mitymek

hi everyone,im over from the c4 forum with a question for you c3 experts.
ive found out about a widower with a 75 vette in her garage she would like to sell.gonna go take a look at it.it is not a driver i guess.her husband was in the process of resurecting it.
im wondering what options were rare or what would you hope to find on a 75 c3?
she doesnt know much about it.she did say the top comes off,be nice if the top comes down instead of off but i doubt it.
any tips on what bad to look for like rust places for example?
tia

MrForce

Last year for a C3 convertible. The L82 engine was the most important option. The rest like leather, air cond., auto vs 4 speed, and colors are either common knowledge or personal taste.


rob

mitymek

hmm,interesting.thanks
didnt think about different engine offerings other than sb or bb.
where is the option codes located on the 75s?

Big Fish

Nothing really special about the 75 year. The verts were certainly the most rare. Be sure to check it real good for frame, windshield frame, and rocker channel rust (like any other C3) The option codes are on a plate on the hinge pillar (driver's side). Only 2 small block engines offered, L48 and L82, neither had enough power to get out of their own way (but that's easily fixed).

mitymek

thanks Steve. man,that was some project you took on there! outcome looks gorgeous though

btw,found some good sites with rpo codes and specs for the 75 through google so i think im armed pretty good to go take a look.
i notice nada holds i pretty high regard for em,even in barely driveable condition theyre close to 7 grand.
i dont know whats fair to offer on the thing.guess its purely speculating till tommorrow when i cop a visual on the thing.
thanks guys

ddecart

Yeah, sadly, there's little interesting about '75s

Last year for convertibles, but yours is a coupe
L82, 4 speed is the preferred option, but '75 is still the lowest HP Corvette since pretty much forever.

The good news is there's plenty potential. That anemic engine can be brought to life quite easily.

But look for all of the common C3 pitfalls. Namely rust, rust and rust as has been mentioned.

How much is she asking for it? A decent driver '75 should be had for 5-7000. A disassembled car for around half that.

Big Fish

Thanks for the very nice compliment on my ride. For what it's worth, I bought mine in total basket case condition, the engine was apart and rusted together, the trans and rear axle were no good, and it had no wheels or tires. The radiator was shot, as were most of the other parts. The only bright side was the interior was fairly clean and only needed new carpeting. I paid 700, but the price started at 2500. Hopefully yours has many more good parts then mine had, please keep us posted as to what you think once you check it out!

mitymek

hmm,yea im betting its just one of the 33000 base models sold and its not sounding to promising so far.the way i heard about it was exciting though.my wife got a new job cooking in an old folks home and was talking to one of the nurses who spit out the classic "my husband was working on one of those corvette cars when he died 3 years ago and i need to get rid of the thing so i can use the garage".
drool instantly started forming out of the side of my mouth while i imagined the 67 big block with a low tire on it lol.
i called her up today and got some info on it but not much.one it was a 1975 and also it was originaly black but now its a couple of other colors she thought like yellow and red.....
its probly a heap.but then you just never know i guess.
i will report on it tommorrow.im thinking in the 2k range and thats if it has a 4 spd.
she didnt mention any figures and im not the type that would take advantage of anyone.but some people do think that if its a corvette its worth big bucks...most not realizing the cost of corvette parts.
i just hate it when you have to let the wind out of someone who thinks they have gold and you have to tell em its a painted rock.

Big Fish

I know what you mean. 2K probably isn't a bad price if it's all there (which mine certainly wasn't) and how many new parts might be going with it. I spent nearly 20K to put mine back together, there's no way I could sell it for that at this time, but it was a fun project.

aussiejohn

Well, apart from me, how about Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman or Liz Hurley????????????

JMHO.

Regards from Down Under

aussiejohn

mandm1200

[QUOTE=mitymek]
i will report on it tommorrow.im thinking in the 2k range and thats if it has a 4 spd.
QUOTE]

One way to approach the value is to give it a figure, and then deduct from it what parts are needed to complete it and some money for labor. I would guess a 75 in fair condition to be about $5-7.5K; low milage, great conditon $7-10K, in excellent condition $9-11K. One thing to remember is the rubber bumper C3's typically will fetch $2-3K less than the chrome bumper C3's.
A good starting point might be $8K. Go over the car and see what is needs. Get out a catalog and add up the prices of the parts. As someoneelse mentioned, parts are not cheap. You may want to deduct another $1000 for items not on the list that were overlooked. Perhaps one of the big things to consider is how much of the work you can do and do you enjoy doing the work. Working on a 75 should not be all that difficult, except for the fact you didn't have the opportunity to see how thing were assembled. It's easier to put things back together after taking them apart.

good luck

vttedrm

I'd say pretty much everything. If you buy a chrome bumper car, espically rare big blocks, pretty much anything you do to them takes away from their resale value. With a '75, the cars are relatively cheap already, so any mods will not really affect the resale price (to a point). They even look great stock! Great crusin' cars.

You can play around a little more with these cars than you can with some of the earlier ones. Horsepower is only a few tricks or add on away. L82, 4 spd, gymkhana suspension, PW, aluminum wheels, tilt/tele steering wheel etc. , usually the more options the better.

So, Pick up a 75, 76, 77 and have some fun. If you have the cash, pick up a 68, 69, 70, 71 and leave it as original as possible. Just my $0.02

mitymek

yea thats pretty much the way i was thinking about em.
dont know if this is acurate but if it is then it wasnt black originaly.
http://www.alarid.com/history/specs/75.htm
is that correct?no black color option in 75? that just doesnt seem right.
actualy,they show no black from 70 through 76.weird.

FinnShark

That info is correct, at least about the color. Black color wasn't available during -70 to -76...
Basic -75 is nothing special, but I'd love to have -75 convertible with L-82 and 4-speed...

Big Fish

Don't forget Kylie Minogue!

mitymek

well i finally caught her at home today.what a heap.at one time the car had been cal customized with fender flares,headlight kits and rear bumber crud then painted black with yellow and orange stripes running full length getting bigger at the rear like starsky and hutch or something.that work was shoddily done and cracking off.60% of the paint had been attcked by what looked like a peanut grinder or something way coarse.the interior was stripped out of it then some of it was laying in the car.didnt see any glass but the windshield frame had a 6 inch rust hole at the top of it.didnt bother to look any further at that part.it was an automatic.i didnt check any rpo's after looking underneath and spotting the engine and trans had been painted ford blue,right over the dirt and grease.there was really nothing there to work with.even the wheels were just plain old chevy rims.did have air in the tires tho,i could see it in one of them
only thing i couldnt figure out was why bother with a tarp?
the hood corners (by where the windshield would be) were even broken off.i guess from standing around the garage so long-dunno.
was a darn shame to see i tell ya.
eek - but hey,thanks for your time guys,i learned a lot from this little adventure!

Big Fish

Poor car. Hopefully somebody will save it. I wouldn't mind doing another, but Alaska is just a little too far away.

stingray4me

I have a 75 & 99 vert, & thought I'd say hi, I'm getting my 75 painted now. It cost $2,500 here in middle Ga. I'd say to look behind it to see if the wheels to see if the wheels tilt in. That could be an adjustment or the rear bearings. Take off the rear wheels to see if it looks clean or a pile of ugly rust. Interior parts cost alot too. Iv'e been putting about $1,000 a year into mine trying to keep it up.

flood

M21 4-Speed Manual Transmission, close ratio 1,057

Wow, and I got one of them.

joe73vette

Don't sell a 75 short. This is the picture that convinced me to get a 73-75 convertible instead of a 94-96 convertible. They are so much cooler looking. Joe