitting for the last 8 years at a friends garage outside in the weather. He repaired the doors locks and rebuilt the 4-speed shifter. I have tried to convince her to pick up the car and see what it will need now to make it road worthy. The tires are dry rotted and the weather stripping is all bad. It will also need a new paint job and new interior. It is a 4 speed car with t-tops. My question is what would be a fair price for the car since this is my sister?

Thanks,
rfh11

[srs244]

in my opinion, you need to establish a few things before deciding on a fair price. first, can you get the car running?? if so, after allowing for adequate warm up etc, what is the general condition of the ngine?? smoking?? knocking?? etc. they you need to figure if there is enough of it that hasn't rusted to make it worthwhile. check the frame particularly at each of the crossmember locations. pull the kick panels off and see how much rust is behind them. look up into the front door jams as far up the birdcage as you can to determine how much rust might be there.

it's just my opinion, but i wouldn't try a restore on it based upon the limited information you provided unless there is family sentimental value. you'll never get anywhere near the money you will have to put in it out of it if you choose to sell it. a decent paint job alone would be in the range of 6000 to 8000 assuming there is no glass work needed (seams, or damage repair, etc) and that's just the jumping off point.

steve

[rfh11]

First, Thanks for the reply. The car has been started on a regular basis. My sister told me several times that she was picking up the car. Didn't happen. I definitely need to check the rust areas that you mentioned. The car has no value to me at all. It is coming close to the point of no return. I would like to purchase it just to drive. I can do most of the work. So the final cost would be lower but not including my time. Your points are well taken. It may just be best to walk away and let her decide what to do with the car. Thanks again.

Randy

[DRTH VTR]

I would vote for one more like this, myself.
http://corvetteactioncenter.com/foru...ad.php?t=85382

[craig32]

Randy,
If you want to drive it to work on Monday, no. If you want to try to flip it for big $$, no. If you like the car and want to own it, by all means yes. I bought mine for next to nothing in better shape than you are describing. If you can do most of the work, BIG plus. The big question here is always 'are you fixing this car for you or the next owner'?
Replace the tires, get new weatherstripping. Wen you get the money, replace the carpet and seats. Fix the brakes and lights. (trust me on this) When it's as dependable as you want it to be, get it painted. Find someone who has painted Vettes before. You can get it done for less than the $8,000 to $10,000 people tell you. It'll cost that much to get it done tomorrow. By the time you get it to where it's worth getting painted, you'll have found someone reputable to do it for less. Listen to some of the other people on here - even if it's beyond repair, it can be fixed. You sound like you can get it reasonable and you can fix it, if so, you are the guy for this car. Any possible problem you could run into, someone here has seen before and will help you through it. We're all pulling for you!!!

Craig

[Jack]

Originally Posted by rfh11

My question is what would be a fair price for the car since this is my sister? Thanks, rfh11

As a third party that would buy if price were right ... if it's an 82 ... and based on how you've described its neglect w/ 8 yrs outside ... I would pay no more than $3K ... probably less if it is an 81.

[BarryK]

Originally Posted by srs244

a decent paint job alone would be in the range of 6000 to 8000 assuming there is no glass work needed (seams, or damage repair, etc) and that's just the jumping off point.

steve

Steve, overall I agree with you 100% but sometimes you CAN get a good paintjob for significantly less if you look around carefully.
Right now my '78 is in the paint shop. I just dropped it off this week.
I've seen the guys work on other vettes and it's GREAT. A fellow vette club member also has a '78 that he had this painter paint his car in black and we all know how well black shows any flaws. His paint job is a perfect, pristine show quality job that is one of the nicest black paint jobs i've ever seen including the gold ghost flames that were added to it

When this painter looked at my '78 (a no-hit car that requires no fiberglass repairs at all) he quoted me only $2,500 for a complete paint job.
This includes a complete disassembly of the car (all lights, trim pieces, moldings, door handles, door windows removed, etc, etc), completely strip the old lacquer paint with chemical stripper (the only way I'll have a corvette stripped of paint), prep it, prime it, sand it, seal it, sand it, raint it with bc/cc paint, and reassemble the car.
He even said if I help out on the labor such as with the disassembly and reassembly the mose labor I save him from having to do he will take off that amount from the bill so I may be able to save $500-$1000 off the $2,500 quoted price!

As you can see, that is a VERY reasonable price but it's not a "cheapo, Maaco type paint job which would be a very basic, mask it, paint it, give it back to the customer paint job.
of course, it helps that I can recommended by one of his existing customers (who also has another car currently in his shop for a full body-off restoration), plus the guy just moved shop locations a few weeks back and he doesn't currently have too much work in the shop so I'm sure he offered a good price just to keep the shop working and busy.

point is that yes, most corvette paint jobs are going to be in the range you quoted for anything short of a full all-out show quality job, but it IS possible to find a good painter to do it for less if they aren't overly busy at the moment and the car doesn't need much other work.
Obviously, saving $4k-$5k on a paint job can make a big difference, especially on a later model car that has a somewhat limited top end value to begin with. It can easily be the make or break factor on deciding if a car is worth trying to restore or not.

[vett boy]

The car has little value.But it is a Vett ! It's a living breathing thing that has feelings. Don't believe me ? Get into it.I wish the car luck in finding a good home.- Steve

[Pseudomind]

Hey BarryK

Originally Posted by barryk

Steve, overall I agree with you 100% but sometimes you CAN get a good paintjob for significantly less if you look around carefully.
Right now my '78 is in the paint shop. I just dropped it off this week.

I thought you had to sell that car? Did something good turn up/happen (you know like employment?) and are you now keeping it?

[GerryLP]

Originally Posted by rfh11

My sister owns a 81-82 vette...sitting for the last 8 years...He rebuilt the 4-speed shifter...

If with an original manual transmission, then it's unlikely that it is an 82 Vette.

Originally Posted by rfh11

...I have tried to convince her to pick up the car and see what it will need now to make it road worthy...

If restoring to like new, then probably $12k - $14k dollars; however, if restoring to reliable running condition, then perhaps as little as $3k dollars.

Originally Posted by rfh11

...My question is what would be a fair price for the car since this is my sister?...thanks, rfh11

The question on the original engine is a critical one. Find out. Also, if an 81, then a manual transmission is relatively rare, which makes it worth restoring.

By all means, try to find a good home to it that won't scrap it piece by piece, and someone who plans to restore it.

GerryLP

[BarryK]

Originally Posted by Pseudomind

Hey BarryK
I thought you had to sell that car? Did something good turn up/happen (you know like employment?) and are you now keeping it?

no, I still have to sell it

I had it up on eBay but it didn't make reserve and I know why. I think the reserve was a very fair price considering the very low milage, documentation, high option level, etc but people were hesitating because it needed paint. I'm sure they were thinking to paint it would be in the $7K-$8K range which is not an unreasonable assumption for them to make.
Since I can get it painted so inexpensively (relatively speaking) i'm going to get it painted than relist it for sale and if I need i'll also bring it with us to Carlisle this year and put it in the Car Corral for sale.

meanwhile, i'm still looking for a job so who knows......... there may even be a chance that something comes up between now and the time the car is done at the paint shop that I can reconsider and keep it afterall.

[6880 Mike]

Originally Posted by rfh11

....The car has no value to me at all....

If you actually don't want the car, walk away.

[rfh11]

Thanks for all the responses. I looked at the car over the weekend and it is a 79. The car could be made into whatever you want if you have the time and money. I spoke with my sister again over the weekend about the car and she still says she is going to repair the car. I think she believes that I am going to take on the job. I don't have any interest in the car. I have a 91 vert that is driving me crazy with electrical problems and a 76 Bronco that has been taken apart. I agree with all the responses. I was mainly trying to find out what the value would be and it appears that she really has no intention of selling the vehicle. I am afraid that I will end up starting another project.


Thanks again,
Randy

[Chuck-75]

just my 2 cents, to get the vett drivable, and road worthery, shouldnt be more then 2 grand, (shops checking the suspension, cooling system, engine tunup,replace trany fluid,light bulbs that might be out?, ect ) just basic stuff. but yr gona still have a ugly car thats been sitting for 8 yrs outdoors? to do the rest will start to get into the big bucks$(ka-ginkkk). vettes are vettes, how much do you want this car?, and listen to others on this site that have gotten them in way better condition and have spent the kids college fund to get them in prestion condition?
ya say theres no sentymental value to this car?, if it were me?, and if I was shoping around, (I did find a 82 that had an old resto on it but had been sitting around for 6 yrs but the guy wanted 4 grand for it. I thought that only if he would take 1500,2000 and then go the prostreet route. but he wouldnt budge.4 yrs later the carstill sits. these cars arent made of gold, but can be turned into it. with pactientse hard work and lots of green.
hope this also helps and sorry for my bad spelling

[srs244]

Originally Posted by BarryK

Steve, overall I agree with you 100% but sometimes you CAN get a good paintjob for significantly less if you look around carefully.

barry, no argument from me. in my geographic area, the price you negotiated is virtually unheard of on a complete repaint, lol!! i think even you would have to admit that your price is a great deal and not one that can be found easily in most areas of the country. in south florida, there are body shops galore and of course everyone claims to be an "expert" in whatever it is that you happen to pull up in, lol!! the truth down here is that getting a quality job for your price (and the quality you have already witnessed on his other work) is virtually impossible. i guess when it comes time to get my pace car redone, i'm taking a trip up north, lol!!


steve