Been away from the forums for a couple of years, sold the C5 and decided I wanted another Corvette and can not afford a newer one. A friend of a friend is selling a 1981, the bad- interior wasted/thrashed, apparently the car was a loner to a family member that destroyed the interior. The seats are shot, carpet a mess, dash cracked, center counsel loose as the car was broken into and the radio stolen. So new interior everything. The good- exterior good overall condition with 10 year old re-paint, original two tone color, two small cracks behind bumper about 6 inches in length otherwise the body is straight, never in an accident, original owner, 67,456 miles. Drivable, engine runs, small trans leak and possible head gasket leak as when running some smoke from around the heads, motor sounds solid and was maintained, so I'm told. Transmission good, brakes? Asking $5000.00, what she worth? Looking for opinions, California car it's whole life.
Thanks! Have to make a decision by this Sunday!

 

I bought an '81 myself last year, and asked a lot of the same questions. That year isn't collectible or desirable nearly as much as other years of Corvettes. The horspower is limited, and the body panels probably don't match up that well because the factory was pretty slack back then. But the parts aren't too hard to come by, and it's pretty easy to restore or mod on a decent budget.

By now you should already realize that you will NEVER get the money back that you will have to dump into almost any car to bring it back to life. That said, I love the styling, and am completely thrilled with my car. It needs some work, but I plan to hang onto it for the forseeable future.

Bottom line: don't buy it for potential profit. Buy it because you will get more smiles per gallon than any other car on the road!

 

If they trashed the interior, how can you beleive they kept the maint up-to-date ?????
A completely new interior is going to run you $2000-2500 if you do the work yourself (including reusing/respraying trim parts) THEN there's the bodywork
Sounds to me like it's worth $3-4k

 

In my eyes its a bargin here in Australia you would be looking around $20,000 to $23,000 to buy it!...Tell you will give him $4K CASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

In my eyes its a bargin here in Australia you would be looking around $20,000 to $23,000 to buy it!...Tell you will give him $4K CASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!..........CASH IS KING!

 

Do you have the $5K? Do you want this 81? Decision-making made easy.

 

waste of time i'd say. 5k should get u at least a decent interior. i'd pay no more than 4k for it. head gasket problems seems to really decrease the selling value too. brakes i wouldn't trust for 10 ft. if u buy it my best advice is to replace the whole brake system from front to back, top to bottom. if u do it urself ur lookin at less than 1k- if i recall correctly without lookin at my envelope of receipts it was around 100 for each rotor (bosch w/ lifetime warranty) 200 for correct booster, n the rest was cheaper- (looking at receipts) calipers were 45 w/ core charge reduction, hoses were 20, can't find receipt for m.c. (too many in this it's overflowin n i jus keep addin more to it... need to get another envelope) n don't replace it one piece at a time as the $ comes in like i did. had to bleed the system more times than i can count.

 

Thanks to all for the input; I went to the Pomona Corvette/Porsche swap meet today and talked to several people for their opinions. Well i have decided $4,000 is a reasonable offer for the car and a fair deal for the car in it's present condition.

 

Not sure how someone is supposed to answer a value question when they dont know if the numbers match or not. In this case, it could change the answer from yes to no.

 

Bought an 81 4spd manual last year with 64k on the clock. Two tone paint in good condition, no cracks, no rust on frame or bird cage, wheels in perfect shape, interior is in very good condition and everything from power mirrors to the rear defroster works fine. Even the AC which had been converted to the new stuff blows cold.

I paid $9000.


Actually pretty soon the original motor, manual trans, trailing arms, and some other misc stuff will be for sale.

 

Not sure if numbers mean anything in a $4 or $5K car to be used as a pleasure driver. C3s are largely affordable, approachable grand touring automobiles which (unless rare, highly optioned, or otherwise unusual) should be purchased simply because the new owner wants one. Viewing ANY automobile as an "investment" in the current economic and political climate seems a bit far fetched to me. If you want a guaranteed return on your money, buy Bonds and enjoy the 2 percent return (if you are fortunate). If you want to have a great time in a sporty automobile for chump change, buy a project C3 and have an absolute blast for cheap. "numbers" matter only in exceptional C3s... the rest should be used, modified and enjoyed for what they are... relatively common (high numbers produced) poor investments which return more thrill and style per dollar spent than any Camaro, Chevelle or Monte Carlo can at present.

 

You couldnt possibly be more wrong, and you really should not be advising newcomers to the hobby with statements like this. Just because you don't understand market value should not mean you tell newbies that the things that matter the most don't, just because they don't to you.

Entry level cars are great fun and the lowest priced ones with NOMs can be a blast. However, the intrinsic "value" of these cars are tied to the numbers, the thing that cannot be replaced without faking them. If you think a car that's "only" worth $5000 today means numbers do not matter, you are new at this.

When I bought my "entry level" Corvette, we used to say the same thing. It was 1977, gas prices were crazy, so big blocks "werent worth anything" GM had just dropped making Corvette convertibles so convertibles "werent worth anything" and Corvettes had that new fangled shark body, so those "old fashioned" mid years "werent worth anything."

People cut them up, put flares on them, add extra tail lights and painted them flip flop. The worst though were the people who disrespected the cars and the hobby and threw away the motors for the latest cool flavor, causing that value to never be recoverable (without a fake stamp.)

My first Corvette? A 396 convertible, black. $2500. Because "it wasnt worth anything."

As long as GM keeps making bars of soap that all look alike in C5, C6, C7 whatevers (until Obama outlaws them) the old cars will be worth more and more because they look like vintage cars. Even though the mid/late rubber nose C3s arent worth much today, they will in the future. And the absolute fools that were SO shortsighted as to not understand that the matching number motor is the heart of its value, well they get what they deserve.

 

Be wary of Corvette buying advice from Porsche drivers.

 

How many years should pass to be considered a litmus test to determine whether any vehicle could be the next recognized classic? Since you mention 1977 and I own one let's compare that to a 1967. By the time any 67 was 35 years old they had all been classified as highly desireable, collectible, "classic" and therefore quite expensive even in truly poor condition. Highly optioned, "performance" optioned and "survivor" cars were trading briskly at obscene prices... some in excess of six figures. Nice NOMs were trading far in excess of their prices when new.

Now to 1977 where options and performance packages were few and production prodigious. They are now about 35 years old and I have not yet seen any 1977 sell for near six figures. I have seen truly magnificent survivor cars listed on this site languish for months with price tags less than triple original sales prices. Noone here would recommend attempting a frame off resto on any 1977 with the intent to make money at resale. It just ain't happening; either now or in the forseeable future. So believe what you will and opine as you please but we'll just agree to disagree until whenever the "market" justifies your argument.

 

I offered $2000..
she said no. I called back 1 week later, told her I had come to my senses and offered $2500. She said $2800, done deal, And now, I have made a dependable and good looking vette. I was ready to walk away......as you should too. Makes you calm down, and look. She told me later that she used to work at a used car place. And the way I came back was very repectfull of her, and the car it's self. So She made the deal. Good luck.