Question: 1980 Corvette questions

[Bolisk]

A friend of mine is looking at buying a 1980 covette. This one is a bit of a beater. . .in that it needs minor body work, paint and mechanicals. Supposedly the car runs REALLY well. He did mention one glareing issue. . .that has me perplexed. I have not seen the car but I would like some pointers from the people in the know here on this forum. . .as to what could be causing this issue. . .and any other points to look for with regards to a 1980 corvette.

The issue is that the rear of the car appears to be sitting REALLY high. . .and the rear wheels are canted inwards at the bottom, and out at the top. Kind like this:

\ /

What could cause that? Could it really be the camber adjustment? Wrong type of leaf spring? Any other ideas?

Regards,
JonR

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

Why would anybody buy a money pit like that? :confused (also none of my bidness.)

The high rear end and positive camber could occur after the car was lifted off it's wheels with a jack or frame lift.

If it's like this after driving a while, have a look underneath for some unusual mods.

 

[Copdogcorvettes]

Why would anybody buy a money pit like that? :confused (also none of my bidness.)

The high rear end and positive camber could occur after the car was lifted off it's wheels with a jack or frame lift.

If it's like this after driving a while, have a look underneath for some unusual mods.

Vettehead is right; they do set alittle off after being jacked off the ground. Once the car rolls a short distances it settles down. If it doesn't then the spring bolt may be adjusted up to high. ( the bolts on the outer ends) Another thing as to the camber is if the spring has been replaced or adjusted high the camber needs to be adjusted to match with the spring setting.
Either way the adjustments are easy to make yourself, but a 4 wheel aliegment is best.

Gary

SAVE the WAVE

 

[KANE]

If it doesn't then the spring bolt may be adjusted up to high. ( the bolts on the outer ends) Another thing as to the camber is if the spring has been replaced or adjusted high the camber needs to be adjusted to match with the spring setting.

Either way the adjustments are easy to make yourself, but a 4 wheel aliegment is best.

Gary is right on! I wouldn't rule out a car just because it sits a little high at first. There a lots of easy adjustments that can be made to correct that.

I've done the long spring bolt swap for the OE bolts. Helped a lot when I went to dial the stance in on the car after I put 17" wheels on it.


There are three issues that come to mind- 1.) tie rods could be bent or 2.) the spring bolts could be the wrong length or 3.) the bolts are simply over tightened.


As for-

Why would anybody buy a money pit like that?

There are lots of good reasons. Such as that might be the best Vette someone could afford OR they have the tallent to fix it.

I've had two "fixer-upper" C3s so that I wouldn't feel guilty swapping in EFI, 17" wheels, 700R4, etc on a really nice Vette. I wouldn't buy a perfect Vette to turn into a resto rod- it's not cost effective. Much easier to start with a Vette that needs paint when a custom color is in mind anyway.

Just my $.02

 

[6880 Mike]

...Why would anybody buy a money pit like that?...

Rhetorical question, right?
:L

 

[Bolisk]

No, this problem (high rear end) persistes after driving the car for a good 40 minutes.

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

Rhetorical question, right?
:L

99% yes, but 1% hoping that the OPs buddy won't repeat my mistake of trying to salvage junk at an affordable cost.

Bolisk- can you get some photos of the suspension? Bubba may have done his magic on this car.

 

[73shark]

Are the strut rods bent? I've seen some alignments that bent the rods instead of using the camber adjust cams.

 

[6880 Mike]

No, this problem (high rear end) persistes after driving the car for a good 40 minutes.

Wheels canted -- rear alignment (camber).

Sitting high -- incorrect spring bolt settings. I'm guessing someone has cranked them all the way up.

Has the previous owner done work on the rear of this car (bearings, brakes, spring swap, T-arms, etc.)? The camber and ride height problems sound like someone has been under there.