BlackbirdZ07

I really don't need another project but I recently took a look at a 1980 L-82 and I'm interested in opinions. The car is a 1980 L-82 automatic (of course) with glass tops and aluminum wheels. Dark claret with oyster leather interior, which is a nice combination in my opinion. It has 114,000 miles. It's been sitting outside and not driven much for the last ten years, so it needs paint and interior. The engine ran great but I didn't drive it. Seller claims he rebuilt the transmission. The car is very original (all the stuff in the engine compartment is original). Frame looked very nice. No body damage from what I could tell. New tires. Missing the radio.

Basically this is a pretty original car that seemed to run very well that needs cosmetics. The seller is fairly firm on $5,000. Seems like a decent enough price to me, but add in approximately $5,000 for a decent paint job and weatherstripping and $3,500 for the complete interior from Willcox and it's up to $13,500 without doing anything else. Any thoughts?

demoke

I have an 80 4speed-love the year. I know the l82 is a great find. I always think it is better to buy low and really customize the car. I say go for it. Will you do most of the work yourself?

qwank

I would stay away from anything thats been sitting outside for 10 years

Tim H

RonR80

I also have an 80 and love it , if you are handy with tools and do your own work that's not a bad price . Depending on what you find . L-82 is a bit rare , Ron

Easy Mike

Write him a check for $5K and get it home. I'm biased, of course, but it's almost certainly worth his asking price.

Mashman

Old seals harden, and break, and then water gets to all kinds of places that is shouldn't.

qwank

exactly. You'll find these 1980 L82s are THAT rare once you start looking for them

Easy Mike

The OP has seen the car. He does not say it's been leaking.

qwank

Maybe we should ask him if he knows where to look for rust then

BlackbirdZ07

Thanks for the replies! The car had a car cover part of the time, and fortunately it's been here in the desert southwest, a pretty dry climate. The interior needed replacement but was by no means totally trashed. It didn't look to me like it had had lots of water in it. The frame looked very good; however, the point about leaking water and carefully inspecting the birdcage is well taken. It looked okay to me but I didn't look that carefully.

I may go look at it again to check more closely for rust, drive the car, and try to feel out how negotiable the seller may be on the price. If I do I'll take some pictures to post.

The seller bought this car and another Corvette from the same person, who bought both cars new. He claims it was a pretty nice car when he got it, but someone broke into and stole the original radio (but left the glass tops!) and after that he pretty much parked it. They broke into it by breaking the lock cylinder out of the door, so there's minor fiberglass damage around where the lock cylinder mounts but I don't think it'd be any problem for a body shop to repair that.

The engine seemed to run really well, transmission went into and out of gears with no bad sounds, headlight vacuum system worked, power windows worked, power steering was quiet. Original valve covers, air cleaner, exhaust, etc. I'm sure there would be a few oil leaks to fix, recharge the AC, and probably some other miscellaneous stuff but mechanically it wasn't bad.

Easy Mike

I think we need to allow the OP the benefit of knowing what he's looking at.

BlackbirdZ07

I don't consider myself and expert but I know about potential rust problems in the windshield frame, behind the kick panels, and up under the dash. Problem is that it's usually not easy to inspect those areas.

Fast81

There's an 80 L82 for sale here locally, Claret with maroon guts, 82K miles.
Asking $4500: lots of chips cracks in panels/nose/tail
Jsut doesn't do anything for me...............

CaseyJones

Can't speak for that market, but in my corner of the world an '80 with L-82 with good fiberglass and otherwise complete and serviceable is worth $5000. I gave close to that for my L-48 automatic with nearly perfect fiberglass and a decent interior, but it was very well optioned. I dropped a new motor in it, waxed it, and I'm driving the wheels off it. Just fixed a few of the typical bugs (meaning vacuum system). I'd buy it for that. By the way, mine sat under a car shed for seven years without being cranked after the original owner grenaded the motor.

80Baby

Well... if the car has been in a desert clime the frame should be better than average for a car that old. That being the case... $5000.00 is a good deal. Wish I had found it.

BlackbirdZ07

Thanks again for the replies. One more question: What do you think this car would be worth after being restored to nice driver condition with new paint and new interior?

I found another one today... a red/light doeskin '79 L-82 automatic. I've noticed this car sitting in the front yard of a house near where I go walking with my dog. This afternoon an older guy was out in the yard pulling weeds so I asked him about the Corvette. Turns out he bought it from the original owner in 1980 with 10,000 miles. It now has around 100,000 and it's been sitting for four years. It's a bit more weather beaten than the '80, but pretty similar condition.... he said it runs well but it obviously needs paint and interior. Good straight body, never hit, original engine. He wants to sell it because he feels badly that it's just sitting out and he knows he won't get to it. He doesn't know what he'll want for it so I left my name and number.

TexasMadMan

The color is more rare than the L82 engine.

demoke

Man, it looks like you are finding great deals everywhere! I would take the 80 and run(drive) quickly home.

stingr4y

I noticed that "I really don't need another project" was your first words.

From one enthusiast to another, all the greatest deals in the world won't help if they just pile up in the back yard, so be careful.

I apologize if I read too much into it. For me, finishing one project is a whole lot harder than starting a dozen.

Sounds like a deal to me though.