bop

Back in the day I owned 2 76 Corvettes and they were ok. If you want to see the nicest 76 Corvette around look at Tra Larkins car he is on the Fourm and is in TN.

BBCorv70

Rather rare that a full restoration can be justified when considering value unless it's a high end model which was bought right. An awful lot of people restore them anyway, probably for the same reasons I do, for the love of the car. If I make some money back down the road, great. Many people, including myself, place value on the process of restoration, the experience and the satisfaction when we're almost done. (They're never really done) The other camp I suspect buy them, hold for a relatively short time, then move on to another.

Moxy Vette

I love my '76 Vette. It had a beautiful paint job when I got it. I spent a few bucks on it... new leather seats, the interior is in great shape, L 82
350 motor, with a little more horses. New 600 holley on a performer Edelbrock aluminum intake, new mallory HEI distributer and leads, and a set of Flowmaster Delta 40 muflers. The car is much more peppier than before, sounds great, and is fun to drive. The C 3's are a great body style and are head turners no matter what year you have. My 2cents.

Carlos840

I am exactly in the same situation!

Received a 76 L48 vette for £1 from my cousin ( she was given it by a then ex Boyfriend and gave it to me under the condition that if i wanted to get rid of it i had to give it to!)

Car was in ok condition but needed loads of little things done to it! (bushings, U Joins, frame paint, brakes, etc)
I spend around 6k on it and im glad i did!

Its a great car to drive, maybe not the fastest but anemic is a bit mean!

If you like the car, do what need to be done to it and enjoy it!

Fastclient

milo30

Easy to swap cams and heads and give it some more pep or you could buy a crate engine and drop it in. 400 HP crates are pretty affordable nowadays. As far as the auto, there will always be people who want an auto. I am changing mine from a 4sp to an auto because of an ankle injury. I like the standards but they just aren't practical for me to enjoy any more.

It sounds like the car is pretty good and just needs minor updates. If so, then you are in a good situation because you can do it a little at a time and still enjoy the car.

If you are like me, the car is more valuable to you than anyone else. Do what you need to get it to where you want it and enjoy it. Think of it this way, is it worth buying any car because 5 minutes after you bought it, you have lost money in it's value?

'76stingraycolorado

I just wanted to say "thanks" to everyone for their posts. I can tell this forum is going to provide a wealth of information to a "rookie" Corvette owner.

I just realized I can't put a value on this car...

I can still remember how excited I got when my dad picked me up at elementary school in his Vette. The kids would flock to this car like it was a magnet. I felt like the coolest kid in the school. I have countless other memories including riding in the storage area behind the seats (unsafe I know, but this was before seatbelts were PC and kids used to ride around in the back of pick-ups). Good times...

Time to roll up my sleeves and get crankin' on that suspension...

wgarneau

Very cool! Have fun with it!!!

mortgageguy

I'm curious, how long has your Dad owned this car, and how old are you?

C3 4ME

You started w saying it was your dad's car, and i think you need not go any further than that. I agree with what most have said, that a full on frame off resto might be a little extreme, but to make it a nice cruise in car is exactly what I would do, especially given the sentimental value of the car.

Trae1976

Thank you Jack! :o

Easy Mike

Only a very personal one -- and that's better than $$.

Now you're talkin'.

palmbeachvette76

I say go for it at your own pace starting with the safety repairs first and cosmetic later. My '76 kinda fell in my lap. It was a family member's on my wifes side and she asked if I wanted to buy it to help them out with medical bills. So it was bought sight unseen and has come along way in a year and a half but the real Value is how it makes my wife feel when she rides in the car. A piece of her family remains and luckily I could do virtually all the work myself but I still have far more in the car than it would ever sell for but luckily it won't be for sale anytime in the next century.

Here's a slideshow I did from the time I picked it up in Alabama and brought it back to South Florida to today.

http://www.youtube.com/user/carissawabo

jkjazzsax

I have a '78 L-48 that I picked up for $4500. It is all numbers matching, but the previous owner put a cam, holley carb, some performance headers and few other perks in it. The interior was about 80%.

I've dropped about $1500 in it so far, only to replace the essentials like the Alternator, some wiring problems, radio, carpet, windshield wiper motor, plugs/wires, etc.

I have to drop another $2k for the rear suspension and about another $800 for the front. Then it's off to paint for around $1k.

So when all is said and done, I had about an 80% car and I'll have $10k in it total. I could possibly break even - but that's not what I'm planning on doing. Trust me when I say this car will grow on you... it really will. It will start becoming small projects here and there that you complete and even if you aren't a big mechanic like me, you'll find the sheer joy and exhilaration of "HEY! I fixed it MYSELF!". Trust me - it's going to take lots of fixing

Just take your time with it. I would suggest doing the suspension and paint first, then do the interior if it is needed over time. In 6 months you'd have less than $3-4k in the car and you slowly put more into it.

mortgageguy

So, what has happened since you started the thread?

'76stingraycolorado

So far, I've completely refurbished the interior--except I still need to get the seats reupholstered. I'm now taking on rebuilding the front and rear suspension, and will be installing a new exhaust system over the winter. Last week I also installed new brake calipers, pad and lines.

I have to admit, before I got this car, I was a guy who never even changed his own oil. Now, I've discovered a passion and skill-set that I never knew existed. I have a desk job, and there is something almost therapeutic coming home and turning wrenches. I still have a long way to go, but I'm enjoying the journey. My wallet, however, is taking a beating.

If you want to see a few photos, send me a "friend request" on Facebook. I've been doing a fairly good job of documenting my progress on my FB page and have a "restoration album" on there.

Thanks to everyone for their insight and feedback on this forum. It's such a great resource for weekend warriors like myself.

Jerry Neal
Denver, CO
https://www.facebook.com/jerry.neal.75?ref=tn_tnmn

wgarneau

I'd be interested Jerry - I sent a request.

den(thevetteman)78

I think old cars are not made to make money. You enjoy them and you hope they will not cost too much to keep them running. In the other hand go buy yourself a brand new Camaro or other sport car keep them for 10 years and sell them. You will see how much money you lose.

Back in the 80's before i got my Corvette i had a '78 Z28 that i invested $10,000 in three years in engine, transmission, suspensions and so on. Just to sell it the same price i paid it. Some might say i lost $10,000,but for me the time i had with that car was really worth it. It's the same with my corvette, i don't see the money i put in it as money lost, but investment in my pleasure of driving a nice car that i like.

mortgageguy

How is it going on this project now?

iokepakai

I have a 76 that has a few mods.Borgeson box,Richmond 6spd trans,roller cam and rockers,Air gap manifold,Summit carb,dual exhaust.Is the car worth more with those mods? No ,but I could care less what anybody thinks about the value of my car.It's a blast to drive gets the thumbs up from mostly everyone that sees it.Whats the point of owning a garage queen that your scared to drive because its so valuable.Car collecting for investment purposes is for rich people that have more money then they know what to do with.I'm a working man that loves to wrench on my car and enjoy the fruits of my labor when I take her out for a cruise! Build it how you want,drive it and enjoy the ride..