When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I just picked up a '77 L82 and am stoked. I plan on spending a good amount of time on this forum researching and planning as I work on the car, but in the mean-time I thought I'd ask for some general pointers and recommendations as to where I should start with this car.
This is the first classic (actually first domestic) I've ever owned but I'm excited and eager to learn, I've got a decently equipped garage, some basic to intermediary skills. The car has not been run in almost 20 years, the previous owner fogged the engine but otherwise this thing has just sat for quite some time and I want to get it up and running over the winter so that I can enjoy it this summer and then dive back into it next winter.
Considering how long it's been since the car was fired up what things do I need to do and should I consider doing before turning it over for the first time? I'm already looking at pulling the plugs and dripping some oil in, changing out oil & coolant and starting with just inspecting any rubber hoses (they will all get replaced eventually).
Fill that mini-fridge on the counter with beer. You will need it.
You will get lots of opinions here and most part, all of it will be good info. For sure, pull the spark plugs and squirt some oil in there. Be helpful before you try and actually start the car to get an oil primer and get fresh oil circulating through the engine. Plenty to do before that though. Get it in the air and look the underside over good. Have you put a battery in it to see if car powers up? Any brake pedal or goes it go to the floor? Folks here will want to see more pics. Engine, interior, underside, etc. Looks like a fun project.
Welcome to the crazy world of Corvette caretakership. We don’t own them, they own us. First thing to do is change all the fluids, engine, trans, differential, radiator. If it’s been sitting for 20 years, new tires re in order, too. Then remove the plugs (after the oil change) and spin the engine over to get oil pressure flowing. The gas in the tank might be a headache to deal with. You might have to drop it to get the varnish out of it. I’d disconnect the gas line at the carb and catch some while cranking it to see how it looks and smells.
Hello! And welcome to our forum! Whooo Hoooo! I have one of those! Seriously, just picked mine up as well. Well, July of 1989 if I remember correctly. Been just a couple weeks. Best of luck with yours. Mine has been on the road and in use since spring of 1977. Still driving mine quite regularly.
Here's mine.
Thanks for the advice, gives me a good starting point. I bought the car yesterday but won't have it in my garage till this weekend, more pictures will come.
Underside looks to be in good shape, minor surface rust but nothing too concerning. The interior is currently in pieces so my first focus is getting that back together but should be pretty straightforward. The car has new tires and wheels, new exhaust, new carpet and I bet a few other new things that I don't even know about yet.
I'm in Alberta so no smog requirements that I need to worry about.
the first thing is to make it safe. go over the brakes, check and replace any rubber fuel and vacuum, hoses. go over the front and rear suspension. to do so and help you buy the GM service manual, AIM, and owners manual. realize all those parts above can be had at your local auto parts store.
the first thing is to make it safe. go over the brakes, check and replace any rubber fuel and vacuum, hoses. go over the front and rear suspension. to do so and help you buy the GM service manual, AIM, and owners manual. realize all those parts above can be had at your local auto parts store.
good advice.. nice car!
sort out that old fuel, 20 years i would have inspection from sock to carb and fresh gas. Don’t forget oil with zinc.
the first thing is to make it safe. go over the brakes, check and replace any rubber fuel and vacuum, hoses. go over the front and rear suspension. to do so and help you buy the GM service manual, AIM, and owners manual. realize all those parts above can be had at your local auto parts store.
^^^^^ This^^^^^
Low mileage or high, it doesn't matter. These cars do not just sit well even under the best conditions so look at everything. I have a 17,000 mile 79 L82 survivor that looked pristine when I bought it but it sat in a storage unit in Florida for 26 years before I got it to SLC. Even though it looked showroom fresh it still cost several thousand dollars to get it truly road worthy. All new rubber items including chassis parts, fuel lines, brake lines, calipers, fuel pump and on and on. Then there's the non essentials like AC conversion and such. Don't cut corners, it won't be worth the money you save.
Fill that mini-fridge on the counter with beer. You will need it.
You will get lots of opinions here and most part, all of it will be good info. For sure, pull the spark plugs and squirt some oil in there. Be helpful before you try and actually start the car to get an oil primer and get fresh oil circulating through the engine. Plenty to do before that though. Get it in the air and look the underside over good. Have you put a battery in it to see if car powers up? Any brake pedal or goes it go to the floor? Folks here will want to see more pics. Engine, interior, underside, etc. Looks like a fun project.
Dont forget to drain whatever gas that in the tank
Finally got the car home last night, picked a terrible night to pick it up. -25°C, fog, frost, snow and turns out the heater core in my truck is plugged up again so the hour and a half drive to and from the seller was... Uncomfortable haha.
Totally worth it though!
Also found out the car only has 40,000 miles on it so that's pretty cool
Yeah, that would be a little too cold for us southerners to be out working on a car! IMHO, I'd worry about getting it running first, simply for the motivational factor. Yes, of course you absolutely need to make sure the safety stuff is addressed before you drive it, but just hearing it run will make it all seem worthwhile. Congrats on your first Corvette!
Tires, brakes, suspension and fuel system.
You said the tires are new but do they have cracks in them? New as in recently or new as in new and then sat?
Plan to drop the gas tank and clean it. Probably a ton of varnish built up. Disconnect the lines at the fuel pump and blow them out. This will also give you a chance to assess the rubber lines.
All good advice above about the engine and getting it started. After doing all above and before trying to start, put a bar on the balancer and try to spin it by hand.
Check all the rubber bushings and ball joints. The rear suspension on these cars is "interesting" so look that over too.
Once the above is done, you can check the brakes. Plan to swap out all the rubber lines and bleed / flush the whole system. Hopefully there are no frozen or leaky calipers. It is nice to be able to go but it is more important to stop.
Then drive it like you stole it and enjoy it. Other things will pop up but half the fun of an older car is working on it.
Fun fact, every bit of original rubber on that car is rotten. It’s a journey, but sooner or later you will be replacing almost everything. The good part is you can still buy almost all the replacement parts. I did mine in sections over winter so I could drive it in the summer.
lots of good information here, the search button is your friend.
Fun fact, every bit of original rubber on that car is rotten. It’s a journey, but sooner or later you will be replacing almost everything. The good part is you can still buy almost all the replacement parts. I did mine in sections over winter so I could drive it in the summer.
lots of good information here, the search button is your friend.
This is true, after 26 years in storage, about the only rubber pieces I did not need to replace were the body mounts, go figure.
Yeah anything rubber on this car needs to be replaced with the exception being the tires, no cracks or signs of aging, I couldn't find a date stamp on the tires but they look fine to me and I don't tend to take risks when it comes to tires.
So far the help in this post and other information I've found on the forum has been amazing, I'm sure I'll say this a few times but thank you all
Yeah anything rubber on this car needs to be replaced with the exception being the tires, no cracks or signs of aging, I couldn't find a date stamp on the tires but they look fine to me and I don't tend to take risks when it comes to tires.
So far the help in this post and other information I've found on the forum has been amazing, I'm sure I'll say this a few times but thank you all
I may be mistaken but I don’t think tires had date codes until 2000. I’ve seen pics of fenders after a blow out and it’s not a pretty sight. If in doubt, replace the tires.
Finally got the car home last night, picked a terrible night to pick it up. -25°C, fog, frost, snow and turns out the heater core in my truck is plugged up again so the hour and a half drive to and from the seller was... Uncomfortable haha.
Totally worth it though!
Also found out the car only has 40,000 miles on it so that's pretty cool
Hi Steve, welcome!! There are some VERY helpful members on this forum. It looks like you have a great C3! There is a lot of great advice already given.
Not to beat a dead horse, but the mentions of getting rid of the old gas are spot on. If it really hasn't been run in 20 years you might be a bit better off if there was not corn in the gas (that started about 18 years or so ago). Corn gas does terrible things when it sits for any length of time.
Take your time and enjoy the vette as you work on it.
Lots of other good advice, but I'm going to add a bit more on the tires. They can look perfectly fine and still be a ticking time bomb. If there really is no date code, you should replace them. If you find a date code (just google the brand of tire for the date code locations) and the tires are older than 6- maybe as much as 10 years, you need to replace them. See below for a visual (not my car). You don't want that to happen. I learned the hard way once on perfectly good looking radials that were 8 years old. If I keep a car long enough, I replace them at 6 years old. I'm about there on our '68 L71, so it will get new shoes this spring. And.........if you buy new tires for your vette, make sure you check the date codes on the new ones. I had to have a tire shop get a new set when the ones that came in were already pushing 2 years old.
'77 L-82 Where Do I Start?
First thing to do is change all the fluids, engine, trans, differential, radiator. If it’s been sitting for 20 years, new tires re in order, too. Then remove the plugs (after the oil change) and spin the engine over to get oil pressure flowing. The gas in the tank might be a headache to deal with. You might have to drop it to get the varnish out of it. I’d disconnect the gas line at the carb and catch some while cranking it to see how it looks and smells. 
