Hello all, I'm new and I've made this account cause I wanted to clear some doubts of mine. I'm looking to buy a '79 model from a local dealership here in Europe. The C3 is being advertised as having 220HP which, to my knowledge, only the L-82 can have. Now, whoever owned it seems to have removed the thermac system, smog pump and almost all badges. The intake seems to be aluminum. The car seems in decent shape (definitely some work done to it, double tone interior although whoever did it could've done a better job at laying out the leather) but I'm very much starting to doubt this is an actual L-82. If it's of any help, it's an auto trans and looks to be stock, the tachometer doesn't have a L-82 badge and sadly I don't have the VIN on me. Am I getting tricked into thinking this is the optional engine? Sorry for the limited info

PS: I'm willing to put some work into it, the engine bay doesn't look to be the cleanest

 

Well I can clearly see the Edlebrock written on the manifold. And those are L82 valve covers. It's missing the stock fan and a lot of other things. This car has been worked on and is NOT stock. And likely making more than 220 HP regardless of which engine it came with.
the Vin number clearly states which engine the car was born with. And if the engine stamp pad matches then it is the original block. An all factory stock 79 didn't have enough power to get out of it's own way. Be happy someone warmed it up.
Your correct the engine compartment isn't perfect. But I've seen a lot worse. It's a 79. Originality just shouldn't be all that important.

 

Welcome to the Forum!

It's obvious from the pictures that the engine has had some modifications. The intake is an aftermarket from Edelbrock, the carb appears to be an Edelbrock too. The air cleaner's a replacement, the stock cooling fan is gone, as is the fan shroud, apparently replaced by electric radiator mounted fans. The car originally had air conditioning, but the compressor and other associated parts have been removed. The valve covers are what came on L-82's, but considering the other changes, they may have been changed too.

On the right (passenger side) front of the block, below the fuel filter will be a machined pad. On that pad will be two series on letters and numbers. One set will be a portion of the VIN number (if it's original it will match that car, if not it will match the one it came out of) and the second set will identify the engine and when and where it was made. If you can get a picture of that pad, or post what's stamped on it here, one of us will be able to decode it and tell you more about what engine it is.

The emission label on the left top of the firewall, above the brake master cylinder, will have a 2 letter code on it. If that code is CJ, then the car originally came with an L-82, if it's an X6, CR or CM, then the original engine was an L-48, but the only way to identify what engine is actually in the car, is with the information from the pad on the front of the block.

 

Thank you for the replies so far! The dealership isn't exactly the closest to my current position so I'll have to take a look at the numbers in the near future (uni and work are keeping me too busy at the moment..). If any doubts eventually arise I'll come back here or post a new thread with better pics

 

Here is what I spotted. You can take it with a grain of salt or realize somebody doesn't know what they are doing:

Some type PCV system on the valve covers with passenger hose going, who knows where. Drivers side appears to take a shortcut to the carb under the master cyl?
Another small hose zip-tied to the upper rad hose.
Some type of shut-off valve on the lower rad hose.
Front shocks dust covers missing.
Drivers side plug wires taped together coming off the dizzy. That's a big no-no especially for cyl # 5 & # 7
Heater hoses missing or rerouted somewhere?

 

Pull the oil cap off and look to see if it has guideplates for the pushrods......if it does, most likely an L-82......
Now the L-82 when done up nicely is a damn good engine....a hidden gem and the best factory small block to modify...(the 71-72' LT-1 short block was identical in every way)......and on an engine dyno with long tube headers and a good timing curve will make 320hp on an engine dyno (not how GM rated these engines).......

Jebby

 

agree with comments..
hard to see is the power steering pump missing too?
if not crashed and limited rust in critical areas (looks OK from top!) you can always fix it up!
here is a my 79 L82.. get the vin # and the engine # as mentioned..
mine's a lowly 79 and important/ fun for me originality

 

If the fifth number of the vin is a 4 then it's a L-82. If it's 8 then it;s a L-48. As others have stated, the numbers and letters on the block stamp pad will tell exactly what engine it really is.

 

It hasn't been crashed, not that I know! The body seems in perfect condition aside from the missing badges on the hood and the front. From what I've gathered she should have 24k miles on her and some more, most likely. The interior doesn't seem original because it's a double tone and I can clearly see the leather around the emergency brake's area has been applied at home and not in a shop. To my understanding, thanks to all the comments, the engine seems to be missing quite some parts. I'm hoping the birdcage isn't rusted at least. It's advertised as "in good conditions, ready to run" but I'm starting to doubt that! Then again, I'll go have a look in the near future and maybe make an update on the spot, thanks again all for the help! A couple more pictures to give an idea of what the body condition is

 

Okay, the question is: How much are they asking?

 

The price is pretty steep for what it looks like, they're asking for about 30k€ which would be 34k$. It's negotiable. All these info are very useful to me to evaluate wether it's worth buying and probably working on or not!

These cars are quite rare in Europe and very hard to work on because hardly anybody is familiar with them

 

You should look into shipping one over from USA or Canada. I know a few people that have done that and it's cheaper in the long run. The key is to find a honest seller!
A Canadian car will be cheaper to ship and to buy do to our poor dollar exchange V.S. US Dollar and the Pound or Euro.

 

$34K, ouch! Okay, I understand that it's not cheap to bring a car over to the continent, and deal with duty and other governmental issues, but that seems pretty strong for a 79 Corvette. You could buy a similar car in the States for about half the asking price for that car.

You're right about the interior. When new if it had a red interior it would have been all red (seats, carpet, door panels, steering wheel, console, headliners, etc) and if it had been black it would have been all black. Also, the door panels are custom, that's not the pattern/design that would have been on original door panels.

It's an attractive car and appears to have some good points, but it is priced pretty high compared to what it would go for in the States, but then it's not here, which does make a difference.

Good luck with your search, whether you end up with this car, or another.

 

Looks great from the outside. Great color combo. So, how much they asking for the Plum Crazy Challenger behind it?