Hello, I'm new to C3 and looking for advice from the obvious wealth of knowledge that's out there.
I just purchased a 1968 427/390 (waited 2 years) and wanted to know which restoring path to take, the car is original except the intake, carb, dist, and color. Is it worth it to restore all original? or keep the block, heads original and update the rest? One more kicker, the color code for the car is yellow and that's not even close to my favorite (black & red) any imput sure would be appreciated.

Thanks

It really comes down to this.

It's your car. Do what you want.

You have to judge what's more important to you. Original, or a bit of custom?

Original is worth a bit more cash. Granted. But if you plan to keep it and drive it, not sell it, it really does not matter. Unless it means something to you as an investment.

Bottom line, do what makes you happy. That's what owning a Vette is all about.

I think you need to ask yourself "did I buy this for an investment or for the love of the car". Obviously I'm all for non original vettes. Although my 77 didnt have the value of a BBC vette. Just my 2 cents.

|UPDATED|11/29/2004 8:59:34 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

Congratulations on the new vette and welcome. Like others have said, it's yours enjoy. Make it how you want it. If it is an investment, you would be better served to lean towards original. If you bought it to drive then make it what you want. Another approach would be to select changes that can be reversed back to original at a later date if you change your mind. Mine was very original when I bought it, but now I am finding my bin of original parts getting larger as time goes on and I make improvements.

I have to agree with the above.
If you bought it to be a project and expect to sell it when it is done, make it original and hope there is a buyer out there who will pay what you put into it.

But if you bought it to drive and enjoy, build it to please your taste.

Either way, all it takes is

FLA VETTE said: Mine was very original when I bought it, but now I am finding my bin of original parts getting larger as time goes on and I make improvements.

ditto.. this is my preferred choice..

if someone wants to turn my car into a trailer queen later so be it.. ill help them out by keeping all the original parts..

not me ... I plan to drive it.. and drive it hard..

This is only a question you can answer based on what you want your Vette to be.

Case in point... my 73 was my mom's daily driver for over 20 years. It had 240K miles on it when I got it in 1999. Matching number all original was over for it long long ago. And I wanted a driver. So a driver is what I am making it.

Your Vette's future is in your hands.

Yep do what ever you want to do with it! Paint it black or red and enjoy the car to the max! Have fun with it. these cars are built for enjoyment. Mine was too far molested to be restorable so I just work on making it more fun to drive.

My four dollars & twenty cents worth is like the above. Make it yours, my 73 was orange, then blue, now it is gonna be some shade of earth copper/brown with varied saddle interior, with a new comfortable but sporty handling suspension. It won't be a daily driver but a it is a nice vette day driver.
I just smile every time I go in the garage . . .

Work time is money for my vette . . .
I enjoy being a kid again and spoiling myself . .

MIkey and his 73 beast project.

All very god advice! Do keep in mind though, the early C-3's (chrome bumper cars) are coming into their own and big blocks especially continue to grow in value.
Having said that, I just happen to love the original color on mine, but if it originally a color I didn't like, I probably would have changed it.