79' L-89 need help!

[Thenextswine]

79' L-82 need help!

I im 16 and live in Westren new york, i have found a 79 corvette L-82 in good shape from ohio... the only thing that is making me toss the car around is that the L-82 engine is not in it, it was replaced by a 350. the car is under 10,000 is this a good deal, please let me know... i want some info from people that know their vettes, thanks

Andrew

 

[WayneLBurnham]

Welcome aboard! Never too young to get into real cars!

That's not that great a price for a pretty standard vette. Pretty much any recent (last 5-10 years) factory crate motor (the classic "GoodWrench Target Motor") developed more power than the L82 of that year (another 350.) These were hardly unique or noteworthy and it they aren't that old to be sharply increasing in value.

It's not a bad price, it's not a good price. Some get some incredible bargains (or claim to) - and I would think a '79 in good shape with a replacement engine NOT some insider trader special could probably be had for $7-8K or so.

Now 3-4 years ago (I guess it's almost 4 now...wow...) this idiot paid $9500 for a '75 ragtop that had been messed over left, right and center. I almost got a really nice '74 with a great stroker BB for $5K more but lost it - but I didn't find what I ended up with after looking for 5-6 months at at least five thousand suitable starting points for my project and didn't see many like it for very much less.

You have a number of problems in this case - across state line purchase, out of area purchase, salt-belt states, minor purchase....and that is a fair amount of money. Make sure the title is in good shape and you can get it past inspection there in your state. Pay to get it thoroughly inspected by a vette shop local to that area to find any "soon to break" type items. A quarter century old machine has a lot of moving parts that will need stuff sooner or later and you need to know what to expect in the near term. You probably have additional problems with underage insurance, but, if you pay cash, you can deflect a lot of that by getting liability only (but newer drivers tend to get into more wrecks...:L )

Above all else, there are a lot of C3's out there - be critical of your decision to purchase any particular one and take your time and you won't end up unhappy.

 

[Thenextswine]

Thanks for your help, its going for about 6500 and its on the road in great shape, i think i am going to get it.. i appreiciate it


Andrew