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I am looking at a 1979 (L82?) that has been sleeping for 25 years in the backyard of my neighbors folks house. Everything is rough. Interior is rough, windshield is smashed and the driver's side front fender had a scrape on the edge exposing fiberglass fibers. And something ate the spark plug wires.
The frame is solid and I was able to look at the door pockets of the birdcage. Passenger side is fine and the piece along the windshield is solid. The drivers side has a bit more rust. It is the one in the pic.
I have Camaro that had been sleeping for 30 years but it was inside a garage all that time. It has a 350 that I imagine is an ancestor of the Corvette's engine. This looks fun unless the birdcage (that I didn't even know was a thing until last week) is ruined.
I don't see this car ever being show-worthy, but it would be interesting to put back on the road. I understand it'll be a lot of work.
I'm wondering what a fixer-upper like this is worth? My neighbor thinks his dad just would like to see it out of the yard.
It came home. I initially offered $700 and paid $1000. Since I knew his family, I didn't want to seem like I was trying to get it for nothing. When I first saw it, and before posting on this forum, I thought it was going to be much higher. The online discussion helped us realize that this was going to be an interesting project, and not an investment.
It got a wash and vacuum today. We had to drag it onto my trailer because the rear passenger side wheel would not turn. I saw another thread here along those lines...
If it's a manual trans offer $500? Free would be better.
Years ago my sister & BIL gave me their motorhome for free. I still got cheated considering the time & money I put into it.
I agree with Rick. If they have a title, offer them $500. Could be a fun project, Yellow on Saddle is a nice combination and I see L-82 emblems on the hood. You cannot get hurt at that price and it's always nice nice to see one brought back from the brink.
Absolutely everything on this car is going to need to be gone through, redo and rebuilt.
really depends on how much your able to do yourself as to what it'll cost in the end.
Bottom line. Try to get it for hauling it away.
And you'll have a great hobby for a few years.
Can't see a possible way anyone could make money on it.
If you can get it for cheap or free go for it, do the basics to get it back on the road, all fluids and oil, all rubber if fluid runs through it, tires, windshield and I'm guessing a complete brake job. Give it a deep cleaning, throw some seat covers on it and buff the paint. You could be all in for less than $3K and have a cool car that is a 20 footer.
If you are doing them a favor by getting it out of their yard, you should point you have to rent a trailer, do all the work to get it on the trailer. I see there is some stuff in front of the car. You're taking on their headache in some ways. Free is best, but not more then $500 as other have said. How do you know the frame is good? Sitting that long it's had to sink down some. Good luck
Since that pic was taken, we have jacked it up and put air in the tires. I was able to look around underneath, and everything looked and sounded solid. What my finger could feel through the keyholes was just dust. I didn't realize that the rear suspension would have a transverse leaf spring. Interesting. I looked at the passenger side trailing arm(?) connection, and it looked OK. (I read about that in another thread.) By that time we were running out of light so I don't know about the driver's side.
Absolutely everything on this car is going to need to be gone through, redo and rebuilt.
really depends on how much your able to do yourself as to what it'll cost in the end.
Bottom line. Try to get it for hauling it away.
And you'll have a great hobby for a few years.
Can't see a possible way anyone could make money on it.
Even if the car was free, you'll be WAY upside down on the car if you ever sell it after a full restoration because you can purchase decent examples for very reasonable prices. I've seen show quality low mileage 4-speed L82 examples fetch $25K (and some a bit more), but those are very few and far between compared to the vast majority that sell for $9K-$15K.
Mr. D has it figured out. Get it cheap, get it roadworthy and beat on it!
No offense, but this attitude is why mid/late C3's and C4's have a bad rap.
Buy them on the cheap, owners change hands many times, and with each touch of another owner, it becomes less of a Corvette and more of a Frankenvehicle... Pains me to say it, but I'd rather see such an example die in peace than be resurrected into hideous monster 'bubba'd out' to the max. The only other alternative is to make it into a race car to race the vintage car races or the 24 hours of Lemons.
Nature has reclaimed this example - unless it's properly restored, perhaps it should remain in nature's hands.
Last edited by Corvette-ZL1; Nov 9, 2023 at 04:36 PM.
Save it! Or don't. But decide after you pull it out. You may get $500- for the T-Tops.
Who cares what it's worth after a full resto. You can make it your hobby, part it out, or flip it. But you won't start to lose money until you start to spend money.
If you can get it for cheap or free go for it, do the basics to get it back on the road, all fluids and oil, all rubber if fluid runs through it, tires, windshield and I'm guessing a complete brake job. Give it a deep cleaning, throw some seat covers on it and buff the paint. You could be all in for less than $3K and have a cool car that is a 20 footer.
NFW - I'm rebuilding a 79 - $3k won't buy jack **** anymore. Sorry to be blunt, but $10k maybe, if you cheap on everything.
It came home. I initially offered $700 and paid $1000. Since I knew his family, I didn't want to seem like I was trying to get it for nothing. When I first saw it, and before posting on this forum, I thought it was going to be much higher. The online discussion helped us realize that this was going to be an interesting project, and not an investment.
It got a wash and vacuum today. We had to drag it onto my trailer because the rear passenger side wheel would not turn. I saw another thread here along those lines...
No offense, but this attitude is why mid/late C3's and C4's have a bad rap.
Buy them on the cheap, owners change hands many times, and with each touch of another owner, it becomes less of a Corvette and more of a Frankenvehicle... Pains me to say it, but I'd rather see such an example die in peace than be resurrected into hideous monster 'bubba'd out' to the max. The only other alternative is to make it into a race car to race the vintage car races or the 24 hours of Lemons.
Nature has reclaimed this example - unless it's properly restored, perhaps it should remain in nature's hands.
Getting it roadworthy does not mean "bubba the car with plumbing hardware for shock mounts and wire nut all the electrical connections". It means spend the minimum on parts to get it reliable and safe.
We don't see eye to eye on the "let it die in peace" either. Any car that has the potential to be roadworthy (see above) deserves to be driven by someone who enjoys it.
It came home. I initially offered $700 and paid $1000. Since I knew his family, I didn't want to seem like I was trying to get it for nothing. When I first saw it, and before posting on this forum, I thought it was going to be much higher. The online discussion helped us realize that this was going to be an interesting project, and not an investment.
It got a wash and vacuum today. We had to drag it onto my trailer because the rear passenger side wheel would not turn. I saw another thread here along those lines...
The project begins!
Congrats, Mark. Just do it justice and take your time in the restoration/restomod. Every Corvette deserves to be saved, so long as it's done properly.
Last edited by Corvette-ZL1; Nov 12, 2023 at 03:48 PM.
Getting it roadworthy does not mean "bubba the car with plumbing hardware for shock mounts and wire nut all the electrical connections". It means spend the minimum on parts to get it reliable and safe.
We don't see eye to eye on the "let it die in peace" either. Any car that has the potential to be roadworthy (see above) deserves to be driven by someone who enjoys it.
As valid as some of what you are writing sounds, that's not how these things go, generally, which is why you see so many bad examples of C3 Corvettes out there, and why the good ones out in the wild are in the minority. Getting a car 'roadworthy' is where most people go wrong. There seems to always be something to replace, tweak, or redo on these cars, but that's because they are decades old - but there is a right way to do it and a wrong way.
Repair and refurbishment needs to be done properly, and that takes time and money, especially with a C3 Corvette, as most all parts have a Corvette premium applied to them. That is where the 'bubba' comment stems from. It's going to be just as expensive to restore this '79 as my '69 (or at least get it roadworthy) - The pocket book won't know the difference. And the OP will not know to what extent that investment is UNTIL he gets into it and starts disassembling things. There is merit to the saying 'the most expensive car you will ever buy is a cheap Corvette' - no?
Things break during disassembly and have to be replaced. Removed parts can also expose deeper issues - how far down the rabbit hole do you wish to go? That is where many people either stop the project altogether, or try to jury-rig it using improper parts. So it's Bubba, the field out back, or the dark dank garage sitting for years/decades in a majority of those cases....
My '69 started out as a simple caliper replacement, which morphed into a frame off restoration. Not the most sound investment strategy, but being a car guy or gal seldom is, and I didn't want my '69 to become someone else's problem. Moreover, to me it was worth the investment of time and moolah. It takes dedication in addition to the aforementioned items to do it right.
It's simply not a cheap endeavor to get one of these roadworthy, and with inflation and the huge increase in parts and labor costs, it's even harder nowadays. Simply put, even a bare minimum 'get it roadworthy' agenda takes considerable time, patience, and yes - money. Doing it improperly takes very little money, comparatively speaking. - just run to the local junkyard or pilfer from other cars laying around in the back yard, and pull parts off other vehicles to get it to work. Cheap - yes. Proper - no. I don't think I'm out of line here for expressing my thoughts on the matter, as classic Corvettes deserve better than that.
The C3's and C4's have a had a stigma for a long time. The C3 stigma is starting to wane, fortunately, and that will also happen with the C4 eventually, but that stigma came largely from improper maintenance and backyard restorations of these cars. And where people 'beat on them' and do not perform the proper maintenance, and use what ever is lying around to keep it running. That's fine, I guess, for the 24 Hours of Lemons or for serious road racing, but I do not know what the OPs intent is for this car. He may not even know yet until he gets into it.
I'm sure that is not going to be the issue for this car, especially since the OP has access to the incredible knowledge and expertise contained within this forum....
Last edited by Corvette-ZL1; Nov 12, 2023 at 03:52 PM.
It came home. I initially offered $700 and paid $1000. Since I knew his family, I didn't want to seem like I was trying to get it for nothing. When I first saw it, and before posting on this forum, I thought it was going to be much higher. The online discussion helped us realize that this was going to be an interesting project, and not an investment.
It got a wash and vacuum today. We had to drag it onto my trailer because the rear passenger side wheel would not turn. I saw another thread here along those lines...
The project begins!
Nice move in attempting to save it. I would mirror the opinion of fluid and rubber component changes, try to get it running, and buff the paint. See what that gets you. Even if it’s a 20-footer, it looks cooler than virtually anything else on the road.
I see it has a rear pace car spoiler but no front spoiler or air dam. You'll need that to prevent overheating problems. Many of the supporting vendors sell them. Also pick up a service manual and the Assembly Instruction Manual. Check the 5th position of the vin number. If it is 4 it;s an L-82. If 8 it's the base L-48. Best of luck with your project.
1979 project possibility
Even if the car was free, you'll be WAY upside down on the car if you ever sell it after a full restoration because you can purchase decent examples for very reasonable prices. I've seen show quality low mileage 4-speed L82 examples fetch $25K (and some a bit more), but those are very few and far between compared to the vast majority that sell for $9K-$15K. 
