TurboStitchCW

It wasn't technically in a barn, but it was sitting neglected for the last few years in he current owner's body & paint shop.

It's a 1978 Silver Anniversary edition (the guy was REALLY pushing the "Bill Mitchell signature edition")....none of that had any affect on me because there were over 15K of them made with that color scheme. Plus, half of the paint is covered by primer and overspray anyway.

He is asking $3k....worth it? I think it is. Let me hear your opinions.
The plan is to possibly buy it and fix what needs fixin, then sell it on for a profit....Wheeler Dealer style.

Pros: Car started without issues. Trim tag proved it was a silver anny two-tone paint job with an oyster interior. Vin proved that its originally an L-82 from 1978. I checked the engine stamp pad and it confirmed original matching engine. Interior is mostly there and in decent shape under the dust. Original 8-track player with Frank Sinatra tape in the deck. 11K original miles. Looked to have factory a/c. Owner has all of the emblems.

Cons: I found surface rust on the frame, but that's all it was...surface rust. The frame is solid, the radiator core support is non-existant...which happens. I found some rust on the birdcage above where the drivers door is. Pretty sure the whole thing might be shot....worth a replacement maybe.
Driver's side glass t-top was cracked and the driver's window was gone...a "shop incident" shattered it. (he told me what happened, but I don't really want to type that story as well). One of the tail lights was missing, the front grilles were missing, a lug nut here and there were missing. Seats, carpet need replaced. Non-original gas lid...power antenna doesn't come out. Spare tire is long gone. "He said" the vacuum system works, but he didn't prove it because the headlights need adjusting so they don't hit the nose when they open.

On to the pictures!
(I'll try to keep them in the order I went in on the description.)























Engine pics:







Random

LemansBlue68

If you do the work yourself to restore it, I'd say go for it. If you have to pay someone else to do the work and expect a mint condition car as a result, pass. I personally have a soft spot for '78 SA's and pace cars and so think $3K is a good deal, but I'd be the one doing the work.

TurboStitchCW

oh yeah, I'll be the one doing the work...except for the paint. I don't know about body work or paint, but I do have a buddy that does.

She's an old girl, definitely worth saving...she needs me.

chstitans42

That is a good price for that car, mind you IF the title is clear etc. Too bad the t-tops are broken. I LOVE these kinds of posts. Please post as many pics of the process as you can. those are always the best!

Is it just me, or do the belts look like they are installed upside down?

jesse10886

they look upside down to me also

i dont see it being a smart wheeler dealer purchase mostly i dont think you will be able to make a profit on this car just going off the pictures you posted. the interior needs redone, paint, engine compartment, most likely is gonna need suspension trailing arms rebuilt ect ect
for $3k i think it is fair but you are not gonna make money back on it anytime soon these cars lose money lots of it they dont tend to make money untill you have done several c3 builds and know how to jump in rebuild fast and have allot of spare parts

buy the car rebuild it drive it and love it but don't expect to sell it for a dollar more than you have in it remember your time is worth something as well jmo

TurboStitchCW

I thought that too about the belts, but I looked at them again, and the "V" is down in the pulley where it should be.

CHarper

You can easily sink 10k in that car, even if you do a lot of the work. And besides, if you do you will not want to sell at the end. Buy the car and enjoy it, 3k is a good deal.

MyRed69

By the looks of it that must have beed a HARD 11K miles... Certainly a couple of hours work ahead of you. Radiator core is an easy fix; the birdcage, a bit more work :-) Looks like a "fun" project. This forum is the place to be for widespread knowledge and confidence building with a project.
Good luck if you decide to go with it.

leadfoot4

I was thinking the same thing, when looking at the pictures of the interior. To the OP, are you sure it wasn't 111,000 miles?

81 c3

You will not make money on this one and where the T bar glass is broke and the lack of gap at the top of the drivers door I would say that is a good indication of what the bird cage is actually like.

Mooser

Dayco Top-cog belts. They have "teeth" on the top, were supposed to help stay cool, etc.
I've run them for years now, good belts, no better, no worse
http://www.daycoproducts.com/daycowe...7!opendocument

Mooser

Wuttin

I agree...must have better understanding of birdcage condition, otherwise you can paint and polish and resell but there may be demons lurking which is not fair to the next owner.

I have never seen such a spent rad support...really makes you wonder where the car spent its time. Did you get a peek at the kick-ups?

Regardless, if it's a disaster down deep you can at least get $5 for the Siantra tape if you buy it and opt to part it out...

avalonjohn

I am also on the mileage check. I saw an oil change sticker in there somewhere, what does it record the mileage at? Also, do you know why the car was in the shop in the first place? Was it the shop owner's car? I am just curious why an 11k mile car would be abandoned in a shop.
now, having said that, the price does not seem bad, but I do think you may be upside down in it even if you do most of the work and sub out the paint and body. I do love the 78 SA model....

540 vette

If you are looking to make a profit on that car, I don't think it will happen. You are going to sink 10,000 - 12,000 easy into it. That would bring it to where you could get top dollar for it. And don't forget your time. That is money also. Unless you can work on it like a job, 40 hour week, that project is going to take some time. If you are looking ot make money off a car, get one that needs some cleanup and paint not a big project.

irvan

I've bought a couple of Corvettes that needed a lot of work because they were to good a deal to pass up and usually within an hour and a half to 2 days i wish i hadn't.

The_Dude

Looks like something that could be restored for $20k and then worth $10k all day long. I'm not buying the 11k original miles either with the interior wear. If it runs and drives, it's worth the $3k.

TurboStitchCW

I zoomed in on the pic with the oil change sticker, and the date on it is 5-12-90 with the mileage showing as 4943 or 4993 or 9943.....definitely only 4 digits.

The seller is the 2nd owner and he only bought it because (he said) it was a purchase of opportunity. The original owner paid a guy to restore 3 vettes, but he bounced with her money and left the cars. She sold all three to the seller for not very much (he said). He ended up restoring the other two and then selling them.

It's his car, he has the clean title (dated transfer in january)....he sent me a pic dated yesterday with the VIN and everything correct for the car.

I can't be 100% sure of the mileage because I wasn't there to watch it, but I'm convinced it's original. IDK how to get confirmation on that though.

I am going to do the work myself and I will be able to focus on it because I am getting out of the military real soon, so I will have a lot of free time on my hands. My wife is re-upping so, I will be a stay at home dad after getting the car in decent running condition, then I will send it home to my dad (with my military entitlements) and have a friend of mine who owns a paint and body shop repaint it original colors. Then when my wife gets reassigned, pick it up and take it with us and maybe sell it or do a proper frame-off THEn sell it because we are pretty sure we are going to Dayton, Ohio (Wright-Patterson AFB) for her next assignment. We have already been looking at places over there and we can get a lot of space with plenty of working area for me (as in a 4 bay detached garage or something similar) for a decent price.

The_Dude

That's really not any kind of confirmation on the mileage as the car was already 12 years old and could have easily turned over. Wear on the pedals is good indicator. The pads could have been replaced, but not likely. Ask yourself how likely it is that someone bought that car for $10k in 1978 and only put 4k miles on it in 12 years.

TurboStitchCW

If (big if), this car was originally a Hawaii car, I could see that. The island is not very big.

TurboStitchCW

just browsing the forum, and saw a 1981 with 111K miles, and I agree it's completely possible that this 78 could very well be at 111K.

Interior is in similar condition as the one I saw.

Well, i put $1k down on it, so it'll be mine for $3k. I figured, even if it's at 111K, it'll still be a good driver. I'll just do the maintenance and cleaning and get it ready to pass inspection, maybe drive it for a while (only short distances since we live close to the AF base) to have any other potential issues show themselves. Then when I am satisfied that things are solid, send it to my dad. Then I will do the frame-off next year. If nothing else, it'll be some great "experience/knowledge building". So once, I take possession of the car, I'll take more pics and fully document the process. Thanks for your input everyone!