Well, as I alluded to in this thread, I had some pretty big plans this past weekend. My father and I drove 5.5 hours to Cortland NY for an estate auction. The reason for this journey: a 1969 Corvette convertible...yellow/black, 350/300 engine, auto, factory a/c. The body was a little rough and it needed some interior bits, but everything was there and the frame was good (C3 frames tend to rot around the door sills and in front of the rear wheels). For the right price, it would have made a worthwhile project, along with accomplishing my goal of owning a Corvette before I die.

Now here's where it gets interesting. We had with us the Corvette Black Book, which had the engine, carburetor, and trim codes for the car. According to the book, the car didn't have the right engine OR the right carburetor. Now, I didn't care (I'd have probably gone LS1 or RamJet 350), but to a collector it makes all the difference in the world. Without the original 350/300 engine, it was barely worth 10K in fair condition. I told a couple of on-lookers that the car wasn't original, and they walked away in disgust. To make a long story short, the auctioneers advertised it as original. I ended up getting outbid by a phone bidder for $16K. So close...so close.

On the way back to the hotel, we notice this green '67 coupe sitting on someone's lawn. I call the number in the window and ask how much he wants for it. He tells me $200K. He tells me it's an L88. Already deflated, I didn't bother arguing with him as to why it wasn't the original color and why he removed the bumper if the car was really an L88. Besides, it would've been a tough enough task to talk someone down from $200K to 10% of that.

I have pics of the yellow Corvette that I'll post in a bit.

On the plus side, the Cobalt averaged 35.6MPG on the trip.

z, you'll get your Corvette. Keep looking. And a note to everyone looking to buy an older car: do your homework like z did, or risk paying way too much.

I feel your pain,Z. I've been that route more than once. People can be such jerks when they sell a car.

OCN is right everyone, heed the word.

I've had my eye on a C3 vert for a very long time now. Once the fleet has been sold off, it might be time to knock on a door again. :AH-HA_wink:

The car has been outside under a tarp for close to 10 years now.

Sorry to hear you didn't get it but keep on looking, you never know when you will find what you are looking for.

We got our Skylark after coming back from Hot August Nights last year. My wife found and loved it, I wasn't too sure before we left but agreeed to think about it.

While in Reno we went ot the Silver auction and I looked at bidding on 2 cars, a 67 Corvair convertible and a 67 Camaro convertible. Tammy didn't like the Covair but agreed to go for the Camaro.

When it came time for the car to cross the platform it was nowhere in sight. They couldn't find the keys. After finding the keys they couldn't get the car started even using a jumper box. I had seen and heard the car run many times that day and knew it was sound but now, nothing. I talked a bit with the owner and you could tell how frustrated he was.

Decision time, do I offer him something like $10K (car was well worth it and he stated earlier he would be happy with $12K) or do I try to help him. I wound up adjusting the negative battery wire on its terminal and the Camaro started right up and sold for more money than I had.

We bought the Skylark 1 day after we got back from Reno and I have never regretted buying it or helping that guy out. It just goes to show that there is almost always something else out there.

Good luck with your search, Z!