Jsulli

Hello all! I've always thought the C3 corvette was one of the most beautiful cars ever made, and I started looking for one about 6 months ago. I came across this local car and went to look at it the other day. Based on the research I've done it seems rust is just about the most important thing to look for. So I'll jump right in, how bad does this look? The windshield is completly missing it's trim and seal, and while the window frame looks pretty rusted, it appears to be all surface rust. I prodded and pushed on it a little, and it didn't give way. Is this par for the course, or run away as quickly as possible? The main car frame looks pretty good. It was painted so hard to tell. There is a hole next to where the exhaust goes through but I could not see damage anywhere else. The areas around the tires (where I was told are most subject to rusting) appear to be quite solid. Thanks so much for any help.

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tokim

Like an iceberg, you only see the tip of the underlying danger.
Keep looking.

Jsulli

That's pretty much what I was afraid of. It just seems to me that if the rest of the car shows very little rust maybe it's just where it's been missing seals.

JimLentz

Can you take off the interior windshield trim to look for hidden rust? There has to be a reason the external molding was removed.

Jsulli

If I were to actually buy it (it seems to
Be a fair price assuming it's not completly rusted) I would give it a full tear down. Something about removing kick panels etc. I'm not super serious about this one and definitely not in a rush so really just looking for initial inspection type stuff

Easy Mike

Waste of time. If the outside is as bad as shown, the inside won't be any better.

79L48

Run. Don't walk.

SB64

Sorry I don't mean burst your bubble, but this looks like more then surface rust. Here is what I thought I bought.
RVZIO






So the second picture is what I thought I bought. First shot was under the trim. I would pass,

BWFitz

Walk away from that as fast as you can. It is most certainly not 'par for the course' and it may not be fixable. It looks like the 'A' pillar is also badly rusted and fixing that is beyond the skills of most restoration shops.

cv67

Too much
If theres one thing I learned after blasting parts if theres a little rust in a spot it will usually uncover a lot more. Keep going!

Probably a reason they got the window trim off and are selling it

Wee

Keep looking and take lots of pics even if you know right off the bat that the car you are looking at has too much rust....The more you look at and post pics here of cars the more knowledge you will gain.

Brian

Jsulli

Thanks for the replies everyone. Seems to be a pretty solid general consensus here.

Docbrock

There are plenty of good ones out there, it may take a while to find one, but it is worth the wait.

Alan 71

Hi J,
You're certainly right about the consensus.
While it's true that there are many rusty Corvettes around, there are certainly many others with little or no rust.
That's the reason you don't have to buy yourself into a rusty car.
It's one thing to realize too late that you bought one and have to deal with it, but with proper diligence you can avoid that situation.
Good Luck!
Regards,
Alan

In addition to birdcage rust you should be on the look-out for frame rust and repair.

Rescue Rogers

Oh crap. That is bad

cv67

Scary, who would have guessed such a nice car....
These things are getting old just cant tell anymore

SB64

How right you are. I am sure I would not have been allowed to pull the upper trim of. A real crap shoot sometimes. Best to buy the most you can afford and have someone look it over. I have been helping a friend who is interested in a C3. Boy after 3 years of restoring do I know where to look.
RVZIO

LT1M21Vette

Nope, that is some serious rust.

c3_dk

Run Forrest RUN......