Picked this 77 up from a title pawn/used car lot on Jan. 15, 2024. Was listed for $18,000 for 5 months on Facebook marketplace. Seller dropped it down to $13,000 so I immediately went in and checked it out. We were looking for a blue exterior with black interior C3. We had missed out on a 72 on Christmas Eve. We were a bit frustrated... figured a 77 wouldn't break the bank and would leave room for upgrades.

Dealer offered us the keys for a test drive. My wife was so terrified to drive it, so the salesmen drove her around. When she got out the Corvette, I knew we were going home with it. I crawled around on the ground checking the frame rails for rust, looking in the door jams and along the windshield. It looked like the previous owners had cared for it pretty well.

I wanted to offer $10,000 but offered $11,500 cash. Figured the dealer gotta make some money and plus the peace of mind of not having to deal with cash/strangers. He accepted our offer. We put down a $500 deposit. It was closing time so we could come back Monday. Insured the car for a year through Hagerty plus tag/registration came out to $500.

So we are all in at $12,000. My wife has wanted a C3 since she was a child. Her dad had two but had passed away. We have been together for 25+ years, our kids now 17 and 22. So it's been a great car for us to escape away with.

The back story on the car is that it was purchased for $15,000 from Muscle Car Jr in Atlanta two years ago. The owner title pawned it to pay for home renovations. The car was put into storage for 2 years. The title pawn shop owner would drive it occasionally. He was also the owner of a one owner C3.

So we pull off the lot and as we shift from Park to Drive.... "CLUNK". $30 Snubber bushing.....

Driving down the interstate, steering is sloppy. $1,000 Borgensen power steering and gear box.... coming this summer

Moog front end bushing.... $500 coming this summer

Park the car in my brother's garage and he tells me my car stinks. It stinks so bad that he has to open the garage door. It's leaking gas from the fuel pump.... new fuel pump sets me back $50. New rubber fuel lines $30.

Car starts running hot when idling in traffic. Replace the electric fan relay harness with a Painless kit and bus bar in the engine bay.... $200

Gaps between top and window let in water. Will be adjusting it this summer. As well as cleaning and lubing door mechanism.

Center dash was chopped for a tape player. $30 blue tooth radio ordered. $150 Corvette speaker bar ordered. Modern vintage style radio and center dash will be put in next year $500.

AC car, but air compressor has been removed. Heater blows faintly. Switches don't seem to let vent doors open. Just heat blowing on the windshield. No plans to fix or upgrade any time in the near future.

Seats are in very good shape. New carpet. Nice dash. Broken clock. Interior trim was sprayed black, needs to be freshed up. Seat belts are stuck. Mechanism under the seat are seized.... cleaning and lubing did not fix the problem.

Targetmaster motor from 1996 or 2006, made in Mexico, new not remanufactor. It eventually becomes GM performance crate motor "Goodwrench". I believe they are now called something else like "Certified.........". 260 horsepower, I'd imagine torque is upward of 300. Rusty long tube headers with kinky, leaking exhaust pipes. Edlebrock Performance 2101 intake manifold with August 1977 original leaking carb. Carb is getting shipped out to Lars next month. Fat aftermarket radiator with dual electric fans. At peak performance it may be pushing 300 horsepower. But I'm sure age, wear and tear has it sitting at 240. I'll drop a new crate engine in it when it does finally goes out. I'm unsure if it's a 350 or 400 transmission, I'll have to take a peak.

Paint is in very good shape. There is a small blister next to the tail light. Another quarter size blister on the hood. Some scratches and chips on the t tops. Clay bar and polish coming soon.

My wife loves her Corvette. Smiles and thumbs up all the time on the road. My wife picked me up from work and I had to push past a crowd of coworkers to get in. We bought this car to make ourselves happy, but it oddly enough makes others happier. Like you guys say.... "ran great last time I parked it, today it has three different problems"

 

Your wife is happy..,you are good to go😊

 

 

You got yourself a fine looking car there, way better than my '77. It's a 47 year old car so to expect zero issues is a pipe dream.....work through the issues one at a time and eventually you'll be happy. Make sure that wife of yours get's lots of drives in it this summer, sounds like she's wanted one for some time...Congratulations!

 

Happy wife, happy life

We've stayed together this long because we treat each other equally. We both paid for half the car. And we split the driving and fixing duties in half as well. I do all the fixing. She does all the driving.... damn, she got me again

 

Perfect color....

 

Sounds like you got it for a fair price. I can see a couple less than perfect things. But for a 47 year old car looks pretty nice.
I would say so sorry for the Automatic transmission, but perhaps your wife likes that.
I'm not thinking it's the perfect color at all, LOL.
But it is a nice year.
My old car.

 

I made a thread last year sometime about how the replacements and upgrades never stop. Even after 10 years I still have a to-do list for my c3.
it’s part of the fun lol
nice vette!