hey, im helping a co worker buy a 79 vette. i was wondering if any body had the check list on things to look before buying. Thanks in advance - Bob

 

From experience the #1 most important item is:

CLEAR TITLE!

 

Here's the quick one

http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/D...00/guide2.html

Here's the comprehensive one

http://www.corvettefaq.com/c3/dpg/part1.htm

http://www.corvettefaq.com/c3/dpg/part2.htm

http://www.corvettefaq.com/c3/dpg/part3.htm

 

also keep in mind that a perfect example was when it was built, even then there was problems. so with that being said , there's no problems money cant solve. So decide first what you can spend and get the most for your money. Nice examples are not cheap.

 

How much is he spending, I'm thinking about selling mine.

 

Just for a frame of reference I paid 7500 for mine last Haloween. It's an L-82 4spd with Gymkhana suspension. Black with red interior. Rebuilt engine with bigger cam, headers and flowmasters, it runs great. All power windows and locks work, and so does the A/C. Now for the bad, the paint was very spider cracked, the speedo doesn't work, and the tach reads way off, but most of the interior components have been replaced within the last 3 years. Also it has a pretty nice sound system in it. I forgot to add, the headlights dont' go up on their own, one of the t tops was cracked from someone trying to break into the car via the t tops, and the taillights have small cracks in them.

 

For another frame of reference I paid $6,000 for my 1979 about 3 months ago. Had to put about $1500 into it. Still needs paint to be perfect. It is a L48 Auto, matching numbers, one owner, fully documented, 73k original miles. You can check it out here...

http://www.gignet.com/1979L48.htm

Good luck!

 

I got a question. As I am also looking for a 78-79 to buy this year.

Where did you look to find your vettes? All I've really looked at is Ebay for the last month. It seems like if your patient you could stumble across a decent one for a good price.

What I'd really really like to find is a good body and interior car that just needs engine/transmission work for a good deal so I can just yank that sucker outa there and drop one in. Then the other have of me is wanting to find an original to keep to put back in maybe one day but still drop an engine in it for hte time being.

 

I found mine over the internet but a local private seller - not a dealer. I had really bad luck on EBay - mostly junk cars or scam artists. In fact, lots of scammers on Ebay with cars held together with bailing wire and duct tape. Not good at all...

First, make up your mind what you want. Be sure on this. Then, once you are sure about what you want then start looking. Be patient - don't hurry - and be sure to educate yourself along the way as to what to look for. This forum is a great resource for figuring out what to buy. Most of us have "been there and done that" so reach out for help. As you look around you'll find 78's-79's priced from $5k all the way up over $20k on the high side. Just remember , you make your money on the BUY not the SELL and most of these cars need work - keep in mind just tires, general fluid change, brakes, a few interior parts maybe and other minor stuff is going to run $1,000 right off the bat so choose wisely. If it needs paint and interior then it goes up exponentially from there.

Good Luck!!

 

Thanks alot. I have a decent idea. Im still unsure about the engine though. I want something that runs atleast low 13s on street tires that is dependable and can be beaten on and not have problems for atleast 50k miles. Im not absolutly sure what the stock suspension can take(or with less then $700 in mods which isnt much) anything faster then that jumps the price up drasticly I would think as in upgrades to the suspension, motor, stronger tranny etc etc.

It all depends on cost of getting it to move that quick to how much I can look to spend on buying the car.

My ideal budget is 11-13.5k max of 15k. Which I know makes it pretty tough.


I still have lots of reading and digging to do on the forums.
I need to find out these questions to figure out what I can do on that budget.
1. Cost of general interior work(Seats,carpet and for changes to center console for manual if it isn't.). Not trying make it look all original just look nice and clean.
2. Engine & Tranny cost - Whether I should get my dad to help me build one or buy a crate motor and which is more cost efficent. To achieve low 13s.

I plan on keeping this car for life so im just trying to make it look and run decent without spending plenty of cash as I'll have plenty of time in the future after I get a career going. So all the cool additional things such as having corvette stitched into the top of the seat will have to wait several years.

If I had the money I would of jumped on this http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...88&forum_id=56

Awsome looking exterior and hard to tell but I imagine the interior is pretty decent. Recently Rebuilt. Im sure more then 13.5 went into that.

 

I bought my 79 L82 about two years ago, I was just talking to a client that mentioned he had a car sitting in the garage for the past 15 years and was thinking about selling it, I asked what kind of car? He says 79 vette, The money pit is now open!
To me the paint job is the most important for it cost the most, Interiors can be done complete for less then a 1,000.
If you buy a car from up North make sure you check for rust between the door and rear wheel and behind the window trim.
OH YEA, BE PATIENT and have plenty of beer on hand!
ALSO, I wish I would of know about this form before hand for IF you just read all the comments etc you will learn alot and these are great people and will save you a ton of headaches and money.

 

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...57&forum_id=56

This will be the absolute best start if you only want to drop in an engine and trans. It still needs an alignment, but you can't beat this deal.

 

L8279 : Thanks for the bit of info. Yeah Im defiently cruising the forums all the time just reading.

Mike : Thanks but I dont have the $$$ just yet. Just getting a feal for the scene until I have the money. Which will be this year for sure, just not quite yet.

I also wanted to get a beater manual car very shortly for a couple months then turn around and sell it again quickly. I understand the concept of manual very well as I ride a bike but I have never owned a manual car. So I wanted to get some of that undermy belt instead of grinding a new tranny in the vette.

 

your car is ready for any motor & trans. you could drop some hp in that set up

 

I found mine 1.5 hours away off of collectorcartraderonline.com. I realized after I picked it up and drove it home that the 1.5 hour drive home was a longer trip than I took in the 81 Z28 I sold to buy the Vette in the entire 5 years I owned the Z. From NOVA, the Carlisle PA Corvette show in August would be a great place to look and see a bunch of cars in one place. I've been going for the last few years and am ecstatic about finally having one of my own to drive up there.

 

Stay away from ebay unless you are able to check out the car for yourself in person. Many others, including myself, have gotten hurt on ebay. It may be OK for parts and small ticket items, but not for a major purchase like a car. There is simply too much FRAUD on ebay, plus you can probably find a decent car with a less inflated final selling price if you check your local classifieds.
Good Luck!

 

The frame and the bird cage are the hardest things to fix. Like has already been pointed out, make sure the frame is solid (some rust is alright) in the area in front of the rear wheels and behine the doors. Also the window frame area will give you a good indicator of the level of rust throughout the rest of the birdcage.

Make sure the VIN plate is in the car and legible!!!!!!!! That could be a source of major headaches years down the road!!!

 

Make sure your strut rods don't look like this unless you enjoy removing differentials

 

My story i hope it helps = I've loved C3's since I was a kid and for the last 4 or five years I've been thinking about getting one.... looked hard for something in my price bracket(low)$5000 or so to work on....never expecting to drive it for at least a few years.....Everything I could find was either a total project car or the interior needed work...or the body needed work or both....and they always needed paint jobs...mileage was always high 100k or so....I bid on a few at auction but i always got beat in the end. Either that or they wanted more then I thought there project car was worth...it was getting discouraging and rightfully so with the money I had to work with( I mean even sh#t boxes were being taken away from me )...when low and behold I stumbled on a great deal on ebay of all places.....Got a 79' L82 with 53k original miles..loaded...leather seats, cruise control,A/C, Tilt telescopic wheel, aluminum wheels. acrylic T's and regular (although the acrylic ones are peeling). Body's good no real cracks or anything(I found 2 small 1" or so hairline cracks), interior good no tears in the leather...The motor sounds real good ..starts right up with no smoking.. frame and suspension is great..and it seems all the electrical stuff is working too .Now for the bad.......It needed a tranny and the paint and some of the interior is faded real bad(dash And the trim under the rear bubble window).... I may be one of the lucky ones but I truly believe that if you where meant to have it you'll get it...and things happen for a reason...I'm so glad I didn't get any of the other cars I tried for now....don't rush....take your time and you'll find one that fits you....good luck!

 

Thanks for the replies.

Nice car btw, the silver is my favorite color on that body style, It was the first to really draw my attention to the car and say WOW!
If you don't mind me asking how much did it cost to get it to that point?


Im hoping since I live in florida I'll be able to find one within the state to check it out and it won't have any rust. Working with rust sucks badly.