Alternatively, just have insurance and don't worry about it too much. I even think there's a company that specializes in classic car insurance and will write an agreed-value policy, but I'm having trouble remembering the name... ... View more

I think it would be interesting to divide up this data by generation (by year would probably be too granular). Colors that look great on C1s--turquoise or that orange-y red from the 55-7 era--may not look as keen on C5s, so there are probably different price effects depending on the year of the Corvette. ... View more

Great insights, but would have definitely appreciated at least a few suggestions/examples of these tools. ... View more

I don't think you'll find too many people here that will object to someone making a little profit. Nor do I believe that the antagonistic sentiment around flippers is for people who buy a car and do substantive improvements/repairs and then sell it. The issue seems to be that there's a whole slew of "flippers" who are essentially do-nothing middlemen. They may or may not be car enthusiasts, but for whatever reason they seem to have a line on finding cars at cheaper than market prices. They then do little or nothing to prepare the car for resale, and list it at a higher price. There's a sense, rightly or wrongly, that these middlemen end up inflating the market values of cars, essentially making it more difficult for the hobbyists to participate: if only the hobbyist could have purchased the car for the original lower price, the original seller would be in the same place, the hobbyist would have spent less, and the non-enthusiast middleman would have to find a different line of work, which would sadden virtually no one in the hobby. I think there's also antagonism directly at flippers who purport to be anything but dealers. When you work with a dealer, you know what sort of experience you're getting (and in states that require it, a licensed and bonded business). How are we to tell the curbstone "dealer" from the average Joe enthusiast? ... View more

10w30 is the correct oil for a Corvair. It's what was specified by Chevrolet. You just need to make sure that you're using an oil with the correct amounts of zinc and phosphorous for the flat tappets. Many diesel engine oils that are formulated for older diesels have the correct amounts. Stick around in the Corvair hobby any amount of time and you'll find widely divergent opinions on the right oil, so much that the moment oil gets mentioned in a Facebook thread, the moderators have to shut it down. Here's everything you need to know about Corvairs and oil: https://www.widman.biz/Corvair/English/Links/Oil.html As far as your overheating problem, follow Kyle's suggestions first. You've almost certainly got an impediment to airflow under your main shroud. ... View more

Grille aside, it's pretty good looking. It also looks premium, which is clearly important. Fan of the various colors displayed here. ... View more

Nothing like an expensive car that looks like a cheap imitation of an expensive car... ... View more

@Sajeev, I've heard plenty of griping about DoD-caused failures, too, but how common is it really? I mean, GM has sold millions of these trucks. Any TSBs? I get wanting to avoid the DoD motors if you're looking for cores to build for hotrodding because it's just added complexity you have to deal with, same as with variable valve or cam timing. Not saying it doesn't happen, but maybe it's just the circles I run in, a lot of griping I hear is from old-timers who seem to distrust any new technology. On the other hand, I don't hang out in LS forums. ... View more

Sajeev, Are there particular years of the displacement on demand that are worse than others? I'm not in the market now, but I could see replacing my 2002 Yukon XL (5.3, non-DoD) with a newer model in a few years. ... View more

Take it from experience: if the rest of the motor is tired, rebuilding the top end will make your oil consumption/blowby worse. ... View more

Fascinating idea! What are the chances that the windshield gets broken taking it out to reseal it? ... View more

A little more context about the car: as far as I know it's mostly been a California car, but I have no way to say 100%. When I bought the car, I was able to track down one of the previous owners, and it turns out he had found the car in about 2001 in an estate sale out of Fresno, where the car had been sitting since 1971. He restored it when he bought it, which DID involve replacing the floor under the rear seat, but otherwise, the car seems pretty rust free. I'll definitely check all the bushings. One things I've learned about a lot of the parts available nowadays, reproduction or just the modern variant, are hardly up to snuff when compared to OEM quality (I'm looking at you mechanical fuel pumps!), so even with the front end having been rebuilt shortly prior to my ownership, the parts may not be holding as well as they should for their age/mileage. They may look correct but just don't last. ... View more

I'm not an everyday reader of the Hagerty blog, but that doesn't mean I don't like to scroll through older stories when I do have time. Before the refresh, the posts were paginated, so I could jump directly to posts that had been written days, weeks, or months ago and start where I'd left off. With the new redesign, we seem to have lost the pagination (or if it's still there, it's not clear how to access it). Instead, we have an endlessly lengthening roll of stories with the most recent always at the top, which makes it very difficult to read older stories in any systematic way. In short, bring pack pagination! ... View more