Rare: Chris Craft Corvette

Here you go, folks...

http://www.jlaforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=535839116

One of my biggest questions is should she be restored at all and would there be a buyer for her any where.

Possible path would be to restore the shell and market for a buyer for whom you'd complete the restoration. These are beautiful boats.

Thank you, that is a good idea. Do you think I should paint the hull the original light blue?

My rule of thumb always begins with White is Right. A color change from that is an easy add, but a buyer won't ever walk away from white. They might just decide they want to customize the outcome. The traditional blue might turn some off, although I love the look. But White is Right.

Hello rtrafford, I have Another question for you. Should I sell them for 27’s that are in this boat and replace them with the Ford 390’s since parts are readily available for them. Would appreciate your thoughts thank you

Not really clear on the question being asked. If the engines are out of the boat, clean them up and palletize them. Don't put them back in. Anyone wanting to restore her will appreciate the opportunity to address engine room details prior to installation of these or a preferred replacement.

I apologize, I am wondering if it would devalue the boat by putting in the 390s instead of the 427's. They're identical in the outside dimensions and will work with all the marine parts plus parts are available for the 390s and not for the 427's

And I guess my response remains the same. She's got engines. They're out. Leave them out, after cleaning them up and palletizing them. It's easy to drop them back in, and relatively easy to swap them (with the cost), so don't do either. These are options for the eventual buyer to consider, and the engine room can be more readily accessed for whatever purpose with them on pallets.

If the engines are still in place, just clean them up and leave them for the negotiation. No telling what the individual buyer will want.

Got it thank you

Hi There! I know this thread started years ago, but it was revived last year, so I thought I'd give it a try again. I'm looking at a 1969 Chris-Craft Corvette that is partially restored, but still apart and in covered storage. Since a couple of you were discussing the wisdom of restoring one of these, I thought I'd see if you could give me any guidance. They're asking $10,500 , as is. It's been freshly painted, both 427 engines run, but one V-drive need to be rebuilt, and it all needs to be put back together after the paint job. Thoughts?

There is really only one question that needs to be asked... do you love it? If you don't love it, you'll regret it. If you do, well you may still end up regretting it in the future.

Well, I decided I loved it, so I bought it! It's more like a giant speedboat than a cruiser. As I mentioned earlier, the PO had disassembled much of it to repaint the hull, but the engines/V-drives, generator, and most of the systems are still in and in working order. The wood is actually in very good condition, although totally dried out due to sitting in a warehouse for six years. I'm taking advantage of this to strip and treat the bottom with CPES and barrier coat in an effort to preserve the hull for a while longer. I was wondering if anyone whose on this forum still has one of these? It's hard to find any information (pictures, etc.) and it's kind of like a big puzzle right now. Lots of boxes and piles of shelves, doors, etc., so if anyone has one and would be willing to share some information, I'd really appreciate it. Here's a couple of pics...

As previously mentioned the N.A. on the Corvette was Jim Wynne. Jim had a habit of drawing very handsome boats.

Hi All, As I mentioned earlier, I went ahead an purchased the boat, and I've got to say, the more I work on it, the more I love it! After I bought it, the P.O. let me work on it in his warehouse for a few weeks since I didn't have any place big enough to store it, so I had until the first of the year to get it ready to launch. I did the best I could on the hull in that time and launched it on the 23rd of December. It didn't sink! is di take on a serious amount of water, but it has since slowed down quite a bit, so I'm hopeful it will seal up soon, I the mean time, I decided rather than repower it, I would "modernize" the original 427 power plants by upgrading them both to fuel injection. I opted to go with MSD's model 2910 throttle body system since it has the option to control a variable speed fuel pump, thereby negating the need to run additional fuel return lines in the engine compartment. I've got to say, it is the best decision I could have made! they both start up right away, and run very smoothly, even after over six years of sitting in the warehouse. As you can see in the pictures, since they're throttle body injection, they look basically the same as when they had carburetors. They just run so much better! IO highly recommend this mod to anyone who wants to keep their original engine(s), but have a more modern power system.

Here we are on our first sea trial!

Well?
Well??
Well???
How did she run?
Any speed runs today?
Handle well?
Big smiles?

Well, even though I did make the splash deadline, I only had one of the engines running by then. In the picture, only the port engine was running, so I didn't really get any speed runs in yet! Just two days ago, I finally got the Starboard engine running, but we're having some pretty nasty weather here in Georgia this week, so I haven't been able to take it out since I got both of them running. I'll update when I do. Right now I'm focused on getting everything functional and back together. The P.O. had disassembled much of the rear deck to get the fuel tanks out, so now that they're back in, and the engines and generator are all working, I can focus on putting the deck back together. Here's what it looks like now:


I do have all the electrical working now, including the shore power connection, which comes in quite handy since this boat is still taking on water while waiting for the wooden hull to expand fully. Those bilge pumps ae getting a workout!

I did gat a call from the chrome shop last week to tell me that all my chrome brightwork should be ready next week. That'll be a big day, because I can then really start to put the finishing touches on he appearance! I'll post more pictures when I get them on. Thanks for your interest!