DFD

Here's an injection of content...

My old man has a friend who's a car hoarder. Dude fell on hard times, and my dad wanted to help. The dude wouldn't take money, but agreed to sell one of his cars. The car closest to driving is a 1980 Corvette he ordered and bought new in 1980. It was driven for 3 years and 11k miles before he decided he wanted to start a Corvette collection and adding miles to his 1980 had to stop. K Brah, almost 40 years later, no collection and one of the least desirable Corvettes in existence. Still, my old man was looking for a tinkering project, and it all came together. It's 100% original, no modifications or changes. 4-speed manual car, probably the most desirable thing about it.

Picked it up yesterday. Towed it with my 4R on a UHaul trailer.

When we got there, we found the dude's wife got her nephews to come over and help get the car out of its 40 year resting place, so our jobs got way easier. Tires inflated, it was on storage caster things so easy to move, overall



We pushed it out of the garage on the casters and got it as close to the trailer as we could. At this stage, we had no idea if it would roll or not.



Took it off the casters, and it did roll, but not easily. Still, we were able to push it on the trailer


The interior is a light beige color is skin, and the "dark claret" exterior is a gorgeous deep red/purple. The color combo is quite appealing.

The paint is OK, I think with a good polish and detailing it could look REALLY There a spot on the top of the ducktail that's bad and needs to be repainted, otherwise the exterior is nice. The wheels are FLAWLESS, even the stock original 42 year old tires look fantastic.

Inside, it's flawless other than some plastics that have gone sticky from deterioration (which I've read is common) and the driver side window switch doesn't work. He stored the car with the windows cracked and doors ajar to avoid smashing the gaskets, so we had to jump it to get the windows up for the ride home. I'll get some photos as we tear it down and more to come...

This should be fun to follow.


Dat title

This should be fun to follow.


Dat title

Soooo hes a collector trying to get rid of non runners? attention piqued

I hereby create an award for "Best Title" and award it to sir Dplac.

Also

Would be nice to see interior pics as well. Those wheels are 5/7 also.

Curious what kind of MPG you got while towing also. For

max225 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 5:35 pm Would be nice to see interior pics as well. Those wheels are 5/7 also.

I seem to remember C3 interiors to be pretty but

I dunno why there is so much disdain towards the C3. It seems like a very decent vehicle to me. Interiors were nice for the time also.

Here's some interior pics:






Under the hood, all the rubber is flawless and feels like new. I've never seen a car this old with rubber in such good shape

Console is taken apart to fix the driver window switch, the only known issue with the car.

rockchops wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 5:17 pm Soooo hes a collector trying to get rid of non runners? attention piqued

Just stuff he's accumulated over the years and let go. He refuses to part with anything, even called my old man today asking to buy the Corvette back once it's running again. He's got issues.

max225 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 5:35 pm Would be nice to see interior pics as well. Those wheels are 5/7 also.

Wheels were an option and 100% flawless. They indeed look awesome. Honestly, the entire car looks awesome. I really like the 80-82 C3's.

Detroit wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 5:43 pm Here's some interior pics:






Under the hood, all the rubber is flawless and feels like new. I've never seen a car this old with rubber in such good shape

the lack of heat cycles and being kept out of the sun does wonders. I dig that interior too! Interesting color combo. I think initially you said it was red... (inside) and I was a bit from the red on red. But this is classic Ferrari combo. Red on tan

max225 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 5:41 pm I dunno why there is so much disdain towards the C3. It seems like a very decent vehicle to me. Interiors were nice for the time also.

For the time, it's perfectly fine. Compared to today, it's obviously a POS but compared to other cars in the 70's and 80's, it's extremely fine. The door panels are leather wrapped, the interior plastic seems to be pretty nice (not thin/fragile like other 70's cars I've seen).

In 80, the gayges were updated, the steering wheel changed, and a few other improvements came in. Dan swore up and down that there's no way I could drive the car based on his experience with earlier C3's. Well, I can drive this 80 without an issue. The steering wheel is a really nice size, and the tilt/telescope functionality is 5/7. I actually find the car to be quite comfortable even as a giant. I can't stretch my legs out, but it's totally fine to drive around I'm sure. It is remarkably small feeling inside, and the rear is only accessible from inside which makes it and I imagine why overall the C3 was mostly hated.

It had 190 HP from the factory, it's going to be a DOG. I think that's where most of the hate comes from. There's also an amount of corrosion underneath for a car that was never driven. ZFG from GM on rust proofing, I imagine these things are complete garbage if they've been driven much.

max225 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 5:51 pm

Detroit wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 5:43 pm Here's some interior pics:






Under the hood, all the rubber is flawless and feels like new. I've never seen a car this old with rubber in such good shape

the lack of heat cycles and being kept out of the sun does wonders. I dig that interior too! Interesting color combo. I think initially you said it was red... (inside) and I was a bit from the red on red. But this is classic Ferrari combo. Red on tan

My old man thought it had a burgundy interior, but when we got there, it was this tan which indeed is When it's all cleaned up, it'll be a quite striking "classic" color combo.

Detroit wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 5:52 pm

max225 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 5:41 pm I dunno why there is so much disdain towards the C3. It seems like a very decent vehicle to me. Interiors were nice for the time also.

For the time, it's perfectly fine. Compared to today, it's obviously a POS but compared to other cars in the 70's and 80's, it's extremely fine. The door panels are leather wrapped, the interior plastic seems to be pretty nice (not thin/fragile like other 70's cars I've seen).

In 80, the gayges were updated, the steering wheel changed, and a few other improvements came in. Dan swore up and down that there's no way I could drive the car based on his experience with earlier C3's. Well, I can drive this 80 without an issue. The steering wheel is a really nice size, and the tilt/telescope functionality is 5/7. I actually find the car to be quite comfortable even as a giant. I can't stretch my legs out, but it's totally fine to drive around I'm sure. It is remarkably small feeling inside, and the rear is only accessible from inside which makes it and I imagine why overall the C3 was mostly hated.

It had 190 HP from the factory, it's going to be a DOG. I think that's where most of the hate comes from. There's also an amount of corrosion underneath for a car that was never driven. ZFG from GM on rust proofing, I imagine these things are complete garbage if they've been driven much.

I have heard about the whole corrosion thing, I have seen a few of those "barn hunter" shows and some cars are in pretty rough shape even when inside. Interesting.

190hp seems fine, based on that gauge that engine probably doesn't rev for shit. 4500rpm redline? Is what is keeping the power number "low" but that likely means it has a shit ton of torque and probably sounds good too. if it is "fast"

max225 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 5:36 pm Curious what kind of MPG you got while towing also. For

no idea. I don't calc it.

The dash indicated decent towing the Corvette. Like 15-16 doing 70mph decent. The car and trailer were probably 4,500 lbs, but quite aero dynamic. Towing the boat, the dash indicated 12-14mpg most of the time, which is more believable. Same weight, incidentally, but the boat is way taller and likely less aero so it's possible it's actually doing ok.

The 4R seems to just get 16-18mpg no matter how you drive it and what you do with it. Which is both and at the same time. Still and love the thing. I expected shit gas mileage.

max225 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 5:56 pm

Detroit wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 5:52 pm
For the time, it's perfectly fine. Compared to today, it's obviously a POS but compared to other cars in the 70's and 80's, it's extremely fine. The door panels are leather wrapped, the interior plastic seems to be pretty nice (not thin/fragile like other 70's cars I've seen).

In 80, the gayges were updated, the steering wheel changed, and a few other improvements came in. Dan swore up and down that there's no way I could drive the car based on his experience with earlier C3's. Well, I can drive this 80 without an issue. The steering wheel is a really nice size, and the tilt/telescope functionality is 5/7. I actually find the car to be quite comfortable even as a giant. I can't stretch my legs out, but it's totally fine to drive around I'm sure. It is remarkably small feeling inside, and the rear is only accessible from inside which makes it and I imagine why overall the C3 was mostly hated.

It had 190 HP from the factory, it's going to be a DOG. I think that's where most of the hate comes from. There's also an amount of corrosion underneath for a car that was never driven. ZFG from GM on rust proofing, I imagine these things are complete garbage if they've been driven much.

I have heard about the whole corrosion thing, I have seen a few of those "barn hunter" shows and some cars are in pretty rough shape even when inside. Intersecting.

190hp seems fine, based on that gauge that engine probably doesn't rev for shit. 4500rpm redline? Is what is keeping the power number "low" but that likely means it has a shit ton of torque and probably sounds good too. if it is "fast"

Smog cars didn't rev for...reasons. They're really choked but agreed it should sound good and for what it is

But I think that's why people hate them. For a Corvette, they're not very "performance" compared to others for the same price or less.

We were surprised by the corrosion. I'll have to take some pics. It's not rusted or anything, and we already have the calipers off ZFG, so it's nothing major, just surprised to not see it perfectly clean.

Detroit wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 5:58 pm

max225 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 5:36 pm Curious what kind of MPG you got while towing also. For

no idea. I don't calc it.

The dash indicated decent towing the Corvette. Like 15-16 doing 70mph decent. The car and trailer were probably 4,500 lbs, but quite aero dynamic. Towing the boat, the dash indicated 12-14mpg most of the time, which is more believable. Same weight, incidentally, but the boat is way taller and likely less aero so it's possible it's actually doing ok.

The 4R seems to just get 16-18mpg no matter how you drive it and what you do with it. Which is both and at the same time. Still and love the thing. I expected shit gas mileage.

Wow that's really not bad. I am just a numbers guy... I constantly measure shit etc. I.E I am very curious what my tesla consumption is also.

Can’t wait to see you guys restore it and sell it back to him for $120k on BaT

razr390 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 8:03 pm Can’t wait to see you guys restore it and sell it back to him for $120k on BaT

Sell back to the broke disabled man for $120k? That's rich

Great thread. L-82 not found but fun car. Had to drive to El Lay today , a guy on the 10 had one of these duckbill things with those optional RAMZ. He seemed pretty happy.

Detroit wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 6:00 pm

max225 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 5:56 pm

I have heard about the whole corrosion thing, I have seen a few of those "barn hunter" shows and some cars are in pretty rough shape even when inside. Intersecting.

190hp seems fine, based on that gauge that engine probably doesn't rev for shit. 4500rpm redline? Is what is keeping the power number "low" but that likely means it has a shit ton of torque and probably sounds good too. if it is "fast"

Smog cars didn't rev for...reasons. They're really choked but agreed it should sound good and for what it is

But I think that's why people hate them. For a Corvette, they're not very "performance" compared to others for the same price or less.

We were surprised by the corrosion. I'll have to take some pics. It's not rusted or anything, and we already have the calipers off ZFG, so it's nothing major, just surprised to not see it perfectly clean.

Re the corrosion, I imagine 4 decades of humid Meatchicken summers would cause any unprotected steel to develop surface rust. And if it was tarped, that would just hold the humidity in and prevent air circulation from keeping the thing "dry".

Tar wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 8:23 pm

razr390 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 8:03 pm Can’t wait to see you guys restore it and sell it back to him for $120k on BaT

Sell back to the broke disabled man for $120k? That's rich

That's cold AF.