1969 L-89 Convertible 4 Speed For Sale

[@wot]

Just my opinion: I would never consider a car for $200,000 plus without some documentation. If you buy this car, the burden of proof becomes yours in the future. There are many cars I would rather have other than an L89, and $200,000 will buy any of them with documentation, Good luck to the both the seller and, when sold, the buyer.

[Canucklehead]

Of all the cars that were produced, who keeps all their documentation anyways. I know i never did as back than it did'nt occur to me that it was nessasary as I know what it is and did'nt care about resale value, not thinking that the car would actually be worth more than what i paid for it in the future and im sure many felt this way. I think buying a car today with original documentation is fortunate but not the breaker of a deal. Just becouse the car dosent have the paperwork dosent mean that it's not right. He simply wasent fortunate to have had it saved. Also with all the technology with forgery today who really knows for sure. I would question ANY documentation with ANY car. Back than why would most people save it?. Is it real?, well thats for the buyer to decide, if it is ...good on you!!. The things that are not original to the car is explained and really is not a big deal (they can be changed and the current owner likes it that way, remember it's his car not yours, if you don't like it buy it and change it than you can be proud of YOUR car), although the tag issue is a bit disconcerning. It's a very nice car and a great resto, $250K....YIKES, but hey sombody will buy it eventually, don't forget someone paid 1mill+ on a 68 z rag!!!. Although if i could find an L89 pacer....hmmmmmmmmmmm!

[Charley Lillard]

Was this convert. owned by Merle Dupree ?
As far as I know, nobody has paid 1 mil for the 68 Z rag.

[Canucklehead]

I heard elsewhere the 68-z had exchanged hands.

[Mr. T]

Well it's up to 145K with 2 days left. Hmmmmmm.....

[TimG]

No paperwork is not the kiss of death if the car has some type of ownership history that can be traced and verified. I've owned cars where the paperwork is worth more than the car, a '67 L89 Corvette I sold in 1991 quadrupled in value shortly after the paperwork was found. It was not an original engine car and was thought to be a 435 horse steel head car. There are a number of L88's that have no paperwork and bring strong dollars, one in Dallas that is a low mile car would bring money comparable to a documented car. Do the paper trace, if it is made up, something will tip you off to this.

[69L89RAG]

Tim, you are right. I have gone back as far as I can and even have an insurance lawyer trying to get the NICB to search their records. Everything back to 1980 checks out. Unfortunately the owner in 1980 has since died so I am stuck at that point. I do know the name of the town that he purchased the car from.

[Lynn]

69L89RAG:

I feel for anyone trying to put together documentation for one of these cars. I have a 69 Z/28 X77 D80 car. It came originally with the ducted hood. How do I know? In 1974, this car was sitting behind a repair shop with the trunk open. Someone I know very well stole the air cleaner assembly out of the trunk. He sold it for $20. I ended up buying the car two years later. By then the hood was gone, but it still had the relay on the firewall, and the correct outside throttle arm to mount the switch. Now that 99% of the 69 Z's have the ducted hood, how do I prove mine came that way. Before the goofy federal privacy laws were enacted I went to the Oklahoma Tax Commission and had them run a title search. Cost $1. Normally the title search would take you back to the original owner, provided that the car spent its whole life in OK. Would even show the selling dealer. What a deal. Only problem was, they dead ended at 1978, two years after I bought it. Seems that they "lost" a great deal of info in 1978 when they changed over computer systems. I still think the info is there somewhere, but no chance they are going to let me dig through archived records, or computer search archived records.


I can't even tell what dealer my car came from because the dealer emblem had been removed by the time I got to it. I did carefully measure the holes and record that measurement before welding the holes up.

I bought a silver Z/28 in 1971. Had the POP in the glove box. I even knew the first owner casually. What did I do with the POP? I threw it away of course, as it had no value to me at the time. Car has since been totalled beyond repair, so no big loss in that case.

Back to the L89. No doubt a beautiful car. Really bothers me that it has a repo trim tag. I guess it helps that you have the original. I do agree that white top and interior is far better looking than the black would be. Just not enough contrast with the black. Also bothered by the statement that one owner bought the car without engine and trans, then just happened to get the originals. Back in the 70's not many guys would have been that keen on hunting down the original drive train. Still quite possible. I have a buddy that bought a 69 Z did some research, found the original owner who still had all the smog parts sitting in his shed. Gave them to him for free, because he was just happy to look at his old car. So, yes some of those stories are out there. At the very least, I would get
Affidavits from all the known previous owners to document what history you do have.

Good Luck. Sorry this is so long.

Lynn Bilodeau

[69L89RAG]

I hit the same problem with Michigan. They purge their records after 10 years.

I do have statements from the previous owners and they are happy to talk with a serious buyer.

[92646]

Charley, the Merle Dupree car was the red car with black Z/28 stripes that just changed hands a couple of weeks ago at some auction.