My girlfriend has a 1979 Vette that sustained hurricane flood dammage about 6 years ago. Her husband at the time left it in the garage durring the storm and never washed off the saltwater after the waters receided ( but he did wash off his Mercedes ). It took me about 3 months to get the motor started and that was about four years ago. All of the calipers are frozen along with a few other things, but it starts. She has an attachment to this car as she is the original owner. My question is should I spend the time and ( a few years ) restore it for her or convince her to purchase a newer if not new one ? I can get the parts very cheap as I work for Vette Brakes & Products and do the work myself. This process would takes several years, if I do something I go all the way. It will probably have to be a frame off due to the rust dammage. I am a speed and horsepower freak ! I have a feeling if I do this it will wind up being a 500 HP necksnapper. I love this woman very much and I would love to see her in her Vette that has been returned to splender. What would you do ?

Sport 718

 

pass on this ! if its been setting with salt on it for years ..... all I can say is SHIST ! its gonna be a mess. :lurk:

 

Do you think I'll get more personal satisfaction restoring her old Vette or will there be more in driving a newer one ?

 

I personally have two vetts... a 75 and 87 . The C4 is funner to drive since the suspension is WAY better. the 75 looks sexier so I guess it could go either way . :thumbs:

 

My big questions would be how much water got in it and how does the frame look? If the frame is really bad I would have to pass on trying anything. Also if the water got to some of the electronics it could be a really bad inside.

 

Just make sure you are not the only one 'investing' time and money into it, you might go postal if see another guy riding around in your hard work in the future, kinda like OJ seeing Ron Goldman driving 'his' ferrari. :mad

 

do you want to be a hero, i'd look at that angle to , if your in the dog house
the car is there .

 

Salt water went about half way up the engine block. The frame has a lot of rust but I don't think it went all the way thru in any places.

 

You for sure need to do a frame off if you want to save this car..... :lurk:

 

I would not be interested in doing a frame off resto on a 79. It would cost way more than it is worth.

I vote to move on to another Vette.

 

It may have some electrical issues, cause the fuse panel probably got wet. It will probably take alot of work to get things straight. I am not sure what else I could say other than that its your choice in the end.

 

I'm for replacement, not worth the greef when you can find 50+ other red 79's with tan interior on the web for sale at $12 grand. Maybe it's the first car she got laid in. Unfortunitly it wasn't with you. :lol:

 

The only reason I see to restore it is if SHE is that sentamental about the car.

And even then, just remember, if y'all split its all hers.

 

Definetly food for thought, I'll concider all of your advice. Maybe I should not start the work until we are married.

Sport 718

 

A wise idea. Another option could be to find a rough one going cheap & use hers as a parts donor, selling off all the unwanted stuff to recoup some $'s?
If she's sentimentally attached to it then restoring it has more than financial considerations to think about. I restored a wreck of a m/cycle for my wife which took me nearly 1 year of hard work over evenings & weekends. The cost of it was about what we could sell it for now. BUT, all that work was part of the reason that she bought me a C3. She's also eternally grateful, which is no bad thing ;) There's more to life than money!
Has it been kept in dry conditions since it was flooded out? Even with the frame covered in salt, you might find that the damage isn't too bad if it's been kept dry. Working where you do (nice!), there's still expensive parts to consider such as paintwork & interior. For me, the bottom line would be whether I wanted to do it. I've done restorations that I've enjoyed, but they were always on things that I wanted to do. The one's that I wasn't keen on, & let myself get talked into (the perils of beer), seemed to drag on & on & on & were a complete PITA from start to finish.
If you do take it on then you'd better make sure that she's aware of the time you'll be spending on it & the fact that it'll be done a lot quicker if an extra pair of hands could help out along the way!
Good luck :yesnod:

 

I would wait :iagree: When I did get into it, I would take it apart, see what you've got, and plan on replacing every wire and every part that was even close to salt water. If the frame was bad, I'd pass. One owner does make some difference, as you know what has really been done to it and it's overall care. Definately if I found this car somewhere it would be a parts car. Good luck.

 

Not sure I agree. If the car has been kept in the garage the rust from the salt water could be limited Salt adds a great deal to rust but water needs to be present also. More concerned with electrical, any connection with salt needs to be completely cleaned/replaced. Get a good look at the frame before you give up. If she had it since new it is hard to replace the sentimental value. I have seen a lot of people do frame off restore with less to start with. And the points you earn from SWMBO are always a plus.


Mike

 

I would abandon that car. The water can cause so much hidden damage. And quite frankly that is not a task I would take on at the beginning of a marriage. There will be a few more pressing priorities.

 

That may not help much. I believe in some states what one has BEFORE a marriage is still 100% theirs if the marraige is ended.

Only what is aquired during is split.

 

Ownership of the car is not important to me. If I were to do this it would be for the love of the Corvette culture, not to aquire more possessions. That may sound a bit strange to some but others may understand my reasoning.