Vintage Cars: corvettes, chrome bumpers, jan brady

Question
QUESTION: Hi Don,
In your opinion, what year Corvette is of the least value at this time? If the condition of the playing field was all equal, which is at the bottom of the curve?

The reason I ask is that I just read one of your associates response to a repair question concerning a '77 and he said that it was the "Jan Brady" of Corvettes. I guess meaning very little resale value. I find that hard to believe. The '77, in my opinion, is the most stylish, sleekest year ever. I may only see one or two a year. What is your take on this. Thank you for you time.

Gratefully,
Max Riederer

ANSWER: Basic price guides that track auction and verifiable sales results say that most of the coupes between 1974 and 1982 (there was no 1983 model) have the lowest values by just a few thousand dollars.

I wrote the above just after reading the first sentence you wrote, and before seeing that you love the 77's, so that was an unbiased opinion.  The guide I checked showed that 76 is the absolute lowest year, but that can change.   

If you love the 77 though, then that is really great.  Why?  Because you can buy the Corvette that you love cheaper than those that love some other years!

Why are the late 70's and early 80's the bad years?  Well, mainly because of performance.  Pretty much everything in those years was choked with new government mandated emissions plumbing, and still dealing with carburetors that didn't like it!   Then they dealt with throttle body fuel injection that wasn't really sorted out.  HP was from a low of about 165 in 1975 to 210 in 76-77.  That isn't much compared to todays cars, but the Corvette was still the fastest American car most of those years.

Another factor is that the body style was getting old.  Values rise noticably in 1984 with the new style and better engine controls.

My favorite Corvettes are in the 70-72 years.  These were the ones with the thin chrome bumpers front and rear.  Give me an LT-1 small block and I could be very happy.  But I am a full size car fan, and my 57 Bel Air with a 283 makes me very happy, and although it is a popular car, there are those that would call it too "common" and "popular".  Well, I don't care, I love mine.  

So if you want a 77' Corvette, find the best one you can afford and enjoy it!

What are the most valuable ones?  The very first year, 1953 of course, and they were pretty bad driving and had low power, but they were sexy for the times, and few survive.  The next few years are the next most collectible with prices staying pretty much the same from 1959 through 1967.  With 1968 prices droping a lot.

Only 300 were built in 53, 3600 in 54 (numbers rounded off some) but back to 700 in 55.  then production steadily climbed from 3500 in 56 to 6400 in 57 to almost 10,000 in 58  (a bad year for most cars, but not corvette!) Production stayed the same through 61, then `14,000 in 62 rising to the 20's in 63 and staying in the low 20's till 68 when almost 30,000 were sold.  almost 40,000 69's set the record for a while.

Don

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you Don,
I responed to the follow up assessment of your answer where I included a follow up question. I not sure you will recieve that.
I bought a '77 and I love it. Great body, great paint. New tune up and mufflers. Some concerns; nothing too bad. To priortise...
Vents blow hot, even when off.
A/C needs recharge.
Suspension bushings need replacement.
Cruse control does not work
Horn does not work.
Gas guage not accurate.
What's your take on these.
Thank your for your time and insight.
Sincerely,
Max Riederer
Pensacola, FL

Answer
With the exception of the A/C needs a recharge and the bushings, all the others are electrical problems.  Corvettes can have big electrical problems, usually with the ground.

Plus, was the car messed with?  Gauges, rebuilt, maybe a new wiring harness?  Was it ever in a fire where it had wiring melt?

sounds like you have electrical problems and it takes patience and time to sorth them all out.

You may or may not want to deal with this.  

Now it is possible that these are all separate problems, but I would start with a test light and electrical meter and see where the electricity is going.  Check all the grounds on the car, there should be several wires going from the engine to the frame, and body to the frame etc.  Find them, and take them off, clean  them and put them back on making sure they have a good clean ground and tight connection.  You may solve your problems right there, but it won't hurt to do anyway.

Don