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It's my first post and am looking forward to hearing from what seems to be such an awesome community here! So a little background, I am not actually a corvette owner yet... but I am looking to get myself into a 68-73 Corvette C3 build. This is going to be more of a fun personal car just to drive around in the summer so I'm not looking for anything special like numbers matching or original paint job etc. But I do want a manual transmission! I've read all the buying guides here on the forum, but as a 19yo who doesn't want to accidentally get himself into a frame off restauration, I've come here!
After searching the internet for hours and talking to many sellers, I have come across a 1973, MT, engine-swapped C3. It still has a 350 but obviously the numbers are no longer matching. I am pretty comfortable with any engine, suspension, or any mechanical work to be done but when it comes to body and frame... not so much (Although my body shop guy has done many C3 rebuilds). The seller is asking $12 500, which seems to be slightly on the higher end of what I can get for C3s of that condition (Here in Montreal, Canada). In general, do MT, 1973s go for more than the later model C3s? With that in mind, what do you guys think of these pics and videos?
personally I would have preferred still photos, easier to go back to when checking the condition or absence of something. For instance to come up with a price I had to know whether it had power windows and then had to find which video had the interior to see if there were handles on the doors or switches on the console.
There are no shots of the underside to determine the extent of rust. The frame kickups cannt be clearly seen in the video.
I assumed high mileage and came up with a price of about 10K in US dollars using a free app called Corvette DNA.
The 73 was the last year to have chrome rear bumpers so it may go for more than say a 74.
Could be trick of light or camera angle, but from first video front door gaps seem to be much bigger at the top. That could be a telltale or rusted out A pillar.
Also a video or pics of the underside of the car could tell a lot more about its condition because fiberglass never rust.
You can't really spot a bad car by looking at it externally.
I'd say one of the best indicators of hidden rust is the area around body mount #3. There is an access panel in front of each of the rear wheels. Open that panel and inspect the area around the mounting bolt. You will have to either remove the rear wheel, use a mirror or a remote camera like the $99 Ryobi to inspect it properly. If the cavity contains piles of rust dust, broken metal fragments, or a worn body mount bolt head then that should be a big warning sign of expensive repairs to come.
In general, if there is lots of surface rust any where on the frame, then the rust inside the frame will typically be worse.
:x2 maybe its the camera angle but that PS door gap looked nuts
Not sure Id pay 12..need more info, how are the brakes, bushings all the expensive stuff?
Go look at it, crawl underneath ask questions see what doesnt work.
The owner could easily have $12,000 invested in the car, but as other members stated-It's what we CANNOT see that concerns us. Is your friend able to give you advice on things like Rust, worn brakes, loose suspension, worn driveline, worn differential, low engine cylinder compression?
10-06-2017, 11:16 AM
Buying a C3 Corvette!
