Hello everyone: My sister-in-law wants to sell her fathers 1980 Corvette -350 I believe with 41,311 miles on it. Her father has Ahlzimer's and her mother has Dementia. She is left trying to settle things and has no idea of the cars worth. Honestly, nor have I. The car has been in their garage for years (a decade at least.) She took it to a dealer to ask it's condition and they gave her a work order listing: both headlamp vacuum doors don't work, steering box play, blower motor speed is low for defroster, both rear wheel bearings, seat belt web is twisted, left rear wheel lug nut is red (?), washer pump, signal switch, e-brake needs adjusting, and wiper blades. It also needs a new air cleaner/carb gasket, an oil change, some underhood wires are unprotected or misrouted and the tach is inoperable. If anyone is interested, the car is in the Dorchester area and if anyone could give us an approximate value that would be helpful to her also. I will post pictures when I get them from her. For the body, I know the paint is chipped in spots on one door and a little on the hood if I remember correctly. Any interest or help pricing it would be appreciated.
Thank you very much Jarvis1 ! I'm not sure how to post photos after my initial post but she sent me 2 photos of the body scratches and chips. I will post them once I figure out how. Thank you again.
I will let her know. Fortunately she just told me that she isn't in a rush. The car has been sitting for a long time so a little longer won't hurt. Indeed it will help her to narrow down how much to ask. Thank you again Jarvis1.
It is important to know the condition of the frame and the cage in the body. Both prone to rust particularly in that year range. The frame wall thickness was reduced at least twice after 1968. Is it a 4 speed or automatic? There weren't many 4 speeds built then. They were challenging for GM to get thru emission requirements. Is it an L82? Rarer yet due to the same problem as the 4 speed. Has "Bubba" been there? Crappy aftermarket go fast air breather with matching rusty chrome valve covers? You mention the lady took car to a dealer. Did she drive it or was it towed? Sitting for an extended period, was the master cylinder still full? Are the calipers leaking? Is the gas stale? What were the conditions the car was stored in? Dealer? GM dealer with staff familiar with 40 year old Corvettes? Or independent used car dealer?
They built and sold a lot of those cars in that time frame, 40 to 50,000 a year. So they aren't scarce. Quality control was poor at best. Within GM there were rising efforts to kill the Corvette. The basic chassis was a regeneration of a design that was new back in '63. Over weight, over tired, and underpowered with lousy fit and finish. The all new car was shelved about five times between the very early 70's and 1983. Upper management wouldn't allocate any real money to Corvette.
Bottom line. There are plenty around looking for new homes. Due to their lack of positive attributes demand is low. Demand for them is largely based on budget constraints. Worst case scenario is largely dependent on condition and eye appeal. Both of which you know. Without some real details and photos a seller could struggle to get $3 grand. Best case could be $15,000.00. Or even $20K if an L82 in nice condition. That spread of 3 or less to 15 is reflective of the lack of detail given about the car in question.
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So, let's see them pics.
Any plastic car can look good in the pictures. If you want to know the true value, I would get a good safety on the car and find out if the frame is any good. You are not allowed to weld frames, and these frames do rot, especially over the rear axles. Also the VIN will tell you a lot about how the car is equipped. This was not a very desirable year, so it will be at the low end of the spectrum. I hope he didn't tell her this was their retirement fund. Warren
GM must have used that same frame idea on their El Caminos too.
They are famous for rusting over the rear end.
There are patch pieces available to repair this.
Are they not legal?
Or can you use a certified welder to install them.
I have a 1980 Choo Choo El Camino that is full of rust and a 1987 that is good.
These are the only two photos she has sent me so far and all the info she has given me, I listed. I will try to get more. I don't know how she got the car to the dealer to have it inspected but I know it was stored in her father's garage, clean and dry for years. I don't know if the fiberglass damage was a result of his illness but I suspect it was. No one knows what he did or how, not even him. He talks to photos on the wall now. I know that he loved this car. I will post more data and photos as I get them. I will try to get the vin too. Thank you everyone.
The updated safety requirements don't allow any patches to be welded into the frame. They must be fully replaced as was originally done. The actual verbiage is below and a link to the reg, if you are interested in giving it a read. Floor repairs are also addressed there. The plan is to go digital with a tablet in July 2021 to eliminate issues with technician discretion. LOL!
c) frame and sub-frame c) - bulge caused by corrosion - stress crack at side rail or rub-rail - rivet is loose, missing, dimpled by corrosion - bent, broken, cracked, kinked, welded or repaired in a way that does not meet OEM standard or industry standard - perforated or weakened by corrosion
you can spend a lot of money on these cars and quickly. i would think it a good idea to have someone with you who knows a bit about these vettes, myself included. lol i bought a 78 silver anniversary about 30 yrs ago at a reasonable price, plus/minus 3000.00, and had 13,000.00 in it by the time i sold it, for 13,000 and happy to get it. lol if it wasn't an L82 four speed car with a lower serial number ??. i wouldn't of started the project, it was a cheap learning experience, breaking even. i got lucky and found a very clean 79 donor car that had been hit on right rear and we cannibalized it. lol there is a lot of metal under the plastic and a lot of rubber parts also. it will boil down to what condition it is in, i would guess and it is 40 yrs old.
Thank you shag766. I just hope she at least gets a fair price. The funds just go to placing her father in a home. She tells me her father keeps wanting to go out to the garage to check on the car and up to now, she just distracts him but now she is going to try letting him get in. With his bad hip, she hopes he will only try once. Thank you everyone for helping. If there is anything in particular anyone needs to know, I'll ask her.