Re: Value of '69 L78 Nova
This is a car that I have a line on being able to purchase, and I'm trying to figure out what a reasonable offer price would be. The owner does know that it is uncommon. It technically isn't for sale, but I want to be able to make him an offer that would be reasonable for me, and convince him that its time to let it go to a good home. That's why I said "retail" on my price request.
I would restore the car, and could do a lot of the work myself except for the body and paint, which I would have done. I'd probably also get the tranny and rear-end checked out and rebuilt if necessary by a third party with more knowledge about this stuff then myself.
The intent would not be for the car to be a flip. It would be restored for my own enjoyment and fun, and I'd probably end up keeping it for a long time. So, no worries about investment return or anything like that.
The car even has the original (local) dealer license plate frames on it. It has been local all of its life, and was known in the day as a force to be reckoned with in the local street racing scene in the late '60's and early '70's.
The mention of too many finished, nice cars being on the market today is something I wonder about. How many finished, nice original, numbers matching drivetrain '69 L78 Novas are left out there? Knowing what L78s were intended for, it seems that a lot engines/trans/rear-ends would have expired along the way. And, of course, a lot original small-block Novas have been "upgraded" along with the way with Mark IV engines. There are probably significantly more "L78" Novas that exist today than were originally built. Does the number of nice, finished cars on the market today factor in original drivetrain, or are many of these that are out there effectively "tribute" cars without full disclosure or documentation? With just less than 5000 of '69 L78 Novas made, and given the attrition rate of these kinds of cars over the years, it just seems that there wouldn't be all that many left that had the original numbers-matching drivetrain in them. Am I wrong here?
|