New 1986 Corvette....! 9kms.

nascar03

nascar03

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Jan 27, 2009
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Township of Langley, BC
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1975 coupe/2003 vert
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Corvette People..
I received a call yesterday, as I do a couple of times per month, of a Corvette for sale.
My name/number is on our Club website page.
A gentleman called to ask about selling his dad's car...
It is a 1986 Corvette convertible. Triple black.
His father purchased it new in 1986, drove it home and parked it in the garage!
That's it !!!!!! PARKED!!!!
It is still sitting there in as-new condition...
It has 9 kilometres on it..!! That's it!!
Everything associated with the car is there too, paperwork, window sticker, license plate bolts in an envelope, wheel nut covers, everything!

Now the question comes up.. what to do with this car..where does it go?
I'm not posting this note to sell the car here(although you can PM me if interested!).
I wanted to discuss it's best future.
Car shows? Private Collection? Trailered? NCM display? Restored and driven?
Should it be brought back to mechanical condition? I talked to a Corvette mechanic buddy yesterday and we agreed it probably needs a new gas tank, all rubbers checked/replaced, tires, hoses, seals, new rad ? And estimated this may cost $8-10K at a shop.

I contacted a local NCRS friend about perusing that path...he pointed out that if it is rebuilt as above it won't carry as much provenance ...

I also called a buddy that has connections to the National Corvette Museum.
Maybe they want this car donated..?

I realize this car is not a 'milestone' year for the Corvettes.. although it was the first convertible since 1975....

Discuss!

Graham

Sent from my iPad
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Call up Reliable Carriers and off to the NCM with that I'd say. I'm sure they'd "give" you something quite nice for it. Or have it as Raffle for a good cause. Something to do with kids.
 
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OMG Graham. What a nice find to come your way.
I hesitate to discuss without being presumptuous.
So I will be naïve and first suggest that his Father continue to admire it
if the unrestored selling price matters.

If his father can't or doesn't want to, then I would recommend to either restore it to sell
or sell it unrestored for someone else to decide.
If I were in the market I'd buy it unrestored so that I could "manage" the restoration ...
and hope not to have to say much more because it would not be sitting in a garage
 
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^ I'm with you. That thing would be lucky to be under 100K by now, if I owned it. They are made to drive, and although seeing something like this is amazing, it has already been pointed out that leaving a vehicle parked for this long can have some negative side effects.
 
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This car would surely fit nicelly in my garage,sitting next to the ZR1. This is anothers big project. Taking care of the fuel system, battery, brake system might need a fair amount of love, flushing all fluid, hope no damage from rodent or humidity. Repair the damage to the passenger side dash board ans the lower part of the passenger seat (stitching seem to be damage), another issue might be clutch cylinder and master, not been used for so long, they might dried out. Tires are to hold to drive them on long distance (but ok for trailer queen) Might also need to replace a few seals on a/c. Cars that are sitting for so long will bring some good and bad surprises. Still it would be a nice February/Marsh project. I can live short of one lift at the shop at this time of the year. Tripple black, manual transmission (4+3) and convertible, pretty close of what I would of ordered myself. I can only hope this car will end in the wright hands. These persons have a beatifful, restorable machine in their hands.

Stephane
 
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I have not been over to see this car in-person yet. Maybe soon.
A local big-time car collector had someone check it out last week and passed on buying it..
I do not know whether it was the work required to get it running or the price.
I stayed out if those details.

General discussion seems to be that the car may be worth only $10K as is...with another $10K for repairs..
And then maybe the car might be worth $28K+... maybe mid-thirties to the right collector..

For $20K investment it might be a great driver!

I just don’t know.
I wanna help find this car the correct home.
Maybe this car has just not come of age yet.
Graham
 
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I agree 100%. This car, even with such a low kilometers isin't the special, extra rare model, nether it have a very special history so who buy a car like this??? In my very honest opinion, it take someone who really like the car and the fact that it is a 31 year old new car and have the $$ to ship it to a speciality shop to get it refurbish to make it reliable and drivable again or someone who have the skills and the installation to do the job himself. Maybe be a collector who will just put the car for show in is collection but normally these guys seek for specific model year and rare options or rare editions. Still. tripple black, manual transmission (4+3) and convertible make it a great car. As a mechanic/tires shop owner I do like this kind of project but you cant do this without figuring a certain value for the amount of time to be invested in this project to bring it back to condition that a car of this such a low amount of kilometers should be. About the amount of money that may need to be invested in this car, the buyer will have to take care about how much he is willing to trow in it as this car, the final value of the car may never meet the investment. Now, when someone spend 5000$ for a week of golf in Florida or where ever else, this person will never see the color of his money, was this 5000$ was a better investments?? will it have a resale value? even partially?

This is a very interesting tread and discussion. Thanks Graham for bringing this to the Forum. I wont fall asleep easily now that I am thinking of this car, might have golf club for sale :D

Stephane :Cheers2:
 
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I contacted people that are familiar with the museum.
Museums generally are interested in ‘donated’ cars....
But the door is still not closed on that idea.

I might even try GM....if it is rebuilt at GM it may be able to be certified by the NCRS.
I Also contacted Corvette Mike...he could not come up with the vehicle’s value either!

Thanx
Graham
 
Great discussion. As it has sat for so many years and has all the original parts on it, I would sort of like to see it as a museum piece with all the original parts on it because what are the chances of ever being able to see a C4 just like it came off the assembly line?
Was the car ever ran during it's time sitting in the garage or has it literally just sat there? As Taylor stated, I could not imagine buying a car just to watch it sit, but this car has been sitting so long that it's value is now locked into the fact that it's been sitting so long.
However, if someone is looking for a low mile triple black C4 to drive, that will always be a low mile example, cough, cough, theboss, then this would be the one and I'm sure it would be enjoyed.
 
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