Looking at a 76 and 79 any recommendations?

[Coops]

Hi everyone. I'm in Calgary and looking at a 76 ($13000) orange and a 79 ($15000) white vette. Both look really clean. The 76 sounds like everything is stock, runs perfect, always stored inside never in rain or snow. The 79 also looks great in pics and also is said to be excellent but not a show car.
Anyway, any suggestions would be great! I will take it to a mechanic but anything I can check out myself this weekend would be great. Thanks!

 

[nascar03]

Hi Coops..
Welcome to CCF...
Both cars look very nice....and very clean.
Be sure and have a shop get them on a hoist to check them out mechanically.
The major concern with C3s is of course the condition of the frame & birdcage.
When up on the hoist the frame area in the rear is to be checked.
Trailing arms and bearing assemblies can be expensive on these cars.

Those two cars looked to be well maintained .
Will this be your first Vette?
Good luck. Keep us posted.

Graham

 

[ddgermann]

Hi Coops.
There are some C3 experts here who will give you plenty of good pointers in these cars.
Stay tuned.

They do look great in photos and the prices seem good too.

 

[Coops]

Hi Coops..
Welcome to CCF...
Both cars look very nice....and very clean.
Be sure and have a shop get them on a hoist to check them out mechanically.
The major concern with C3s is of course the condition of the frame & birdcage.
When up on the hoist the frame area in the rear is to be checked.
Trailing arms and bearing assemblies can be expensive on these cars.

Those two cars looked to be well maintained .
Will this be your first Vette?
Good luck. Keep us posted.

Graham

Thanks for the info! Yes, this would be my first. I'm leaning towards the 76 as the owner seems very genuine and guarantees no rust and everything mint. Although the 79 owner also says the ssme and is offering free storage fir the first winter so don't think he'd promise that if he didnt believe it was as he described. But he fid ssy it has a minor vac leak that you can notice a bit at idke plus it has an aftermarket cd player. I prefer as original as possible.
Thanjs again!

 

[turbozig]

Ditto on what Graham mentioned about the frame, birdcage and trailing arms. Everything else is pretty much standard mechanical and electrical stuff. I you can find an old Vette expert to do an inspection it may be worth paying him to make sure that you don't end up with a patched sell off. Best of luck. JMHO

 

[nascar03]

Coops ...
They both look like good candidates for ownership.
Originality does carry some weight.Having your chosen car checked out by a Corvette guy would be the best $100 you ever spent...
I did that before buying my first Vette and ended-up not buying the first two cars that I had checked-out.. best money I ever spent.

Graham

 

[Coops]

Well if anyone is in the Calgary area, or Lethbridge(where the car I like is at), I'll pay you to check it out if you know what you're doing

 

[Creedence85]

Easy to fix a minor vacuum leak and take out the CD player as long as things haven't been cut up too much, but I'd probably go with the older (less malaise era) car if looking for originality, and it's nice to get what you're looking for, not something that needs some things done to get it where you want. Back in the day they used to say to look out for white Corvettes, because white hides body imperfections, so was popular to repaint rebuilt cars white, and harder to spot fixes on original white.

Do the headlights go up? Disclaimer: don't watch the rest of the video if easily offended or sensitive about C3s, though I've time indexed it to just the headlights go up part.

 

[Coops]

Actually really like this one. Says mint condition, closer to me and an l82 with 4spd manual which I think I'll like most. And reup

 

[CG113]

Hi. I had a 79 which developed cracks

Easy to fix a minor vacuum leak and take out the CD player as long as things haven't been cut up too much, but I'd probably go with the older (less malaise era) car if looking for originality, and it's nice to get what you're looking for, not something that needs some things done to get it where you want. Back in the day they used to say to look out for white Corvettes, because white hides body imperfections, so was popular to repaint rebuilt cars white, and harder to spot fixes on original white.

Do the headlights go up? Disclaimer: don't watch the rest of the video if easily offended or sensitive about C3s, though I've time indexed it to just the headlights go up part.

 

[CG113]

Hi. I had a 79 which developed cracks after I purchased it and it was repainted white. The first crack was in the “b” pillar running vertically. The other cracks were in the rockers (see my post “Body Issues” for photo). Just areas I’ve discovered in my short time owning my C3. I did show the new owner the cracks before selling it.
And yes, trailing arm replacement is expensive.
And yes, it was fun to own.

 

[gdh]

Get ahold of Corvette Clubs/Vintage Car Clubs/NCRS near you and ask who would be best to inspect the car. They will know where the major rust issues occur, if the car is actually original (carb, intake, a/c, heads etc), date the tires, fibreglass repairs. Shiny can mask many issues and with these cars the repairs if you cannot do them yourself are expensive. The underpinnings of a 76 and 79 are very similar, what do you really want to do in the car. The seats in the 78 -82 are much better, the bubble window allows for more storage and easier access.

 

[taylorsk8]

I tend to agree with everyone thus far. On either car spend some time looking at the frame and birdcage. Check the #2 and #3 body mounts for rust. #2 you remove the kick panel in the foot well, #3 there is a cover on the front side of the rear wheel well (exterior of the car). These 2 spots will give you a good indication of the condition of the birdcage (although you can't 100% trust it either like my car). Take your time looking over the car and don't let buying excitement overshadow your scrutinizing eye. For the most part the stuff everyone sees is the easy stuff to fix and repair. You need to worry about the stuff that most people don't look for (like frame and birdcage rust). Best to have someone who knows these cars to look with you.

In either way I like the '76, although both cars look good from the pics.

Good luck with the car hunt!

T

 

[Shadz]

I have a C-3 for 24? years. Two to be technical. My 75 for 23-24 yrs and a 78 Silver Anniversary for 5-6 years. My 75 has A/C my 78 did not. I no longer own the 78. Do either of these cars have air? The C3 is probably going to be the hottest car you have driven. To us air is a must. Too expensive and hard to do later. You get what you pay for. Enjoy.

 

[project 75]

I like the 76 myself but they are both nice cars

 

[pd64]

I was trying to buy the orange one as well. A bit of a run around with the guy stories of bidding wars for it. I'm still trying...

 

[Coops]

I was trying to buy the orange one as well. A bit of a run around with the guy stories of bidding wars for it. I'm still trying...

Yeah, haven't heard about bidding wars but I'm waiting until next summer. Too many expenses right now so have tio get ahead again.
But he has posted it all summer so I doubt there's a bidding war.

 

[pd64]

Yeah, haven't heard about bidding wars but I'm waiting until next summer. Too many expenses right now so have tio get ahead again.

I've been telling him for 3 days I'll come down and give him his full asking price. But the latest is he's waiting for a guy to fly here from Toronto that's going to give him $1500 over asking. Supposed to be here this morning, now it's tonight. Anyway, I don't think the guy really wants to sell it. Good luck in your search.