69Roadster

Okay you are looking at buying a 1969 Corvette convertible...

Question 2) How much more would you pay for the car if there was proof that the engine was just rebuilt (balanced, blueprinted, new pistons, new crank etc) versus just a good running non rebuilt used engine?

Question 1) How much more would you pay for a 396 big block engine in the car versus a 283 small block?

I'm just thinking over some selling options...
mainly rebuild or not and which engine.

Thanks.

:cheers:




[Modified by 69Roadster, 3:35 PM 2/7/2003]

Gordonm

I would not pay any more for it. The reason because it is probably not built the way I want it. I would prefer a worn out engine (to reduce the price) because I would just yank it and put what I want in it. 396 vs 283 neither one would excite me. A 502 or a stroker small block now thats a different story. JMO :cheers:

sb69coupe

Question 2 - I'd probably pay about 75% of the cost of the rebuild itself. So for two equivalent cars, one with a good running non-rebuilt motor for say $12k and the other with a $2k rebuild, I'd give $13.5 for the second. Just because it's rebuilt doesn't mean it won't self destruct a mile away from the sellers house.

Question 1 - a 283? Why not a 307 or a 305? :D 396 vs. 283 is a real crapshoot. If it was a '65 with the original 396, now yer' talkin'! I'll let others weigh in on this one.

Cool thread!

Shannon

69Roadster

Ya, I'm not a big fan of the 283 or 396 either. That's why I'm going to put one of them in the car when I sell it. Right now they are just taking up room in my garage and plus I don't want to sell the 427 that's currently in the car. It's not a #s matching 427 but it's still a nice motor worth keeping.

I figured a running car will sell more than a car with no engine. Guess I should have asked if you would pay more for a car w/ no engine versus a 283 or a 396.

As far as the 396 versus a 283, having a 396 in there would make a 502 swap much easier than a 283. Small block to big block conversions aren't necessarily hard but do take a lot of little parts.


EDIT: Someone just tried to IM me and I closed the window before I realized what it was. I thought it was a pop-up. Sorry about that.




[Modified by 69Roadster, 3:28 PM 2/7/2003]

Ryan77

If it had a freshly rebuilt 396 with some decent parts in the motor about $1,500 and no more :cheers:

Wrencher

OK, I'll bite. Which one 'ya sellin', eh? Line forms to the left, please, no push or shoving...

Hans

bamavettes

I probally would not pay anymore if I knew the engine had just been rebuilt.

Reason is I would expect the car to have a good running, sound engine in it.

Alwyn678

:seeya 69 Roadster.........How ya been doing??? How is the SUPRA?? Ready to sell me the 69 yet?? :cheers:

WA 2 FST

This isn't going to help you choice in which engine to put in it, but I would say even if you have two clean cars, the one with the motor will bring more $$ than one without a motor. Obviously a hot-rodder might be more inclined to buy one with no motor, but he'll still pay less than if the car has a motor.

Many people looking for these cars just want a good-running car. It's obviously a NOM car, so they may not be as concerned with what the engine is...just as long as it runs well.

I would only buy a car without a motor if I knew the history of the car and preferrably the owner as well. When I see stuff with no engine, I have to wonder what else "doesn't work". It may all be there and in good working condition, but there's no way to tell without being able to drive the car, run through the gears and get it good and warm. Once its mine, I don't mind yanking the motor, but its hard to inspect all the other parts without putting it through its paces somewhat.

69Roadster

Thanks for the replys. I appreciate the input.

BTW I'm not ready to sell yet. I have to do an engine swap first. I'll post when everything is done. Hopefully somebody will want it even with a non-desired motor. I'm selling the one I just had painted red, my "driver". The black one that is in my sig pic I'll probably never sell. It's my baby.

Awlyn678,
How are you? Funny you should ask about the Supra. The main motivation for selling a Vette is to help finance buying another Supra. Figure I don't need three versions of the same car anymore, no matter how sweet it is. I sold my old Supra and bought a Lightning. I'm happy with it. In fact I've kind of been ignoring the Vettes here lately in the quest to make the Lightning faster. Best 1/4 mile is 11.86, not bad for a 5000 lb truck.

Wa 2 fst,
Nice cars! Your Lightning is moving pretty good.



[Modified by 69Roadster, 5:04 PM 2/7/2003]

WA 2 FST

Thanks! My truck is definitely the tamest of my toys, but its also my daily-driver/work truck. I finally installed a pulley to bump the boost another 2psi, and its definitely quicker now... should run 12.9s on stock F1s. Plenty fast for what I want out of it. I absolutely love the truck. Bought it new 3.5 years ago, just rolled 32k miles without a single wimper. No complaints at all. I've towed a car with it several times and it does an admirable job for a short wheelbase truck.

What all have you done to yours? I've just got a shift kit, air intake pipe and a chip... which got it down from 13.9@ 99 stock to 13.20/103+. Now have a pulley and 90mm MAF on it.

Does yours really weigh 5000lbs? Mine is loaded, but I think its closer to 4600.

Eddie 70

It has been a while since I have seen that black car on here. Welcome back.

69Roadster

Thanks Eddie 70. I've read the forum every now and then but definitely haven't posted in a long time.

WAY 2 FST,
I have about everything done to my truck except nitrous or an aftermarket supercharger. With a hard bed cover, hitch, spare, stereo, tank of gas and my hefty self it weighs in a tad under 5000 lbs. Noticed yours is a white '99, mine too # 3275.


[Modified by 69Roadster, 6:00 PM 2/7/2003]

terryrudy

Wow, blast from the past! :) haha
Glad to hear you're keeping the black one. Getting another supra? Anything wrong with the previous one or just miss Turbo? Gonna build this one up? Have you ever considered a Lexus GS300? Supra motor drops in (sell it that way in Japan) and its cheaper. More comfortable & sleeper....
-terry

69Roadster

Hey Terry. Yep I've been away from the forum way too long.
I may get another Supra, can't decide. I really like driving the one I had. There was nothing wrong with it. I just got offered way more than I paid for it so I sold it. That Fast-and-Furious movie was good for something I guess :D. Supra prices skyrocketed after that. They are starting to come back down, kind of why I'm looking at them again.
Ya I've seem some really fast GS300s with Supra engines. Definitely sweet rides but I like the looks and handling of the Supra.

WA 2 FST

Yeah, those hard bed covers are really nice, but they do weigh ~200lbs more than my soft tonneau cover. Your truck runs super! I have had to use a LOT of restraint not to go crazy with mine, but I'm at about the point of diminishing returns if I want to run F1 radials only. I assume you're running slicks on yours to get traction to push you solidly into the 11s.

My truck is #3342. White with white wheels. Awesome vehicle, and I don't see getting rid of it anytime soon. I'll probably pass it down to my son in another 7 years or so. ;)

hudman

This is a tough one, but I think I disagree with the above. I would pay more for an engine that was recently rebuilt if I felt good about the rebuild (who did it, what was done etc.) If I could not get my hands around that, then I would not-I would prefer to have the engine built myself.

I just bought my car 9 months ago and I have put less than 1500 miles on it. When I bought it everything was great. It looked good and ran pretty good. I have done a complete tune up, put on a new starter, fuel pump, oil pump, and rear main seal. Then 2 weeks ago I developed a knock. Thought it was a bearing, but I had the guy that is building my motor look and listen prior to the motor coming out and he feels it is in the upper part of the motor-something in the valvetrain. It is something worse than a broken rocker or something. Instead of spending a bunch of money looking for the problem and running the risk of maybe having to pull the motor anyway, I am just going to have the motor pulled anyway and go throught it. I am tired of messing with it. At least I will know what I have when I am through.

Thus, if I could feel really good about the rebuild, I would pay more for the car so I just would not want to have to mess with it myself.

I rolled the dice and bought a car with a motor that I knew had not been rebuilt-I crapped out!

vette69

I guess my question would be how muchy of a discount is the seller willing to give. Last I knew, the '69 did not come with a 283 or a 396, or atleast it was a VERY rare option.

If it was coming with the original motor as well, then that may offset it, otherwise, I would want a discount!

Just my .02 worth.

PRNDL

What does the 396 look like? Tell the buyer it's a 69 "bigblock" and he will figure it's a 427! :lol: MJ

63Banshee

If it just so happened that the person rebuilt the motor like I would have it might bring a grand more. Chances are slim to none, however, because I’m a picky bastard.

If the motor is not original but the rest of the car is I would cut the price severely, regardless of motor size. The only time this wouldn’t be the case is if a car was purposely built to closely mimic an otherwise rare car, like an L88. While the car wouldn’t be worth anywhere near a true original, I’d still pay more then if it was a mediocre attempt with nothing more then a 427 and L88 hood.

Case in point, my 64 Dodge was originally a 318 granny car. If I restored it to original condition it would be worth no more then 8 grand. Now it’s a Max Wedge replica, with personal touches, and it’s worth 20 grand.

What am I trying to say?... It’s all relative. Just c.y.a. in case you need to sell.