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Murphy’s Oil Soap and hot water. Spray, scrub, rinse, repeat. Scrub and rinse with a big sponge. If isn’t discolored, you are cured. Smells good and the Murphy’s soakes into the vinyl/leather and makes it pliable again. Worried, wear gloves…..
My 80 came with moldy seats that I replaced, but kept and tried to restore. The covers and foam stood no chance and were tossed. I was able to save the shells with a lot of bleach.
Replace all the carpet, too, and check behind the dash.
Wherever you get your parts, there are two primary manufacturers. Al Knoch, and Corvette America (now owned by Top Flight Automotive). For carpet, Al Knoch and ACC are the primary suppliers. The vendors will tell you where they get their stuff if you ask.
These are Corvette America put in my 79 by the PO. They are really nice.
I've gotten moldy seats and door panels back by scrubbing them with purple power and a stiff brush. Once clean I follow up with a leather conditioner. They always come out great.
Wow! What’s the value on sentimental value? Then what’s the price to get 25 years of sitting brought back to life? I checked two auto glass warehouses and no new back glass available. You have a tough decision to make. Good luck….
This is a car that I am contemplating on buying and have to make an offer. I wasn't out looking to buy a 1980 Vette. However I purchased this car brand new 42 years ago in 1980. I had it about 2 months and put about 1,000 miles on it and then had to sell it to get money for a business venture that I was in. I haven't seen it since, until yesterday. The person I sold it to had it all of these years and just passed away about a year ago. It has been sitting in his barn for 25 years on cement floor. The back window is blown out of it which happened some years ago from the heat in the barn . It has 25,000 miles on it now. I'm trying to come up with a figure to offer his wife. Some critters got into the engine compartment and most likely other areas of the car. She said the car ran when they parked it. I know these don't go for big bucks when all is said and done but this has some sentimental value to me. But I don't want to overpay for it either. The key chain I hung on the inside coat hanger 42 years ago was still hanging there.
very cool story... try to clean as stated first.. ( i personally would spray with lysol first..) use the haggerty and fair condition.. that should put you in ball park. pull the seats.. let sit in sun after cleaning.. remove carpet..
79 for example..L82.. they are not getting cheaper example only L82 79
This is a car that I am contemplating on buying and have to make an offer. I wasn't out looking to buy a 1980 Vette. However I purchased this car brand new 42 years ago in 1980. I had it about 2 months and put about 1,000 miles on it and then had to sell it to get money for a business venture that I was in. I haven't seen it since, until yesterday. The person I sold it to had it all of these years and just passed away about a year ago. It has been sitting in his barn for 25 years on cement floor. The back window is blown out of it which happened some years ago from the heat in the barn . It has 25,000 miles on it now. I'm trying to come up with a figure to offer his wife. Some critters got into the engine compartment and most likely other areas of the car. She said the car ran when they parked it. I know these don't go for big bucks when all is said and done but this has some sentimental value to me. But I don't want to overpay for it either. The key chain I hung on the inside coat hanger 42 years ago was still hanging there.
Jeez, I dont see how you can't buy it? Talk about a cool story!
Indeed a cool story, OP. I probably wouldn't be able to pass up on that one either. I agree with the others who say try to clean it up. I suspect there may be a faint staining after the cleanup, as that stuff can penetrate the actual materials after years and years. Just make sure you are wearing the proper protective gear when dealing with that stuff - a HAZMAT getup with a good mask and protective gloves should fit the bill - they are cheap.
I've had pretty good luck in the past cleaning up mold off seats with no signs of staining - but said mold was only sitting for a couple of months - not 25 years. And as others have said, check under the dash,under the carpets, and if you can, the air vents. Everywhere in the cabin that you can. You don't want to be breathing that stuff in.
It's going to be a fair amount of work to go through it to make it roadworthy again, but well worth it, IMO. Under normal circumstances on the open market, with such low miles, $8-9K As is/whereis understanding that it will likely take several thousand more to go through all the usual items that you need to address in a car that has sat for 25 years. And that back window won't be cheap, and no idea what the condition of the paint is in, but assuming just 25 years of dust on it from inside storage that a good wash, claybar, polish and wax should resolve.
But in your case, with the sentimental value, it really depends on what your heart says it's worth (within reason, of course!).
Last edited by Corvette-ZL1; Oct 4, 2022 at 03:48 PM.
This is a car that I am contemplating on buying and have to make an offer. I wasn't out looking to buy a 1980 Vette. However I purchased this car brand new 42 years ago in 1980. I had it about 2 months and put about 1,000 miles on it and then had to sell it to get money for a business venture that I was in. I haven't seen it since, until yesterday. The person I sold it to had it all of these years and just passed away about a year ago. It has been sitting in his barn for 25 years on cement floor. The back window is blown out of it which happened some years ago from the heat in the barn . It has 25,000 miles on it now. I'm trying to come up with a figure to offer his wife. Some critters got into the engine compartment and most likely other areas of the car. She said the car ran when they parked it. I know these don't go for big bucks when all is said and done but this has some sentimental value to me. But I don't want to overpay for it either. The key chain I hung on the inside coat hanger 42 years ago was still hanging there.
I would heartily proceed with trying to purchase at the right price for you, whatever that may prove to be. I hope this works out for you. Keep us posted.
This should remove the odors and mold in the air ducts once you have the electrical system up and running. This leaves the car smelling like a swimming pool inside. Used it in rental cars that someone smoked in. Definitely got the smell out.
But mold is a different thing. You need to gut that car and clean everything out. Wear a mask. Plan on a few $K replacing the interior alone. 1980 L48 automatic with no interior? $5K tops. Maybe a bit more if it is rust free and the paint is in great condition.
Wow! What’s the value on sentimental value? Then what’s the price to get 25 years of sitting brought back to life? I checked two auto glass warehouses and no new back glass available. You have a tough decision to make. Good luck….
Steve O.
Thank you very much for looking into the back glass for me!!! So, I'm limited to purchasing used. It's a heated glass too.
Exactly as I expected being in storage for so long.....That paint should clean up nicely with a solid weekend or two of washing, clay bar, polishing, waxing and detail work - but you won't know for sure until you start into it. Buy some good polishes and waxes, put on some good tunes, and a couple beers, wine, or other spirits, or soda, bottled water....whatever, and have fun.
That's really fun and rewarding work, IMO. ODO shows 35K+ miles, but that is still VERY low (assuming it has not turned over and is still working). Just to give you an idea, there is rear glass on eBaY for $500 (local pickup only though in FL).
Moldy Seats
