Frank43

Hey all,

I know this is a tough question, without seeing the actual car, but I will do my best to describe. Talking with a guy about a rust free, 1977 L-82 4-spd for sale for $8k. It is numbers matching with a recent rebuilt engine. Total miles around 140K

Car's issues include missing luggage rack, Headlights dont go down (owner doesnt know why), and paint is faded and has some chips (fiberglass is good). Interior is in good shape, but the dash has cracks. New dash is included with the car.

Otherwise the car is solid. New tires, and runs/drives great. I am going to look at it this weekend. I have attached 3 pics below, but they are not great.
Can you think of any red flags (besides rust) to look for, and does anything stick out at you (from my description and pics)?

If all checks out, what is this car worth?







Thanks
Frank

blbeck

Frank
I would say yes, as long as there are no other issues once you go to inspect the car.
1977 L-82 4-speeds are getting harder to find in original condtion.
Bob

the shark man

I would say no you are going to spend more $ on it then it is worth you never get your $ worth

BlackbirdZ07

An asking price of $8k is reasonable for a matching numbers L-82 four speed if it runs and drives well. The major drawback to this car that I see is that it needs paint, and that tends to be expensive. However, if it doesn't look too bad and you can live with it for a while, that's an expense that can be put off for now.

140,000 miles is a lot, so check everything very carefully. You say it runs and drives well, which is good. Check things like the brake calipers... do they leak or have they been replaced recently? Are all the suspension bushings cracked and rotted (complete suspension rebuild needed)? A few minor repairs are one thing (they all need something), but all this stuff really makes a difference because it adds up to a lot of money if you have to do it all. Basically, try to get a feel for whether the car has been kept up and has had lots of work done, or whether it needs pretty much everything. If the latter is the case, you'd be much better off spending just a little more and getting a restored car.

Check the body carefully for poorly repaired crash damage to the fiberglass. How are the front and rear bumpers, straight and crack free or wavy, cracked, and deteriorating? If you have to replace them, add that to the cost of paint.

I think $8K is a reasonable asking price, but try to get it for $6-7K. Paint will be expensive, and that's probably your biggest bargaining chip if the rest of the car is clean/damage free/relatively well maintained.

Good luck!

BlackbirdZ07

Oh, I just noticed a possible red flag from your pictures. The exterior rear view mirror is not correct, it's from an earlier car. 1977 should have the painted body color sport mirrors on both the driver and passenger doors. Make sure the car is indeed a '77, as they're worth slightly more than '75's and '76's. Ask why the mirrors have been removed/replaced.

ve77er

frank,
if possible have a look behind the a pillar trim or pull the kick panels and check for rust. if the birdcage is rusted, you are getting into a whole can of worms that while repairable, is certainly no easy or cheap way to go. also try to remove one of the sill plates and lift the carpet to see the floorpans, '77 was the first year they were metal and with a leaking windshield/cowl/birdcage can also get a bit rusty. like others have said 6-7 K due to the paint is more than fair from what i can see. mileage is high but if the car was mechanically cared for should not be a show stopper. best of luck!
....................................chri s

ve77er

this is not neccesarily true, if the car was not ordered with sport mirrors you got one large chrome driver's side mirror from the factory.
.......................................c hris

r44s

Headlights have a push-pull switch under dash to the right of steering column which when pulled down will raise the headlights and leave them up even when turned off, this is used if you can't get them to go up with the headlight switch, which indicates a vacuum problem. If it is in the pulled down position try pushing it up with the engine running and check if the lights go down. Don't confuse this with the trip odometer **** in the same area.

BlackbirdZ07

I always thought those were standard for '77. I stand corrected. :o

Fastguy

Where are the hubcaps and trim rings? That is a strange color, is it factory? If it just needs some TLC and its turnkey, $8k probably isn't bad for a 4spd L82 but as mentioned earlier, 140k is a LOT of miles and there are things that are bound to be needing replacement.

TMU

How much is a nice one $10,000? I'd go that route or pick this thing up for $6,000 *if* you like working on cars. My second Vette was a '77 L82 4sp. Was all stock except I had headers and new exhaust put on. Went pretty good considering it was one of the heaviest Corvettes ever made. I raced a friend who had a brand new Porsche 911 in 1983 and the Vette won. I don't think he was too thrilled with that.

dhauser

If you WANT a project car, then get it for $6500 and prepare to spend away. Frankly, you are much better off in the long run spending more money up front for something a LOT nicer than that. If you don't want the headaches of a restification, don't go down this road.

RogerDeV

Yep- about %40 had the sport mirror option...

I would ****** it up for $6-$7k, *IF* it's truly an L82 with the original engine.

Make sure you find out for sure if that rebuilt motor is still the original!