surkon, it appears you now own this car. It sounds like you are handy with your hands, so make the best of it. Take your time and inspect it thoroughly. The birdcage may or may not be all that bad. I have seen nice frames sell for less than $500 on ebAY. The wise thing to do at this point is to take your time and learn what you need and don't need, and, where and how to shop for parts. Good luck.

 

If you plan on keeping the car for any length of time who cares what it costs. Do it the way you want and have fun. It is only money. Why buy a car to worry about it's resale. If that was the case then we should all buy $500 beaters and drop them off at the junk yard when dead. I bought a car and found out later that the frame had been bent at some point. So I got a new frame. I am putting in way more than it is worth except what it is worth to me becasue I want a super nice car. I am doing a custom car the way I want. I don't care what the resale is. If someone realizes you have a new frame and what a restoration costs they may pay the cash to have a car already done. Some people want better quality than a daily driver car. And for that you need some $$. I am sure there are many on this forum who have twice as much in there car as it is worth. But they don't care because they aren't selling. This is a hobby and cars are a passion. They have more WORTH than the tangible book value to some people. If you like the car (you did just buy it so I assume you do) put the money in and get it how you want it. You have to start somewhere. So maybe you overpaid a few grand but so what. Have fun and enjoy the rebuild process. You will have something you can be proud of.

 

I agree with you to a point-just look at my signature. But did you happen to look at the pics of his car? A bent frame can be a PITA but what he showed is just damn dangerous. Not to mention the fact that the seller had to have known about this. With a bent frame the car could still have been aligned close enough to drive and not show any real noticeable problems. This situation however is not like that and certainly not one I would just say I don't care how much it costs to fix .

 

It doesn't look that bad... An afternoon and $20 worth of duct tape and it will be at least twice as strong!

 

Bubba!!!!

If it were me I would try to get my money back, another 1980 vette with a much better frame shouldn't be too hard to find.

Body offs are fun, but it sure would be nice to drive the vette for a little while before doing one.

 

It's hard to believe that the guy was not aware of the issue. He claims he's rich and doesn't know anything about cars? Well that means he takes the car to a garage. Any mechanic looking at that car would advise the owner. That's how they drum up business.

Since he did not mention that the car was shot, you might be able to claim he is guilty of fraud. I would try and get a legal opinion and see if you have any recourse.

My 76 wasn't much more money and the frame is black and solid.

 

ok! so i tried and tried to contact the seller. i eventually got a hold of his girlfriend/wife and he is actually out of the country! surprise surprise! i left a message that i had a "question" for him. im not going to try to get all my money back. i would like to inform him of the condition of the car and tell him i assumed that the car was in drivable condition. i would then ask for maybee 3 grand in compensiation. but thats if i can ever get a hold of him ever again.

on another note i have e-mailed those same pictures to the local corvette specialists and am awaiting an e mail back. also i have heard that there is a place south of calgary (where i live) that had over 500 corvette frames. i have no idea it this is true or not but its worth a shot.

the waelder i know is all on my side. he sead he will weald anything i want done. this is good news seeing how the going rate for a wealder is huge. i also know i can trust him.

where i stand right now is this: im keeping the car. if i get some help from the seller that would be awesome but im not counting on it. its depressing that i just bought a 10,000$ car and cant drive it but my goal is for this spring to have it all sorted out. i will make my decision when i hear back form the corvette shop with their estimates. it will be a frame rail wealding job or a new frame. i will also try to throw in a crate engine if i have the cash for this winter.

thanks for all the opinions guys. none goes without notice. all this information has been absoutly perfect and has made me way more educated. i only wish i would have known this before buying a vette.

ill keep you guys updated!

Andrew Surkon

 

Just did a quick net search and unforunately it doesn't look like Ontario has a lemon law. The "Used Vehicle Information Package" doesn't do much for the buyer or seller. Its basically forms to assist the Ontario government in tracking the sale of vehicle and collecting the sales tax. It contains:

1. Description of the vehicle
2. Ontario vehicle registration history
3. Odometer Information
4. If there are any liens registered against the vehicle
5. Wholesale and retail values for the vehicle's model and year
(on which the minimum tax payable may apply),
6. Retail sales tax requirements
7. Bill of sale
8. Consumer tips on vehicle safety standards inspections


Nothing to do with inspections or ripoffs.

You bought it, its yours, do your best with it.

But allocate a couple hours to hassling the guy, you might get some money back.

Good Luck

 

Well sounds like you want the car so it must mean something to ya. Its not really that big of a deal to change the frame. The thing Id be worried about is the condition of the birdcage. If its just the rocker channels you are still ok its stuff you can take on yourself reasonably easy. The main thing is cost. Id pull the body and see what you are dealing with as far as the bird cage is concerned. Look at where the body mounts are and see if they are rusted out. My 76 aint worth jack but Im going to make it into what I want. It sux that you over paid but if you like the car who cares.

 

Take plenty of photos, and have fun fixing her up. For me, it's just as much fun working on my vette as driving it.

If you have a rusted birdcage you'll get real good at finding parts at the junk yard and fiberglassing.

On a side note, I finally found the rear door pillar for my 68 vert at a local Corvette junk yard.

 

Thought you might get a kick out of this...
Check this 1968 vert on eBay - looks like a 1980
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chevr...82795528QQrdZ1

 

ok so now that i am going to strip the body what are the best assembly/disassembly guide? i dont want to be yankin some fiberglass off improperly. that would be bad.

 

Is it true that CA car are the way to go they normally don't have rust?

 

Many of the southwestern states like California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado have excellent clean cars with little to no rust PROVIDED THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE . My '38 Dodge spent most of it's life in Grand Junction CO, and had almost no rust whatsoever. However, if a car spent a few years in the snow, salt, or in very humid wet climates rust could still be there. Lots of folks have brought their east coast cars to the west over the years. My '69 coupe was from AZ and Nevada, but has frame rust near the kick up on the drivers side. Nothing like the pics posted here but I have a few holes I was able to create with a pick. It obviously did not spend it's whole life here in the dry southwest, but I knew this going into it, and since it's an unmolested numbers matching car I decided to tackle the issues with it. In general most vehicles here are pretty rust free, but you need to make sure and do a thorough inspection before buying

 

Good for rust, but worst for emmissions control.
California Corvette buyers could not opt for the L82 engine in 1976.
In 1980, the biggest engine you could get was a 305.

 

If the car is along the coast where there is a lot of salt in the air its gonna rust. Remember alot of the Southwest cars don't rust came from guys buying cars in the eighties and ninties (for 60's and 70's cars). These things are 15-20 years older than that now so chances are a 30-40 year old car is gonna have rust somewhere unless it has spent its whole life in the desert areas.

I bought a car that was from California and then Texas. Thinking the same thing. Rust was visibly not present but once I got into it there was internal rust working its way out and there was also rust around the windshield frame. The birdcage was fine. The problems were no where as bad as some of the pics I see on here of Northern and Eastern cars where the frame is gone.

 

Here's some info for you that should help:

1973
http://hometown.aol.com/bmclau5079/page5.html

1968
http://www.yankeelady.com/library/no...ion/mackay.htm

 

thanks, that should help alot!

 

i live in canada also and not to be rude but the car shouldnt have even been driven home.as for the price,well i feel for you.with a frame like that it doesnt matter how the rest of the car is its worth a max of $3500 c.a.d as a restoration project.im repairing a frame i bought for my 73 as we speak which wasnt nearly as bad and its already cost me $250 (on top of the purchase price)and im still not done.i am an experienced welder and my father in law owns a metal fabrication shop.your frame is like my original.you will spend more than the frame is worth repairing it and it wont be strong as it should.start looking for a frame.secondly alot of people may say removing the body is easy but with the frame like that your birdcage is also likely rotten and you will have to pull the front end off first or you may end up cracking the body.older canadian corvettes can turn into a nightmare unless you know your stuff.

 

Friend that frame is Toast, isnt enough of it to repair .I have a really good non bent frame with no rust if your interested Pm me