Painting my 1967 Roadster

[Gerald C.]

Need some opinions...

I have a 67 roadster that is Sunfire Yellow. I have the tank sticker and the data plate that states that the car should be Marlboro Maroon.

The problem is that I really don't care for the Marlboro Maroon with Saddle Interior. The car is not numbers matching but is in very nice condition.

The question is...how badly will I hurt.hinder the appreciation and resale value if I paint the car a color other than Marlboro Maroon?

At this point I intend to keep the car, but you never know what the future brings and I don't want to leave a lot of money on the table with the incorrect color.

Just some thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jerry

[Rob M.]

Re: Painting my 1967 Roadster

Need some opinions...

I have a 67 roadster that is Sunfire Yellow. I have the tank sticker and the data plate that states that the car should be Marlboro Maroon.

The problem is that I really don't care for the Marlboro Maroon with Saddle Interior. The car is not numbers matching but is in very nice condition.

The question is...how badly will I hurt.hinder the appreciation and resale value if I paint the car a color other than Marlboro Maroon?

At this point I intend to keep the car, but you never know what the future brings and I don't want to leave a lot of money on the table with the incorrect color.

Just some thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jerry

Jerry,

First, it's your car so paint it what ever color makes you happy. Then drive it!

Regarding re-sale . . . it would be my opinion that you "could" leave as much as it costs to re-paint it on the table. It all depends on what the new owner cares about and what they want to do with the car.

FWIW

[Robert G.]

Re: Painting my 1967 Roadster

When I was looking for a car, Marlboro Maroon was the color everybody wanted and nobody wanted Goodwood Green. I've been seeing a lot more Goodwood Green cars on ebay lately, so I think color tastes change over time. If you think there is a chance you would have to sell it in the near future, go for the correct color. If it is just a driver, it is less important than if it is close to NCRS/Bloomington correct.

[Michael H.]

Re: Painting my 1967 Roadster

Need some opinions...

I have a 67 roadster that is Sunfire Yellow. I have the tank sticker and the data plate that states that the car should be Marlboro Maroon.

The problem is that I really don't care for the Marlboro Maroon with Saddle Interior. The car is not numbers matching but is in very nice condition.

The question is...how badly will I hurt.hinder the appreciation and resale value if I paint the car a color other than Marlboro Maroon?

At this point I intend to keep the car, but you never know what the future brings and I don't want to leave a lot of money on the table with the incorrect color.

Just some thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jerry

Jerry,

I have the same color combo in a convertible ( Sn 12706 ) and I really enjoy it, my vote is to keep it original.

Mike

[David S.]

Re: Painting my 1967 Roadster

If I was going to spend the money to repaint a car, I would stick with the original color. Just my .02.

-Dave

[Paul J.]

Re: Painting my 1967 Roadster

Jerry,

A lot of people don't have the car they want, and they'll try to make what they have into what they want. This is OK. Sometimes what they want was not available. Look at the pictures in Jack Panzica's post. He had maroon but did'nt care for it and painted his car a custom green. It looks darn good! I don't think that he's going to sell it anytime soon and doesn't care about any change in value.

I preffer stock, but I don't have an issue with doing this as long as you're not destroying a Top Flight car or a car of some importance.

As far as the impact on the present value, if it's Sunfire Yellow now then painting it anything than other than Marlboro Maroon will not impact what it's worth. The only negative will be that you will not get your money out of the paint job should you sell it.

As far as appreciation, the car should appreciate but will always be in the lower price categories, even in good condition.

Paul

[Keith G.]

Re: Painting my 1967 Roadster

2 more cents for you, keep it original, it will be worth more, by about $10000.

[Gary W.]

Re: Painting my 1967 Roadster

Jerry, as most others have suggested, go with whatever colour (yes, Aussie spelling ) floats your boat - you have to like it or you won't want to dive it.
Just some observations on Marlboro Maroon: it wasn't my favourite colour either but I bought a 435 Maroon/Black + Black soft top roadster 4yrs ago as not many opportunities or options available to us Downunder (even though I ended up importing the car from USA.) I now LOVE the colour and so does EVERYONE who sees it "in the flesh" as it's quite unique down here. The weird (and nice) thing about it is it takes on a different 'look' under various lighting conditions.
We now have a good selection of mid-year colours here in Perth and if I were to give my absolute #1 pick it would be the '66 Mossport Green - wow, what a sweet colour for a mid-year.
Good luck with your decision and don't worry about future prices.
Gary.

[Joel F.]

Re: Painting my 1967 Roadster

As others have noted, I think you would be leaving quite a lot on the table. The amount may vary based on the type of options the car has. For a low option car or a car that has been modified (NOM, flares, etc.), this may mean very little. For a 427 car or an L79 with A/C it might be a lot more.

In my opinion, you would be deterring a lot of potential buyers by not going back to Marlboro. The reason I say this is that when I hear that a car is not it's original color, I question what else may have been done to the car. I know that is a little prejudice but it is the way I think.

I also know that I would want the car it's original color, and therefore I'd have to repaint it. Repainting it means I have to shell out additional money, and even worse, additional time, since repaints can take months.

That said, I personally like Marlboro and Saddle. I think it has a very clean look to it.

[Jack H.]

Re: Painting my 1967 Roadster

There are several ways to look at this and most who've posted have given 'correct' advice: It's your car/your asset--have it your way. Now, as to the 'impact'...

The resale market is multi-modal (those who want factory concours/correct, those who want a 'sweet' ride, those who want better/different than factory correct/original). So, it's an eye of the beholder issue...

From a judging issue, paint is worth 85 points for color and another 85 points for originality/condition. By changing the exterior color, you'll give up a minimum of 170 points, that's 3.77% (170/4500). Maybe more if you also change the color coordinated interior 'accent' panels to match the new exterior color...

So, for those with a factory concours/correct viewpoint, they'll see the car as needing a full repaint which they might assess as being a $10-20K cost issue. Since paint/body work is labor intensive, this shadow cost will probably escalate with time...

Your other alternative is to change the car's Trim tag to match the new color which is a BIG 'no no'.... If that's detected during judging, the penalty is for a maximum 2nd Flight award vs. whatever the car may have scored on its own merit (kiss Top Flight bye bye).

Bottom line, doing anything other than making the car agree with its factory original configuration here, IS a big deal to that sub-segment of the resale market that's factory concours oriented. BUT, that doesn't mean you won't find a buyer who's not of this mental alignment and make out nicely!

[Pat M.]

Re: Painting my 1967 Roadster

As others have noted, I think you would be leaving quite a lot on the table. The amount may vary based on the type of options the car has. For a low option car or a car that has been modified (NOM, flares, etc.), this may mean very little. For a 427 car or an L79 with A/C it might be a lot more.

In my opinion, you would be deterring a lot of potential buyers by not going back to Marlboro. The reason I say this is that when I hear that a car is not it's original color, I question what else may have been done to the car. I know that is a little prejudice but it is the way I think.

I also know that I would want the car it's original color, and therefore I'd have to repaint it. Repainting it means I have to shell out additional money, and even worse, additional time, since repaints can take months.

That said, I personally like Marlboro and Saddle. I think it has a very clean look to it.

Yup, what he said. Particularly the last line.

[Ridge K.]

Re: Painting my 1967 Roadster

I had the opportunity to have a private conversation with arguably the number one seller of vintage Corvettes in the world not too long ago. This person has certainly bought and resold more 1967s than anyone else, hands down.
Since I own a 1967, I asked him for a candid ranking of the paint color desirability for resale considerations.

He kindly ranked his analysis. I won't go into the entire list as some might be disappointed in the specific color ranking of their own high-end Corvettes, but will say that his analysis ranked Marboro Maroon significantly above Sunfire Yellow.

For what it's worth.....

[Robert G.]

Re: Painting my 1967 Roadster

I had the opportunity to have a private conversation with arguably the number one seller of vintage Corvettes in the world not too long ago. This person has certainly bought and resold more 1967s than anyone else, hands down.
Since I own a 1967, I asked him for a candid ranking of the paint color desirability for resale considerations.

He kindly ranked his analysis. I won't go into the entire list as some might be disappointed in the specific color ranking of their own high-end Corvettes, but will say that his analysis ranked Marboro Maroon significantly above Sunfire Yellow.

For what it's worth.....

I think the resale value would depend on what the trim tag calls for too. It should be obvious from the sales hype on ebay which colors are worth more, black and reds should be at the top and greens and yellows at the bottom with silver, blues, and white in the middle. As I mentioned above, color tastes change with time and in 1967, Goodwood Green was the most popular color and yellow was pretty far up there too.

[Frederick W.]

Re: Painting my 1967 Roadster

Value will, in my experience, only suffer a few thousand dollars for the "wrong" color if it is a "desirable" color.
In the end, if you don't plan to sell (realizing things can change) and you don't like the original color, I would repaint from one wrong color to another that you will enjoy. Just don't spring for a high dollar paint in the wrong color, if value is a consideration. Get a decent middle of the road paint for 4-5K. This price should cover a pretty decent respray so long as prep and body work needs are minimal.
If you need to sell, you can sell it as is in wrong color, or pop another 4-5K at that time for another respray in the correct color. Worst case scenario, it cost you 8-10K spread out in 2 installments over hopefully several years, and you really enjoyed your car in the meantime.

[Ridge K.]

Re: Painting my 1967 Roadster

I think the resale value would depend on what the trim tag calls for too. It should be obvious from the sales hype on ebay which colors are worth more, black and reds should be at the top and greens and yellows at the bottom with silver, blues, and white in the middle. As I mentioned above, color tastes change with time and in 1967, Goodwood Green was the most popular color and yellow was pretty far up there too.

Your commentary is right on the money, Robert.
The paint matching the trim tag is a non-issue for me. I wouldn't consider for one second repainting a vintage Corvette in any color other than what the trim tags says.
It was pointed out to us, that judging was not a factor here with the member asking for opinions, .....as this car is a driver.

For me, I still couldn't bear to change color. That's just me.