I picked up this 1977 original black with buckskin interior car about four weeks ago. The seller removed the running 383 Stroker Engine and Automatic transmission before I picked it up. I brought it home, put it up on my lift, and did some inspection to see what we have in this automobile. I will post pictures and make some comments on what I see and let you weigh in on it as well. Why not have some fun looking at a typical car that was on the road and probably should not have been.

The first few posts will be from under the car after I put it up on my lift.

I will post a few pictures and make some comments, then let it sit for a little while to allow comments before moving on to another area of the car.

I broke my foot last week so I am not in a position to move on this quickly so it will take a little while to get all the pictures posted, but I will continue to work through this if you are patient with me.

If you want to see something specific let me know and I will post it if I have it or make note of it and get it photographed for you.

Preface: 1977 Running and Driving Corvette - should it be on the road, likely not. Was it on the road, yes. So let's take a look at it together.

First two pictures show the 77 sitting on top of my lift. This is an easy way to get good pictures under the car and I have made it available to others needing to do this type of inspection. The wheels and tires are not original to the car, rather I purchased them to allow easy rolling of the chassis and car. Tires are 2010 tires, wheels are from a 1972.



I am starting from the rear of the car and going to move forward covering what I saw during the inspection and noting it for future follow up action. The rear bumper is in pretty good shape on this one.


I removed the spare tire which appeared to be original for this late built 77. The tire tub is in great shape and included the lock which matched the original keys for the ignition and doors and storage area. Nice to find that on a 41 year old car.

Even the key worked, amazing.


First signs of surface pitting was found on the frame from the bumper braces and impact shock arms, moving forward.



I saw this fuel pump mounted to the wheel well and thought "figure this one out later" but note it and move on.


As I moved forward I continued to see the clear signs of rust pitting on the differential cross member near the two bushing areas. Bushings are rotten rubber and show sever signs of wear and rust. I will show them in more detail in the next posting. On first inspection the rear trailing arms, dust shields, and all things rear look to be pretty good. The dust shields, for some reason, look near new. Odd but noted. Also note the VB&P rear composite spring installed on this one. Stock style strut arms are present, so the V,B&P spring was not part of a full modification, or so it appears.

 

6th pic down shows some pretty bad rust/rot where the top and bottom halves of the frame are welded.

I would guess the the trailing arms are not original and were built by a pro because of the french locks used and brake dust shields.

It will be interesting to see the frame pockets, mounts, behind the kick panels and birdcage.

Brian

 

Looks like it will be very educational for me!

Ray

 

Those might be copies of the original keys, but they're not the original keys.

 

Hopefully you can rescue this car but it doesn't look overly promising thus far unless you enjoy the challenges it presents.

 

Although this car has quite a bit of pitting I suspect there are many C-3's and others on the road in similar condition. I recently looked at a '64 that looked great on top but underneath was worse than what I see here so far.

 

Is part of the game to observe stuff that's incorrect? Spring bolt washers are installed wrong side toward the bushing. Pretty minor.

 

Hi David, How are you feeling?

You found another one ! Looking forward to seeing the rest of it.

Look's like a later 77 as I don't see the anti-theft lock in the fender.

That aftermarket spring probably gives a smoother ride too.

 

when I worked at the GM Parts Dept. we sold those plastic key cover that went over the key . Ours were Black but I've seen other colors. this was to help Id different keys on your ring

 

No game planned actually, just giving an inspection of my car so others that may or may not have ever conducted one might know of what to look for in these cars.

Keys are an extra set made from the originals which I have put away, no mystery there, this is the original matching rear spare lock. Keys work in the ignition and the doors and I am confident they belong to the car, I have the punch out from the keys.

My intentions yesterday were to continue moving forward under the car but the website stopped and I could not post more pictures. I will see if I can post more this morning to continue to show you what I have learned.

David

 

Moving to the differential cross member (sorry for my earlier typo) you will see the excessive breakdown of the bushings and the rusting of the bolts that hold them. Those will be fun to remove later. The bushing appear to be dry rotted, which I find fascinating because of the serious rust on this car, which you will see.



I looked to the back of the car and took this picture showing the gas tank cover (on the right) and the #4 body mount (on the left) just as a documentation that the #4 body mounts, both sides, will have to be replaced. This is not uncommon, have done this on several cars to date.


Here we have the snubber cushion and the lower differential support bracket and the cross member. Rusty, yes, but I don't see any rust through here. I will find plenty on the car, just not here.


This is the drivers side trailing arm and pocket. Some spreading on the welds here and there which will get much closer attention later. I have seen much worse, but these will need some work.


Example of metal weld gap, not severe, but where it starts it will continue until corrected.


And this is the passenger pocket, same as the drivers side only gap is showing up below the pocket on the solid metal surface. May be rot through, not certain yet, will dig into that when down to a bare frame.


Moving forward revealed the beginning of the serious rot issues. This picture is the drivers side seat area. Now keep in mind this car was being driven in rain in Georgia. I can tell you it isn't safe even if the rest of the metal floor was solid, which it is not.


Blurry picture, sorry, of the bolt area for the seat. No good metal left here to work with.


Moving forward on the floor pan you will see the pan has rotted through in multiple locations. This is the are just in front of the drivers seat. I have no idea how long this would have held up but it won't be expected to support any weight any longer. It will be removed and replaced with good metal before it can be deemed safe again. Note that the rust and rot goes all the way forward on the floor pan. Ugh.


The passenger side showed no signs of metal rot in the area of the seat or the floor pan in general. Odd that one side got hit so hard and the other did not, but rust works in mysterious ways I guess.

I will move forward with this shortly and reveal the most concerning area found to date, on the drivers side, and why they drove this car I have no idea.

Stay tuned and I hope you enjoy the tour.

David

 

More pictures moving forward. These don't need a lot of explanation, just look and make your own informed decision on what it going on here. Hint, picture one splice. Hint, picture two bolt. Etc.




#1 body mounts. Completely rotten and bushing completely compromised. Other than that not too bad. LOL.




Front cross member spreading, didn't look too bad until I got in close to look at the cross member.


Would you feel confident that this would give you a safe performance on the road? The previous owner must have because they have rebuilt front suspension parts relying on this cross member as seen in the next two pictures.



And my final picture from this back to front walk is the lower shroud. I know many of you have seen these in your own car in the past, so may not be anything new, but it completes the rust tour of this car for now.


There is more to show you including the frame flake happening from inside the frame and a pretty good collapse of the frame below the driver door area, but not today. I will get better shots and get them posted for you.

If you saw the door gaps you would ask what is going on. If you inspected the frame you would have your answer.

All for now, have fun commenting and more will be shared in the days ahead.

Cheers.

David

 

Good observance. And yes sir, it will be interesting. Will get there when the body is off this one, but not today, foot broken. My winter project.

 

Not sure I will rescue this one, may be beyond rescuing. Has some stunning interior parts that may be helpful to someone else that can use them, but we will see how it goes.
David

 

Wow, scary to think that this was on the road

if you end up parting her out, let me know! May have some iinterest in seats and that rear spring!

 

I have never seen a trans crossmember with bushings before....overall it looks like more parts for your storage unit.

 

Is there any specific reason you keep attacking my posts?
Do you do that to everyone?
Just cannot figure out what, if anything, I did to invoke your negative attitude towards me and my participation.
Please do share so I don't feel it necessary to contact the moderators, again.
David

 

Thank you. Yes, scary to think it was on the road, next pictures are even more revealing.

David

 

More pictures showing the rust rotten driver side of the frame. Again, pictures tell the story.














Front shot of the front cross member.




But wait, there is more...

 

David...This post brings up something I have always wondered about.....How much rust (scale/pitting) is too much to save the frame....?

Let's say no rust thru or even much separating at the welds, just lots of deep scale/pitting....? That would have to compromise the stiffness of the frame but by how much....? I wonder how much weight a frame might lose due to rust like this....?

Thank you for starting this thread, it will really help those inspecting for rust issues in the future.

I wonder if the engine had an oil leak that blew back mostly on the passenger side that kept that side from rusting as bad.

You said this was a Ga car....Any idea how long....? It sure looks like a car that spent some time up north on the salty roads.

I got lucky my Ga car was always a Ga car and not much rust to deal with.

Brian