1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

[Danny H.]

first time posting and new to the club. What a great site, I was able to learn so much about my vette in the past few weeks.

I bought my 64 conv. about 15 years ago, the only thing I knew from previous owner was it has a 350 w/ powerglide and not original. Honest speaking, I didn't even know what that means then, I got it because of the look and a childhood dream (that's another story for another thread).

I am happy w/ the vette as is for the past 15 years, didn't do anything to it, just replaced few screws here and there and changed oil maybe 3 times.

So why am i posting now? Well, I was told by couple vette "experts" (couple guys from work and an owner of the local parts store specialize in old vettes) that my 64 vette is rare, it should have a 327/365 4-speed w/ AC. I acutally found the clutch padel still in the car, hidden under the carpet. My dash does have the AC knobs but there is nothing under the hood or vents under the dash either. Also, my tach redline starts at 6500 and my alternator/battary is on the driver side.

I guess my first question is should I restore it? I have actually found a 1964 327/365 block, 461 heads and a 4-speed M20 close ratio trans about 2 month or so prior to my VIN's DOB. All for around $4K, then I will probable spend another $4K to rebuild and install. Is it worth it?

The 2nd question is should I restamp the VIN #s? they all have the right (or reasonable) date code w/ the right GM part #s already.

Finally, I also heard to restore the AC will be very expensive and difficult, is it true? know any good place in the Bay area that have the right parts and can do it right?

I plan to keep the car for long time, got married in it about 10 years ago and more likely will pass it down to one of my 3 little boys. So any advice you can share will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Danny

[Paul D.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

Danny, the short answer is NO, it would not be "worth" the cost of restoration. Very few cars are "worth" the restoration bill unless the job is approached in a very business like manner with resale as the ultimate goal. A car that you have owned for 15 years and have developed a relationship with (marriage and kids) would be even harder to restore without going all out and "doing it right". The 8 grand you have figured will not begin to cover the cost you will incur and you will lose the enjoyment of driving your car for the next 3 to 10 years (or longer in my case). That said, I would definitely purchase that engine and start collecting parts to correctly restore the car someday. A life long project that you can enjoy with those little boys is truly, as the commercial says, "priceless" and is exactly what the car hobby should be. Every time you hear one of your boys talk about "Daddy's Vette", consider it a dividend on your investment that you will pass on some day. Chip.
P.S. Don't consider restamping the block. If the car ever gets to judging, a wrong VIN will judge better than a altered pad.

[Terry M.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

Danny,
Welcome to the insanity. It sounds like you have caught the Corvette disease.

Is it worth it? Well you have to decide what value you place on originality. Most of us around here are nuts for it and will make decisions that make absolutely no sense to anyone who doesn't understand our passion. Paul has offered very good advice. The maximum enjoyment is in driving your car and 90+% of the people who see it will have no clue about the details of originality that we obsess over.

Get the pieces while you can as Paul says. Keep them in good dry storage and assemble them so you can just do an engine and trans swap when the time comes. Try to minimize the down time in order to keep your passion burning. Nothing will dampen your enthusiasm more than a car in pieces.

Good luck, and keep coming back here. We are here to help.

[Danny H.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

Thanks for the advice guys. It is like a disease, I have spent many late nights just in the past few weeks looking for parts and searching/learning about all the right part #s and date codes, and it never ends...

Now, I am just going to take it slow and treat it more like a hobby as Paul said, and just get the right parts first for the kids to finish it up...

-Danny

[Tracy C.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

Welcome aboard Danny. If you are into original Corvettes, there is no better place on planet earth than right here. We share the same passions, fight the same battles, and learn from one another along the way.

If you can do the restoration work and pace yourself, you may recoup your investment down the road if you need to sell. I consider this good therapy anyway. I've been baby stepping on my 63 since 1989.

If your going to get in a rush and pay someone else to do the work, you will be upside down before you really get started. No fun there as far as I'm concerned.

I'd recommend you start squirreling correct parts away. Good parts aren't getting cheaper and they are getting much harder to find. Especially the dated drivetrain stuff....dated anything for that matter.

Come back here often and good luck with the 64, it sounds like a dandy.

tc

[Pat M.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

I'd recommend you start squirreling correct parts away. Good parts aren't getting cheaper and thay are getting much harder to find. Especially the dated drivetrain stuff....dated anything for that matter.

Good advice IMO. You'll probably be able to sell them for a profit later even if you don't use them.

[Domenic T.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

Danny,
I have a 1967 coupe with a 435/427 and put factory air in at the dealer in 1971. I just happened to be the installer. What a job if the car didn't come that way. when I finished the problem I had was that no one believed the car was a 435 HP because A/C was not offered with the 435 HP. Any way your car should have the place for the A/C under the right fender making it easy for you to do with the engine out. I am on my 2nd restoration since I got my vette in 1971 and had to replace every thing but the A/C box. It was all available.
I also have a 63 coupe that I am getting ready to restore and it has A/C in it and I am sure that it was installed in it back in 1964 or so as I was told back then that only a few 63's had A/C. Some guys installed 1 piece rear windows in their 63 coups also along with A/C. Thank God mine has the 2 piece.
I also think that the 4 speed is a must even if thats all you do.

DOM

[Paul J.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

Danny,

The previous posters have totally ignored the fact that you bought the car 15+ years ago and that we don't know how much you paid for it and have in it. They also assume that you will do a frame off restoration.

I disagree with Paul. It IS worth restoring to original and whether or not you go upside down depends on how much you have invested in the car to date, how far you go with the restoration, how much work you do yourself, and how long you keep the car before it is sold (if it is ever sold). The only good comment I've seen was that you will not be able to drive the car during most of the restoration, which can take years.

You must first decide what you want from the car. Do you want a nice driver? Do you want a Top Flight car? Will you take it to NCRS judging or concours judging? These types of questions will tell you how much you will spend on any restoration, and also set the market value for the car once you have completed whatever you're going to do to it. It will help you decide if you want to restamp the block (which I think you should do).

I've owned my 64 for 37 years. When I bought it it was not original, and I always said that I would restore it some day. But it was fun to drive and I enjoyed just owning it and driving it. By the time that the internal engine problems started, the rear end had issues and the time was right to restore it. The kids were now older and life had stabilized enough to allow me to start the restoration, which is ongoing. Besides, I finally had enough functioning toys to do without the Vette for a while.

Good luck with whatever you do with the car.

Paul

[Bob R.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

I didn't think AC was available in solid lifter engines in 63 or 64? I don't believe I have ever seen one.

[Danny H.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

Danny,
I have a 1967 coupe with a 435/427 and put factory air in at the dealer in 1971. I just happened to be the installer. What a job if the car didn't come that way. when I finished the problem I had was that no one believed the car was a 435 HP because A/C was not offered with the 435 HP. Any way your car should have the place for the A/C under the right fender making it easy for you to do with the engine out. I am on my 2nd restoration since I got my vette in 1971 and had to replace every thing but the A/C box. It was all available.
I also have a 63 coupe that I am getting ready to restore and it has A/C in it and I am sure that it was installed in it back in 1964 or so as I was told back then that only a few 63's had A/C. Some guys installed 1 piece rear windows in their 63 coups also along with A/C. Thank God mine has the 2 piece.
I also think that the 4 speed is a must even if thats all you do.

DOM

Hi DOM,

4-speed is what got me into this insanity... The car runs fine w/ the 350 + powerglide, but it just doesn't have the quick take off. So I took it in to a vette shop for some suggestions, then he got me all work up about the possible options that came w/ the car originally... I heard a 4 speed is much fun to drive too, which I will definitely do first and leave the rest till a later time (much later).

And yes, I do have a big empty space between the heater and the radiator tank on the passenger side now, I assume that is where the AC boxes were.

Thanks,
Danny

[Danny H.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

I didn't think AC was available in solid lifter engines in 63 or 64? I don't believe I have ever seen one.

Bob,

In 64, engine block suffix "RR" is for 365 w/ AC and "RE" is 365 w/o. Not sure about 63. I was told this combination is rare, so I assume they do exist.

-Danny

[Loren L.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

As to the question of "worth" or "value" or "desirable", I would refer you to a 1965 Red/White CV, 350/365, A/C that appeared at B-J in January 2010 and the new owner left with the car but abandoned something like 165 or 175 Big frogskins.
I can't recall the actual amount because I have one of those cars and was told that I went into a coma when the gavel dropped.

[Jim T.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

first time posting and new to the club. What a great site, I was able to learn so much about my vette in the past few weeks.

I bought my 64 conv. about 15 years ago, the only thing I knew from previous owner was it has a 350 w/ powerglide and not original. Honest speaking, I didn't even know what that means then, I got it because of the look and a childhood dream (that's another story for another thread).

I am happy w/ the vette as is for the past 15 years, didn't do anything to it, just replaced few screws here and there and changed oil maybe 3 times.

So why am i posting now? Well, I was told by couple vette "experts" (couple guys from work and an owner of the local parts store specialize in old vettes) that my 64 vette is rare, it should have a 327/365 4-speed w/ AC. I acutally found the clutch padel still in the car, hidden under the carpet. My dash does have the AC knobs but there is nothing under the hood or vents under the dash either. Also, my tach redline starts at 6500 and my alternator/battary is on the driver side.

I guess my first question is should I restore it? I have actually found a 1964 327/365 block, 461 heads and a 4-speed M20 close ratio trans about 2 month or so prior to my VIN's DOB. All for around $4K, then I will probable spend another $4K to rebuild and install. Is it worth it?

The 2nd question is should I restamp the VIN #s? they all have the right (or reasonable) date code w/ the right GM part #s already.

Finally, I also heard to restore the AC will be very expensive and difficult, is it true? know any good place in the Bay area that have the right parts and can do it right?

I plan to keep the car for long time, got married in it about 10 years ago and more likely will pass it down to one of my 3 little boys. So any advice you can share will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Danny

Danny what side of your car is the battery on? Factory air conditioned 64 Corvettes had the battery on the drivers side.
If your 64 had factory air there would of been a center outlet above the clock in the dash. Does your 64 have one?
Finding a 64 327/365 with the numbers you mentioned is a great find. I would not grind off all the good numbers on this block just to put your VIN on it.
Not knowing the history of this 327/365 it could be in good enough condition to give you some years of service. It might save some cost to test run it and check out the compression, oil pressure, and overall running condition. Installing and pulling a engine is really not that hard compared to $4,000.00 dollars if you can do the work yourself.

[Danny H.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

Danny what side of your car is the battery on? Factory air conditioned 64 Corvettes had the battery on the drivers side.
If your 64 had factory air there would of been a center outlet above the clock in the dash. Does your 64 have one?
Finding a 64 327/365 with the numbers you mentioned is a great find. I would not grind off all the good numbers on this block just to put your VIN on it.
Not knowing the history of this 327/365 it could be in good enough condition to give you some years of service. It might save some cost to test run it and check out the compression, oil pressure, and overall running condition. Installing and pulling a engine is really not that hard compared to $4,000.00 dollars if you can do the work yourself.

Jim,

Please see the attached image for the AC knobs and center outlet, the battary is on the driver side.

The engine is on the way, will try do it myself (or save it for the kids) when the time is right, not going to rush it and get stress out over it anymore.

Thanks,
Danny

[Danny H.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

As to the question of "worth" or "value" or "desirable", I would refer you to a 1965 Red/White CV, 350/365, A/C that appeared at B-J in January 2010 and the new owner left with the car but abandoned something like 165 or 175 Big frogskins.
I can't recall the actual amount because I have one of those cars and was told that I went into a coma when the gavel dropped.

I just google it, it is actaully $170,500!!! It got to be something special about this car, and I bet it is not because of the AC, but one can only hope...

-Danny
12591965CORVETTECONVERTIBLE 327/365HP$170,500.00
12591965CORVETTECONVERTIBLE 327/365HP$170,500.00