'79 Vette for my Bud

[fine69]

Hey All...

After looking at that 1980 Vette, I found another Vette... and I'm completely stoked. I worked out what I think is an excellent deal for my best bud. We've been friends since childhood - so him getting a Vette also is totally cool.

It's a red '79. Off-white interior ("Oyster" maybe?), A/C, power windows. The car is located locally and I got the price down to an even $7,000. It appears to be totally stock, everything works, the interior is flawless, and the engine runs excellent.

Pickin' it up tomorrow afternoon. I would get it for myself.... but what kind of friend would that make me?

Here are some pics.... I think $7K is a fair deal, no?


.

 

[67HEAVEN]

I've always liked the oyster interior. Your friend is fortunate.

Good looking car.

 

[zachh]

Pretty car!!!!
zachh

 

[22229stingray81]

GREAT deal! Looks awesome!

-Tatortot

 

[oceangal]

Looks awesome

 

[Crimson Thunder]

From looking at those pics,$7000 would be stealing that car.

 

[Evolution1980]

Things I've noticed..
The obvious: has the rally rims instead of the optional aluminum. No matter, I prefer the ralley's over the unpolished cast rims anways.

The not so obvious:
No rear defroster, unless the switch was moved for the '80 model. Those seats don't look oyester. Unless the pictures' color is really skewed, the seats should be almost identical color to the steering wheel, dash, seatbelt connector trim. Leads me to believe they've been replaced.
Speedo is a 140 model. I thought the '79 and prior carried the 160mph speedo?


The price? Probably not a bad deal if the car is mechanically sound, however, I'd rather spend $7000 on an '80 due to the improvements overall between the two years. But this car isn't for me, so...

 

[fine69]

Hey All...

Pickin' it up tomorrow afternoon. I would get it for myself.... but what kind of friend would that make me?

Here are some pics.... I think $7K is a fair deal, no?
.

Picked up the '79 this evening for $7,000 cash and drove it to my friend's place in Burke, VA.

The car is in excellent shape. Everything works, including the wipers! It's certainly nor a fast car, but it sure is a beauty.... the only major thing I noted is that the steering felt "loose" while diving it around the Beltway.....

What would be an easy way to give this shark some cajones and help put some pep in her step? He was asking how headers, and duals would affect perforance.

 

[67HEAVEN]

What would be an easy way to give this shark some cajones and help put some pep in her step? He was asking how headers, and duals would affect perforance.

Here we go. It's started already.

A body-off is just around the corner.

 

[Daryllawman]

Nice looking Vette.....Love the Color....as for the speed-o...140 mph was on the early 79's and the late ones were 85mph and they kept it that way thru the 82's.

 

[79-L-82]

Picked up the '79 this evening for $7,000 cash and drove it to my friend's place in Burke, VA.

The car is in excellent shape. Everything works, including the wipers! It's certainly nor a fast car, but it sure is a beauty.... the only major thing I noted is that the steering felt "loose" while diving it around the Beltway.....

What would be an easy way to give this shark some cajones and help put some pep in her step? He was asking how headers, and duals would affect perforance.

How much can your friend spend?

L48/auto's are sluggish to say the least.

Exhaust improvements will help a lot.
Then intake.
Heads, cam, etc. etc.

If he has the coin, drop in a good crate motor. ZZ4's are real popular.

Speed is all about money. . . How fast does he want to spend?

 

[tonyvdb]

Great looking car for the $'s and it's a Corvette how bad could it be.
Corvettes are kind of like boats, they will take all the money you can throw at them.

Tony

 

[Evolution1980]

What would be an easy way to give this shark some cajones and help put some pep in her step? He was asking how headers, and duals would affect performance.

Exhaust improvements will help a lot.
If he has the coin, drop in a good crate motor. ZZ4's are real popular.
Speed is all about money. . . How fast does he want to spend?

I'm with 79-L-82 here. If ya don't need eCheck inspections, drop all the emissions stuff first. Get rid of all the OEM exhaust from the stock cast-iron exhaust manifolds all the way back to the mufflers. Headers straight back into hi-perf mufflers. That right there will most definitely give a noticeable boost for under $700. Be sure to get the carb re-jetted after doing these mods. You'll have increased air flow in/out, so you want your carb to be tuned accordingly.

If you friend is interested, I have a pair of Hooker Competition Headers that I took off my L48 and then ZZ4. They are just sitting in a box right now. I'm looking to sell them. (I 'upgraded' to SuperComp headers, ceramic coated.)

Nice thing about doing the exhaust is that any changes you make will work just fine with any new engine mods or engine replacement.

My 2¢, if he starts looking into engine mods, just do an entire engine swap rather than a rebuild and call it a day. I've never been unhappy with my ZZ4. (Except for when I get beat by something better, like the ZZ383. :L)

 

[zachh]

Things I've noticed..
The not so obvious:
No rear defroster, unless the switch was moved for the '80 model. Those seats don't look oyester. Unless the pictures' color is really skewed, the seats should be almost identical color to the steering wheel, dash, seatbelt connector trim. Leads me to believe they've been replaced.
Speedo is a 140 model. I thought the '79 and prior carried the 160mph speedo?

All 79s had a 140mph speedow. All 78s did to. If you look at a 68- 77, they have a different dash with the 160mph. 1980 - 82 had the 85mph speedos.
zachh

 

[Curtis]

Evolution has it right on the modifications deal. I did mine by myself in my dirty puny little garage for $3200 for the engine changes and what a hassle when you can get it all in a crate that just drops in. seems to me the 383 crates are the way to go. I wish they had all those crate engine options when my car was all torn apart. oh yes looks like a pretty good purchase on your part if the paint is solid.

 

[Fine79]

Fine79

From the pics, the seats do look different but they match the interior. Combination of the picture color variance and slightly faded material but the seats ared stock.

 

[fine69]

I'm with 79-L-82 here. If ya don't need eCheck inspections, drop all the emissions stuff first. Get rid of all the OEM exhaust from the stock cast-iron exhaust manifolds all the way back to the mufflers. Headers straight back into hi-perf mufflers. That right there will most definitely give a noticeable boost for under $700. Be sure to get the carb re-jetted after doing these mods. You'll have increased air flow in/out, so you want your carb to be tuned accordingly.

If you friend is interested, I have a pair of Hooker Competition Headers that I took off my L48 and then ZZ4. They are just sitting in a box right now. I'm looking to sell them. (I 'upgraded' to SuperComp headers, ceramic coated.)

Nice thing about doing the exhaust is that any changes you make will work just fine with any new engine mods or engine replacement.

My 2¢, if he starts looking into engine mods, just do an entire engine swap rather than a rebuild and call it a day. I've never been unhappy with my ZZ4. (Except for when I get beat by something better, like the ZZ383. :L)

I personally like the idea of a ZZ4 crate motor. I should have gone that route with my resto. I spent too much money, AND waaaay too much time rebuilding the exisitng one... I lost an entire summer!
:duh
Doh!


Ralph

 

[KANE]

From the pics, the seats do look different but they match the interior. Combination of the picture color variance and slightly faded material but the seats ared stock.

Ehhh... who cares- what else really atters? As long as the owner is happy...

Me- I'd drive it 'till the wheels fell off and not care.

 

[Nobody Cares]

Looks like ya got alot of bang for the buck. .

 

[jdp6000]

Picked up the '79 this evening for $7,000 cash and drove it to my friend's place in Burke, VA.

The car is in excellent shape. Everything works, including the wipers! It's certainly nor a fast car, but it sure is a beauty.... the only major thing I noted is that the steering felt "loose" while diving it around the Beltway.....

What would be an easy way to give this shark some cajones and help put some pep in her step? He was asking how headers, and duals would affect perforance.

Nice car. Welcome your friend.

Regarding the steering. Short of replacing parts. There is an adjustment on the steering box you can make. Its been a long time since I played with that. It was on my first vette a 1977. I seem to recall what you had to do is raise the car from the support under the engine so both wheels were up in the air. You loosen off one of the two bolts on the steering box to release the second bolt...and tighten the other slightly. It has something to do with snugging up the worm gear. The old Shop manuals used to explain how to do this my new one does not. maybe someone else can chim in here...there was more to the process from what I recall.

Jim