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Sorry, for some reason the owner posted 2 interior photos on the C3 Registry, 1 black and 1 blue. 922/400 would be Laguna Gray with Black Interior.
Has the interior been fixed or is it still a work in progress?
1970 is a great year to own.
71 Green, the car has been repainted a year or so ago according to the owner. Color is now Cortez Silver and the interior is now leather rather than 400 vinyl.
Do you know this car or the owner? It is in Wisconsin now but 6 years or so ago, according to present owner, it was his buddy's in Florida.
SE not an easy question to answer. The first question is it truly rust from the bird cage? If it is you need to check every in of the car in the usual and unusual rust area, do you know them? If you find serious rust elsewhere to me it over. If the rust is on the birdcage area, then, how important is the car to you, any sentimental value, is it a absolute steal $$$, is it a very rare hard to find car, CAN YOU DO THE REPAIRS YOURSELF????????
All important questions to ask yourself, honestly, if it is none of the above and you are not doing the repairs yourself, you can get financially in very deep and have trouble getting out. I was once in your shoes, you decide you want won and all the good once have disparaged, but take a deep breath and buy the right car at the right $$$ that needs as little work as possible. Is this the right car for you, only you know the answer, but don't let your emotions take over.
Significant rust is the death of many of these cars, especially if you are not doing the work!!!! Is this car one of them??????????????? Try those cheap bore scope that Ebay has and see what you can see up there!!!! Good luck and post here for excellent and free advise. I won't make a move without this forum!!! Ike
thanks for your input general ike. To answer some of your questions...I do not know them and the car is not a steal but I think prices right. It has a NOM, a 1972 350, ac and many other options, good frame from pics and new parts underneath along with a not original new paint job. Asking price is just under 20K.
If I make the trip to inspect I will look it over very good and use your borescope suggestion. I would not be doing any rust rehab myself.
"I would not be doing any rust rehab myself." That is a big issue!!!! As discussed the $$$ will add up incredibly quick!!!! Pleas post what you find. Every car you see is another lesson learned, whether good or bad!! Ike
71 Green, the car has been repainted a year or so ago according to the owner. Color is now Cortez Silver and the interior is now leather rather than 400 vinyl.
Do you know this car or the owner? It is in Wisconsin now but 6 years or so ago, according to present owner, it was his buddy's in Florida.
I don't know the car, but it looks like it went from Maine to Florida in 2010, and according to you it's now in Wisconsin.
Also, did you see the car on the C3 registry? https://www.c3registry.com/index.php...dFbntcrQ89W5Pw
Last edited by 71 Green 454; Jul 6, 2018 at 01:22 PM.
I agree that you have to completely check the usual rust spots. However with most unrestored cars if you look at it enough you can often find at least some rust even if it's just surface. Follow the guidance suggested, figure out where the flakes are coming from and then figure out how serious it is. To me birdcage rust is the bigger problem.Chrome bumper Vettes in the under $20,000 price range are mostly going to be unrestored and will have the potential for these kind of issues. I haven't seen anything from your photo that I would call a deal breaker but it certainly needs investigating. Good luck!
I don't know the car, but it looks like it went from Maine to Florida in 2010, and according to you it's now in Wisconsin.
Also, did you see the car on the C3 registry? https://www.c3registry.com/index.php...dFbntcrQ89W5Pw
Thanks for that info from the C-3 Registry. I have not been on their site. It looks like a great resource!
See if they will allow you to take off the inside trim pieces around the windshield.....Rust like oldgto posted above can be spotted easily.
Brian
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Header trim from inside looking up
I asked the owner to take off the interior a pillar trim to check for windsheild condition. He was not able to get the screws out which tells me something. He did take a couple photos and stated he could see rust all along the header as shown in the photo.
So it does appear that the rust flakes in the body mount pocket are coming down from a rusted windshield support.
I told the owner I would have to pass.
Thank you all for your input. This forum is a wealth of information!!
Sorry to hear. but better of knowing that not. There will be rust but is it surface rust or loss of metal rust. My hats off to the seller, most are not that accommodating!!!! Patience is the only advise I have for you!!! Ike
A number of years back I was looking at a '68 coupe in NC. Price was good, car was a decent driver, frame looked very good. Before I offered though I decided to do some more digging and research on here. So, I learn about the dreaded windshield frame concerns, etc. I go back to take a second look, peer around the driver side windshield frame and bingo. It was swiss cheese, totally rotted away. After that adventure my number one priority was finding a car with good bones thru out. My way of looking at it is that nearly everything else is purely superficial and manageable compared to that. Lucky you dodged this one. I was suspicious of that mount pocket. Keep looking, one will show up.
I would also add you were clearly dealing with an honest seller that took the photos for you and saved you the time of looking and then finding the problem. Many of us have been on wild goose chases where the owner did not give an honest description. For someone wanting to do a restoration the car might still be a good candidate at the right price.
I would also add you were clearly dealing with an honest seller that took the photos for you and saved you the time of looking and then finding the problem. Many of us have been on wild goose chases where the owner did not give an honest description. For someone wanting to do a restoration the car might still be a good candidate at the right price.
I agree that this seller is honest, accommodating and did not try to hide anything. Like you said, this could be a good car for someone else and the windshield rust rot may not be extreme but I did not want to take the chance having no skills in this area.
I agree that this seller is honest, accommodating and did not try to hide anything. Like you said, this could be a good car for someone else and the windshield rust rot may not be extreme but I did not want to take the chance having no skills in this area.
I agree. Here is a pic to make your point. In this case the rust that is visible in the seller's photo that he sent you (if I am looking at it right) just possibly may be limited to that leading edge and the worst area on the entire frame like it is on this coupe. But it also could just be the tip of the iceberg. I keep thinking about that rust pile in the mount pocket and I think you are wise to pass it up. Don't mean to drag this out but when I saw that pic he sent you it reminded me to look at some of my old pics and this popped up as a good example of how you don't know until you do the deep dive on these things.
I agree with general Ike. When there are rust flakes in the #2 mounts, 99% of the time it is coming from somewhere higher up. Mine was a perfect example. My #2’s were perfect but had flakes on right side. Guess what, windshield frame needed work. Can almost guarantee you there is rust in the birdcage/windshield frame of that car. Maybe bad, maybe not, but until I found out definitively, I would not buy that car!
I have owned an worked on C3 Corvettes for many years. Most that have not been restored will have some rust. The key is knowing where and how much? Some should be definite deal breakers but some are less serious. The point is do your homework but don't automatically reject a car if you like it before you get the answers. The photo that 68B posted is not unusual to find. If you are paying top dollar it should be rustfree on the other hand I think some hear the word rust and reject what might be a decent car. You just have to do your homework.
I have owned an worked on C3 Corvettes for many years. Most that have not been restored will have some rust. The key is knowing where and how much? Some should be definite deal breakers but some are less serious. The point is do your homework but don't automatically reject a car if you like it before you get the answers. The photo that 68B posted is not unusual to find. If you are paying top dollar it should be rustfree on the other hand I think some hear the word rust and reject what might be a decent car. You just have to do your homework.
I agree. If the car hasn't been restored or restored recently ( older restorations may not have had good corrosion protection applied at least not as good as modern technology like powder coating etc.) then you should expect some surface rust at a minimum. You have to look at the rust prone area to get a feel for how much rust might be in the areas you can't see upon a normal visual inspection. Trailing arm pockets, Body mounts, front cross member, radiator support and cross member, stuff like that. I looked at a few unrestored cars before buying mine and mine was by far the most "rust free" and I've had the car torn down to almost the point where I could have removed the body from the frame including replacing the windshield that I cracked DOH! My windshield corners were good.
