Potential C3 Newbie

[Dom]

Hello All

I’ve previously owned a C5 and C6, but have been lurking around here in C3 land for a while. Recently, I started looking at 2 cars. A 1978 pace car and an 82 collector edition. Both cars have mid-late 20k miles on them and both cars are asking mid $20k

My question - are there any specific maintenance / trouble items that I should be looking out for with either of these cars?

Thanks for your help
I hope to be back in a corvette soon

 

[Vette79]

Hello All

I’ve previously owned a C5 and C6, but have been lurking around here in C3 land for a while. Recently, I started looking at 2 cars. A 1978 pace car and an 82 collector edition. Both cars have mid-late 20k miles on them and both cars are asking mid $20k

My question - are there any specific maintenance / trouble items that I should be looking out for with either of these cars?

Thanks for your help
I hope to be back in a corvette soon

Pics of the cars would help us out in determining condition and price. Without seeing pics I would say mid $20K is to much. My first question is "Does everything function including the gauges?" Second question is "Are they #'s matching?" A quick first suggestion to you would be to look for rust especially around the birdcage. Determine how much money you will have to invest before settling on a purchasing price. I say, go with the 78 pace car but that's just me...As for specific maintenance items, you'll receive a lot of feedback on this one but my first thought would be the rear wheel bearings tend to be an issue with C3's and Vacuum. Headlights are operated via vacuum...

 

[Dom]

Thx Jeff
I appreciate the feedback

I should have mentioned, the prices are the initial asking price. I have not started any negotiations at all.

Here is the pace car

1978 Corvette Pace Car Coupe For Sale w/ Photos at Conte's Corvettes - Vineland, NJ

Here is the 82

1982 Corvette Collector Edition Coupe For Sale w/ Photos

Im also starting to gain interest in this one, but its pricey
1972 Corvette Convertible For Sale by Conte's Corvettes, Inc. Vineland, NJ


Ironically I just found online a "New" - Never titled and zero Mileage pace car for $55k - that would be nice but out of my budget

 

[Vette79]

Thx Jeff
I appreciate the feedback

I should have mentioned, the prices are the initial asking price. I have not started any negotiations at all.

Here is the pace car

1978 Corvette Pace Car Coupe For Sale w/ Photos at Conte's Corvettes - Vineland, NJ

Here is the 82

1982 Corvette Collector Edition Coupe For Sale w/ Photos

Im also starting to gain interest in this one, but its pricey
1972 Corvette Convertible For Sale by Conte's Corvettes, Inc. Vineland, NJ


Ironically I just found online a "New" - Never titled and zero Mileage pace car for $55k - that would be nice but out of my budget

After looking at the links, I see the predicament your in. The 78 and 82 are very nice. I would be happy to have either. The drawbacks I see is with the 82 and the cross-fire injection. Can be a bear to work with and not many mechanics are familiar with the configuration. The 82 also uses a computer and more emissions equipment. The body style of the 82 is smooth though. Obviously, if you can manage the purchase of the 72 then that would be the vette to go for without question. Keep us posted!

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

I've never seen a '72 BB auto trans car priced anywhere near that high. What planet does this dealer live on? :eyerole

 

[Dom]

I've never seen a '72 BB auto trans car priced anywhere near that high. What planet does this dealer live on? :eyerole

He lives a small planet we call the "Tri-State Area"
Everything in NY, NJ and CT are more espensive. Make negotiations interesting

 

[Yoda]

Dom,

Since you ask

The Pace Car shows very VERY LOW milage, so it should have very VERY GOOD documentation It seems the car was purchased as an investment, at least to me, so every dollar spent on it should be documented along with any expense's and of course ownership and maybe dealer and dated related magazine articles and literature.

If the car hasn't been properly maintained for the long periods of non driving it may require a lot of nagging little things once you start putting any kind of milage on it e.g. belts, fluids, bearings, suspension etc..

Being an L82 is a + as for being an automatic ?? I would suggest contacting someone around your area that KNOWS NCRS and even better find a NCRS C3 judge to go over it with a judging sheet. I don't know what it might cost, but it might be worth every cent

I've put $20K+ in my 1981 not counting the purchase price back in 1998 but the car is Documented from delivery and every receipt for maintanence, parts and previous 2 owners I even have the original built sheet and a copy of the build sheet :dance

Good Luck finding that special C3, there out there, but as we told our daughter before she met the right guy... you got kiss a lot of toads .......

Bud

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

He lives a small planet we call the "Tri-State Area"
Everything in NY, NJ and CT are more espensive. Make negotiations interesting

I know your area well. He's still 10-15K too high.

 

[Ryan536]

Hello Dom,
If I had to choose between the three cars I would go for the 72 Convertible without hesitation even at the much higher price. That car has it all... convertible, big block, A/C, hardtop, last year of the chrome front and rear bumpers. Another plus for it is that it's been restored and from the pictures shown it looks pretty professional although I would still be crawling underneath it, checking door gaps and looking at it with a fine tooth comb before I handed over any money.
Also there were 6502 Pace cars made, 6759 82 CE's made and 6508 72 "BASE" Convertibles. I feel that the convertible has better investment potential and nothing beats big block power!
That's only my 2 cents though!!!!

 

[Crimson Thunder]

If it is between the 78 or 82 i would go for the pace car. That silver interior is gorgeous.

 

[McD]

Hello All

I’ve previously owned a C5 and C6, but have been lurking around here in C3 land for a while. Recently, I started looking at 2 cars. A 1978 pace car and an 82 collector edition. Both cars have mid-late 20k miles on them and both cars are asking mid $20k

My question - are there any specific maintenance / trouble items that I should be looking out for with either of these cars?

Thanks for your help
I hope to be back in a corvette soon

Dom,
Do you want to "drive" your new C3 after you purchase it? If so I'd be looking elsewhere and get a car that's more driver quality (still nice condition though) and you's save a bunch of money. Don't be afraid to look outside of your immediate area, there's a TON of dealers that will ship to you for about $1K, and if you're saving $5-$10K in the purchase price, its way worth it. I'd check Craigslist in your area as well...there's a bunch of Vette's out there, and the closer you get to the end of the summer, the better a deal you'll find.

McD

 

[82ColEd]

hey..
Dom,
Looking at the 82CE, it appears to be in good condition (via picture from the other side of the planet kinda good. ).

Notes: It has an aftermarket radio in it, and those radios arent easy to come by if you are going OEM and, as is very common, ie. i havent seen one with it complete except for 2 times, the top of the button for the rear hatch heater is broken off.

If i see this right and the PC monitor doesnt deceive me, it appears the seats are new as well. DOes the car look like it ran 124K or 24k ? With the 5digit speedo you wont know, but what does the brake pedal look like? Does the overall suggest over 100k?

Does the car idle at 550 rpm, smoothly? Do the lights pop up immediatly when you pull the button or are they slowish (indicating a vaccuum issue)?

On a 82CE, you should also make sure that the hatch works without issue for close to $24k. And it's documented start to finish.

Above are just a couple of things sprining to mind, obviously, i am biased when it comes to C3s.


All in all, MHO is: Very nice car, but very steep price.

Thats a lot of money for a CE, though it appears to be in good condition, i would be hesitant to spend that much money.

Good luck whichever way you go.


-Stefan

 

[Dom]

This is all great - thank you so much. In retrospect I probably should have started here first before looking at cars. I’m already off the 82 CE due to crossfire and onto Big block power, just because it’s big block

For the record, Im looking for a garage queen not a daily driver, but I do tend to put about 7-10k miles on my toys a year. So I will be driving it as much as possible.

I am somewhat mechanically inclined but I'd rather something relatively reliable that I can be in, rather than under most weekends. Matching number would be great however a clean reliable car is more important

Conte's is a local Corvette Specialist with a good rep and I like to touch and feel before I buy, but feel free to pass along any corvette specialist so I can do some online windo shopping

 

[Vette79]

This is all great - thank you so much. In retrospect I probably should have started here first before looking at cars. I’m already off the 82 CE due to crossfire and onto Big block power, just because it’s big block

For the record, Im looking for a garage queen not a daily driver, but I do tend to put about 7-10k miles on my toys a year. So I will be driving it as much as possible.

I am somewhat mechanically inclined but I'd rather something relatively reliable that I can be in, rather than under most weekends. Matching number would be great however a clean reliable car is more important

Conte's is a local Corvette Specialist with a good rep and I like to touch and feel before I buy, but feel free to pass along any corvette specialist so I can do some online windo shopping

7 - 10K miles per year is not a garage queen. That's a lot of miles.

 

[73shark]

My question - are there any specific maintenance / trouble items that I should be looking out for with either of these cars?

Besides what's already been mentioned, brake calipers, U-joints, and rear wheel bearings. Good luck on your Shark search.