1980 Corvette

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maverickmk

Rebel Rodder
Joined
Apr 1, 2011
Messages
9,149
Location
Cocoa FL
I picked this thing up about 3 years ago and have been sorting it out and driving it some as well. Kinda' nice to actually drive it :p
The guy I got it from took it in a payment about 8 years before I got it. It sat the entire time. It needed some work to get to where I felt safe driving it more than 1 mile from the house. The suspension had become so sketchy I felt that it was time to start fixing it before I ended up with a wheel passing me up.

When I got it.





 
I was able to stumble it around the neighborhood a little but knew the tires would need to be replaced soon. Well, after sitting in my garage a week, one of the front tires blew a huge hole. So, I bought some new tires and picked up some factory wheels. (I didn't like the wheels that were on it when I got it)



Shortly after that the carb needed to be replaced. It kept puking gas out the vents. I messed with it for a while but finally decided to replace it. The carb it came with is a 750, way too big (stock 350 with a little bit of a cam). So I picked up a new 670 that a guy bought and decided not to use. Saved $150.00 ;)



 
So then for the last two years I would drive it some and collecting parts to get started on rebuilding the suspension. The last time I drove in October of last year I felt it was time to finally pull the trigger and start tearing into this booger before I took someone and/or myself out.

Started on the rear end first.













 
I was planning on doing a rattle-can tune and reseal on the motor as I want to drop in a BBC soon, but after pulling the heads off I realized that it should at least be rebuilt some. It would smoke when I got on it hard and I thought it was from the bad leak at the rear intake-china wall area dripping oil on the exhaust, but soon realized that it was mostly the rings were no longer seating well. So off to the machine ship it went. I got it back last week, now I need to put it back together and start on the front suspension.





 
Looking good, the factory wheels improved the looks 100%+.
I pulled my 86 into the shop today, going to replace the starter, drivers widow motor, and some seat covers. Trying to get it ready for the Tupelo show May 5-6.
 
My cousin had someone give him a 1984 corvette a couple weeks ago.
Beautiful car,man that owned it was to sick to use it so he gave it away.
Cousin did not even know the man .
He is one of the lucky people you find in life.He is always in right place at right time.
 
Looking good Mav! Keep us posted!

The factory wheels look great on that car, and I love the colour too!

My first thought when I saw the first picture was "I hope he got rid of those chrome steel wheels" :D
 
My cousin had someone give him a 1984 corvette a couple weeks ago.
Beautiful car,man that owned it was to sick to use it so he gave it away.
Cousin did not even know the man .
He is one of the lucky people you find in life.He is always in right place at right time.

Sometimes a free Corvette isn't so free, if you know what I mean ;)
I'm pretty lucky that I got this for a fairly good deal. I have poured quite a bit of money into it so far, but this one isn't going to go anywhere for a while. I have always loved the 80-92 C3's since I was in high-school and would see them new. It certainly is a beast all it's own when it comes to stuff like the frame & rear suspension.
Thanks for all of the well wishes. I'll try and keep the updates coming but it may be slow for a while as I have a few other things to get going before spring gets here.
 
Sometimes a free Corvette isn't so free, if you know what I mean ;)
I'm pretty lucky that I got this for a fairly good deal. I have poured quite a bit of money into it so far, but this one isn't going to go anywhere for a while. I have always loved the 80-92 C3's since I was in high-school and would see them new. It certainly is a beast all it's own when it comes to stuff like the frame & rear suspension.
Thanks for all of the well wishes. I'll try and keep the updates coming but it may be slow for a while as I have a few other things to get going before spring gets here.

80-82, right?

I like the job you did on the transmission and rear end, they look amazing. What are your big block plans?
 
Last edited:
80-82, right?

I like the job you did on the transmission and rear end, they look amazing. What are you big block plans?

This is an '80. I'm hoping to score a BBC from an old RV and bore it, put in some higher compression pistons & a little bigger cam. Nothing radical at all, just a noisy big block [dr I don't want to change the rear and trans anytime soon, so a little on the mild side - for now [ddd

*Edit, I meant to say '80-82 Vettes, not 92 in my post above this one.
 

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