on the new engine!
My corvette almost made it home...
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 182,997
Likes: 88
From: Lakeland, FL
Cruise-In IV-V-VI-VII-VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '03, '06, '17
Sorry to hear about the issues with the car and hope that you'll have her back on the road soon without spending an arm and a leg.
I got more lucky with the car that I bought in Dallas (Forney). Drove my 68 Vert home to Central Florida.. 1100 miles with zero issues..
I got more lucky with the car that I bought in Dallas (Forney). Drove my 68 Vert home to Central Florida.. 1100 miles with zero issues..
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
From: Houston Texas
Sorry to hear about the issues with the car and hope that you'll have her back on the road soon without spending an arm and a leg.
I got more lucky with the car that I bought in Dallas (Forney). Drove my 68 Vert home to Central Florida.. 1100 miles with zero issues..
I got more lucky with the car that I bought in Dallas (Forney). Drove my 68 Vert home to Central Florida.. 1100 miles with zero issues..
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 182,997
Likes: 88
From: Lakeland, FL
Cruise-In IV-V-VI-VII-VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '03, '06, '17
I drove my previous yellow '68 Vert home from Ohio in March 2006. It was snowing up in Ohio when I drove her home... No issues either.. Also drove that car from Florida to Bowling Green KY and back.. only thing that broke on that trip was the alternator bracket which I was able to replace as I found the bracket at a Pep Boys store in Atlanta
Last edited by GrandSportC3; Jul 29, 2015 at 06:08 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 2,091
Likes: 40
I had an 79!L82 when it was nearly new car......it was a heck of a hot ride the 300 miles from college to my parents house.....back then...it ran like 220 degrees all the time ......car was black too. I imagine the cat was cherry red.
My tennis shoes were so hot I swear they melted rhe soles ....it never blew up ...LOL
My car had the 3:70 axle .....running 75 mph On a hot azz day is tuff on an old engine . I thought the thing was going to blow up like a bomb it used to get so hot.......
But not as hot as my 66 BB got....that was in class all it's own.
I'm not surprised it gave up .
These old cars were built for 55 mph speed limits ......everybody does 80 now ....it's hard on old bones
My tennis shoes were so hot I swear they melted rhe soles ....it never blew up ...LOL
My car had the 3:70 axle .....running 75 mph On a hot azz day is tuff on an old engine . I thought the thing was going to blow up like a bomb it used to get so hot.......
But not as hot as my 66 BB got....that was in class all it's own.
I'm not surprised it gave up .
These old cars were built for 55 mph speed limits ......everybody does 80 now ....it's hard on old bones
Last edited by LS4 PILOT; Jul 29, 2015 at 08:42 PM.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 46,602
Likes: 109
From: Down in Bulldog country
2015 C3 of Year Finalist
St. Jude Donor '15-'16-'17-'18-‘19-'20-'21-'22-'23
Well, look at the bright side - you made it home safely, you have a nice looking '79 with a 4 speed (uncommon for that year) and a hot looking g/f..could be worse 
As mentioned, plenty of good choices for crate motors...good luck!
As mentioned, plenty of good choices for crate motors...good luck!
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 4,652
Likes: 80
From: Lakeland Florida
Congrats on the new project, and good luck on the rebuild. After seeing the photos and reading the posts, it may be time for a new/rebuilt engine. There are some good deals on medium horsepower engines in the same range as upgrading your current engine block combo would be.
The good news is that you now have many new options to chose from.
kdf
The good news is that you now have many new options to chose from.
kdf
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Drifting
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,853
Likes: 81
From: Hamilton Virginia
Great looking project. I am sure that it was used to tooling around town for the previous owner. Then you buy it and decide you would try and run 80 on the highway with the t-tops off and the wind blowing thru your hair for a couple hours. The engine just wasnt used to it. Time for a re-build though, or buy a crate motor. Piece of cake to install with all your engineer degrees. Just read and read, you should knock it out in no time. The girlfriend will enjoy the new motor also. I bet you will enjoy the vette more than the SS.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,247
Likes: 471
From: Glen Allen, VA
79 L-82 4spds are awesome, not that I'm biased or anything! Sorry about your misfortune on the engine, and as others said you're definitely taking it well. I'm sure it will be loads of fun once you get it sorted out. I'll be keeping tabs.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 5,943
Likes: 61
From: Southern NH
Safety Car
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 3,755
Likes: 721
From: Lafayette Louisiana
Nice Corvette!!!
Nice Corvette!!! Great find!!!
for Mechanical Engineers too!!!
Always something with C3's I think. Had my new 68 on jackstands for 8 months, going through everything (or so I thought), on the second 3hr cruise, water pump goes out, sprays what appears to be 50 gallons of coolant all over, so towed home with a tow truck just like yours. I have learned something though, now I have my favorite tow truck service on speed dial, LOL's!
All the best and hope you enjoy your new ride!
Oh, one other thought for you. I would likely try to fix the original engine, but price it out first both ways. If cheaper, I would put in a crate engine in a heartbeat. Food for thought, I have friends with the thirties/forties/fifties cars and NONE of them brag about having the original engine. In fact, they all brag about having a LS1 Corvette engine. So agree with other posts here, unless you have an uber rare Corvette where the original engine can add value (and so you could not actually drive and enjoy an uber rare Corvette since it so valuable), in another 10 to 20 years folks will be bragging that they have a C3 with a C7 LT1 engine, ha!
for Mechanical Engineers too!!!Always something with C3's I think. Had my new 68 on jackstands for 8 months, going through everything (or so I thought), on the second 3hr cruise, water pump goes out, sprays what appears to be 50 gallons of coolant all over, so towed home with a tow truck just like yours. I have learned something though, now I have my favorite tow truck service on speed dial, LOL's!
All the best and hope you enjoy your new ride!
Oh, one other thought for you. I would likely try to fix the original engine, but price it out first both ways. If cheaper, I would put in a crate engine in a heartbeat. Food for thought, I have friends with the thirties/forties/fifties cars and NONE of them brag about having the original engine. In fact, they all brag about having a LS1 Corvette engine. So agree with other posts here, unless you have an uber rare Corvette where the original engine can add value (and so you could not actually drive and enjoy an uber rare Corvette since it so valuable), in another 10 to 20 years folks will be bragging that they have a C3 with a C7 LT1 engine, ha!
Last edited by 20mercury; Jul 30, 2015 at 11:05 AM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 8,117
Likes: 104
From: charlotte north carolina
I can only assume that the hands with the manicured nails belong to your GF. I can't believe that she's even touching that greasy motor. My wife won't even go into the garage when I'm working on something like that.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 182,997
Likes: 88
From: Lakeland, FL
Cruise-In IV-V-VI-VII-VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '03, '06, '17
After owning 13 Corvettes, I only blew up an engine in one of them.. It was in a '69 Vert I owned from '97 to '99.. Car was still running when the engine was pulled but it was smoking out of everywhere and sounded like it was on it's last breath.. Took advantage and installed a nice 383..
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
From: Houston Texas