Vintage Cars: 1974 vette, rust damage, sting rays

Question
I have a 1974vettewith 72,000 miles. Fair condition...what's it worth???

Original miles,,please help???

Answer
This is a difficult question - what do you consider "fair condition"? Is the fiberglas body intact, without any cracks or other collision damage? Is the car located in a non-rust belt state, where there is no possibility of rust damage to the frame? What engine/transmission combination does the car have, and are the running gear components original, matching numbers to the car? Is it a roadster or a coupe?

I'm not very familiar with smog-era Corvettes, but I will take a stab. I'm guessing the car is probably a base 350 engine with a TH350 automatic transmission, and more than likely a coupe. Therefore, I would guess that if the body has some issues, and the frame is intact without any rust, I would pin the value somewhere in the $5,000 - 7,500 range, maybe a little more if the car is presentable as is. These early smog-era Corvettes are not prized by the big-money collectors like the '60s Sting Rays and the '50s straight axle cars are.

The big issue is the value of the car in "perfect" condition - These cars top out at $40,000 - $50,000 range, and the cost of restoring a "fair" Corvette of this era is at least that much, if not more. So you see, unless the car is a special edition, or has some sort of desirable engine/transmission combination, you're not going to get a lot of money for the car. When you read articles about this era of car (Corvette or otherwise), the article ALWAYS suggests buying the best example you can find, because restoration costs are prohibitive and the value just isn't that high.

That being said, if you're not in a hurry, shine it up, clean it up, do some minor repairs on it to get it to "good" condition, and put a price tag of $12,500 on it. Who knows? You might find someone looking for exactly what you've got.

Good Luck.