Service in Portland, OR

[Kevin]

with the amount of these cars that were mothballed when they first came out, if you've got over 1000 miles on it then it's a low mile car but not ultra low. these cars aren't good investments and there are very few that are. even when you're dealing with a 1 of 1 or 1 of 6 you still may not get what you want for it. I'm thinking of the autounion that went up for auction a few years ago and the shelby daytona cobra. if you want an investment, put your money in the bank or if you want to have a full size model in the garage get a ferrari daytona. those cars seem to be exploding in cost. as it sits now, the zr-1 isn't a good car to bank on making money with, and it may never be....it is however a good car to bank on making you smile.

I have 64,000 miles on an 21 year old car, is that low mileage to you?

[Locobob]

There are no guarantees regarding future value. The ZR-1 may be the next big block mid year or it may simply stay a budget semi collectible niche car.

The 405hp cars generally sell for a substantial premium over early models, I don't think you will find a solid, low mile late model in your price range. Personally I think the whole Dunn head thing is overblown. The factory used the head castings interchangeably and its not a visible bragging point like say a tri-power set-up.

I wouldn't worry too much about mileage either, it tends to become less important as cars age. Look at the mid years, a nicely restored 67 big block is big bucks whether it has 30K or 90K on it. I think condition is way more important once a car hits real collectible status.

If you are going to stay around the 20K ballpark then I'd look for a clean, close to stock car in a color you like and not worry too much about model year and mileage. I'd probably shoot for less than 50K miles for your expressed use and purpose. That way you'll have some room to put on miles without getting into replacing a lot of worn out parts.

[mpvuk]

Thanks Dennis. Curious, how much value do you place on the 2 Dunn heads? Would you take a 48k miles 2 Dunn head or 20k w/o both Dunns, everything else being equal (price, equipment, condition, etc)?

[mike100]

Of course I'd like to have more than one so I could keep one in perfect condition with no accumulation of wear and tear and have another to drive, but what is the worst case?

You run the hell out of a $20k car for a few years and sell it for $10k less? When I'm not feeling like keeping my mileage low, I sometimes like to think that all these original owners and collectors were just keeping these cars nice for those of us too young or broke to own one new.

last comment: A dormant car can cost a lot if the previous owners didn't handle issues that came up. I put several grand into mine and I did a LOT of the work myself, only farming out the ZF6 work to the ZFDoc (Bill B). One of the previous owners thought he was John force and used up all 6 u-joints and 2nd gear. The rest of the car had sitting-around-too-long-problems, but were more expected and easily solved with more modest doses of cash.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by mpvuk

Thanks Dennis. Curious, how much value do you place on the 2 Dunn heads? Would you take a 48k miles 2 Dunn head or 20k w/o both Dunns, everything else being equal (price, equipment, condition, etc)?

if there was a performance difference then yes, but since there isn't no. condition is more important than heads.

[A1990]

Originally Posted by mpvuk

Thanks Dennis. Curious, how much value do you place on the 2 Dunn heads? Would you take a 48k miles 2 Dunn head or 20k w/o both Dunns, everything else being equal (price, equipment, condition, etc)?

Everything equal 20k car. While the two Dunn head cars may end up more valuable nothing is guaranteed. Like I said earlier though, color condition of LT5 and exterior color would play a roll in my choice too. So if the 48K 2 Dunn head car is yellow and the 20k car is red...everything equal I'm buying the 48K car.

But that is me...your mileage may vary.