Buying a 78 vette

[Jenseno9]

I'm in the process of trying to track down my dad's 78 vette...He bought it after graduating from the Airforce academy in 1978 and was the only owner untill he sold it 2 years ago after his divorce. He had it re-painted about 8 years ago and since then it had sat in our garage year round. He had sold it for 10,000. Everything was working except for the cruise control at the time...

Anyway my question is.... What are the good and the bad things about the model year. I really know Nothing about it except for a few specs... Ill try to search around this board for myself but if some of you who own or know about this model year it would be awesome if you could help me out....
I appreciate it.

thanks

 

[76L82]

I like that year Vette..I myself own a 1976 which isn't too much different mechanically speaking.

From my experience, go right to the brakes. Chances are they are probably shot. If you look through a search on this site you'll find a TON of advice on how to fix the brake systems. Not being a bad mechanic myself, I would give you some advice...plan on simply buying four new calipers if you suspect brake problems at all. Most repair shops will charge you an arm and a leg to try to 'fix' the problem..but the real solution is to buy new and spend your time driving and not under the car. While you are at it, change out the emergency brake system while you have the wheels off and rotors exposed. Made that mistake..and was right back at it two weeks after just replacing the calipers.

Secondly, I would look at the front steering components. Usually the power steering cyclinder and power steering control valve on these things is worn out by this time if not prevoiusly replaced. Tie rods are also another culprit, due to the wider tires on these cars.

If that hasn't scared you off (lol)...take a real close look and listen...to the rear end. As these things have IRS, the u-joints and rear spindles take a fair amount of abuse. Again, so a search o this site so as to know what to look/listen for. Obviously if you hear a "clunk" when you start to move forward or hear the same thing when you decelerate down to a cruising speed etc..you got some of those problems. To be honest, I have been driving mine with shot u-joints for quite some time...is that smart, no...but I don't race the thing either. I DO expect to be calling AAA though sometimes down the line.

Those are obviosuly SOME of the big things I would tell you to consider. The other thing specific to the Vette is the vacuum operated headlights.

Although these cars have many more systems than say the same year Camaro, I have absolutely fell in love with them and put up with their nuances for the shear pleasure to get to drive them. That being said, they are not cheap. However, to hear that small block Chevy is a complete joy!

Oh, by the way...I have about 100k miles on mine and I drive it as a daily driver in the Summer...and this is without having seroius routine maintenance done on the car for the past 20 years...the previous owner to me really let the old gal go....but I'm bringing her back, one piece at a time!

 

[Jenseno9]

Thanks for all you time helping me out....I have a question about the nortorius squeking sounds of the old corvette. What causes this???? The maintence on the vette had always been kept up and im pretty sure the shocks had been replaced.... It had over 100,000 when my dad sold it so do you think that he sold it for a decent price? What do you think I could expect to pay for it granted he hadnt made any major mods..

 

[76L82]

There are a couple of usual sources to the Corvette "squeak, as it were.

For close to a 30 year old fiberglass car that is attached to a metal frame, the biggest problem is that the rubber style mounts that hold the body to the frame are usually worn out to the point that there is "air" between the two when there should be the mounts. This obviously allows the frame and body to shift away from each other over potholes, around cornors and when going from two different elevations.

These Vettes have a ton of bushings in their suspensions. If you get a chance to go to Eckler's webpage, or another Corvette parts supplier, take a look at the bushing kits. I have noticed on many models that the bushings that are on the rear sping that holds the rear sway bar are usually so deteriorated that they might as well not be any. In addition, if your model still has the old "leaf spring" style rear spring, the spring layers tend to start to separate from each other..which ends up making them squeak when the weight of the vehicle gets upset. When I have heard the "squeaking" on my Vette, these were the culprits.

As to the price of the car. If your Dad got $10,000 for a 1978 Vette with 100k miles on it...I would say he got a very, very good price for it. In my neck of the woods, even if that car was unbelievably maintained and kept in a heated garage, you probably couldn't get $7,500....that's due to the high mileage. You'd probably get a lot less if it was a non-L82 model.

Hope this helps..and when looking at the car really get dirty crawling around that thing. I would strongly suggest studying a parts suppliers catalog..getting a good idea of what stuff will cost BEFORE you buy. I went to check out my car and took notes on everything I found wrong with it. I then checked all those items against the supply catalogs to see if it made sense to buy the thing...knowing I had to put another 2 grand into it. This is where buying it "right" in the first place is so critical.

Good luck!

 

[CyberVette81]

I grew up in Colorado Springs in the 70's and all the cadets at the Air Force Academy were buying Vettes when they graduated. There were vettes everywhere and that is why I think I became a corvette nut when I was a kid. I bought my first vette this year and I hope you find your dad's car.