Re: '66 ZL1 Corvette
Here is my take...
The world hates modified Corvettes, sometimes I do too.
I want to love modified Corvettes because I am a proponent of individuality within the muscle car world. On this very website, I even once defended the owner of a new Camaro who put those goofy 25+ inch wheels on it after painting the thing a chrome/gold color stating the style shouldn't be ridiculed because it fits the 'rhetoric of hot rodding.' Fulfilling a vision or goal for car ownership is what makes this hobby tick. Promote diversity. Its healthy. My gripe with the modified Corvettes is multi-fold and lots of the reasons below resonate with others here and in the hobby.
(1) Expensive cost of fiberglass restoration [makes the balance of the restoration seem justifiable when it isn't cheap either]
(2) Social pressure or better a market belief that all Corvettes need to be NCRS/BG/frame off cars
(3) An uncorrected market for project cars/drivers/train wrecks/restamped cars priced at levels near or at their original/frame off/numbers matching kin
(4) A deficit of true craftsmen who can even restore fiberglass correctly monopolize the market for restorations
(5) Flooded market of fakes, clones, restamps
(6) The personal taste in being a purist [read: I like driving Corvettes in stock configuration].
Tony - The blue '66 on ebay is beautiful. Value is very tough to determine but a good starting point would be to total the cost of parts/restoration in the car just to establish a baseline. The nice thing about the auction style is the owner is accepting offers and because you couldn't buy, modify, and build a mid year Corvette convertible for that asking price, assuming the value fits the buyer's budget, I think you can't go wrong [assuming he doesn't want a #s correct car?]. Make sure the trim/vin tags are original. Good luck.
Don - you'll find a buyer for that car. It drove like a survivor on vintage bias ply tires. It appears you like cars that bring you back in time with radical modifications. Awesome - that is what the hobby is about but this is an apples to dump trucks comparison. The blue car is stock appearing - your '67 is not. The '67 has a microscopic market. Could be the market views it more of a project than a hot rod? Just speaking aloud. Add that the block is decked and several key components underhood were converted to resemble a small block configuration doesn't help the sale either. Hang tight and I'm sure you'll connect with the next owner. No one once doubted the cool factor.
Dan
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