1971 Chevrolet Corvette Conv Lots of Mechanical Cosmetic Restoration W/Receipts

1971 Chevrolet Corvette Additional Info:

History:

I purchased the car on January 13th 2016 from a retired Continental Airlines Pilot. He lived a few miles outside of Denton Texas in Granbury, TX. He said that he had own the car for several years and since they moved into this new gated golf club community he didn’t have the garage space to keep the car at home and he didn’t want it sitting in storage. He said when he got the car it was exceptionally clean with approximately 60,000 original miles. He paid $25,000 for it at the time. When we were sitting in his office going through the folder with all the paperwork he showed me the bank statement from the purchase. He then started going thru all of the receipts for the work he had done since purchasing the car. He said even though the car was very clean it was still a 44-year-old car and that he wanted the drivetrain gone through from front to back.

First, I will give you a list of the work and parts that were recently done and replaced prior to him purchasing the car in late 2014 from Turner Chevrolet-Cadillac in Park Hills, Mo.

New Black Convertible Top & all new Weather-stripping

New vinyl seat covers and foam kit

Original seat belts were sent off and restored

New carpet and mats

New storage compartment and trays

New parking brake handle assembly & console with T armrest – vinyl

New center console and console assembly and ash tray

New center dash trim console gauge bezel assembly

New door panels with trim and inside door handles

New door sill plates and weather-strip

New interior rear view mirror

New sun visors

New tach drive gear and cable

New heater core

New power brake booster

New GM heater hose kit and water pump

New aluminized exhaust system and mufflers

New stainless steel exhaust tips

New license plate bezel

Rear bumpers re-chromed

Here is a list of the work, parts and receipts from after he purchased the car. I wanted to show photos of all the receipts but it only allowed for 24 photo’s.

In January of 2015: He had installed rebuilt Trailing arms, bearing assembly’s, swing arm bushings and shocks installed. $1650.00 By Christian Brothers Automotive.

In February of 2015: He had the rear differential rebuilt. $1808.30 By Ft. Worth Gear & Axle.

In February of 2015: He had the Transmission serviced. Replaced the reverse accumulator, had a reverse cushion kit installed, new filter plus all seals and gaskets replaced. $596.02 By Multistate Transmission

In February of 2015: He had the front control arm bushing and shocks replaced. $337.49 By Hood Tire Center. Plus, it had a new set of Goodyear tires installed $500.

In March of 2015: He was not happy with the way the car was shifting so he had the transmission rebuilt. $1600.38 Multistate Transmission.

In April of 2015: He had front and rear rotors replaced. $490.00 Hood Tire Center.

In April of 2015: I have receipts from NAPA Auto Parts for points, condenser, cap, rotor, spark plugs, plug wires, ignition coil, oil filter and u-joints for half shafts and drive shaft. $435.19

In May of 2015: He must have not been happy with oil pressure. He had a new oil pump, filter screen and pan gasket installed. $443.56 Jerry Durant Toyota.

In August of 2015: He had the Air Conditioning serviced. Paper work says compressor not coming on. Bad wire and Block Relay was replaced and two cans of Freon were put in. The AC is currently not working. He told me that if you put Freon in it that it works but it eventually leaks down. I have never messed with the AC so I cannot verify this. But he seemed to be a very honest man and was very forth coming on telling me everything about the car. $512.14 Jerry Durant Toyota.

In March of 2015: He had an Appraisal Company appraise the car. It was done by Avila Appraisal Services. It says he is a Senior Member of The American Society of Appraisers and a member of The ASA Automotive Group. It says on the paperwork that it was appraised for Insurance purposes. He appraised it at $31,000. Attached to his paperwork were copies from a Haggerty value book which he has circled a number 2 condition at $38,000 and a CPI value book at a number 2 condition at $33,925.

He also has some of the Original Documents with the car. The Original window sticker is here but it’s in fairly rough shape. The writing on the left side of the page is barely legible. You could probably read it with a magnifying glass. The numbers on the right are pretty legible. New car cost $5353. And there were $834 worth of options. I found a site online that listed the options and their prices. I’m confident that I have them identified correctly. They are Air Conditioning at $464, Power Brakes at $47, Power Steering at $115, White Stripe Tires at $30 and AM/FM radio at $178 which does not work. There is also a Wheel Trim Ring Instruction Sheet and Consumer Information Pamphlet.

I could tell from the house he lived in, the cars he drove and the way he live the guy was a perfectionist, as most commercial pilots are.

What I have done to the car since purchase.

I replace the tires. He had a brand new set of Goodyear Wranglers on the car. Yes, Goodyear Wranglers, an all-terrain tire. He must have gotten a deal on them. So while I had the tires off, I had the wheels sandblasted, epoxy primed, repainted silver and installed new BFG Raised White Letter tires. Other than that all I have done is driven it occasionally on nice days. I have the original center caps for the car. I just don’t have them install. I hated to scratch those freshly painted wheels. Plus I like the look of the Rally’s without caps & rings. So I replaced the dented bearing covers on the front rotors, painted all four centers a cast iron color and bought new chrome lug nuts.

Condition:

The Interior:

The interior is as nice as it was when it left the dealership. The only real flaw I can see it that one of the door pull handles are a little bit shade different color than the other. All the dash lights work but there is one on the speedo that intermittingly goes off & on every so often when you hit a bump, just a loose connection I’m sure, the right blinker indicator is also intermitting. The interior condition is easily a 9.5 on a 10 scale.

The Engine:

It’s the original matching number engine and runs great and has 62,167 miles. Pump the accelerator a few times, turn the key and it lights right up and idles at about 1300 rpm. Let it warm up a few minutes, tap the accelerator and it idles down to 900 rpm. Put in gear and it idles down to 800 rpm. It looks to me like the motor has never been out of the car. He said the car ran great so he didn’t rebuild the engine. The intake and valve covers have been repainted but other than that it looks all original. The ignition shielding is in place. I ask him about the AC. He said you can charge it up and it works fine but it leaks down after a few weeks. He said he never got around to fixing the AC because the only time they drove the car the top was always down, same as myself. The car runs and drives like a new car, from 1971. No squeaks or rattles and it tracks down the road very nice. The motor is 47 years old and has 62,167 miles on it and it drips a little oil. In 71 the government cracked down on horsepower. So it runs great but you will not be winning any races with it but it’s a great cruiser.

Paint/Exterior

It is the Original Paint color of War Bonnet Yellow. A friend of mine who has a few NCRS Top Flight Fuelies looked the car over and believes the car has had one re-spray with lacquer, probably done over 25 years ago. The paint is very presentable and has a great old lacquer patina. The only flaw on the body is a small crack on the spoiler under the front license plate where someone pulled up too close to a parking stop. On the paint, they must have sanded down the original lacquer and put very little lacquer back on. Because when you stand back and look at the car at a certain angle you can barely see a shade of the bonding strip lines thru the paint. Which indicates to me that the car has very little paint on it and the car has never been wrecked. The bumpers are about an 8-9 on a 10 scale. Headlight operation is great; they open and close very fast. The hideaway wiper door works as it should. It has the original spare tire & cover. The convertible top is new and is in perfect condition with new weather-stripping. The windshield is in perfect condition with no cracks, wiper scratches or delamination. There is no rust in the birdcage and the frame is in excellent condition.

The previous owner had over $34,000 invested in the car. I spent another thousand or soon it. This is a very nice running and driving car. I have owned a lot of classic cars and at this point in my life I only own nice quality cars like this one. It has had a lot of mechanical & cosmetic restoration and was done right. My reason for selling is that I another car I am interested in purchasing and I have 5 other classic cars that I would like to buy some parts for. I bought this C3 because it was a very nice original, unmolested car that has had most of the drivetrain rebuilt and interior restored. Plus, the C3’s are going up in value. I think within the next ten years the C3’s will really take off in value and collectability. The generation who grew up with these cars is now getting able to afford them, much like my generation with the C2’s. Now would be a good time to buy a nice steel bumper convertible and this is the kind of quality car that would be a great investment for the future. The really good cars are starting to get harder to come by. This car has had a lot of the main work done and just needs a little more to take it to the next level. I have done my best to describe the cars condition but if you have any questions or need additional pictures please feel free to call or text me at 409-771-4455 or email me at mikes66vette@gmail.com . The car is located in Texas City, TX, 77590 about 30 miles south of Houston. Thanks for your time and have a nice day.Payment will be wire transfer.Happy bidding.! Thanks, Mike