I currently have a 2000 C5 so I am familiar with Corvettes and mods on that series. I have found a C3 1980 for about $8,000 and am going to look at it on Monday. It was a "barn find" (6 years in storage) and the current owner rescued it and put it back on the road....basically. He has had a tune up on it oil change, valve cover gaskets replaced. And yes, I know anything rubber, tires, bushings, belts, hoses, etc. are suspect and if I pull the trigger they will all be replaced. it is an A3 with the 350 motor in it. Spent its life in Springfield, OR and they do not salt their roads so I suspect the birdcage is ok. But is there something I can look at on the car to confirm the birdcage is ok. the current owner is a flipper of "things" he buys low anything he can find on the Internet, does basic to get them "right" and then moves them along for a small profit. He admits he is not a Vette persona nd this is the firs tone he has flipped. The Right headlight will not operate but i suspect a rebuild on the mechanism will solve that. The left side is ok. Radio is non op as well. A/C is non op and drivers window jumps out of track once is is fully down. All this does not bother me as I have experience with it all from previous cars and tricks I have owned.

BTW, the PO before the flipper had it re painted 10 years ago and changed out the interior from red to black.

Any tips to lookout for for this C3? Is there any inherent weaknesses.

Thanks,

Markm

 

If it needs brakes , interior and suspension rebuild then I would recommend spending 2 or 3 thousand more and get one already restored. Non salt doesn’t necessarily mean clean bird cage , sitting outside in weather will hurt it too or leaking windshield will rust the cage . There’s a clean 1980 L82 in the for-sale section for 10,500.00 that doesn’t need hardly anything for example

 

It had a new interior put in 10 years ago when it was painted. But thanks for the windshield tip. If it truly (and I do not believe the seller) was stored inside it might be ok. Brakes don;t scare me as I did them (and upgraded) on my C5 when I got it. But suspension can get pricey to pay the right shop to do it right. thanks for the ideas...they are helpful.

 

I'm not an expert on the value of these cars but based on what you have described, $8K seems a little high to me. You need to figure out what it will cost to fix everything that's wrong with it, add that to the asking price, and decide if the car is worth it.

 

Take a philips head screwdriver with you (medium size) to remove the kickplates so you can inspect the body mounts that are below the windshield. Only takes a few minutes and is part of that entire birdcage part.
Hopefully the brakes are still good after sitting up for so long. Very easy for these cars to have ruined brake systems for some reason. Make sure the idle isn't too high after the warm up completes, which will indicate a vacuum leak to find.
Make sure all of the electrical options work else you'll be deep into the dash repairing bubba wiring mods. Check the front area to make sure it is all there and has not met too many parking stops in the days.
T-Tops are pricey to replace. If they are cracked (glass type) deduct serious money from the car unless you like the fiberglass type and it has those instead.
Don't expect perfect body lines cause these cars where not all that great from the factory.

The '80 is that unique year in a way... Does not have the CCM that the '81 has, doesn't have CFI the 82 has, but has the same body lines that they do.

 

Change the interior back to red!

Does it have a manual transmission?

Cheap 80s are the best budget C3s. The things to look for are no different than other C3s. Rust in the birdcage is all that will kill it. Pull the kickpanels off, look at the turn of the frame ahead of the rear wheels, look underneath, and look at the VIN tag. A bad paint job may cost more than $8K to redo if you farm the work out. Otherwise, they are easy to work on if you aren't bound by smog rules.