Hello all! I am excited to become part of the lucky individuals who own these beautiful cars. I am looking at buying an 80, and it has been partially restored, but I am a bit hesitant. heres the story...

I saw the car for sale the other day, and decided to take a look. Well, it all looks good to me, and the $3k price tag was enticing. I did notice that the front clip wasn't sitting right. So I called the owner, and we met up. According to him, his son bought the car, was working on restoring it, gave it a paint job, and new exhaust, and all this other stuff. Then one day, he fell asleep behind the wheel and put it in the ditch. Thats when he decided to just get rid of it.

The story seems to fit, and i'm prepared to fix or replace the front clip. However, I am concerned that maybe the frame is bent, hence the low price tag.

now, when you look at it from the pass side, you can see the rear of the front clip is pushed back enough that it is just a bit passed the front of the door- it has a 12-14 horizontal crack running from the door forward about 1/4 the way down the panel, and the bottom area (behind the wheel) is no longer bolted to anything. There is a crack in the thin section between the headlight and the nose on the drivers side, and the front side is pushed back almost as much as the pass side. The bar that runs across the back of the engine compartment is broken in a few places, consistent with the other damage. the seller also told me that the noise from the engine was just the fan blades hitting the shroud just a little bit, a result of the damage.

Can you guys tell me, from this description (sorry, no pics at this time) what the chances are that it is worth the investment or not? Could the frame be bent? is there any way I could do a quick test to verify it on way or the other in his driveway? I did test drive it today, and it didn't seem squirrelly or anything, but I've been driving a blazer for a few years.

I'm really wanting to go put some money down in this thing tomorrow to hold it until I can get the loan from the bank, but I don't want to screw myself, or commit to buying a piece of junk!

Thanks for any and all advice- I hope your replies are good, and that I'll be posting on here ALOT over the coming years!

FirePhage

 

i would keep looking

 

Me too. Do yourself a favor and find a better car, they are out there.

 

its a 3K car.. you get what you pay for...
it will be a money pit.....

I suggest you spend 8 or 9K on a good runner.. you will spend much less in the long run.. and be on the road tomorrow

 

You would be buying a piece of junk and a money pit.

 

i 100% agree with them.

 

Look under the car and see if the frame looks bent. You can put it on level ground and measure from the frame to the ground in the front.
If the frame is straight it might be worth the time and money to fix it up.

 

And you don´t think a 8 or 9k car would be a money pit. If you are buying an unrestored car they are all money pits. Any classic car is a money pit.

 

Don't take this the wrong way but, if you need a loan to buy a $3,000 car, you're not quite ready for this hobby.

 

Thanks guys! I am looking elsewhere. I was thinking about making a lowball offer, just for parts. Maybe $1800? I don't know.

@BKBRoiler- you're absolutely right. However, I am about to finish college, and will be moving up financially, and the opportunity presented itself, so I figured I'd look into it. I'm always looking for a good deal! lol

Thanks again!

 

Finish school by all means and establish yourself financially. I'd stay away from these cars until you're ready to happily throw more money, than you can imagine! Yes, they are sleek, sexy cars, but they'll consume money and hard work at amazing amounts. You were smart to come before you decided to buy a C3 Corvette. Finally, yes, they can be daily drivers, but only if you already own another vehicle. Save up for nice one. $10k will usually net you a nice rubber bumper C3 and even then, you'll find that it needs ocassional injections of money.

 

A good frame shop can put it back where it belongs. I had a 71 once that had the sme type issue. After the frame repair, I had a few things to correct and it was fine after that.

 

I am happy to see somebody just getting out of college wanting a C3 instead of a BMW or something newer. That is cool.
I would think you would be better off to get a job and get established, save a bit of money, keep researching, and find out where you are going to live first. Will you have a garage? 2 stalls?
I was 49 before I got my first 'vette. You will still have me beat by quite a few years.
Good luck in whatever you decide to do