I have a friend in TN looking at a 1980 in KY. The car has 23K original miles and from all of the pics he sent me it looks new enough to be that low of mileage. My quick questions concern the interior. Per the black book I can only find black in leather. This car has cloth inserts with leather outer (see pic). Should I suspect the seats were recovered?

The other issue concerns the AC. The air blows only in the footwells and not through the dash. Could it be the switch assembly in the centre console? I know that switch on 82 models is vacuum controlled. The other idea I have for it not working is the flap that directs flow is stuck. All of the duct work is in place so it's not that.

Final question. Were the blue tinted t-tops available in 1980? I forget the number.

Thanks and all quick replies appreciated. He wants to close the deal once he gets these things answered.

I believe the cloth inserts were available, and they look good in the pic.
Are there cloth inserts in the doors, too?
If so then I'd say original.
Most 79s that I've seem with cloth have kinda funky material, maybe GM got the message and used nicer in the 80s.

Blue tops were available, still the laminated ones.

I think you're right about the AC. Controller in the console. Grease sealing them dries out and leaks start. Or a vac line could have come off.

Yes there are cloth inserts in the door cards. I'm glad we're in agreement on the AC controller. I had to replace one in my last 82 I had. Thanks also for the t-top confirmation. I'll pass along the info to my friend. I'm pretty sure he's going to pull the trigger.

Cloth was a buyer's choice for 80. My Blackbook has codes for cloth and says 1040 buyers went with dark blue cloth.

80-82 HVAC systems are essentially the same. If you can trouble one, you can troubleshoot the others.

Sadly we can't see the car, but the interior is nice.

As others have said, cloth was a no charge option, in place of leather, on 1980 Corvettes. Oyster, Dark Blue, Doeskin & Dark Claret were all available in either cloth or leather, while Black, Red & Dark Green only came in leather.

The problem of air blowing out of the wrong location is pretty common on Corvettes, and many other GM cars of that era. It can be the controller, a loose or leaking vacuum line, a bad vacuum actuator, or the vacuum relay switch. Another problem occurs when the heater core has been replaced, and I'm sure it has been at lease once in 36 years. Sometimes when reinstalling the heater box, the ducts or box don't get aligned properly, causing the internal heater/defroster/air conditioning flapper doors to bind and not open properly.

The blue tinted laminated glass tops were an option through the end on 80 production, and can be identified by the word "BLUE" on each top. 81 & 82's used a gray tinted tempered glass top, and do not have a color listed on the glass.

Nothing to add on your seats.

My guess on the HVAC is that your vacuum lines are brittle and cracked on the ends and will not hold a vacuum. This is an easy, albeit tedious, fix and SUPER common for the 80-82.

I did a heater core replacement on mine back in March. I replaced 100% of the lines and 0% of the actuators and my system runs fabulous.

Thanks everyone for your inputs. I initially thought the interior was black based on what my friend told me and by the crappy cell pics he sent. I expanded the pics and see that it is blue.