chunnydave

I am in my last year of college and feel it's time for a C3. I've owned a 5th gen for a few years (GREAT car) and am somewhat familiar with these cars, but am trying to learn as much as possible before taking the plunge. I have been reading a lot, and am now starting to look at local cars.
I saw my first today, a real project, and would like feedback on the things I saw.

Lot of scratches to the body, and the front/rear clips look to be unpainted. There is also some damage to the rear quarter where a plow knicked it.



Interior has been completely removed, and covered with a heat shield. Owner has purchases new seats, carpet, and weather stripping.



Documented as much of the rust-prone areas as possible.







This was behind the gauges.

This is near the passenger door, down low.








Stuck the camera under the nose, and didn't see this until I got home. WTF











So aside from 'turn and run', does anyone have any specific input (so I know what to look for on the next one)?

Durango_Boy

I hope it's cheap because you'll spend a lot of time and money bringing that car back and finishing everything the owner started.

Might be worth a bit more money to find something that's closer to the goals you have for a car like that...depending on what they are.

FB007

run forrest run.

C3 4ME

I think you're doing exactly right, as I read this it sounds like your not interested in this car at all, just looking to get some feedback on what's good and bad about this car. I defer to the real experts here on the real issues with this car, but I find it strange that a rough looking interior has seats that look brand new.

...Roger...

Looking at the PS control valve that car has been sitting in a very damp place or possibly in a flood.As 007 said .....RUN

91DRM

GPGG70

Do your self a favor and use this car and the pictures as a learning lesson as to which type of cars to avoid. This car is a prime example of the type of car to avoid. Dont just run, run like hell. I aint kidding either.

capevettes

That car has been driven hard and put away wet. Obviously a very poor standard of care over the years. (Meticulously maintained does not apply) Even if you got that car for free it would cost you more than it's worth to make it nice.

Alan 71

To me it looks like someone was working on the car until something happened to make them stop. A flood? Rust? $$$$? Good Sense?
I think you should be looking for a car that is in the SAME general condition top to bottom. Not new seats in a car that needs a LOT of other work. Not a car with new paint that needs rust repairs.
Please keep your wallet in your pocket until you're really sure you've found a good car at a good price.
Regards,
Alan

Rickman

As I was reading down the post of this Bungee Cord C3, I was thinking the same thing: not sure I would even rebuild this one if were free.

First lesson: C5's are TOTALLY different from C3's. Thank God GM learned much in 30 years.

The fun thing about C3's is that you can do much of the work on them yourself. However, as has been pointed out above, one should start with a basically sound and rust-free car. (Unless you are as talented as someone like Joe in Newburgh, NY rebuilding the 70BB Vert.)

You say it's time for a C3. NCRS collector car or driver? Finished car or "project car"? If a project car, decide how much of the work on the car you want to do yourself vs. taking to a shop.

It's a buyer's market right now. You may find a finished car for significantly less $$ than it would take to finish a project car.

Regarding project cars: since it will cost you roughly the same $$, start with a bumper car, perhaps even a Vert or BB. For example, you could dump, and I mean dump, $15k or more into the Bungee Cord Rust Bucket you have pictured here, and the car would be worth maybe $15k and probably less. Contrast that with starting with, say, a 71 Vert for $10k, add your $15k in resto, for a car worth at completion $25-30k.

Rickman

rydoc

I read this:

Lot of scratches to the body, and the front/rear clips look to be unpainted. There is also some damage to the rear quarter where a plow knicked it.

WTF is a C3 doing anywhere near a plow as in (SNOW) unless, its a farm plow, again WTF

Your lessons here are paying off, you are seeing things the average car buyer would miss.

Like GPGG70 said use the pics for reference , less rust a must, always look twice at things that strike you odd, bungie cords?

Rod
Love the Vette

guitarcrazy02

There's a general rule amongst the Vette community: Buy as much Corvette as you can afford.

I think you realize that this is not a car you want to bring home. Keep in mind that you're probably going to put more money into a project over time than you would for an already finished car.

blk79nj

I agree with every post on this tread. I would PASS on getting this car. There is not one thing that I see in the pictures that doesn't need work (except the seats). The amount of money and time you spend getting this back together, and safe to drive is way too much.

You would be much better off spending a little more money and finding one in better condition.

What's with the gauges?

You also did an excellent job with your picture taking.

joewill

Unless you can get it for free...

weimer20

Raphiki

It sort of looks like where Bubba went to die.

Ron R

You need to think about what your long-term plans are for the car, because if you plan on keeping it original then the cheapest C3 you'll ever own will be the one with the highest price tag you can find.

Ten years ago I bought my first C3, an 81, for $4,400 and thought I was getting a deal. One year and $17,000 later it was finally the way I wanted it. Now keep in mind this was 1999 prices too, I can't imagine what it would cost to do the same car today. Now I'm not one to concern myself with resale value, and that turned out to be a good thing, because even TODAY I wouldn't be able to get $21k out of it. To put it further into perspective, at that time you could have bought a near-perfect 81 for $10k. So instead of spending $10k, I "got a deal" and spent $21k. That's some fuzzy math right there.

I decided in 2001 I wanted a 68 427 tri-power, but I didn't make the same mistake twice. I was patient and eventually found one that had been fully restored by the previous owner just four years earlier for $19,000. In the nearly 8 years I've owned it, the only thing I've ever had to do to it is replace the radiator and run new fuel lines. In consideration of future value, my 68 is probably worth around $40,000 while the 81 (both are original matching #'s) in the same condition would be lucky to fetch $15k.

Then in 2007 I decided I wanted to do a track car (autocross/road races, not drag) so I bought an 80 L-82 for $12k - a good price for an excellent condition vehicle that needed nothing. The thing was, I ended up wasting some money on that too, since I later decided to change a few things. I decided I wanted black interior instead of red. I changed the suspension and steering for better handing. Changed the gears to 3.70. Changed the transmission to a built 700 R4 to compensate for the gear change since it was mostly used on the street. Pulled the anemic 350 L-82 (which I had originally vowed to leave alone but changed my mind) and dropped in a 383. Then after not being happy with the 383, I pulled that and a 406 is going in as we speak. And since 400's run hotter I need a bigger radiator too, which is coming from Dewitts at no less than $500. And I'm probably going to pull the bumpers, replace with fiberglass, glass them in, and repaint the whole car too.

In this case, since I decided to make so many changes, I'd have been better off buying the junker. I've got about $24k in it, including the vehicle price. I probably could have found one with no motor, no tranny, no paint, no interior, and crappy suspension for around $2k - $3k and saved up to $10,000 on the project.

So the moral of the story: think ahead. If you want to keep the car mostly original, it's a lot cheaper to just buy one that's the way you want it. But if you plan on making a street or track machine, go cheap and build it up so you're not throwing away perfectly good parts.

I'd also like to add that I'm not normally one who advocates financing a car, new or old - I believe that you should always pay cash and only buy what you can afford. However given the cost of restoration I make an exception to that rule here, because I guarantee you that an extra $100 or $200 a month to buy the more expensive "already done" C3 will be much, much less than you're going to spend on fixing up a junker. Especially if you're at 80-82's, which I happen to love, but they just aren't going to go up in value the way the earlier ones did. By the time any 80-82 is worth enough to pay for the cost of restoring it, twenty years will have passed and it will be time to restore it again.

chunnydave

Thanks to all for your input. Great comments here. (kind of funny too)

C3 4ME hit it on the head; I would not even consider a car in this state. It's the first C3 I've looked at, and I'm looking for comments on things I may have missed. Hopefully I'll be aware of specific issues to look for next time.

fugawi

anti-rice, i see your in webster. your not to far from me. if you need a second set of eyes when looking at c-3's .i'll be happy to help. let me know. chris.

chunnydave

Thanks Chris. I could definitely use an experienced opinion. I'll let you know if I find something up your way.