Avoided disaster today

[carnut4life]

I feel your pain Rich. I've been looking for a "real" red or gray LS5/M22 equipped 70 Chevelle for two years now and 5 of the 6 cars I've looked at have been listed as #'s matching or having a build sheet to document them have turned out to be a re-stamp or the build sheet is fake. The real one I found on craigslist had some poor floor and trunk repairs done before the seller bought it so I passed figuring I'd regret it later. I'm starting to wonder if I made a mistake letting this one go? It had a nice build sheet and window sticker and the M22 was the only major part that wasn't "born with" but at least it was a 71 CT warranty replacement.

Most, but not all 70 Chevelle's I see offered for sale today are built up cars by shops looking to capitalize on the current trend of many buyers not caring if the car is real or documented as long as it's pretty. An individual has to be willing to spend significant time studying critical details I won't mention here or pay someone who is an expert to make sure your getting what's advertised. I think there are officially more 70 Chevelle Super Sports out there now than what Chevrolet built, just took them a while to catch up to the 69 Z/28's. Do your homework and be very careful if your looking for one of these cars, it's truly a jungle out there!

[Richls5]

the dealers are making it impossible to find them too. theres hardly any private sellers and if there is a dealer scoops the car up instantly and then has it listed a week later for 20-30K more

[the427king]

Great paint, bad undercarriages, clones,and no paperwork. .....those are the cars that sell quick. Very few dealers have any real cars. Its all about financing them, and having alot of consignment vehicles on hand. Many people that were at mecum walk right by the placard with the build sheets and docs and just look cars with shine and pop.

[Richls5]

it has for sure taken the wind out of my sails i dont even want to look at another car unless its come from a memeber here that an expert has checked out first and even then you never know

[SS427]

Originally Posted by Richls5

it has for sure taken the wind out of my sails i dont even want to look at another car unless its come from a memeber here that an expert has checked out first and even then you never know

Something else to remember, if the car was inspected by a professional and is purchased, then that person sells it shortly after or even years later, you will still want to cover your bases. I have inspected a few cars over the years that were top shelf and full on NOS parts only to have the purchaser buy the car, strip all the NOS and good parts off of it and then resell it making my inspection somewhat worthless. Best to speak with the inspector directly and share 'current' photos of the car and get an updated opinion and in most cases for a small fee. If any time has passed it would pay to just have the car re-inspected.

Also, in most cases the inspector does not own the inspection report, the hiring agent does so you may have to pay for a copy of it or the seller may provide you with it. I will not share my reports unless the hiring agent authorizes its release and then for a fee in some cases.

[Richls5]

Originally Posted by SS427

Something else to remember, if the car was inspected by a professional and is purchased, then that person sells it shortly after or even years later, you will still want to cover your bases. I have inspected a few cars over the years that were top shelf and full on NOS parts only to have the purchaser buy the car, strip all the NOS and good parts off of it and then resell it making my inspection somewhat worthless. Best to speak with the inspector directly and share 'current' photos of the car and get an updated opinion and in most cases for a small fee. If any time has passed it would pay to just have the car re-inspected.

Also, in most cases the inspector does not own the inspection report, the hiring agent does so you may have to pay for a copy of it or the seller may provide you with it. I will not share my reports unless the hiring agent authorizes its release and then for a fee in some cases.

What makes someone want to do that is beyond me I’ve heard of quite a few guys doing this. Taking parts off survivors or real cars putting re pop stuff back on and selling I really don’t understand it at all

[juliosz]

There’s a well known nos parts supplier in the Detroit area who is infamous at this practice. There’s a lot of that in the Corvette crowd as well. I couldn’t do it but I guess in the end, their car, their rules, buyer beware.