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It was a sad day a few months ago when I did a few 360's on a rain slicked highway and ran off the road, glancing off a tree in the process. This vette has been owned by me for 15 years, bought it from a Corvette Forum member.
Anyways I am going to put it up for sale, probably here and maybe Craigslist and Ebay. I am assuming the frame is bent, I compensated for the suspension as much as I could, but it appears pushed in a few inches on the drivers side wheel. Examination of front frame however shows no cracks or obvious bends. I have not taken it to a repair shop for any professional estimates of what it takes to fix the frame, or if it could be done or not. But to be honest, last few years I haven't driven it much, I'm getting older, I just don't have time for it anymore. She's been feeling ignored and neglected.
The question for this forum is this, before I list for sale - I have no idea what I should offer! Be brutally honest. Once I get that I will give you guys first dibs to keep it in the family and post in for sale area with more pics.
This has other attributes, good and bad: Rebuilt engine with less than 5,000 miles (although done about a decade ago). Aluminum heads, performance intake and cams, double pumper carb, customer dual exhaust and pollution crap removed. I used to take it down the track, low 13 second 1/4 miles times. Some bad include a starter that frequently grinds and needs adjustment, obvious body damage, possibly still issues with steering that caused the accident in the first place.
If it were me I would bring it to a frame shop and get a price to pull it , it might not cost as much as you think just to get the frame straight , other than that its a parts car maybe a couple grand.
The full value of the car (without the damage) minus the cost to repair it is the number. Get a professional estimate for a repair first. If you want us to have first crack, we will need to know what the bill will be.
If the repairs are more than either you or anyone else wants to pay for, you might just go straight to Ebay with no reserve, "as-is". Problem solved. Its only worth what someone is willing to pay.
Here is a better frame spec drawing. You can maybe get an idea if and how bad frame is with a tape measure and somejack stands. https://www.digitalcorvettes.com/for...d.php?t=87024# link seems to work 1st time it opens. then it seems to lock you out cuz it wants you to register. So try opening it on a laptop and do file save image.
Last edited by derekderek; 08-10-2018 at 08:59 AM.
If it were me I would bring it to a frame shop and get a price to pull it , it might not cost as much as you think just to get the frame straight , other than that its a parts car maybe a couple grand.
Given the modifications, this could never be an NCRS type car with those valuations. As a driver even undamaged the car would be at most about $10K. The damage to repair would be well more than $10K. So I agree with the assessment above that you just have a parts car.
Thanks guys.
I will use the diagrams provided and take some measurements over the weekend, then take to a frame shop and get an estimate.
Agreed this is no collector car, and just about everything has been modified, just a fun car to drive and tinker with. And I don't drive it enough now to really invest more money into it. If needed, I will sell for parts value.
The control arms from what I can see looks OK. One of the bolts on the control arm cross shafts however were pushed in so hard it almost put a hole in the power steering pump - that tells me, said to say, bent frame.
Oh and also the fan started chewing up the radiator cowl, telling me that things were off center in a very vocal manner.
To a person with bodywork skills, it looks like a fairly easy fix. And not very expensive. It's fairly common the frames bend in at the 'S' behind the front wheel. The front fenders take just minutes to remove ..with a heat gun, or air chisel. Once the fender is removed, and tire pulled off, you have pretty good access to the frame to pull it. Worst case a guy can make a few strategic 'cuts' in the frame to pull the region out ..and just weld the incisions up (if any were made).
As for the top portion you have a couple options here: 1) Since it's not a 'creampuff', a guy looking to stay on the economical side could cut small pieces out of the old fender and piece them in [to the top]. Or 2) do a 'partial' upper panel replacement. Then line the panels and light back up ...do bodywork and blend the paint. Most of that is labor, so not overly expensive. I'm sure there's some hidden surprises a guy's going to run into, and that's what makes it hard for a bodyshop to figure out a price. I repaired a shark with almost the same level body damage (no frame damage though). Put some new wheels on it and you have a nice looker!
But if you're paying shop rates, you'd have to get estimates.
To a person with bodywork skills, it looks like a fairly easy fix. And not very expensive. It's fairly common the frames bend in at the 'S' behind the front wheel. The front fenders take just minutes to remove ..with a heat gun, or air chisel. Once the fender is removed, and tire pulled off, you have pretty good access to the frame to pull it. Worst case a guy can make a few strategic 'cuts' in the frame to pull the region out ..and just weld the incisions up (if any were made).
As for the top portion you have a couple options here: 1) Since it's not a 'creampuff', a guy looking to stay on the economical side could cut small pieces out of the old fender and piece them in [to the top]. Or 2) do a 'partial' upper panel replacement. Then line the panels and light back up ...do bodywork and blend the paint. Most of that is labor, so not overly expensive. I'm sure there's some hidden surprises a guy's going to run into, and that's what makes it hard for a bodyshop to figure out a price. I repaired a shark with almost the same level body damage (no frame damage though). Put some new wheels on it and you have a nice looker!
But if you're paying shop rates, you'd have to get estimates.
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Since this happened in Aug of 2018 I would assume that he either had it fixed or he sold it.
I agree. I was hoping to provide insight for readers who might look at or consider a crashed C3. The allure of a good deal seems great, but like was pointed out before, could be high-cost to repair. Mine was damaged very similar to this when I bought it (no frame damage). I've restored/rebuilt a number crashed and 'totaled' cars over the years, new and vintage. A guy can just about remove a C3 fender in minutes, and it's quick to replace with a new one too, and re-paint. That's the EASY part ..it's all the other stuff you can't see that can be a red-flag. The normal buyer who just want to own and drive a C3 should avoid a crashed C3 **Unless** they can competently do the work themselves ...or have a neighbor/relative who's willing to help/do for nearly free.
If a person can do most or all of the work themselves, such a car could be a fantastic deal.
If you're paying shop labor, you'd spend as much as a top-condition rubber bumper vette, so might as well go buy a good one. Besides a bent frame other issues could be: -Torn/bent A-arm mounts (upper & lower) that might need to be cut off and re-welded (requires a lot of measuring), -Damaged headlight assembly or mounts, -Craked adhesive that bonds and supports the front fiberglass (The top surround *may* need to come off and be completely re-bonded!). -Damaged inner fender which may need repair, -Busted fan shroud or electric fan mounts, -Cracked withshield or even tweaked windwhield frame. May well have some frame rot not part of the wreck. And other hidden gems I can think of. Most bodyshops make their money on turning quick work. Picking away at 50 'little things' is an economic killer for a shop owner trying to keep his head above water b/c owners don't want to dump 2x value of a C3 into repairs. But sometimes a shop owner may purchase a crashed car to keep their guys working on something when work slows up. But usually they'll find something that'll be worth more when it's finished (i.e. BMW, '68 Mustang, etc) ..unless they just like rubber bumper C3's.
If you see a Vette like this, better to leave to the guy who's repaired a few.
08-09-2018, 05:55 PM
Idea of value - 81 Vette, Bent Frame
Given the modifications, this could never be an NCRS type car with those valuations. As a driver even undamaged the car would be at most about $10K. The damage to repair would be well more than $10K. So I agree with the assessment above that you just have a parts car.
