1979 Chevrolet Corvette Repair History
Several people have written me asking about the reliablility of the 'vette. Some wanted to know if there were any areas they should check before buying a similar car. In an attempt to help with both questions, below I've listed most of the repairs I made to the car over its lifetime. There are some definite trends here. Some of my records are sketchy and confusing. Did I really flush the rear end three times in three months?


odometer date Problem
10??? ??/??/79 Broken #7 intake valve spring
Bent #7 valve
12/21/79 Aluminum wheel center cap
17561 3/03/80 Flush rear end and add additive
24897 6/10/80 Broken #5 intake valve spring
28081 7/21/80 Broken #3 intake valve spring
Cracked intake manifold
31885 9/08/80 Flush rear end and add additive
Broken #1 intake valve spring
10/27/80 2 Aluminum wheel center caps
12/29/80 Aluminum wheel center cap
42629 2/02/81 Flush rear end and add additive
44045 2/27/81 Broken #7 exhaust valve spring
45786 3/19/81 4 Tires
Shock absorbers
56163 8/28/81 Splice air conditioner hose
9/14/81 Flush rear end and add additive
12/07/81 Aluminum wheel center cap
??/??/82 Starter
1/03/82 Flush rear end and add additive
3/05/82 Flush rear end and add additive
68624 3/12/82 Broken #8 exhaust valve spring
4/06/82 Flush rear end and add additive
71097 4/19/82 Air conditioner leak
71913 5/03/82 Left outboard U-joint
2 rear end yokes
8/??/82 Leaking valve seals
72614 8/12/82 Leaking left rear caliper seals
8/25/82 Flush rear end and add additive
12/21/82 Aluminum wheel center cap
Flush rear end and add additive
82911 11/02/83 Bolts holding lower control arms on fell out
??/??/84 Battery
??/??/84 2 Aluminum wheel center caps
86811 4/28/84 4 Tires
Front brake pads
4/30/84 Cracked tail light lenses
5/24/84 Alternator repair
91695 12/10/84 Vacuum break stuck
??/??/85 Bolts holding lower control arms on fell out
92787 1/14/85 Leaking water pump
93133 2/19/85 Broken left outside door handle
1/03/86 Aluminum wheel center cap
106620 5/19/87 2 Leaking mufflers
112252 5/18/88 4 Tires
114657 11/28/88 Shock absorbers
Brake pads
Master cylinder
Rear brake caliper
Power steering control valve
Front ball joints
Leaking radiator
Cooling fan switch
115599 1/06/89 Aluminum wheel center cap
5/20/89 Shorted horn assembly
119583 6/26/89 Front wheel bearings
Tie rod ends
120630 9/18/89 Repair hurricane damage:
Short block
Right hand cylinder head
Service starter
Flush rear-end, power steering, transmission
Oil pump
Fuel line
EGR valve
Hoses
Belts
Replace carpet backing
Clean carpet and lower seat cushions
??/??/90 2 Aluminum wheel center caps
1/12/90 Battery
1/22/?? Aluminum wheel center cap
9/03/91 Power steering control valve
129894 2/19/92 2 Leaking rear brake calipers
Rear brake pads
133008 1/11/93 4 Tires
4/17/95 Speedometer
140729 5/12/95 2 Mufflers
12/28/95 Starter
5/??/96 Battery (turns out was loose battery cable at starter)

Modified: May 19, 2001
Author: Phil C. Stuart/stuart@ghg.net

This is Phil's information, not mine, but he had it posted on the internet, and I included his contact information. Thought it might be very helpful to you C3VR's Out There!

Scot

That vette sure had a lot of repairs over the years. The only things done to mine were minor compared to yours. Of course mine only has 13700 miles on it right now. It had new tires on it when I bought it, also a new battery, but I have put on new SS calipers, keyswitch, heater hoses, radio antenna repair kit, and I have only driven it a little over 2000 miles since I bought it. I'm sure if I drove it very much, the repairs would add up....

Just wondering.. ..did he get a good deal on rear end oil and additive? It looks like he was flushing the rear every couple of months or so for a while....

HI guys (and gals), been a while since I've logged on (too long to my mind, but circumstances have not permitted it).

Wow, with that kind of list I feel pretty good about the much shorter list I've committed to the Vette since my purchase in '96.

To bring you all up-to-date I am in the process of getting her ready to put Dynomax ceramic coated headers on, a new intake manifold, new GR2 shocks to match the monofilament spring, a new oil sending unit, and because of the headers she'll more than likely be going back to duals, new spark plug wires rated for use with headers, and some other miscellaneous "little" things.

Hope this finds everyone enjoying their rides while I can not.