i have a question about a 1979 that hasn't been started in 10 years. i was considering buying it but don't know what kind of problems could be wrong with it. what should i look for?

 

A real low price!!!!!! seriously, there could be many things bad or could be in great shape, you need to give us more info as to what you know of the car. others will chime in with the usual rust issues to look for and starting techniques.

 

It could get ugly real quick. Mostly depending on how and where it was stored and WHY.

 

This is not as uncommon as you might think. A Corvette is an occaisional use vehicle for many owners. Life gets in the way of driving these toys and even the unexpected break down can sideline them for a long time.

I would be worried about the brakes first. That is where you might find a caliper leaking and it shows up in the empty master cylinder so look in there. Look for anywhere you could find leaks. Worry about hoses and belts!!! Tires get old, A/C unit might have lost it's charge and that can trash the compressor. The cruise cotrol transducer is going to be shot in many cases from age. Clocks can get trashed if the battery runs down frequently.

That is a good start.

-Mark.

 

Where and how it was stored are the overriding factors here. Did time stand still or take its toll on this one???

 

mine was owned by an uncle and it sat in a barn for about 8 years. It was brought down from the city because of the bastard theifs. Anyway before storage it was in pristine condition. Longstory short interior was crap ran terrible (when it started) Paint was done and the mice and bees were incredible. On theflipside the frame was perfect as well as the birdcage and major areas. Everything is fixable for the right price. Mine was a family discount of $500. After a month id say its worth wayyy more than that and it has a long way to go. Pics would help

 

Sitting in a field, rusting or sitting in a garage? The good thing is, the body won't rust. The bad news is that everything else can. And Does.

 

problem areas?

brakes seized
engine seized
frame rotten
bird cage rotten
interior trashed
gas tank rotten from bad gas and water
all suspension components frozen
electrical system chewed up from varmints

You really need to look this thing over carefully with someone who knows cars WELL and then go slowly. Don't get Corvette fever. I could spend hours going over a car that hasn't been driven in 10 years before I bid on it. If it hasn't been in a controlled environment such as a garage or shop then the problems get worse.

 

Just bought a vette that had been sitting for 10yrs like u described. Here is what i ran into. Dirt dobblers filled every open hole and area on the car. Every open rubber hose, every vacuum line, every screw hole. The engine seals, timing cover seal, rear main, front tranny, even the trans pan seal started to leak. The power steering valve seals, steering box lower seal, all began to leak. Mine came with a freshly rebuilt tranny and engine. Just fresh 10 years ago. About got all this fixed. And even the new u-joint seals were brittle from age and will crack open when you grease them. I got a car that had a frame off started and never quite got finished. All in all a really good deal for me since I can do the repairs myself and had all the parts I needed to finish the car. U have to look at the cost associated with these kind of repairs and weigh that against the price you pay for the vehicle.

 

just add $15,000 and it will work ok for an old car......i can tell you that it wasn't parked because it was running well.....so be sure to know whats going on or you can quickly become upside down in it like the rest of us......

 

You also have to worry about the radiator, hoses, seals, u-joint, exhaust , and suspension... I am working on the same type of project right now. If you can't do 99.9% of the work yourself just forget about it and buy on you don't have to fix. Mine was stored in a garage, it hadn't moved in 5 years, and it only had 1500 miles on the oil change sticker dated 5/98. It took $2000 in parts last summer to get it on the road. This summer I will have around another $3000 to make it safe and dependable. That is only in parts since I can do everything on it myself. It doesn't include the body or interior. If this car didn't have sentimental value to me I either wouldn't of bought it, sold it right away, to parted it out. Think about it before you buy. If you can't do the work or think you might want to sell it some day don't buy a project like that.

 

My Vette had sat unused for 6 years when I bought it last April. It was stored in an open carport. It had a birds' nest under the hood. Mother and 5 babies. Dirt dobbers everywhere. Body and interior were in great shape. However, after getting in started, driving it home, and then driving it around for a few days, I had to replace all 4 brake calipers from leaking, all hoses and belts were shot and had to be replaced. It had brand new tires on it when I bought it, so I thought I was getting lucky with that. Not to be. The tread on the left rear tire started separating after a couple of days of driving, so new set of tires. Hose blew out on the power steering unit in the first week. Ball joints were completely shot. Also control arm bushings and shocks. Water pump was leaking. Motor was using oil. Turned out the valve seals were shot. A/C didn't work. Speedo didn't work. A couple of spark plug wires were shot from laying against the headers. Carb leaked in 3-4 places, so I just put on new one and rebuilt old one for spare. Fan clutch needed replacing. Most of these things will start showing up after you drive it a few days. I actually got lucky. Once I gradually fixed all these odds and ends, the motor and tranny turned out to be in great shape. All these things sound like a lot, but if you take your time, it's not as bad as it sounds, especially if you're looking for a project car. It cost me about $3,000 to get my Vette dependable. Long story short. The car will have things that need replacing due to sitting up for years, but most of it will be minor stuff, if it was running when it was parked.
Oh yea, all the birds survived. The owner and I relocated them to an empty paint can on a shelf in the carport and everyone of them finally flew off.
KC

 

You really need to look this thing over carefully with someone who knows cars WELL and then go slowly. Don't get Corvette fever. I could spend hours going over a car that hasn't been driven in 10 years before I bid on it. If it hasn't been in a controlled environment such as a garage or shop then the problems get worse.[/QUOTE]


Where the car was stored (protected area or not) is very important. Be extremely careful if car sat outside in the elements for 10 years. Good luck.

 

Unless a museum prepped it for storage, it's garbage.

 

My 79 sat in a garage for 13 years had flat cam lobe and after replacing the radiator and pulling all the gas out of the tank. and filling all fluids I had it running in just over a weekend. All gauges work except the clock all hoses and seals were fine and did have to change the brake calipers and steer contol valve. All minor stuff and easy.
Its where it was stored if in a dry area like colorado not east coast and in a closed garage you will not have any issues like the one talked about in this post. I had no frame rust either. It all depends on where its stored. Also mine only had 70k miles on the car. Now I did end up changing everything from engine to trans to trailing arms but not because I had to I could have made a pretty cheap driver as far as a corvette goes but that is not why I bought the car.

 

For a non running 79 I wouldn't offer more than I would for a 79 missing the engine. The seller can give you all kinds of stories about how it ran great when they parked it, but if they're not willing to prove it then it's all just a smoke screen. If it were a rarer car, for instance a chrome bumper big block car then it would be a different story, but there are just too many 79's out there to justify any higher price for any engine.

 

I hear ya!!!!!!!!!!!

 

just wanted to thank everyone for the help, but i'm not sure if i'm going to go through with buying this 79. long story short it's a lady trying to sell the car, but it's in her husbands name and he left her a few years back so she doesn't "know" too much about it except it's taking up space in the garage for the last "few" years, but thanks again

 

It's been stored in a garage. That's good news. It may be a good deal, if the price is reasonable. I'd give that one a second look. Just my .02.
KC