I live in Cary, NC and a friend of mine inquired me about (what we believe to be) a 1977 Corvette C3 he found sitting in a driveway.

What I know about the owner
The owner of the car and house is a 60ish year old woman who lives in Georgia and only returns to the home occasionally during holiday breaks to keep up the house. The inspection sticker on the car has an expiration date of April, 1989, and the car has remained untouched for about 27 years.
I do not know yet if the car is for sale, but I am predicting the owner has little care for it. I gave the neighbor my contact info, and she will contact me when the owner is in town.

The Story
According to a neighbor, who has lived there since 1992, the owner and her husband separated in the early 90s, and she got the house and car. While the house has been properly maintained and kept up, the car has sat dormant since it was parked sometime before April, 1989. I believe it belonged to her husband, and since she obtained it she has done nothing with the car, which is currently sitting on a wood block (all the tires are kaput).

Now on to the car:
The body appears to be in solid condition, excluding an alarming amount of mold on the drivers side front fender. The steel doors show no signs of rust and the car does not appear to have ever been in a collision.
I have only gotten a glimpse of the frame and all I have seen in surface rust, but I am yet to take an in depth look, as the car is surrounded by leaves and foliage.
All the windows are perfectly intact, and most of the trim bits are present.
There are pine needles and brush all over the car.
The wheels themselves appear in good shape, barring a missing wheel cap and lug nut on the drivers side rear

Under the hood:
The hood latch still works. The hood liner is shot, and the space not occupied by components is full of pine needles and brush (and no doubt critters!) The engine is either a 305 or a 350 4bbl. I opened the air cleaner and the filter was still in good shape, and the carbuerator still has grease on it. I haven't taken an in-depth look under the hood yet. But I am certain all components (except maybe the engine itself) will need replacing. All engine fluids are completely dry.

Inside the car:
The interior is in respectable condition excluding the dust, dirt, and cobwebs. I am hoping no rodents have made the car their home, as the inside has been closed up until very recently when I explored the car. It is a tan leather interior and all the pieces appear to be there. It will need a cleaning but other than that seems alright. The drivers-side door lock is stiff, and the exterior door handles are jammed open. The t-top latches work and the tops remove with ease.

Again I do not know if the owner is willing to relinquish the car. It will cost me thousands of dollars and countless hours to restore, but it would be a shame to let this beautiful car continue to rot. I am hoping the neighbor will contact me soon regarding the owner of the car. If the owner is selling and charges more than $1,000 I will not buy.

I also just noted the "daytime use only" on the inspection sticker, meaning the headlamps did not work at the time of its last drive.








My friend standing by the car, note the mold in the fiberglass





We removed the luggage rack as it was rusted had been bent down into the fiberglass deck. The fiberglass does not seem seriously damaged.





The rear bumper and tail lights are in solid condition. (Again, note the bent rack)





The inspection sticker, reading an expiration date of April, 1989.





Under the hood, I didn't dare reach too far into whatever the hell might have been under those pine needles.

I will be posting more pictures soon, and will be constantly be updating this thread with new info.

I would definitely appreciate feedback/advice

 

If you have not read the ten rules for buying a C3 please check it out, especially with respect to rust.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-corvette.html

I think you are wise to not offer more than $1k for the car as you mention it will need a ton of work and $$$ to restore and 77's are plentiful and not that expensive in good shape.

 

I don't know what others will say, but it sounds to me like you opened the car and went into it without the owner present.

Not something I would want to find out someone did to one of my cars parked in front of my house, maybe for sale or not.

As for the car, looks rough, but imagine the owner will want more than a little for it. She's kept all this time for some reason, illogical or not.

 

I have read those rules prior to looking at the car, that's why I was concerned about the frame rust. I removed one of the tops and checked the bird cage as well as I could, and it appeared to be solid. The trim also showed no signs of rust.
Unfortunately I can't just pull the trim off and check the birdcage, so as far as I know it could be beyond saving. I won't know much more until I contact the owner.

 

She got the car from her husband in the divorce and just let it sit. Under any other circumstances we wouldn't have messed with the car. Until we inquired with the neighbor we had believed the house and car were abandoned.

 

It's her property. She can do what she wants with it.

What has changed to make the circumstances any different now? My advice would be to leave the car alone.

 

Do they still call Cary, NC the Containment Area for Relocated Yankees?

Lot of northerners living there.

 

I know that's why we contacted her neighbor we just wanted to know what we were getting ourselves into

 

Yep

 

All I know for certain is that the doors, mirrors, glass, trim, and roof panels are solid and intact, so if I were to pay around $200 for the car then I could sell those for the same value, but if this car gets parted out I want it to be for a good reason.

If the car isn't a goner than I have no intention of selling it unless I reach dire financial straits.

This ALL depends on if the owner is willing to get rid of the car.

Thanks 👍

 

Right on all points
Neighbor does not own the car..they have no business either.

 

Guys I know I technically shouldn't have touched the car, and while I appreciate the feedback I would like to keep this thread related to THE CAR itself.

 

Not cool going through a car without the owners permission, whether you believed it was abandoned or not. Onto the car, I dont think you would be able to buy it for $200 or even $1000. Parting it out would yield a few thousand dollars from parts. If you got it for under $2k and parted it out you would come out ahead. Restoring a later c3 almost always costs more than the car is worth. If you are looking to flip it for a profit, the only way is to part it out but offering $200 is a slap in the face to the owner. More than likely she parked it and let it rot as an f you to her ex. She probably won't part with it.

 

While you may be right about her keeping it as an "f you" to her ex she may also not have been able to move the car.
I know the whole "shouldn't have gone through the car" story, but that's not the issue in this thread.

Thanks

 

I have to imagine that in the 25+ years it has been sitting there that you aren't the first to try and talk to her about selling it. We have had people stop and inquire about vehicles sitting a lot less time then that.

Just don't mention that you looked through the car to her, it would probably put her off immediately.

 

Thanks again,

She only goes to the house a few times a year, so she is almost never there (lives in Georgia). I'm sure we're not the first to look at the car, but with the neighbor having my cell # we're 1 step closer to finding out.

 

After opening the door, t top an hood of a long standing car, you have already bought it.

Others have paid more for a car in lesser condition. My guess is a couple grand and a lot of sweat equity you could have a nice driver. There is a restoration thread, Doorgunner's I think where the body was a moldy mess untill he washed it.

I have to assume your interest in this car means you are interested in a project and this could be a nice one if there is little rust as you so far have determined.

 

Exactly, the idea is to buy it, put some $$$ into it and make a nice driveable Corvette. Also thanks for the tips on mold removal, that was my biggest worry.

 

You might be thinking about mine. Mold will wash off mostly. Not sure about where it is directly on the fiberglass above the wheel well. That is quite extensive.

Here's my clean up.

Before




Still wet but you get the idea

 

good luck, usually abandoned/neglected cars like that stay that way because the owner wants a crazy amount of money for them, thinks they are made of gold, etc. have stopped to chat with people many times about their abandoned junk and walk away shaking my head.

one thing to keep in mind though, since you posted pictures of you trespassing and breaking into a vehicle w/o the owners knowledge/permission, you will be a prime suspect if anyone damages, steals parts off it, or it comes up missing. First thing the cops will do is ask the neighbors if they saw anyone...I know I wouldn't want to be in that situation, but to each his own...