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In the market for a c3, this ones a 1980 L82, but I theres more rust on this one than another vette Im also looking at... trying to decide if this is rotting out too much:
Unless you're the kind of person who likes to save cats from the cold, (and a master fabricator), best to move on and look at other cars. Every pic you showed is not good. Not good at all. It's going to need major bird cage reconstruction once the trim is removed and everything is sandblasted (what's left to sandblast).
From: At my Bar drinking and wrenching in Lafayette Colorado
Originally Posted by CORNHLIO
In the market for a c3, this ones a 1980 L82, but I theres more rust on this one than another vette Im also looking at... trying to decide if this is rotting out too much:Thanks in advance.
That car is a "total." It needs 4 times as much work (and money) as the car, in pristine condition, is worth. That car needs a total disassembly down to the bare frame and components, a complete sandblast, and then it needs to be cut apart and welded back together with solid steel and parts. A massive, costly effort that exceeds the car's value by at least 4 times. That car's destiny is to be parted out for whatever good parts it might have left. The rest should be crushed.
(Just my humble-as-ever opinion after having seen and worked on a lot of these junk cars...)
Lars
I mean, if you like a challenge and get a good price on it ....it can be fixed. Lot of guys have re-done bird cages. The parts are available. To a guy whose done a lot of fabricating and metal work, it's not that terrible. You just dig in, and do it. It's a lot of work, but so what ...so are a lot of jobs. But if you just want a C3 to drive, it's not for you.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
thats is VERY bad....do not buy. If they paint over the sections that look bad and dont actually clean the old rust out first...its worse than it looks
I have to agree with everybody else. I've done many bird cages over the years on C3 Corvettes and this one is the starting of a severe case of rust.
From the looks in the first picture the bird cage behind the windshield is probably already rusted out. And the body mounts in the kick panel as you can see are already rotting through.
You would be up side down with this car even if you got it for free. Special skills, tools and time needed to repair. Move on. Jerry
I respectfully disagree with this statement on the one hand ....that if your skill level, what work you've done in the past and your expectations permit you to do highly detailed and precise fab work ...it might be a good car. Providing the rest of it meets your condition expectations. To some guys (like me), it's the process and challenge of getting it 'right' that's cool.
But I do agree with Jerry that if you don't posses those skills/tools/ and you look at it as an 'investment', you'll have a lot of time/money to repair. I think most guys would rather put their time/money into other mods. But hey, I've known a number of guys who did (or paid to have done) far more work and build elaborate high-end street rods, or frame-off's, or rotissiere concours-level restorations on 'scab' (but rare) cars ...where they were 6-figures plus in the hole financially afterwards ...and loved the final product. I've been involved with some restorations like that. So what? ...it's only money! Ha ha...
Does this rust look really bad?
