Need advice on purchase of 79

[justinj]

Found a 1979 L82 automatic with high performance rear end. Light beige with doeskin interior. Second owner with 86k. In decent shape few scrathes nothing too bad. New seats and carpet. Engine starts and runs well , no smoke on start up or idle. Good tires and brakes. Does not have power windows or locks. Original working radio although power antenna does not raise. AC does not work, but does blow could be as simple as freon who knows? Headlights open and retract. Weather stripping is dry, but in okay shape. Solid T-tops no glass. Catalytic converter and smog pump have been removed, rest of exhaust is original. Drivers side door will not open from outside have to open from interior. Overall a pretty solid car. The two major things are the door and AC. He is asking $6500, but as I left he said cash talks. Need advice on purchase and anything else I should be looking for. My last C3 was an 81 and that was 9 years ago. Any help is appreciated.

 

[vetteboy86]

If you could get him down to 6k the difference would at least cover some of the cost to fix the air and door. Overall just from description I would say that is a buy, at least where I am from. Go with your gut.


Craig

 

[justinj]

One for thing looked strange to me it has only one mirror on the driver side and it is chrome not bullet shaped like my old 81. Is that normal.

 

[The73vetteman]

If you're a halfway competent mechanic the door probably isn't a big problem. Sticking latches seem pretty common.

What I suggest you look closely at is the frame, especially around the windshield where they do love to rust. Check also that it's straight - yes, seriously.

Other points to look at;
seatbelts - do they work - expensive to fix if they dont.
brakes - has the fluid been changed in the last few years? If not there's almost certainly corrosion in the system and you'll end up replacing the calipers - that's a $400 job alone, then there's the master cylinder.
Engine - is it a numbers matching car? Helps the resale if it is.

Basically remember that it's an old car. A lot of stuff deteriorates even if the miles are low.

Overall, $6,500 seems fair to me, even for an unloved late 70's car (the decade that taste forgot!) If you can drive the price lower good luck to you!
'73

 

[78SilvAnniv]

One for thing looked strange to me it has only one mirror on the driver side and it is chrome not bullet shaped like my old 81. Is that normal.

My 78SA had the bullet shaped side mirrors (two) with the SA package, so did the Pace Cars for 78. For the rest of the 78s it was listed as an option, and normally the vehicle only came with one chrome side mirror on the driver's side.
Perhaps the 79s had the sport mirrors as an option also and this vette's original purchaser did not request them.
Don't take my word for truth, because I'm not certain, but that is what seems to have happened.
Heidi

 

[photovette]

My opinion: A person who spends the money to replace seats/carpet and yet will let something like not have the driver door work is a bit strange. Also, you're going to want those glass tops on a '79--that's another $1000 you'll be aching to spend. I'd bet you'd find a lot more wrong and it'd be a long time before the car would be where you want it to be mechanically and otherwise.

"The cheapest used Corvette you can buy is generally the one with the highest original purchase price."

 

[81 Corvette]

I know of a 79 in SC that went for 4500. Biggest issue there was tore up seats. It didn't have the orginal motor for those ncrs guys

 

[Bob Chadwick]

Justinj,

The car is defintely in the ballpark. Get the checklist, make sure it doesn's have any of those problems that would rule it and outline exactly what it needs to get it where you want it. With that info, we can help you estimate the anticipated cost. Expect other unanticipated costs.

For example, I know from experience that the worst case scenario on the a/c could by between $1,500 and 2,000 at a shop if just about everything needs to be replaced. It could just need a charge but I would bet it has needed a charge for a long time due to a leak that needs to be fixed and moisture has been introduced into the system. If moisture has been in it there is a pretty good chance of corroded parts that will need to be replaced.

 

[76okievette]

My two cents, this sounds like a good deal, the door should not be a problem but check to make sure it is aligned correctly, no rubbing on the frame or hanging off the hinges, rubbing on the door still.

As has been posted look hard for rust on the frame, also look in the fender wells usually you can see if any body repairs have been made by looking in the fender wells.

When I got my 76 the A/C did not work so instead of trying to fix the orginal system I converted it to R134 and now it works fine and the cost was a couple of hundred dollars but I did all the work it would be more if you have a shop do it.
All in all the car sounds about right check it out again and let us know. remember it really depends on what you are going to do with the car if you want a car to take to shows this might be the one but if you want a car you can drive and fix up at the same time this sounds like a good deal especally at 6K or even 5.5K.

 

[TWINRAY]

An evacuate and recharge of R12 in my '69 last year cost $175. So figure on spending that just to see if it works. If it doesn't, I would consider conversion to R134 and that's probably over a grand. The door probably needs a new handle (obviously at least) and while a slight ball buster of a job, you can do it yourself for the price of new handle and gasket which is under $50. If the calipers aren't S/S sleeved, figure on doing it at $400 parts for the calipers + new pads. Was the front end done. If not, figure ball joints (Moog at about $150 for 4 ,if you can do it yourself), tie rod ends, idler arm. If the frame is straight and not rusted plus if you don't have to tear into the motor, I'd start at $5K and basically figure that I'd be putting up to $1,500 into repair costs - excluding any major A/C costs.

How long has the 2nd owner had it? Get all documentation from him as to what has been done. Any documentation from owner #1?

 

[justinj]

Going to pick up this evening, settled on $5700. My wife works for an AC company so she will charge it for me and I'll go from there. Thanks for everyone's opinion.

 

[curtis]

sounds like a good deal. Show us a picture if you can. congrats!

 

[Stallion]

That's a pretty good deal. And about the antenna not raising, it's not a huge deal. For some reason, the antenna motor is close to the exaust heat, and if you don't have a heat shield (for the motor), then the antenna motor gets fried. Look into it, and when you replace/fix the motor, put some flexible heat shield over it so it doesn't happen again.