It’s easy to drown in hyperbole when it comes to sellers with “limited edition” Corvettes, as many owners seem to think this feature or that sticker makes it more of a standout than the next guy’s. For me, where it truly gets interesting isn’t with yet another Pace Car kept in a bubble; now, it’s cars like this 1980 model with a color combo I have never seen before: metallic blue with oyster cloth. It’s stunning, and this example here on eBay also comes with a mere 18K miles on the clock.
I would love to know who the original owner was and what drove them to go against the grain of loud colors and leather interiors. This is a combination that works incredibly well even today – it doesn’t appear outdated at all, and is downright mature compared to the reds on white and blacks on black that seem to litter this generation of Corvettes for sale. Cloth is a far better choice for keeping your rear-end planted in the seats during hard cornering, too.
The color is just outstanding. The body shows no signs of damage and the wheels and tires show no evidence of damage or age. The seller notes the engine bay remains highly original, which may or may not be a good thing: the hoses are original, as do the belts. This is enjoyable for the first few minutes where you gaze upon all of those OEM correct items, but the thought of driving with such antiquated components still bolted on would cause me to delay any major road trips until they are updated.
While T-tops were not uncommon options, blue-tinted panels seems far less common. To think the first owner coordinated this color combination so well really points to someone who had a very specific look/theme in mind. The seller speculates that it’s “…one of maybe 100 ever made with this color combination.” Can anyone verify that? The asking price is $16,995 for this unusual Corvette, with the option to submit a best offer.
I really don’t and never have liked “Vettes (break out the pitchforks) But this one is quite beautiful !
The color codes and claims always make me laugh 😆
He should of ordered a manual transmission instead as the automatic drops the value considerably !
It’s like saying I have a puke green car special ordered with a factory dent in the door of the car and asked for only one radio knob means car is one of who cares.
Oddball special orders are performance packages (engines) and serial numbers on production along with guages and trim excluding paint.
One knows a red convertible usually brings more money and a really ugly paint code reduced desire to buy.. this of course is my opinion along with many others 🤠
It’s a nice looking car and will make someone happy who can’t clutch . Corvettes are always great cars to drive but rarity of color is not an option
to go ga ga over👀
Son there’s Something WRONG With your Medulla Oblongata!!
For the record they didn’t offer a manual as an option in 1980.
And your taste in cars is suspect, said a million Vette owners. Or at least, me :)
Personally I LOVE that interior.
5,726 1980 Corvettes were produced with a four-speed standard transmission.
http://www.vettefacts.com/C3/1980.aspx
“He should of ordered a manual transmission instead as the automatic drops the value considerably”
Not everyone wants a standard transmission. Eighty-four percent of 1980 Corvettes came with an automatic.
http://www.vettefacts.com/C3/1980.aspx
I have a 1980 Camaro with navy blue exterior and oyster interior. It is a sharp combination but be prepared to be constantly cleaning the interior. It shows every bit of dirt and grime.
Blue Oyster Cloth. More Cowbell!
go, go, Vettezilla!
I see what you did there.
Is that a cult?
Nice car well kept, im amazed at how badly vets interiors age must be a function of the large green house. Or junk materials used by GM. Some collectors seek out the rainbow of colors for certain cars. When I assemble my Cougar GTE collection i will start chasing odd color combinations.
Having an automatic in it isn’t a bad thing, it will appeal to a wider demographic when you want to sell. Less and less people know how to drive a stick, and old farts like me with bad knees no longer want to move through traffic doing that constant shifting. The c3’s are my favorite vettes and this one tics off a lot of boxes for me. It would however be to costly to bring this car up to Canada
In the last 6 months or so, I was reading an article on transmission breakdowns within the various generations of Vettes. Biggest thing was 80-90% of Vettes apparently were sold with automatics. Seems like most buyers aren’t able to or don’t want to shift.
It’s ironic I’ve read where Vettes were attempted to be stolen but weren’t because the thief was unable to drive a stick shift. Guess that tells you something about the times.
Forgot to clarify one statement: 80-90% were automatics when both manual and automatics were available within a year and that number has gone up as the models matured. Meaning the ratio on C2’s is lower than on C6’s.
I think it has to do with the demographic of the buyers.
Most Vettes were sold to older men and shifting is a chore at that age.
After being so tired just getting into the car, I don’t want to have to shift it after that.
Heck I get tired drying myself off after a shower.
How is this going to play going forward.
Almost all of the new cars are being made with those double clutch transmissions which are essentially automatics.
Are people going to say in 20 years those cars, even though they are faster, are not as fun or not worth as much?
I think the real manual is going the way of the Dodo bird.
I think that’s exactly what will happen.
Like it and would drive it. I haven’t heard the “m” word in awhile…mature.
Here’s a 67 Vette in Steel Cities gray with black leather from our father’s day car show.
Ebay post is gone, looks like someone liked it enough.
Actually never was a vette afficianado but they are not bad driving and while smog and early computer models are gutless still adequate.
T tops after a bit leaked like a seive, body flex and seal deterioration, but that, to me was not their main downfall, it was their seats.
Damn uncomfortible, no real side and seat bolstering for when driven hard and with tops on T removed wind buffeting is atrocious.
An auto for the look-at-me and old darts trying to be young in all but the hottest offerings.
Lots of more common nice ones on road and still bring good prices.
The mid 70-80s’ are least desirable, I can see 20K+ for this one.
While many purist decry the wild paint and body mods it was an escape from the sameness and in way cheap design of too many on road.
The ad is gone, so I don’t know the seller was claiming, but 80 Dark Blue Metallic with an Oyster interior, was not all that uncommon.
Ten percent of the 40,000 80’s built, were painted Dark Blue, with only white, black and red being more popular. Dark Blue was available with a black or red (!) leather interior, as well as beige, dark blue, or oyster in either leather or cloth. Oyster and beige appear to be the most common interiors with the dark blue. One of my customers has a dark blue and oyster 80 (but his has leather).
I own a 40,000 mile 81 (charcoal gray with slate gray leather) that we bought new. Having owned over Corvettes, I believe the 80-82’s are among the most comfortable and best handling of the early Corvettes (which is part of the reason I’ve kept the 81). Better seats, power mirrors, power driver’s seat, power locks, stereo cassette radios, glass tops, 60 series tires and cruise control, were all options on these cars, that weren’t available on most earlier years.
GM made a lot of changes to lighten the 80-82’s, so even though they were down on power, the performance was comparable to most base motor 71-79 Corvettes. The real draw back to performance was not the engine, but the 2:87 & 3:08 rear gears, that these cars used to avoid a gas guzzler tax. A 3:70 gear really wakes these cars up, but with the 2:87 gears and lock up torque converter, they’ll cruise effortlessly all day long at 80 mph, and get decent mileage too.
Love that color combo.
Great looking car. I bet the new owner will be very happy with it.
I believe that this is the best looking C3 that has ever graced these hallowed pages. Very nice. This would be a car that you could get in and drive everyday to every destination. The price is amazing given the numbers that bounce around BarnFinds on a regular basis. I would bet that the car is no linger available.
I bought an eighty new. Never was happy looking down at a speedometer dial that only went up to 80 mph.
My 08 suburban has the same color scheme. Wish the inside was darker.
THAT is a hot freaking car!
Pls bring back the ebay archive links…when they’re gone, they really are gone – due to ebay’s new policy.
For those who think this sold: It was a no sale at that ridiculous price.
No surprise there.
Just click the blue “listing” word in the upper left on the new ad:
Thank you! I could not believe these ads were disappearing into thin air…