BadgerSlayer

This is my first post here. I just bought a 1968 C3 Corvette 427 with a 3 speed manual. I need advice/opinions please.

Here's the story...
A very close friend's dad bought this car in 1974 with his brother. As he approached retirement he decided to have it restored. It appears that someone tore it down and ordered parts but then quit part way thru the project. The owner then took it to an acquaintance's garage and it sat there for about the last 5 years. The owner unfortunately had some health problems and is now fairly non-verbal. Two Sundays ago the acquaintance told the owner it's time for the car to go. My friend asked me what to do with it. I am no Chevy mechanic, just a farm kid with average mechanical knowledge and access to a trailer. So, I bought it! The owner was happy and I am happy but way over my head.

It looks to me like the engine was removed, rebuilt and reinstalled. It's very clean under the hood. 4bbl carb. I'm guessing front suspension was done at that time evidenced by new rubber covers on tie rods etc. The interior is gutted. Body looks good as far as I can see. Seems like it was painted at some point as there is some overspray on the front spoiler but the paint looks good to me. There are boxes and boxes of new parts and owner communicated that "everything was there". I saw a brand new rear leaf spring, brake calipers, box labeled ACME custom carpets (can't remember), new gas tank, new soft top kit, tons of other parts.

We trailered it to another friend's heated garage on Saturday and I didn't have a lot of time to go thru everything or take a lot of pics.

I want to either sell it to someone who can do it justice or pay someone to finish the restoration to showroom condition. I know that I don't have the time or skills to do it myself and I'm not gonna try to Bubba my way thru it.

Any idea what it's worth in present condition? Ballpark figure on labor to finish the job? And would a reputable body shop be able to do that? What about value when it's complete??

I would love to make it shine and take the old owner for a ride in it!

I'll do my best to answer any questions.

BadgerSlayer

Rescue Rogers

Its not that difficult to put the interior in it. If you do a search or find a 68 AIM you can put it together. You should know that the 68 has a lot of one year only parts. I wish you luck with it, it looks like it would be an good project. The body and frame are the hardest and most expensive parts to fix. If they are good you dont have much work ahead of you

Rescue Rogers

where do you live? If I had any extra cash I would pic that up. If you were close I would give you a hand

twinpack

Please get in touch with your local NCRS chapter. If I read your post correctly, you stated it has a 3 speed manual transmission. If that transmission is original and the 427 is original, i would think that to be a very rare car. If you go to FB and connect with the 68 corvette owners group, connect with Brad Hill house. He will set you straight.

blue427

which 427 does it have,nice vette by the way,good luck with it which ever way you decide to go with it.

BadgerSlayer

As far as I know that is the case. That's awesome. Thanks for the info. I'm in Illinois to answer the earlier post.

thatcorvetteguy

Just because there as not many cars made with a 3 spd doesn't = valuable. Your valve is 68, convertible, 427.

BadgerSlayer

Do you mean the numbers stamped on the top front of the intake? I should've taken a picture of that but I didn't. Where else should I look for numbers to see if they match? Also, is there a vin decoder to tell the original build configuration?

The owner said as far as he knew it was the original motor and transmission but he bought it in '74. To me it's unlikely (not impossible but unlikely) that someone swapped the motor and or trans less than 6 years into it's life. Odometer shows 51000 and change.

general ike

Just my two cents. If you are not planning to do the work yourself this will get very expensive, very fast. Unless you bought the car for nothing you have to know what it will cost you.

Not to mention the difficult you might encounter in finding someone to do the work and the time it might take.

Not trying to discourage you in any way but this needs to be a work of love so think wisely before you start. It might be simply a time to sell it again unless you want to do the work yourself.

Ike

avalonjohn

Was a 3spd even available with the 427? I could be wrong but I thought that was only for a 327-300 base.

blue427

I meant,390h.p. 400h.p,435h.p.,430h.p.

BadgerSlayer

General Ike, I don't disagree with you at all. I'm good at a lot of things. Working on cars and especially the visually important parts always seems to frustrate me and never come out quite right. That's why I'm wondering about having someone with the skills and patience for such things take over.

When my friend first told me about this car, it sounded like "ran when parked". When I saw it, if it wasn't a friend, I probably would've walked away but they wanted it gone and I wasn't gonna leave them hanging. I got a heck of a deal but they were extremely happy to have it out of there.

Assuming that the vast majority of the parts are there what do you mean by very expensive? $5k or $20k or is it just too hard to tell? I'd rather have it done right than cheap.

BadgerSlayer

I'm pretty sure it's 390hp based on the 4bbl but you guys know better than me. I thought you had to go up to the tri-power to be 400+ but I'm just googling.

I appreciate you guys.

Greg

The 427 with a 3 speed would be an extremely odd combination.
Of the 28,566 cars built in 1968 only 326 came with the base 3 speed manual transmission and I would bet the majority of those cars also had the base 300 hp 327. So while the car can be considered somewhat rare with the 3 speed it doesn't compute to an increase in value type of rare.
This kind of cost reduction item would correlate to a 1965 Corvette ordered with 4 wheel drum brakes, rather than the standard 4 wheel disc brakes, for a cost credit of $64.50. Rare? Yes. Desirable? No.
The manual 3 speed offered for Corvette in '68 was the cast iron Saginaw. It was, and is, considered a light duty transmission, generally used on cars with 300 or less horsepower. The lowest horsepower offered in a 427 that year was 390.
So ordering one of the highest performance engines offered in 1968 and then backing it with the most budget minded, light duty, base transmission makes little sense.
So this begs the question; are you certain the car has it's original transmission?
Cheers, Greg

Gordonm

The 3.speed trans was only available with the base model 327. Not available with the 427

BadgerSlayer

I'm gonna say it's probably a 4 speed then. My friend (owners daughter) said 3 speed. I don't think she can even drive a stick. The shifter **** is off right now and probably (hopefully!) in one of the boxes. But yeah, it's almost certainly a 4 speed.

I will also add though that I'm not really certain of anything. The guy wouldn't have lied to me but he could've easily been mistaken about various things.

Greg

I'd say that is the correct answer.
Cool car.

ddischiave

From your description, it sounds like you got a good deal for a project car, in good condition, that has most of the parts. The '68, conv, 427, 4 sp is a desirable car. Without more photos it is hard to tell how much real work is remaining. Like any project, having the right tools is key. I suggest that if you have the tools and a place to do the work, give it a try doing much of the work yourself. And if you have a buddy to help that would make it more fun. Hey, you may surprise yourself with what you can do. The only caveat, like some of the other members mentioned, is that body and frame work do require special tools/skills and are generally expensive repairs. Best of luck to you and enjoy the journey.

pspicci

Remove the #3 body mount covers in the rear wheel wells and inspect the #3 mounts for rust or rotting. if the kick panels are still installed pull them out and inspect the #2 body mounts on both sides. check the rest of the body mounts and make sure the birdcage is in good condition and also the frame as stated earlier. you do not want to put everything back together then find out the birdcage or the frame is rusted out. the body looks decent based on the 2 pictures you posted. You can probably do all the work yourself outside of possibly the frame, birdcage & body. there are plenty of books and videos to help you plus a forum full of C3 owners willing and able to answer your questions good luck.