Lumina Thunder value, rarity?

[Nitefox]

My uncle recently passed away unexpectedly and the only search results I could find for the special Days of Thunder 1990 Lumina model he had was a post on this forum 20 years ago asking if they actually existed. It's my understanding that the Z34 package didn't come out until 1991, so this was basically the Z34 a year early.

He was the original owner, but parked it in the driveway over a decade ago and it hasn't moved since, so it is rust free but very sun damaged, especially interior, and the tires are rotted.

While I am curious about the value and rarity, I'm more concerned about getting it to someone that would actually appreciate it rather than a junkyard.

I posted some pictures over on Reddit and found a Lumina group on Facebook.

https://www.reddit.com/r/classiccars/s/rsBQlkuYGb

[GTP091]

I’ve never seen anything like that. Z34s are rare enough so this one is very very rare. It’s only worth what someone is willing to pay though. Certainly not ready for the crusher so please don’t.  Roof panel is easy to renew. New dash pad, lower dash front. Rear deck probably and maybe a RESP ray on the trunk and hood. Doable. If youre not up to the challenge and want to see your uncles ride road worthy then finding a few facebook groups would be a good way to find a new owner to take care of it. Sorry about your uncle. He had a good taste in cars.

[White93z34]

I'll forgive the reddit link 

So this is one of those situations where rare and valuable don't really line up. Yes its quite rare, no its not really worth much. Perhaps if it was perfect condition it could bring a little on a site like Bring a Trailer as an oddity.

Those, I think were some sort of dealer package back in the day, its a 1990 Lumina Euro with a Razzi bodykit (which in it self is rare nowadays). and some stickers on the door. I've seen one other one in person but that was a very very long time ago. Over the years someone added the hood from a Lumina Z34 to it.

now you add Black Widows to the equation and you can either take it to the Northwest Territories for the winter to freeze them to death or you can set it on fire.... I kid  . I'm too far east to have ever encountered one so thats my default reaction when I see one of those.

I'm sure SOMEONE out there would like it but I wouldn't expect to garner much money out of it. 

[RareGMFan]

Yeah, definitely not factory. For starters, the font on those stickers looks hideous and cheap and doesn't correlate with anything from Chevy, the Lumina OR Days of Thunder. Plus the phrase "Thunder Lumina" doesn't make sense and isn't something GM would have used, so the stickers definitely aren't "official". Secondly, as @White93z34 mentioned, that is an aftermarket body kit, not a factory Z34 kit. The front and rear bumper covers have a similar general look, but there are several differences. It looks like the fronts have little cut outs for fog lights maybe? Hard to tell from the angel you took the pics, but whatever they are, that's not something present on the Z34. On the back, there is only a single outlet for the exhaust rather than dual outlets, and the spot for the license plate is in the "normal" spot whereas it gets moved to in between the tail lights on the Z34s. The rocker panel pieces are just a side skirt on this kit whereas on the Z34s, the middle pieces would be full cladding that went up as high on the door/panels as the front and rear bumper cover pieces.

As far as value, given there's nothing special about it and considering how much it would cost to restore it cosmetically and mechanically, I'd hate to say it but I don't think it's really worth anything. If it were mine, I would maybe remove the body kit and hood to see if I can scrape a few bucks out of selling those separately (the vents used to be popular for older Wranglers) and junk the rest for the most money I can get.

Sorry. I know that's not what you were looking to hear.

Edited September 19 by RareGMFan

[Amanita]

The 60 degree v6 and radwood classifieds group, rad for sale, might have people interested in it, particularly the latter.

[Go4DaMo]

How do you "drop the hammer" without a 5-speed?

 

I agree...your uncle had good taste in cars.

[Nitefox]

I got so busy with the funeral and the Facebook group I almost forgot I posted over here. A friend helped me do research and confirmed what you said above, it was a dealer in Colorado with leftover stock from 1990, so several were sold with the body kit and decals in late 1991. There is a red one up in WA in good condition but no hood vents and decals on the rear of the door instead of the front.

I had several people interested, and the first one was a couple hours away, so he's going to come take a look at it when we're up there next to bring my uncle's '65 Corvette back. 

The lumina will need a lot of work, so if we can't get it to start it will probably only be $800-$1k, but at least it won't go to the scrapyard. He had joked about making it rwd with the same 383 he put in the Corvette, but that would have been way too much work.

[RareGMFan]

GM did make a 5.0 V8 AWD Lumina prototype nicknamed the "Z50" project, so as long as you're willing to pay a fortune, anything's possible!

https://www.motortrend.com/features/all-wheel-drive-v-8-lumina-982-1637-94-1/photos/