Classified ads and their translations.....

These are from personal experience of what the ad said and what I found.

"May need some engine work"- This meant the engine threw a rod and there was a hole in the block.

"Needs minor quarter panel repair"- This meant the bottom six inches of sheet metal was rotted off and the rest of the skin was crumpled up to resemble a piece of tin foil someone balled up then tried to flatten out again.

"Primered, ready for paint"- This meant someone troweled on two gallons of bondo over top of newspaper and masking tape and spray canned some black primer on it.

"Good glass"- Except for the three inches of fog around the outside of every pane. Well, it WASN'T cracked.

"All the hard work is done"- Which means, I still have to go back and fix the repairs you did and then dump a ton more money into it to buy the parts the car is still missing.

"May need a new muffler"- That means, the engine has a cracked head and is spewing water vapor out the tail pipe. Somehow the owner thinks a new muffler will cure this.

"I think it needs new shocks"- No Ma'am, that's not why the rear bumper is dragging the ground. This thing needs new leaf springs.

...and my favorite from a used car salesman trying to sell a C-4....

"It has low miles and runs good"- Ok, then why is this car seven different shades of gold with bad body work (poorly prepped body filler) showing through every panel on the car?

Bottom line, ...buyer beware. Take someone you know and trust to look at the cars if you're not 100% positive what to look at. It's really easy to get burned on a bad Corvette.

 

Sounds like a case of personal preference... do you like the flat window style or the big window '78? Personally, Id prefer the 78, with some fresh paint, throw away the silly can am spolier, add Pace car spoilers front and rear and maybe some '79 PC seats and you have a pretty little car. I think Id strip that horrifying paint the day I got it home... Id rather drive it in primer.

Appropriate prices for a couple of entry-level cars, '75 maybe should be a hair less. I dont care for the paint or the wrong tail cap on it, but again, personal taste. Its less ugly than the '78 paint, but you will have to do them both anyway, so no $ difference. I imagine both cars will have to be completely gone through before you are done so be ready for it.

Luckily they are at the same place, so you can compare important issues like frame rot and prior body damage, although it sounds like you did that.


PS: By the way, I see the '75 is matching # and the '78 doesn't really say (which means they aren't)- keep this in mind when considering value, regadless of the low prices. If I missed additional info on the '78 numbers... disregard.

 

i say you find the year you love the best and start your search alot of vettes for sale even you have to pay more at least youll have what you want. no matter what year and condition vette you buy you will always be putting money into it. becareful it can become very addicting. good luck

 

Having both these years, go with the one in the best condition. Biggest thing is look for rust, all the other stuff can be taken care of easier than trying to kill and repair rot.

 

Get someone knowledgable about the birdcage rust - very expensive to repair and not obvious unless you know what to look for. Also check the diff - another un-obvious expensive repair.

I bought a '78 so there is room for my girlfriend, in the back for my 75# dog, some luggage and a case of beer (when I go on vacation).

As others have said, you can spend a small fortune on thes cars. Getting the engine rebuilt by a professional shop isn't cheap but you can make much more power and then they are really fun to drive in the twisties. Get an L82 if you have a choice and stroke it to at least a 383. Need better heads to make over 300 FWHP and still have nice low end pull.

 

Hmm... I can't see the ads (must be gone already) but from the description one needs a new interior and one has a hack job under the dash. The most expensive part of the car to restore? The interior. A close second? Hack jobs in the dash. One has engine problems and the other doesn't have the original engine.

For seven to ten grand you can get one of these years in decent shape. That might be a better route, IMHO.

 

If you live in California then go for the '75. Never needs smog again. Plus you can add side pipes etc. or do almost anything with your exhaust.