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Good afternoon everyone, Tom from Long Island NY hoping to be the owner of this 79 L82 my son and I are trying to do some research on previous owner/owners before I pull the trigger that being said we appreciate direction on how to do so properly ty
Welcome Tom.
My advice would be to forget about previous owners and direct all your efforts at evaluation of the car itself... today.
Good looking car. Hope it checks out.
Welcome Tom.
My advice would be to forget about previous owners and direct all your efforts at evaluation of the car itself... today.
Good looking car. Hope it checks out.
Id agree with this advice. Previous owners is an interesting topic, but you need to evaluate the car and how it sits today when considering a purchase.
Welcome to the Forum. As other members have said...Knowing the owner-history is good...but for now focus on a solid frame/chassis underneath. Post some pics of the car frame so members can advise you.
I hope it works out to be a solid car!
Paint looks really good! that's expensive to replace. If the chassis checks out fairly rust free, and everything else seems good it's a good car. You'll always find problems after the purchase. Just find what you can before to make your determination.
2025 C3 ('68-'73) of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2024 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2023 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Welcome to the Forum form the Island of Long, My name is Johnny & i'm a Vette - a - holic !! Watch out carefully for rust. The Island is noted for lots of salt, snow, humidity, moist summers & harsh winters. Did i mention to watch out carefully for rust ? Make sure you check the underside frame & birdcage for rust. Looks nice from the outside. How is the inside ? Miles ? documentation ? What are they asking ? Make sure you check for rust incase we forgot or didn't mention it.
Last edited by 427SIXPACK; Aug 3, 2021 at 12:19 AM.
Hey Johnny good morning and thank you, I’m pretty good at spotting problem areas I’ve restored a 71 Camaro subframe and all I’ve done some research on Vette common problem areas mostly everyone says check the birdcage and obviously underside, I have looked at a couple of Vettes mid 70’s and did actually remove the kick panels to expose the mounts and that part of the cage my number one question about inspecting the birdcage around the windshield would be tough unless I removed trim correct ? If so I don’t know if he would be hesitant to let me start removing trim unless it comes off easy I especially don’t want to damage anything but I will ask that I peel back the carpet by the kick panels to check the mounts/cage in that area, speaking of kick panels I didn’t see plastic kick panels only carpet down low are there plastic panels behind the carpet on a ‘79? I am seeing the car on a lift today again it’s a 79 L82 4spd claims 33k miles he says he has all paperwork and original window sticker it definitely had a repaint but a quick look underneath and engine compartment everything looks intact for a 42yr old car lmk your thoughts since it will be on the lift my main concern is the roof area for the birdcage and best way to inspect that without causing damage ty again, Tom
Run your fingers between the top of the windshield and the trim at the top of the frame. Easy, non-intrusive, and if the rust is as bad as mine's was, you will feel it, and bits will likely
I'm not familiar with a 79, so I can't advise you on the kick panels. For certain check the frame 'kickup' in front of the rear wheels.
Ok here we go, looks really good as far as all the critical areas I think I’m going to have to take it, he is asking on the high side but hey you only live once 😎 comments welcome
It/Underside looks good to this Rookie.
Check the Manufacture Date on the tires...if they are 8 years old they could possibly separate at highway speeds (been there).
2025 C3 ('68-'73) of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2024 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2023 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
The only pic that looks a bit odd is of the cross member, what's going on here? is it split / or just a shadow ? I like the documentation. Try & look up / call Ronald Porter see if he adds any info. Hope he isn't charging too much extra for the COBB WEBS looks like it's been sitting a bit, but pretty clean for a New England Car born in MASS. Calipers have a lot of surface rust, check em out good before you go for a ride make sure nothing is leaking after you pump the brakes a few times. Looks pretty nice over all. Any interior pics ? Pretty tough to find this in a 4spd, you mostly see automatics. Is it in the $12-$15 range ?
Last edited by 427SIXPACK; Aug 4, 2021 at 10:58 AM.
Good morning, yeah it’s a shadow the car rides nice goes straight if you let the wheel go and doesn’t pull when you apply the brakes I only took one pic of the interior
2025 C3 ('68-'73) of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2024 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2023 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Did you see this ? it's for sale here on the forum, not a 4spd but a great color combo & has docs too. Pretty good comparison might assist in your decision only $10K
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Slideshow: A Jaguar designer's personal project imagines what a modern front-engined Corvette might look like if Chevrolet revisited the golden age of the Stingray.
New Member Tom
