Sold my 86 C4. Still smarting from that a bit as I get real attached to Corvettes, especially ones I do significant work to.

I found a pretty nice 78 L-82 4-spd coupe (t-top) I'm considering buying.

I have questions:

1) Is there a way to easily determine that the 78 still has an L-82 engine under the hood. If so, how? I know that the serial number verifies the car as built with an L-82.

2) What are the most common issues with the C3 that can bite your pocketbook big time? i.e. What do I look for in the way of problem areas?

The car in question has long tube headers and exhaust mods and the seller "thinks" it has a cam change. All that is ok with me because I will very likely build the engine a bit at some point for my own intertainment.

Any other C3 cautions/weaknesses to know about?

Thanks for the help?

Tom

BTW: This C3 is the Mahogany color ext and interior. You won't see yourself coming the other way too often. Color appeals to me, but likely not for everyone.

 

Like you, I had a C4 before buying a C3. I drove my 93 arctic white coupe for 11 years and 165K miles. I got a lot of pleasure from it and it was good to be part of the vette community. It was an expensive and somewhat complex car to maintain... glad the company paid for it.

The C3 is a TOTALLY different vehicle. Really no similarities, but the name. The C3 is old school- don't forget the cars are 30-40 or more years old. They are not going to drive as smooth or rattle free as a C4-C6.

Get the very best one you can afford, cause almost everything will need some repair or replacement over the next few years, if you drive it frequently. Mine was a very clean car that spent most of its life in dry California. But it still needed a carb rebuild, a new radiator, brakes and a wheel alignment immediately after purchase.

After driving mine for over 7 years and 60K miles, and speaking to a lot of other owners, I don't think there is any one item that consistently fails- its a lot of little and sometimes big things that need maintenance or rebuilding on these older vettes. (Oh, some complain about the slight oil leak from the 2 piece main seal on the Chevy small block; check for rust on the frame just in front of the rear wheels; and does the vette generally look like the prior owners took care of it.....or rode it hard and put it away wet?)

The 78 L82 has a VIN with the 5th digit being a "4"; and the engine block is stamped with the suffix CMR for auto trans , or CMS for Manual trans- both are 350 ci and rated 220 hp.

Good luck with your planned purchase. IMO the C3 is a lot of fun to restore- or modify like I'm still doing; and its a blast to drive.

 

RIJVETTES....thanks for your insight!

The one I have looked at did have some rust on the under carraige but it looked like surface rust. It's wet up here in Tacoma....you've heard that I'm sure..:-). I will have to get it over a pit or on a lift if the dealer is serious about selling it to ME. I want a 4 speed which make it more difficult to find a suitable candidate. Just personal preference. I like going through the gears. My C4 was a 4 speed O/D and the C5 a 6 speed.

Anyway, I appreciate your response! Thank you!

Tom