81 purchase help.......

[rassan]

hello everyone could really use some help on buying an 81 from someone i know. i have never owned a vette but have always wanted to , wife and 3 kids have somehow kept from my dream...

i have a older friend of mine who's knees have given out so that when he gets in his vette sometimes he has to get help to get out not a pretty site. well i have always liked his vette but it wasent for sale so i never thought i would get a chance to buy it , until now .

my question is how much is it worth & i was told u never buy a car from someone u know & of course not a vette.

it is a 81 with 100,000 miles on it 4 speed
ps,pb,pw, alarm and new seats and paint


we took it to the shop and they said it needs shocks,
idle arm, valve cover gaskets, balljoints and seal in the rear suspension.

oh and there seems to be some discoloration under the drivers floor. he is going to put it on ebay for
10,000.00 i think i can get for 8,000.00

charcoal with new silver interior

if u have anything for me yea or nay i'm all ears
ummm eyes............:L


R.K.

 

[Yoda]

RK,

If you have a fair mechanical aptitude, most the things pointed out by the shop can be done in your garage. And with a 1981 GM Shop Manual the other items can be too..

There is a great pool of help here at the Corvette Action Center and just about anyone here that has done these things will be more than willing to provide advice.

$8,000 is a really good price, I bought mine in 1996 or 97 not sure at the moment, but I paid $10,500 for mine. It had 56,800 miles on it and needed a bunch of TLC and suspension, I had the transmission rebuilt (4-speed) and the rear-end changed.

Each winter I try to do something to restore her back to near new condition. The last things on my list are new front springs and body mounts.

I've driven mine from California to Bowling Green TWICE and back to Auburn, IN once. I would NOT be afraid to take Rare anywhere the highway calls

{Charcoal Grey [84L]; Silver Leather Interior [152]; 4-speed Is an AWESOME Combination}

 

[81 Corvette]

what part of Ohio are you from? Toledo here.

Personally I think 10K is on the high side. 8K would be reasonalbe if everything is in good shape. Just be prepared to get bitten by the mod bug. Thats when the money starts to really flow. Just as an FYI, my 81 has 148,000 miles. Tranny (auto) was rebuilt about 12,000 miles ago. I'm taking it in the very near future to fix the u joints and differitial. These cars might look good to the naked eye, but once you get into them, you will see the blemishs that must be fixed to keep em on the road.

that said, a corvette is the only way to roll.

 

[gedmeyer]

RK,
{Charcoal Grey [84L]; Silver Leather Interior [152]; 4-speed Is an AWESOME Combination}

I dunno bud, I might have to say that the Charcoal with black leather might be better! But you are right, 4 speed IS the way to fly!

-gedmeyer

 

[rassan]

81 is it!!!!

thanks for your replys to my purchase ? Rare i hope u dont mind but the vette i'm looking at is just like the pic u posted:cool
i dont say if i buy anymore but when i buy

i'm going to see if i can find a 81 gm shop manual and get rid of all my 70 - 77 monte manuals. just got rid of no. 5 and i'm not looking back....

hey rare81 u have had yours for about 7 yr. so if i cant find what i'm looking for lurking in the backgroud i hope u can stand a stupid ? :confused every now and then.


81 corvette i'm in akron and your right 10,000 is to high thats why i going to start at 7,500 and stop at 8,500. what is the mod bug and if it's anything like what i did with my monte's i should just just give my wife the house and move to a motel:cry I'm getting my car because corvette is the only way to roll


charcoal grey, silver or black interior 4-speed is the only way to fly...............

wave ya later

 

[Yoda]

..... hey rare81 u have had yours for about 7 yr. so if i cant find what i'm looking for lurking in the backgroud i hope u can stand a stupid ? :confused every now and then.

...... charcoal grey, silver or black interior 4-speed is the only way to fly...............

wave ya later

rk,

There are no Sutpid Questions Trust me we've all been down this road before. Part of the mystic of Corvette ownership is being able to pass along information and to help one another... AND of course the

Bud

 

[rassan]

thanks bud...

 

[mr mctavish]

$8000-yes

 

[BLACKDOG]

nice pik there Bud !!! - and that was BEFORE the new paint !!!

rassan - Bud aka Rare81 is the King of the 81 Brotherhood. ;worship So ... when you get your 81 ... Bud's the kind of guy that will answer any question you got - or get the answer for you. You are at the right place for that !!!

... and he makes GRRRREAT margaritas too !!! :BOW

 

[rassan]

in vette land can anyone hear me scream!!!!!

i'm down but not out!

why are my sisters taking me to court over something that happened between them and my dad 20 years ago.

why did the guy who was saveing the vette for me put it in the paper and get someone very interested in it..


why did the same guy go to macco to get his new paint job and wonder why they missed a few things.

why is my wife scared to talk to me and i cant sleep.

why am i telling u this when i should just get over it and move on because there are so many 81's for sale.

why do i feel sick..............


oh yea and what is the radio delete button :confused

 

[rassan]

i want to join the brotherhood!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[timboski]

Paid $5500 inspected 2 years ago 140,000 miles. alot of TLC has been doneand is still needed.

 

[ZAL81]

I dunno bud, I might have to say that the Charcoal with black leather might be better! But you are right, 4 speed IS the way to fly!

-gedmeyer

I have to agree with gedmeyer! Charcoal with black leather and a 4 speed. It just doesn't get any better!!!

Hey Bud, Hey Dawg, Whats up???


Zane

 

[mr mctavish]

charcoal metallic was the color I wanted. I couldn,t find any 4 sp.s that I could actualy see in person. settled on maroon metalic.

 

[Yoda]

charcoal metallic was the color I wanted. I couldn,t find any 4 sp.s that I could actualy see in person. settled on maroon metalic.

I know what you are saying... I looked for almost 10 months. I looked at a couple in Illinios, but they had Black interior... I passed... Then I found Rare in Rochester Hills Michigan.. One look and it was all over

Briefly:
In 1980 I bought a new 1980 Red/Oyster leather interior.. beautiful car. Then a friend of mine took delivery on a new 1982 Charcoal Grey/Silver Leather interior, I couldn't get over how nice it looked. That color combination has always stuck in mind.. So when I got tired of the C4 and the "I can't work on it" because of all the "Stuff" they stuck on it, I decided to go back to a carb. car Doubt I'll every own another Corvette newer than a 1981.. It's bad enough with the LS and the Splash, reset the computer, talking to me... NOT...

Bud

 

[rassan]

happy happy joy joy!!!!!

now that i have it what do i do first

i want to post a pic of the newest edition of the family but cant figure out how to shrink the jpg's :confused

if anyone would care to see let me know how

i ended up paying 7,000$ and agreed to pay another 500
in 30 days if their is nothing wrong with the car that cost more than 1,000$

the guy thought it was pretty funny when i had to borrow 20 for gas because i gave him everything i had ........


waving is cool

 

[Yoda]

rasson,

Welcome to the fold .. be sure to register your '81 at the L81 VetteRegistry Also you can send me a photo and I'll make a few different sizes for ya RareL81 @ hotmail.com

 

[WKEND 81]

I just purchased my '81 in April of this year from a 36 year old gal who has two small children. She had only driven it twice in the last year. I paid $9,200, which I thought was very fair considering what I had seen around here. It's got 73,649 miles and in what I consider very solid #3 shape. It's a red/red automatic. Am very happy with it, but do plan on replacing the carpeting this winter. Have 2 very small tears in the left bolster of the drivers seat, and am wondering if there is any "economical" fix, other than replacing both seats? The texture and look of the leather is very good and I would hate to spend $800 for seats that truthfully would look out of place. Any suggestions, anyone? And. my plate is WKEND 81. Also, I was very happy with the service of Hagerty Insurance and shocked at being able to insure her for $202/year!

 

[Yoda]

WKEND81 ~ Welcome Aboard ~

WKEND,

I too had a tear on the driver seat bolster I went to an upholstry shop recommended by a couple of local Hot Rodders. The shop matched the side bolster, which is vinyl, the silver is just a bit off color but not bad

Long story short: I took the seat apart, left the seat cover on, took it to the shop... they did the "french stitch" and all for $45..

Good Luck

Bud

 

[WKEND 81]

Why didn't I think of that?
Thanks Bud, I really appreciate the tip.