Corvette Buying 101

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It’s the People that make the hobby…

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013

Fresh off the trailer and into the collection. 1967 Corvette 327 Coupe, factory air, powerglide, numbers match, 76,577 actual miles. This Corvette was in the care of one owner for the  past 31-years.

As neat as the car is, my experience buying is proof that the Corvette hobby is littered with some really great people.

1967 Corvette 327 Coupe

From the trailer to the world famous Corvette collection

 

15 Reasons To Preserve And Not Restore Your Original Car…

Wednesday, May 8th, 2013

Examples of original cars recently sold at auction:

1. 1963 Corvette 360 hp Coupe – sold at Mecum for $328,600.00

2. 1963 Corvette 340 hp Coupe – sold at Mecum for $291,500.00

3. 1965 Shelby 289 Cobra – sold at Gooding & Co. for $1,320,000.00

4. 1966 Shelby GT 350 Fastback – sold at Barrett-Jackson for $247,500.00

5. 1967 Shelby GT 500 Fastback – sold at Barrett-Jackson for $192,500.00

6. 1967 Corvette 435 hp Convertible – sold at Mecum for $265,000.00

7. 1967 Corvette 435 hp Convertible – NO SALE at Mecum for $185,500.00

8. 1968 Corvette 435 hp Convertible – sold at Mecum for $83,740.00

9. 1969 Corvette L88 Convertible – sold at Gooding & Co. for $825,000.00

10. 1969 Corvette L88 Coupe – sold at Mecum for $595,720.00

11. 1969 Boss 429 Fastback – sold at Mecum for $442,000.00

12. 1969 Boss 429 Fastback – NO SALE at Mecum for $296,800.00

13. 1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda – sold at Mecum for $339,200.00

14. 1975 Oldsmobile 98 Coupe  - sold at Barrett-Jackson for $47,300.00

15. 1978 Cadillac Eldorado –sold at Mecum for $50,350.00

There are dozens of other examples that I could recite about original, unrestored, unmolested cars.

Original, unrestored, unmolested cars are the pinnacle of preservation and an icon of fresh air after looking at hundreds of boring restored classic cars that are wearing their new basecoat/clear coat finishes and heavily Armor-All’d interiors.

Restoring these original unmolested cars robs the car of its soul, destroys its fingerprints and character and some would say is an act of vandalism.

We are but temporary caretakers of these pieces of automotive history and as we and the market matures we are seeing the whole automotive preservation movement growing out of its infancy and its being recognized by more than just the seasoned collector.

Comments or questions email: [email protected]

For more information on the preservation movement, click here and read David Burroughs article on Restore it? Or Not!

Ingenuity is the mother of invention…

Wednesday, March 20th, 2013

as seen at Amelia Island 2013. A small leak did not sideline the 1963 RHD Z06 Export Corvette. Every old Mechanic is going to love this one.

1963 Z06 RHD Corvette | A Perfect Cigar Holder

A leak and a good bottle of wine…

Corvette Engine Sealed-up tight

Corvette Engine Needs a plug

A bottle of wine and cork

Did we mention it was a fine bottle? The cork a perfect fit

a trip to O'Reilly's for some ties and glue

Dick Langs 1963 Z06 was perfect for the errand

1963 RHD Z06 was ready for the Amelia Road Tour

1963 RHD Z06 was ready for the Amelia Road Tour

1963 RHD Z06 was ready for the Amelia Road Tour

1963 RHD Z06 was ready for the Amelia Road Tour

tMichaelis School of Ingenuity

 

Over $300 Million Dollars…

Monday, February 11th, 2013

was raked in by seven collector car auction companies in January 2013; which is a huge increase over last January 2012 that hovered right at $240 million dollars. 2011 was a re-rebirth of growth in collector car/Corvette values and January 2013 saw many “leap frog” sale prices of extreme and moderately desirable collector Corvette. Highlights from the 7 January collector car auctions:
1957 Cascade Green 270hp, $121,900.00
1958 Charcoal Fuelie, $164,300.00
1962 Corvette Retro-Mod Custom, $408,800.00
1962 Corvette Retro-Mod Custom, $327,500.00
1962 Black Fuelie, $256,520.00
1963 Red Fuelie Split Window Coupe, $328,600.00
1963 Red 340hp Split Window Coupe, $291,500.00
1965 Black Fuelie Coupe (Stk. #1021E), $217,300.00
1966 Red 350hp Air Coupe, $137,800.00
1967 Blue 435hp Convertible, $265,000.00
1967 Maroon 435hp Convertible, $185,500.00
1967 435hp Coupe, $169,600.00
1967 Green 435hp Convertible, $164,300.00
1967 Green 350hp Air Convertible, (Stk. #1024E), $174,900.00
1968 White L88 Convertible, $1,100,000.00
1968 Blue L88 Convertible, $825,000.00
1968 Red L88 Convertible, $583,000.00
These are strong prices that show the popularity of Corvette collecting is again on the rise. Questions or comments? Email [email protected]

1965 Corvette FI Tanker

T.Michaelis spent much of January watching and participating in the classic Corvette market

From ProTeam to primetime…

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013

These bad boys go on the block in Kissimmee in two days (1/26/13).
- 1971 ZR2 Orange Corvette Convertible, Stk. #NSN-WOW
- 1968 L88 Red/Red Corvette Convertible, Stk #1129C

Classic Corvettes for Sale

'71 ZR2 Orange Corvette Cvt. | '68 L88 Red Corvette Cvt.

Scottsdale Auction 2013…

Friday, January 18th, 2013

Just an image of two Survivors in Scottsdale. Both will be heading back to Ohio

Corvettes for sale | ProTeam classic Corvette collection

Barrett-Jackson Auction 2013 | tMichaelis picks up a 1969 Corvette off the block

CLassic Corvettes for sale

One more Corvette coming home to the collection

 

Corvettes are Now Wanted…

Monday, December 17th, 2012

by ProTeam during the month of January 2013…

A) 1958-’60 Corvette in any condition

B) 1963 Split Window Coupes, prefer very nice 340/360 hp or factory air

C) 1967 Marina Blue 435 hp convertible with white interior in show condition

D) Barn Cars and Projects

E) Whole Collections

F) Always searching for: Z06’s, L88’s, L89’s, LS6’s, ZR2’s, ZR1’s, LT1’s, COPO’s, fuelies, special 425’s/435’s/RPO’s also Chevrolet Engineering and Styling cars and purpose-built Corvettes for racing (RPO-684/687’s). Save big money by avoiding auction fees, shipping, travel, and lodging expenses. The real deal for over 40 years! Very selective! The rarest of the rare and exclusively exclusive!!

Fill out our form at CorvettesWanted.com or email: [email protected]

Rare Corvettes Reunited at NCRS Event

Friday, November 16th, 2012

ProTeam Hosts daylong NCRS Seminar featuring historic Corvettes

Napoleon, Ohio – - ProTeam Corvette hosted nearly 200 Corvette faithful at a NCRS Corvette seminar featuring some of today’s foremost Corvette researchers and a panel including the GM engineers who crafted the Corvette’s image and its sports car tradition. Still, the participants were over-shadowed by the real stars of the day-long event by three 1953-55 Corvettes fashioned by Chevrolet Engineering (Experimental Shop and Garage) for NASCAR stock car activity (racing) and a 1963 “Cinderella story”.

The three 1953-55 Corvettes on display were highly decorated and have left an indelible mark of the Corvette’s legacy on NASCAR and Sebring.  Among the three was #1194 that went onto wins in 1956 at Sebring with John Fitch and Walt Hansgen co-driving in this 12-hour race. Campbell-Ewald, Chevrolet’s advertising agency, celebrated the Corvette’s first international class victory with “The Real McCoy” advertisement which millions have seen.

Dick Lang’s storied 1963 Z06 Tanker Race Car was unveiled publically for the first time since its yearlong restoration. This is one of the early “batched built” 1963 Z06 Corvettes that battled Shelby’s Cobras back in 1963 and 1964. This car’s driver, Dick Lang, was one of the best Corvette drivers in the late 50′s and early 60′s. In 1963 Lang raced at Daytona International in two events; that weekend kicked off a winning streak including many notable podium appearances. In 1964, Lang’s Corvette stood alone alongside 4 Cobras in the top 5. It was this race when the fastest and most desirable cars in the world surrounded the Corvette and its story as America’s muscle car was written. Dick Lang’s Z06 Tanker is as testament to the driver and the celebrated legacy of Chevrolet Racing. The restoration was performed by the world famous Naber Brothers of Houston, Texas.

Terry Michaelis, ProTeam’s president, reflected on the daylong event, “This seminar really served two purposes. First was to spend the day with fellow enthusiasts and pick the brains of the people who were there when these classics first came off the GM line.  Secondly, we wanted to reestablish ProTeam Corvette as the leader in the classic Corvette community with access to our world famous collection. I believe we were a success in both categories.”

Images from this event for publication are available at: http://tmichaelis.com/NCRS/

ProTeam’s world famous collection has no peers. The quality of ProTeam’s cars is simply out of this world. We now bring you the finest selection/collection of Corvettes anywhere in the world! including many one of a kind and collector quality Corvettes.  The Holy Grail of Corvette Collections is open to the public Monday through Friday or visit ProTeam online at ProTeamCorvette.com, email: [email protected], or call toll free at 888-592-5086.

The Monterey Collector Car Auctions…

Monday, September 17th, 2012

produced a total of over $260 million in classic and collector car sales per Sportscar Market magazine. This is a new record that shattered last year’s $198 million record and the previous year’s $172 million record. Car collectors have already realized that collector cars are the gold standard and are a tangible appreciating asset. Questions or comments, email [email protected]

Contemplating a Classic Car Raffle?…

Monday, August 20th, 2012

look at partnering with ProTeam Corvette to supply your organization with a Corvette for your next charitable fundraiser. ProTeam has been at least partially responsible in raising close to 25 million dollars for some 30 different groups including the Ronald McDonald House, Corvette Club of America, Huntingtown FD, American Cancer Society, St. Bernard Church, Woodstock Lions Club, and a multitude of others.

We’ve heard from one happy client just recently: “I can tell you that we have developed a level of trust and confidence with you guys and the feelings are mutual. By the way, you might like to know that since we started this 24 years ago, St. Bernard has netted probably 1.75 Million dollars and we really didn’t catch fire until we started working with you guys.” – G.S., St. Bernards Church, Rockport, IN

Here are 8 more reasons to consider ProTeam as a fundraiser partner:
(1) Large Corvette collection/inventory.
(2) Marketing machine with an social networking presence which includes Facebook, Google+, & Twitter.
(3)  Electronic mailing list (almost 80,000).
(4) Very popular website (www.ProTeam-Corvette.com) with approximately 125,000 monthly user sessions.
(5) A very active and proactive internal media department that generates national attention with numerous articles online and in-print along with television network programming, ie: SPEEDtv “The Last Sting Ray.”
(6) Attendance at numerous car shows from California to Florida but primarily the midwest.
(7) Repurchase agreement at an agreed price, should your organization offer a cash option to the raffle car winner.
(8) Been there… done it! We can help your organization develop a 3 to 5 year marketing plan that will allow your members to  minimize their involvement while continuing growth in your sales and success.

Corvettes are the most popular and successful marque used in automotive raffles. They are an American icon!!! If you are interested in discussing a partnership with ProTeam that DOES NOT END with your raffle car selection, email [email protected]