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68 Chevelle- opinions on value?

What is the value of this Chevelle?

  • $5000-7500

    Votes: 5 50.0%
  • $7500-10000

    Votes: 3 30.0%
  • $10000-12500

    Votes: 2 20.0%
  • $12500-15000

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • $15000+

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    10

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
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Ohio
My wife has been talking of getting a "hot rod". She knows little of old cars, just what she thinks looks cool or doesn't. She really loves the new Challengers and Chargers in the orange colors. Those are a bit out of the budget. Cool. I agree. Just not spending that kind of money. My buddy has a 68 Chevelle he is talking about selling. Showed her pictures. She likes it. She asked "Does it sound like a hot rod? Because it is definitely cool looking." Yes. Has a good sound. I am just not real up on the values of these. Hoping some of you might be able to help me out.

Specs: Original 327 powerglide car. Now mildly built 350/powerglide car. Mild cam, aluminum intake, headers, carb, ???

Forget the color name but it is a gun metal grey color. Was a factory color. Not original paint.

Body? Not a rusted out mess. Far from show car finish. I would rate it as a pretty good do-it-yourself restore. It is a nice driver. You can see some flaws if you look close enough but it is very respectable. Not sure how else to word it. Haven't crawled under it yet to check the floors.

Interior- Didn't look horribly close. Appears to be mostly original factory interior. Might have had newer carpet. Did notice aftermarket radio and an extra gauge or two.

Tires- Like new. Redlines. Aftermarket chromed ralleye wheels. I think these would be considered the ralleye wheels anyway.

Undercarriage- Original "restorer" started with bottom. He replaced a-arms, suspension, brakes, brake lines, etc. Then moved onto engine and body. Nice plus in my opinion.

Overall, I would rate this as a 5-6 if a show car, probably 8-8.75 for an old hot rod "driver".

I realize missing the original engine hurts if you wanted to restore to factory. I realize you would probably drop $8-10k to give it a "show car" paint job. We are looking for a driver that is fun. My goal if we purchase something like this is to not get hurt. If we hang onto it for 5-10-20yrs, I would simply hope to get my money back minus any upkeep like batteries, occasional brake line, alternator, etc.



 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
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Ohio
On the other end of the spectrum, my wife probably does not realize how nice we have it with today's modern vehicles. I spoke with my cousin about this Chevelle. He has restored numerous vehicles over the years and made a nice name for himself locally doing so. He generally likes the older cars restored to modern standards. He has done some 55-57 Chevy cars and updated with power steering/brakes, A/C, tilt, pwr seats, etc. Ride like a modern car and look like a classic old hot rod. Those have pulled some serious dollars.

While talking to my cousin, he suggested his 54 Chevy. Rust free truck with 350 v-8, 700r4 trans, 6 way pwr seat, pwr steering/brakes, and ice cold a/c. A bit out of the price range I was thinking, but maybe a bit more realistic if the wife wants to truly drive it and use it. He either plans on selling it to finish the red truck in the background for his driver, or just finish the red truck and sell it. The blue one in the ad was painted to look vintage. They call it a patina paint job. I am thinking rough cut oak on the stake pockets with our company name. lol Here is the link to his ad:

http://www.cars-on-line.com/74318.html
 
The 327 and 398 chevy engines are not the best. its probably a good thing the swapped it to a 350 if you plan on driving it evey now and then. My personal opinion find an old tractor and fix it up. Cheaper and more useful. Then again I like old chevy trucks.
 
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RedCloud

Super Moderator
Super Mod
17,381
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North Central Ohio
Front doors or the quarter panels don't look original to the car. The gap seems to much as well as the gap on the hood. Nice little project car if you wanted one.
 
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1,560
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Looks like a solid start Phil if the price is right. There is so much you can do with these cars to make them your own. It's not an SS but who cares, if you can buy it right it could be one hell of a nice ride. If you pull the trigger let me know, I have a lot of connections for parts and advice. That car painted charcoal grey with black SS stripes, and a 427 or 454 with a 4 speed would be bad ass!!!
 

hickslawns

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Ohio
I admit, in regards to value, the car has a few things against it. Column shifter, bench seat, not an SS or matching numbers. Truthfully, put an SS package, matching numbers or a show car finish and it is jumping into a different price bracket. This is a driver. I drove it tonight with my wife. She loved it. Shifted good. Plenty of pep. Pretty solid overall. Floor pans were patched in. Not with factory pans. Factory pans sit in the trunk if I wanted to get ambitious. Repair panels were put in And done so in respectable fashion. Not show quality, but respectable condition for "a driver". I think it comes down to "what is a nice (but not perfect) driver worth?"
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
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Ohio
Go with your cousin's Chevy with the 350!

That is a sweet truck for sure. Probably equally as peppy. Get just as many if not more looks. Fun to drive. Cool factor through the roof. Not sure I want to jump that high. He did shoot me a price quite a bit less than the asking price in his ad. Enough to make me consider. As much as I would like to consider it, remember, Erin is the end say. SHE is the one who wants a hot rod. Me? Well, it won't take a lot of arm twisting. lol I just need to make sure we can afford it, have a place to store it, and perform the upkeep.
 

Mike

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Up Nort
My dad has a white 1953 Chevy flatbed truck with oak sides and a gas powered welder mounted on the bed. Looks great and functional. For sale!
 

motorbreaker

*Supporting Member I*
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North of Toledo
The 327 and 398 chevy engines are not the best. its probably a good thing the swapped it to a 350 if you plan on driving it evey now and then. My personal opinion find an old tractor and fix it up. Cheaper and more useful. Then again I like old chevy trucks.

Only difference in a 350 and post 68.5 327 is the stroke.

Nice chevelle man. Getting hard to find drivers. Not my favorite color.

If it has a 12 bolt rear end its worth an extra 1k
 
1,560
0
It's a solid car that runs and drives good you can't go wrong if the price is right. If the wife is happy that's all that matters, it's a nice car she can drive as is. Being that it's a basic model and not a matching numbers car, if you do decide to modify it you will just add value.
 

hickslawns

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Ohio
Nice chevelle man. Getting hard to find drivers. Not my favorite color.

If it has a 12 bolt rear end its worth an extra 1k

I called it gun metal grey. Technically, it is a green color. Got to hit the light just right. Thanks for the input. Was hoping you and Lumberhead would see this thread. I had no clue about the 12bolt rear end.


How is the overall Chevelle market these days? My biggest thing is: Don't lose money. I don't care if I make money on it. If it was in the price range I felt was "a steal", I would already own it. I think it is priced fairly. Just don't know this market as well as other markets.

Seems you see these for $5k-100k or more and there is so much variation.:smiley_confused_vra
 
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Giving from what I can see in the pics Phil, I'm guessing 10k to 15k range. It's one of those things a guy would have to see in person to really give a rock solid answer.
 

Buckmaster

Senior Member
14,362
191
Portage
I was thinking $ 10-12k upon reading the first two Phil posts and seeing those pics.

Be reminded they don't make 68 Chevelle anymore so they're getting about $5K for dumped project basket cases these days.

Sky is the limit for what you can do with that car. It appears to be nice solid beginning for something bigger or simply a fun driver.
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
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I believe Jessica's dad only rebuilds 69-70. If you need parts look up Jim's Chevelle Alley on FB. He's got enough to build a car or two from scratch. Lol. I'm sure they have some of the same parts. He also just finished his paint shop if you get tired of that green.
 

hickslawns

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I believe Jessica's dad only rebuilds 69-70. If you need parts look up Jim's Chevelle Alley on FB. He's got enough to build a car or two from scratch. Lol. I'm sure they have some of the same parts. He also just finished his paint shop if you get tired of that green.

They call it green. Looks gun metal grey to me with a hint of green in the right light. I like it actually. Why? Because you don't see many like it. The ralleye green is cool in my opinion as well. Everybody does red or black. lmao

Was hoping her dad might give you some insight to help me. Ben is right though. Hard to find a basket case project for $1000-1500 anymore. Some of them are $5-10k and still need a ton of work done. Erin and I need to talk long and hard. This isn't a $500 go kart. This is a serious chunk of money for nothing more than a toy. Should at least hold its value if condition stays the same, but you never know. The market for extras like boats, campers, classic cars, motorcycles, etc., is the first to crumble if the economy nose dives. Everyone cuts out the extras first.
 

Buckmaster

Senior Member
14,362
191
Portage
You can't find these so as a result of supply and demand the price goes up.
As a result I had to pay asking price for this one at $7.5K for this basket case. No wiggle room.
68 Chevelle are more modestly priced over 66-67 Nova so that's to your advantage.

There were only 79,976 of this one made. You seldom ever see these at shows or on the road.
Wonder how many are still left 47 years later? Finished, these cars are fetching $ 30-50k, some more, depending how tricked out they get.
 

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Buckmaster

Senior Member
14,362
191
Portage
As for Chevelle guys there are various groups of collectors throughout the bunch.

They appear to be grouped by body style:
64-65 Vintage Class
66-67
68-72

The 66-67 are the prominent cars followed by the 68-72 original big block cars. Those are the Chevelles that demand the higher bucks.
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
As for Chevelle guys there are various groups of collectors throughout the bunch.

They appear to be grouped by body style:
64-65 Vintage Class
66-67
68-72

The 66-67 are the prominent cars followed by the 68-72 original big block cars. Those are the Chevelles that demand the higher bucks.
Looks like what I m seeing too BM. Thus the reason this car is feasibly obtainable if Erin and I decide to go for it. Add SS, numbers matching, big block, or a couple years older and I am guessing it would be 2-3x the asking.

Looks like the responses are mostly in. He is asking $10000. I KNOW he has some wiggle room. Guess we will see what happens. You guys think I am safe if I can get it in the $8500-10000 buy range?