Yes, it’s the C3 fan on staff again, still amazed at the value these cars seem to be! This is a largely original (one repaint) 1969 Corvette, having only traveled a claimed 74,000 miles and residing with its second owner in Bowie, Maryland. They have listed the car for sale here on eBay where bidding is only up to @$2,600 (of course, reserve is not yet met, otherwise I’d be bidding myself!).
The seller includes a pretty good closeup of each side of the car in the auction listing. The paint looks shiny and the sides look straight–ok, as straight as 1960’s GM fiberglass ever looks by this point! The wheels, tires and brakes are all new and the general appearance of this “little red Corvette” looks really nice.
The seller tells us that the carpet is new but does not mention seats, although the upholstery is in terrific shape from the pictures. As best as I can tell from these pictures the weatherstripping is nice also, an indication that the car has been taken care of (or refurbished). I like it, especially with the four speed manual transmission! The limited wear on the pedal pads supports the low mileage claim.
While I’m sure the 350 cubic inch V8 has been cosmetically freshened, it looks like it was done well. The seller does tell us that the heater core, radiator hoses have also been replaced, as well as typical tune up parts. A power steering kit has been purchased but has not yet been installed; I guess the new buyer has to have something to do! Oh, two more things–the radio doesn’t work and neither does the wiper valence. I remember seeing one being repaired on a 1968 on Wheeler Dealers but I think the 1969 is a different mechanism.
The seller posts several pictures of the underside as well, which looks quite nice. I know I’d love this car, but I’m sure it will go beyond my means at the moment. Let us know if you feel the same way but you buy it!
These are generally undervalued in my book. Buy a good one and enjoy it for 20 years. You will be rewarded when you go to sell it. There are not that many nice 69’s left. As a Corvette guy, the best thing is support. You can still get almost any part for a Corvette, as there are several good after market suppliers. That takes a lot of the pain out of restoration. Whenever I drive my Corvette, it usually puts a smile on. I use a lot of rear tires.
I can smell the burning rubber from here, Harry!
Agreed. I enjoyed my ’70 for 30 years, and I want another C3 now!
Depending on the engine, that power steering install is not a trivial job and may include swapping the oil pan, etc. To preserve originality, I would recommend looking into putting an electric power steering under the dash. They are becoming much more affordable, and if you are a backyard mechanic with some sense of adventure, you can look up on youtube how to take one out of a Chevy Equinox in a junk yard and do the job yourself for a few hundred bucks. You do need another steering shaft, but your engine compartment is untouched and it is much more efficient, plus you can adjust the level of steering boost.
I did a Borgeson PS 12.5:1 kit myself. I was out under $600 as I already had a PS pump from another project. Not hard to do at all but it did interfere with the ’81 factory headers I had. Dimple fixed.
Originality and high option cars are where future appreciation is. As this is a base 300 hp engine with no power options car its future value is limited. It also has a non-stock hood along with the repaint (plus the added non-factory PS). Enjoy this as a driver and restomod to your hearts content. Miles of smiles.
4 speed helps.
IDK, I think interest has waned for these some. My brother has an ’82(?) 1st year for fuel injection, and he claims he couldn’t give it away. Tried a few outlets, and not 1 call. I think, as a kid, we all lusted for a Corvette. Those high performance cars came and went, but the Corvette remained top of the list, for years. Now, I’m not so sure young people have that same desire. Once while ATVing in the UP of Michigan, the trail crossed the road, and we were stopped by a group ( a BIG group) 30 or more Corvettes out for a spin, and every one of the drivers had gray hair.( or no hair) Obviously, there’s young people that want a Corvette, but there are so many other choices today. Years ago, the Corvette was it. This one sure looks nice, already out of most peoples price range.( I’ll admit, I was attracted to the $2600) I should show this to my brother.
69-72 have very high demand. 75-77 and 80-81 have the least demand. They are very reasonably priced compared to a C2.
After owning the ’70 for so long, and realizing that I want another one, I’m thinking of the ’82. Just a more refined car, and still a C3. Yeah, it loses points for lack of power, but that can be fixed if desired.
C3s are easy to own, easy to work on, parts are available, and I could drive an ’82 without much worry of it getting hit/stolen like I used to be able to do many years ago in the ’70.
The best part is no luggage rack!
Luggage racks work on a stock convertible. I agree coupes should have them removed.
Beautiful car. The upside to not having power steering is that you can skip arm day at the gym. Of course, you’ll have arms like Popeye.
buddy of mine had a ’69 convert w/ a 427ci rated at 390hp – until he didn’t.
was in the process of rebuilding the engine when the rings did not fit, way too big for the pistons. come to find out with some help from the parts counter that the engine was really a 396. he went back to the original owner who thought about it a bit and said that explains the problem i had getting it back from the mechanic in florida.
even with the 396 that car was fun but boy o boy we could only imagine what fun it would have been with the original 427.
To Jamie’s comment about the wiper door, 68 and 69 are basically the same. The biggest difference is that 69’s have a vacuum valve under the right wiper arm, to keep the door from closing until the wipers have come to rest.
It doesn’t look like a bad car, but for one that is supposed to be “unrestored”, it has the wrong hood, and is missing the nose emblem and fender Stingray scripts. This makes me wonder if it was hit, and repaired using a one piece nose. It’s also missing the lower ignition shielding, and the rocker moldings appear to be later one piece ones, not the two piece type used on 68-69’s.
Adding power steering, using a kit made up of stock parts, is pretty straightforward, and shouldn’t effect the value at all. The center link and pitman arm, need to be replaced, but everything else is a bolt on. The only Corvettes that need a different oil pan with PS, are 63-65’s with solid lifter 327’s, and 70-72 LT-1’s. The power steering control valve clears the pan on every over year and engine combination.
It would be nice to see some pictures of the frame, in the areas that usually rust. I’d also like to see the block stamping and trim tag. When a seller claims a car is numbers matching, and doesn’t provide any pictures of the stamp pad or trim tag, I tend to get a little suspicious.
Thanks for the clarifications!
“This makes me wonder if it was hit, and repaired using a one piece nose.”
I agree. Also missing the fender vent trim. ’69 was also first year for the “water dam” in the door frame to keep water from running into the cabin.
All in all, not a bad car…but, at $12k, it is getting very close to it’s real value.
Winning bid of 14K even. 37 bids. It seems like a pretty fair buy.