[trbomax]

  As some of you know,my wife has a '66 corvette conv with the hard top. She bought it new.its a 427/425hp/4 spd car.Has the heavy duty driveline option, which is pretty rare,4.56 ps rear and is triple black with an accented metalic grey hood scoop. The car is 100% matching original numbers.I know this because I am the only person who has ever put a wrench on it. 92k miles and stored since 1981(indoors). I stripped and refinished it in 1983,but never cut/buffed it.The interior would(IMO) need to be replaced,and I would like to freshen up the motor.I did all the brakes around 1990 with SS and synthetic fluid,they are fine .I know this because I had to move the car last fall when I removed my 28 from the building.Everything works,I checked it then.The only parts that have been replaced since new are the brakes,and I used the cores from the car to preserve number authenticity.All body panels are original,never wrecked in any way,all original chrome,includeing hubcaps.My wife would really like to see this car finished,but she would like the 28 as well.I'm almost 70,have stage 3 kidney desease and some other issues,and she doesnt work on cars. Buildings and anything else on the farm,yes,vehicles,no. i know the car is worth WAY more than the 28 will ever be,but more importantly it would be a ton quicker and cheaper to put together and drive. You all know about the 28,hand built glass body and hybrid coil suspension frame ,all built in the 1962 time frame. I have about 1/2 of the original molds,the rest were destroyed in a fire. I have an arizona 1956 chev 1/2 t frame/suspension to clip on the 62 vintage frame.I am only doing that to 10 be able to put a bbc in it,and 20 to get the front end equipped with disc brakes and 4.75x5 wheels to match the rear,which is a 58 chevy axel/suspension. I have the disc brake kit and a NEW set of chrome slot astro wheels ($1200 worth). I have a couple bbc 454 core motores and a tunnel ram setup for it. There is a 4 speed saginaw which is not my first choice and a 5 speed nv trans that I was going to use after crash boxing it. Another option is to just bolt a sbc/4 spd in it and go because thats what its set up for. I can see a couple years work on the 28 at the least,a year or less on the 66.The $ to build them are not an issue either way,just the time and possible frustration. I dont mean to bore you guys with my issues,but I had to vent SOMEWHERE andneed some other opinions or viewpoints on all this. The wife doesnt care one way or the other,she just wants to quit always working and do something around here,and there is absolutely no way in hell I will ever finish them both. my first thoughts are to cut my losses and just sell the 28 as a package,complete as is with acquired parts.This would give me a lot more room around here to. Selling the corvette would give me a bunch of $ to work with,but thats really a non issue,plus it takes up very little space because it wont have to be totally disassembled. I dont know,just need some oppinions.

[TFoch]

Wow that's a tough decision to make.  Like you said an original owner 427 Corvette is worth some big $$.  Other than flipping a coin, does one of the cars have more memories than the other?  The other thing is which one would you and your wife prefer to cruise around in?  Both cars would be cool so think it over carefully.
Tom

[sixball]

I'm going to be 68 in June. Confronting one's mortality is not fun. I can see the tunnel at the end of the light. I'm the original owner of a '70 Blazer and I could never sell it even though it needs work. Its the first new car we ever owned. There a '62 Porsche Super 90 setting out there too. Second owners on that one. I have collected almost all the parts for a '26 Chevy roadster hot rod but haven't started the actual build. There are similar issues with home repair and keeping the water, septic, and solar systems working. I guess I should not give advice but that's not my style. 

From my view: I'm not a big Corvette fan especially after '62 but your Vette is real, unmolested, one owner, and rare. It would be fun to drive and would draw a lot of attention from the Corvette/Mussel Car set. You will probably be able to get back what you put into it. On road trips security might be an issue. 

The '28 is a one off home built that may or may not turn out like the picture in your head. It won't be thought of as a "real"1928 Chevy by some. You will be the only one who will actually understand what it took to do it and you will be the only one who will know if you successfully built what you started out to build. You will know every flaw. To a big extent you will not know if people really like it or if they like you. You probably will not be able to sell it for what you have in it. If what others think matters the '28 is a gamble. Driving a one of a kind that you created is a dream many of us have. I hope my '26 meets my expectations and if it does I'm fine with that. It's my dream. There are several other directions people can face to avoid looking at it. I don't care about shows or trophies.

So my advise, Close your eyes and think of you and your wife out for a Sunday drive to some of your favorite spots with stops and a meal or two at places you enjoy. Headed home after a perfect outing in your favorite car and filled with pride about how well it performed open your eyes and see which one she's driving. 

[trbomax]

she would be driveing the corvette. you have som very good points there, i have to think about what you said,

[themoose]

 As the other guys said ...It's a tough call. As always I think it's a matter of personal preference or in your case circumstance. I have owned a total 3 Corvette's over the years and for the most part I enjoyed all of them thoroughly. I had two 61's and a 70 with a 454. I sold each one in order to either free up funds or make room for a hot rod project. As I said the Corvettes were a lot of fun to drive and they did draw their share of attention at shows and meets but for me something was missing. I always found it hard to resist the classic lines of an old 30’s coupes or sedans and I still get excited when I see one cruising down the street toward me. To me the Vette was just another factory production car and anyone who wanted to spend the money could have one and you will most likely run into someone who had the exact duplicate of yours. Sure you can change some trinkets and give it a custom paint job but it’s still a dressed up factory cookie cutter car. When you build a hot rod it becomes an extension of your personality. You build everything exactly the way you want it to be and there will never be another one exactly like it. You get excited just looking at it and even more pumped when you take it for a cruise down the highway. There’s nothing like the feeling of satisfaction that you get knowing that something you built with you own two hands is ticking them off perfectly as you cruise along on a nice sunny day..For a car guy what could be better? I guess you know what I would do but as you’ve stated, in your case time is something that might be the determining factor in your decision. Whatever way you go I’m sure it’ll be a great ride!
 
Moose
 

[vette59jdwl]

  I am proud of every one of you guys. I only own one vette a crazy 59 that wants to run like a deer.Last week i watched most of that Mecum auction and there were a few big block 65/66/67 vettes and they were bring 250 thousand ??I didn't understand that.That would make my decision right there. SORRY. I bought our 59 for me as a weding present could i get rid of it  Sure Could  I am only 69  BUT  guess what  I can't work on everything at once either  and keep the home fires burning  NO WAY > I am already in over my head have more cars and trucks than i do shoes.So through me out,, I will  be darned,, flip a coin, life is to short and you only find that out when there is not much time left.I know i will never finish everything i started  so what.When i am gone it will be someone else's treasure or someone else's trash  Wayner

[cocobolo]

Wow!  That's quite the dilemma you have there.  Owning the Vette for some 48 years would definitely rank right up there with anything.  I hear you on the age thing (I'm 71) but sadly there's not much we can do about that.  But at least us older guys can commiserate with each other.
Do you have any hot rod chums who might be able to help out finishing up the '28?  Just a thought...but if you could shorten the timeline considerably it might help.
I've never owned a Vette, the closest thing that I have is a '64 Vette IRS for my '35...not quite the same thing for sure!
Sad to say, but I wouldn't have any difficulty deciding...the '28 would be the keeper.
You have obviously come to the realization that with our pending mortality comes less and less time to do the things we want to do.  And therein seems to lie your biggest worry.  Don't know if any of the proffered suggestions will be of real help to you, but at least you know where we all stand.  I sincerely hope you can reach a decision one way or the other and I wish you the very best of luck.

[trbomax]

 I am seriously rethinking my expectations of the 28.Not doing a refinish would take a year off the build time and the lacquer thats on it is mostly OK. The only parts that are chipped up a bit are the front fenders.The 300SL seats are OK too,I can just dye them black.Thats probably 1/2 the cost of a new interior.I can send the body out for trim while I'm doing the frame. One of my biggest issues is that my time to work on the car is so limited,that makes it hard for me to stay focused. In the winter there is no time at all with the time required to push the snow around and take care of the animals,not to mention the broken shi#! I have to fix.The blower and plow are down a lot and I have to keep that equipment up and running. Summer always seems to bring building projects,there are 2 lined up already.Thats just part of the bitch about haveing the farm thing with just the two of us at our age. I dont want anyone else building anything on the car,Ive never done it that way and I'm not starting now.Guess Iwill wait untill spring and we get everything in the ground,then make a decision.

[TFoch]

Keep in mind it doesn't have to be a "Chip Foose" car, just something you enjoy to drive.  I sometimes wonder if I'd be driving my car now if I hadn't watched all these shows and had such high expectations.  Like they say they're never finished so get it driveable and enjoy it.  Then as you have time, make the improvements you want.
Tom

[EDNY]

trbomax

I can feel your pain just a little, I have a hobby farm...but made the decision not to have any livestock (this time). As you know that responsibility doesn't end when you turn off the lights or when the water freezes - and vacations don't exist. I'm down to (2) rabbits and my daughters dog.

When the weather is crappy...that's my car working time, I'm building a solid driver and for me  My plan is single stage hotrod paint this summer AKA: a $200 paint job that can be upgraded in the future.

Hang in there and use your car time as "needed therapy".

Ed

[ghost28]

WOW. I don't think I could decide the fate of either car. Good luck.