I just bought my first Corvette.
 

Sight unseen, based only on the sellers word and these grainy ebay pictures. In fact this is my first ever car purchase, hoping to build a vette to show my generation (i'm 24) that old cars are cool and there's more to life than straight pipes m3's and GTR's that spit flames. Been looking for a chrome bumper car for a few months and struggled to find anything even remotely close to what I want, which is a black coupe with l88 flares and hood, side pipes, with power windows brakes and steering under 20k. Figured this was a good basis to build the car I want and the price was very good. Seller reassured me the frame and birdcage are solid having been coated in por15 awhile back. Already has wide rear wheels so I should be able to mount the 10' wide BBS e50 wheels i've bought without modifying the trailing arm or E brake mount. Monza headlights will be the first thing to go and hopefully sourced a pair of originals. Was pleasantly surprised to be told it has ps/pb/pw although the center console is a bit of a mess and I have no idea what that shifter is. Hopefully will return to stock when funds permit. Have agreed to pay the seller another 900 bucks to have it entirely gone through, fuel system and tank cleaned, fluids changed ect so I have a running driving car when it's here. Budget is 25k dollars ( £20k). With shipping should leave me £10k for a good repaint and cosmetic work such as LED rear lamps, badges, weatherstripping, Hoping I'm able to fit the flares myself, not sure if the budget will allow for the hood which will be a bummer unless a cheap used one comes up for sale. Hope to keep this thread updated with my progress.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1971-Chevro...1:pf:1&vxp=mtr

Hey, congratulations on your first Corvette purchase! :party:
Looks like a great project, I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun building it.
Of course you can get a wealth of info for free right here. And the C3 Parts For Sale Section will probably be a big bonus for you too.
Send us some pics when you get it landed and keep us updated on your progress.
Good Luck!
Greg

It is listed as a 71, but is sure looks like a 77 from the interior pictures. That is definitely a 77 center gauge cluster and steering wheel. I wonder if it has been converted to chrome bumpers on the front and back, or if the interior has been changed out. I'll be watching this one! Good luck to you and I hope it's everything you expect.

Congrats and best of luck on your project!

Seller says the vin is 194371s111171, i'm not too bothered if it's a reshelled later car, the price was good enough for me.

Vin seems to be a 71 so I guess the interior has been changed. How hard would it be to get a 71 console and gauge cluster to fit the later dash ect? Do they interchange or am I best fitting a 76 console and shifter? Are the stock shifters the same between the years? I can live with the later interior parts but do prefer the look of the earlier gauges. Seats will be replaced with Mk1 Miata ones. Only thing i'm worried about is the vacuum system which appears to have been removed. So I need a wiper door and possibly everything else. I figured worst case I can do the electric motor conversion on the door and headlamps but that will eat in to the budget a fair bit. Any suggestions?

Congratulations on your project. I agree interior pics are 77 interior, looks like you’re getting the recalled 77 only stainless horn button. Enjoy

This is probably going to become a huge thread of me asking questions about what parts I need. If I fit a long l88 bonnet can I do away with the wiper door and all the vacuum stuff? Seller has sent me some engine bay pics and it looks like all the vacuum stuff is gone, which means an electric motor headlamp conversion is probably on the cards, and if I can use the longer bonnet to do away with the wiper door that would be even better. Have attached pics below, the chrome valve covers look so crap, would love a pair of the alloy ones with MT cast in the top.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...0b4749d537.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...35ba85327b.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...e7672d6c8e.jpg

Yup, I was kinda thinking the same thing, check the vin

All the bodypanels and grilles are '77 as well. Frankenvette?

vin is 194371s111171 which says its a 71, i guess the interior has been messed with?

Congratulations. Welcome to the madness, and ask away, a lot of really good people here.

Congrats on your purchase! My son (age 21) is doing his best to introduce classic cars to his generation (two if his friends bought classics after we got his vette on the road).

71 should have 'egg crate' side louvers on the front clip, so either a newer clip was installed and converted to chrome bumper, or the newer louvers were added to the original clip. At almost 50 years old - anything could have happened along the way. BTW - get rid of that Edelbrock air cleaner - they're a fire hazard in any car, but you definitely don't want it in a vette. :thumbs:

Looking forward to seeing more! Enjoy!

Glad i'm not alone on my journey in to classic motoring. The lack of egg crate grills has thrown me off a little, I saw them being sold on ebay as complete units, could it be that someone just removed them to change the look of the car? And I can simply refit them back to the body? Or am I wrong? The air cleaning will be replaced with something more fitting for an l88 hood ;)

No, the newer style louvers are molded into the clip, so they are totally different, and cannot be 'removed'. I'm not sure how hard it would be to cut those out and replace with the correct style.

Just some additional info: 68 and 69 had the 'gill' louvers, 70-72 had the egg crate louvers, and 73-82 had the style that are on your car (but 73-82 also had the rubber front bumper). Nothing wrong with the ones on your car, unless you are restoring it back to original. :cheers:

Congratulations.:thumbs:

Thanks, i'm going to wait for the seller to send a pic of the trim tag before sending the money over, I don't mind if it's a 71 with a few incorrect parts but if it's a 77 that has had chrome bumpers fitted i'm out of this sale since it's not as described.

Too many "ifs" here dude. I would not buy it at this point. I would not send the money. You need to read the sticky about buying a vette and don't fall in love with the first one you sorta like.
I was glad to hear that you had not sent the money yet. I would not buy one sight unseen either.

Also, there is no excuse for grainy pictures in this day and age.