I looked at a 79 L82 today that has been wrecked slightly in 1994 and has set in a garage since. All the body mounts look solid as they can be and from i could see the birdcage is also, I didnt have the tools to really start taking stuff apart so I just pryed interior and weatherstriping out of the way. The only problem I saw was on the T tops, there was a bucket load of rust around the the weatherstriping when i pulled it back.

The top hinge on the drivers side door is separating from the body, not sure how it is held on, is it glued? or bolted? or both?.

The interior is shot to pieces but the dash is good and everything is there, just the seats are tore to pieces and the carpet is falling apart.

The front bumper is trash and the passenger side fender is broke right where the headlight assembly was, ccause its gone also. Thats where the impact was. The rear bumper is also trashed. the guy said he hit a parked car and then it spun around and hit another with the rear. There is a small crack in the drivers side rear quarter and a lot of parking lot dings all over the car, the paint is shot.

It has 79k original miles on it(thats what he said anyways) and the odometer says 79k also. He says the car is all original but he doesnt have any paperwork to back it up, that doesnt bother me cause im not a original, matching numbers kind of guy. I just like this body style of vette.

He wants 1500 firm for the car, it does start but i cant drive it, cause if you pour brake fluid in it and hit the pedal, it looks a rain forest under the car. So basically all the brake lines are shot.

Power windows dont work and its missing a couple of lights and knick knacks here and there. Sorry no pics I didn't even think to take a camera until i was there. DOH!!!

Any input would so helpful and appreciated.

 

Skip it and run. The hinges are bolted to the birdcage, if its falling away from the body its either torn away the birdcage or its rusted away. Sounds like about 20K worth of work to me.

 

1500 is not bad. Heck if you part the car out I'll bet you can double your money easily. I'd buy it for 1500. Looks like a lot of work to rebuild this car but part it out.

 

That kind of rust is tough to deal with. Some cars are just not worth any $ when you consider what you have to put in to it.

 

parts car.
$1000 tops

 

sounds like a good parts car, and that is about it.

kdf

 

ty for the info

let the search continue for my project

 

Generally it's cheaper to buy a car that is ready to go.

 

I agree it is cheaper to buy a car ready to go, but I actually enjoy the restore part of it, I can say Heres the pics when i got it, and now look at it.

This would of been my first vette project, I normally just messed with old fords.

Thats why I came here to ask for some expert advice.

 

Smart move on your part. It can cost more to make a Vette road worthy than other cars. Be careful what you buy. Cost of parts and specialty tools can get pricey real quick. Plan to spend $5K-$6K for a fair condition car. $8K-$10K for a nice one. No matter what you buy, you'll end up with more invested in parts than the car is worth, but you'll have the experience to cary with you for a long time.


And welcome to the site! Spend some time here. There's a lot to absorb, some really smart members, and some not so smart members!

 

Went the same route 2 years ago. An 81 stored for 10 yrs. after a front end hit. (pretty hard). Ended up getting a new frame. In the process of re-assembling that. Everything blasted/painted and new replaceable items like bushings,ball joints etc. The list goes on. Then we move to the rear. Like the front all will be correctly taken care of. Birdcage is very solid, as is the rocker channels. Got a GM take off front clip with all other parts to get it back to the way it was. Bought extras stuff along the way like wiring harnesses when a good deal popped up. As they mention above the $'s add up quickly. Only reason I stuck with it is it's a 1 yr. model only. Last year for the Q-jet and first yr. for the computer. I hope some day the value increases enough that it will bring more than they are going for now. If they don't at least I will have a very complete,original,solid car to drive when the weather is nice. Good luck.