Hey!!!  Glad to be here!

Welcome to the forum!!
You should learn from your past deal...check the frame very carefully, especially in front of the rear wheels, and around the body mounts.
I don't know of any "problems" with the standard trans cars...they're just as dependable as the automatics, and usually MUCH cheaper to repair.

If you are unsure of your ability to judge the condition of a possible buy, have someone go with you that knows a bit about the particular year, and get their opinion. There are C3VR members all over the world, and several have had other members check out local cars for them.

As always, get the BEST car you can afford...it will save $$$ and aggravation in the end. The cheapest cars always wind up costing more to repair. You don't want to start with a $3000 car, and spend $20,000 getting it roadworthy and dependable if the car will ultimately only be worth $10,000.
A few other notes:
A decent paint job on a 'Vette will cost at least $3000, so if you find one that needs paint, take that into consideration. Be weary of any car that the seller has just washed before you came to look at it. A wet car hides body/paint flaws.
'Vette brakes are probably the most common item that needs attention, and sometimes, repairing/replacing brake systems can be costly. Look on the insides of the wheels for any sign of fluid leakage. This is an indication that the calipers are leaking.

Check under the car for ANY leakage of fluids...especially steering components, engine oil, coolant, diff., and trans.

Pay close attention to the condition of the brake/accelerator pedals. They are a great indicator of the true miles the car has on it. If they are well worn, but the carpet looks new, and the seller says it only has 15,000 miles on it, they're lying.

I'm sure other members will chime in here, and give some more bits of wisdom. Good luck on your search!!!
Drive any car you are looking to buy. If it can't be driven, it will be a repair nightmare, eventually.

Joel is absolutely correct.  Buy the best you can.  I bought in at $4600 for an '80 that has already cost me WAY TOO MUCH.  Not that I mind and it is certainly better if you can do the bulk of the work yourself, but buying up is much better.

Ask to jack up the car or drive it to a place where you can jack it up.  Starting with the rear wheels, one at a time, grab top and bottom of tire.  try to move the wheel assembly up and down/in and out/left to right.  Any play in this area is a BAD THING. 

Jack up the front wheel enough to get under the car (use a jack stand).  Use a flashlight to look for several things here:
-if there are leaks, how far up the engine block do they go? (valve covers, heads, oil pan, timing cover, water pump
-look for cracks or other indications of an accident/hard driving
-examine the power steering unit (if the car has PS) for leaks, dry/cracked/soft hoses, rubber bumpers at the end of the hydraulic cylinder wear and examine closely the mounting points for the shaft end of the cylinder looking for cracking or welding marks.
-check bushings and other rubber goodies (plug wires, vacuum hoses) for burn/wear
-same for transmission leaks
-do the same procedure on the front tires as on the back tires mentioned above.

TURN ON THE HEADLIGHTS - see if they come up/go down by themselves.  A car with the lights up and not on is a car with up to a $1000 problem or more.

Drive it with the windows down and listen: take off slowly, take off fast, slow down slowly, slow down fast, lock up the brakes at about 10mph and listen (squeaks, rattles, grinds, rumbles, rubs, thumps, squeals).

Take digital pix everywhere and up close on paint.

Look at window glass and wiggle to see if stop blocks are in place.  Check all rubber weatherstrip for maleability.

MOST IMPORTANTLY IN MY OPINION:  Take something to clean off the front tab on the engine to check for VIN # match and ALSO CHECK the tab at the drivers side back of the motor to see if it is correct for the car.  If you see 5.0L and it isn't a California car, someone has put a 305 in the 350 hole.

SECOND MOST IMPORTANT: Come back here and post pix and details of what you found (the more you tell us the more we can help).  These guys could have saved me a ton had I known about this site prior to my purchase.

I must say that I do love my baby, but most people would have considered her a parts car.  She'll never be one of the high $$$ ones, but she does it for me!

I agree with Joel and Dennis. Along with what they are saying consider not only the car cost but what you are willing to spend fixing things. I use a 2/3 method. Car needs to meet one of the 3 criterias:

good body / good interior - bad mechanics
good body / good mechanics - bad interior
good mechanics / good interior - bad body

Each one of the above faulty sections can soak you for 2K + so regarding that I can focus on a price easier. If it fails in 2 catagories miserably walk away. (Unless it is something collectable) Otherwise you know the drill " Look at the car I bought outta a barn". Tuxblacray2007-01-30 17:46:49

I can solve your problem---mine's for sale! Needs nothing, no rust infact the wax assembly numbers are still all over the bottom. That's BS about 4 speeds vs autos they can both be bad or good. I went the way of buying a cheap "Good Deal" the last time on an '80 L-82. Wound up doing a complete frame off and although I loved the car, ( lost it in my divorce) I spent 3 times more than I would have if I'd just paid more and got a surviver. You can find them ( I did this time) but there not going for 10k

Wow awesome help on this site!  Makes me proud to be a corvette lover!

tfidas....

Your trial won't last for long. As you already have discovered, there are a bunch of knowledgeable people here who are always willing to give a helping hand. If you have or want a C3, this is by far the best Corvette forum on the 'Net... and I am on about all of them. In fact, I feel it is about the best designed and user friendly forum.... period... Adam has done a killer job with it.

Go ahead and join up, you'll never regret it. I'm going to upgrade this year...

Welcome aboard!

I agree with all the above. I bought our first, a decent '76 with an '80 body on it (???? theft recovery????) in '00 for $6,000.00 without making the above tests, ended up blowing another $3,500.00 just to make it safe to drive, and it still needed a ton of work after that. Get a nice one someone else has already done all the work on...... There are a lot of them out there if you have the patience to wait to find one. Probably even up north in Canada....

I feel the C3 is the last of the REAL Corvettes, most of them are raw and uncivilized like a sports car is supposed to be.

Dave

There's a book available via this web site (or from your local library, possibly) called the Corvette C3 Buyer's Guide by Richard Prince.  If you're undecided about what year to buy, or even if you have it narrowed down and want to gte some more specific tips as to what to look for, I found it VERY helpful when I was looking.  Of course, at that time, I hadn't found the C3VR!

May sound crazy but I'ts actually been my dream to work on my own c3 so I don't mind if it needs a little work. But there is a limit ofcourse.

tfidas2007-02-04 12:22:55

Sounds like a bargain for an original chrome bumpered one owner C3... that's just under 10 grandUS isn't it???

You can't buy a KIA for that.....

Dave