I am ready to put classic car insurance on my 69 vette, Id like an idea of her true value,,,,,Its a 69,,350/350,,original block,,aluminum heads,,a true m22 rock crusher tranny,,(one of 101 built)  heavy duty suspension from the factory,, a/c/ t top,4.11 gear (factory).. I really be;ieve she is a rare bird,, In very good condidtion,, no rust,,I need a good estimate,,Rd

Insure it for how much you would sell it for.

Are you sure it has FACTORY aluminum heads? If so, you better have some serious documentation (same for the M22) to establish its provenance and to make a case for additional value.

According to The Corvette Black Book, the '69 350/350 used the same cast iron heads the 350/300 did. There was another casting used for 350/350's, but it makes no mention of it being aluminum.

You're right there were 101 M22's installed in the '69 model year...and that includes all combinations, most likely most went into big blocks such as the L88's and the two ZL-1's. If your small block has a factory installed Rock Crusher and you have the documentation to back it up, that would be a very rare car. Without documentation, it's just another Corvette 350/350 that has some nice extra parts installed.Gunslinger2007-03-29 15:53:08

 thanks for the response,, Maybe I DIDNT MAKE IT CLEAR,, MY CAR HAS THE ORIGINAL BLOCK ,BUT EDELBROCK ALUMINUM HEADS,,,she does have a true factory installed M22, Rockcrusher,, It was an Arizona car,, special ordered by the original owner,,(documented),, as a road racer,   special heavy duty suspension,although to my knowledege it was never raced,,It came as an Ontario orange car,,but the buyer had it painted by the dealer,,black,,before he took delivery,,why he didnt just order it black, I dont know,,maybe he couldnt get the option pack ,,anyway,,Im trying to learn more about it,,rd

It's hard to say. Good condition means a lot of different things to different people.     I was looking at a values book today and I believe a "Show Ready" 350/350 came in at 25K. Show ready was a step above "Good".....

Before I insured my car, I had a professional appraisal done, and sent a copy to the insurance co. The insurance company will insure any agreed amount within reason. They know what the cars are worth. My .02

If there is an experienced appraiser in your area, who knows Vettes, it would be worth it to have it appraised.

I have mine insured with JC Taylor. I know that their limit was $30K without an appraisal cert. I just had the limit raised on my policy within the last 30 days - so this is the most recent info from them. I would recommend an appraisal be done as well - for a few hundred $ for the appraisal it is well worth it - especially if it is a rare car. Besides, the insurance is so cheap, why under-insure the car????

If you can find a CPI ( Cars of Particular Interest) Black Book, it usually gets you very close to the market value. It includes rare items like the M22. This is an average derived from actual recent sales of the make/model that you are looking for or selling. You can get the NADA prices on the internet at www.nada.com   but those numbers always seem unrealistically high to me. However, most credit unions use these numbers when determining loan values.

Good luck,
Scott
ranger32007-03-30 14:34:17