1. Purchase " Corvette Black Book " or " Illustrated Corvette Buyer's Guide " by Michael Antonick. This will give you invaluable information on the various options and color codes available for each year, as well as the actual production numbers of these options. It also has a preface that discusses where to look for the various serial numbers.
2. Set your budget (and we always go over) to help narrow the choice to those only that you can afford. For example, do you have $25,000 for a 70's driver, or $350,000 for a 69 L88 NCRS coupe.
3. Determine what you will use the car for. Do you want an every day driver, an antique, a muscle car of the 60's, a luxury touring late model, an NCRS( National Corvette Restorers Society) top flight, a trailer show queen, etc, etc, etc.... There are as many different types of Corvettes as there are different colors of Corvettes. Obviously you would not want an NCRS top flight car if you like to drive it on a regular basis.
4. Pick up the Old Car Trader (Canadian edition), and Hemmings Motor News to help familiarize yourself with the current asking prices of the various years and styles.
5. Enlist the help of the hobbyist and the professionals involved in dealing with Corvettes. An uneducated Corvette purchase can turn into a money pit nightmare. Our biggest enemy is rust. An experienced Corvette enthusiast knows where to look for the enemy. Anything mechanical can be rebuilt, but a rusty frame or bird cage can be disastrous. As per usual, no one should purchase a Corvette without a mechanical and body inspection by a reputable dealer or knowledgeable enthusiast.
6. You should note that you will probably have to travel around to find the ideal car.
7. This is just the beginning of the process of finding that perfect car for you. We have much more info to share regarding this, but you will first have to determine the "target years" that you are looking for. Once you have determined which generation of Corvette you would like to own, we can forward more info regarding these years. I hope this gets you started in the right direction. There are books and magazines that also help you find your dream Corvette.
Terry Webb