A 71 restored in 81. What do you think? Facebook find.
 

Found this on the local Facebook, I was talking to him and he sends me a picture of the title saying it's a 71. Even sent a picture of the VIN tag also saying it's a 71.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...c8b91edf70.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...84deab63cd.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...ff2df28a95.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...71149f9080.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...5f530aabf0.jpg

Looks nice but the ad says automatic transmission then 4 speed. Four speed would be awesome. Some of the experts will chime in on the vin number I'm sure.

Not sure about the color but it cold just be the shading of the picture. The long hood is not correct for 71. From working on these cars it maybe lipstick on a pig. Get someone who knows these cars take a look at it . Good luck!
Well it might be the right front clip with the side grills left out but the hood is not correct.

If it's a "restored" 71, ask why it looks like an 80-82.
:thumbs:

That is a 73-newer side vent in the fender. And can't be 100% sure but LOOKS like 78-newer fastback rear glass, not sugar scoop roofline. There is no way somebody put a 78 body on a 71. Ask for pics of nose and tail and much more. Then run laughing.

It could just have an 81 nose on it. I was trying to see the seats and the rear window. A rear pic of the car would help. There was a lot of conversions to plastic bumpers over the years. DoorGunner is rescuing his 68 from a 76 conversion

OK- It's an 71 that was restored with an 81 body....

Front AND rear clip have been swapped. The firewall/vacuum lines/windshield washer/hood hinges are all 71-

rear clip-


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...98fdbc7c21.png

It's not necessarily a scam. By 1981 a 1971 car was 10 years old. It could have been in an accident and the owner had it updated to the newer style to look like a new car since it was being repaired anyways. It happened a lot, these were just cars back then. Heck, we have a 1975 vert car converted to look like an 82 collector's edition car in our collection.

Has the old style seats and door pads in it.......weird car!!!

Jebby

You are going to have a real hard time finding that rear ball joint for the car. Must be a 1 only car that makes it really rare.

Plus the original-style mirror.

Remember; people did a lot of cocaine in the early-80's...

Likely a Frankenvette...not that uncommon after almost 50 years. Reduces price significantly. My 1968 car has parts from 1973 (hood) and 1978 (engine) on it.

Redvette2

So I called him out on it and received pictures of the title, the VIN on the title match the VIN on the car. I'm not gonna post the title for obvious reasons.

I figured I would post after the conversation with him. I called him out of the bubble back glass, side vents, and front bumper. He still insisted it's a 71 that was restored in 81. I told him someone probably totaled a 71 and put the drivetrain in this 81 and swapped the VIN tags. He says it's a one owner car yada yada then quit talking to me. The only thing that's not 80's is the seats, they appear to be an older style. But everything else screams 81 like my own.

I feel bad for some poor sole to buy this car thinking it's a true 71 but shame on them and this guy for paying that much for a scam. For all we know the body was stolen.

I was thinking the same!!

Its got the 71 Vin tag on it, wouldn't that still be considered fraud?

No......the birdcage may very well be the same one. The doors could be the same.......several other items.

Jebby

No, it would not be considered fraud. It is perfectly legal to swap a front and rear clip on a car. The doors, seats, 454 and firewall scream '71 car. My bet would be that the dash looks correct for a '71 car as well. A look under the car could tell a lot, one look at the rear differential will say if the car has an early frame or not.

You say you called him out on it being a scam, I don't blame him for stopping the conversation with you. No one truly knows the history of what happened with the car except for the owner that had the work done.

Is my '68 car a scam car because it has a '72 interior, 69+ doors, 69+ firewall, '73+ side vents and a later long style hood simply because those parts didn't come on the car from the factory? Nope, there was an engine fire before my dad bought it in '72 and it was repaired with available parts at that time and then my dad modified the body to suit his taste over the 40+ years he owned it. I had so many forum experts telling me it wasn't a '68 car. Is our '75 vert that has an '82 front end and rear bumper a scam car simply because someone swapped those items because they wanted a vert that looked like an '82 collectors edition car? My point being, lot's of body modifications happened to lots of C3s over the years and you can't just call out a seller on a car as being a scammer with little proof.

I see where your coming from with that. What threw up the red flag was "I really dont know. The lady that owned it got it a a wedding present in 70 and her husband passed away. He had all the work done to it and didnt have many answers".

Since he had no knowledge or documentation of the work done other than it was restored, it seemed super sketchy. I never acused him it was a scam, I just implied it with all the questions I was asking.