One of the more pressing moments in the life of a car enthusiast is knowing you have to move and your garage and/or property has both project cars and parts strewn about. Even the most organized gearhead will get a bit lost sifting through parts that seem useful but perhaps hard to justify moving to a new location. It’s even worse with an entire car, because now you have to sell a vehicle in addition to getting if off the property. The seller of this 1980 Chevrolet Corvette listed here on craigslist is asking $4,500 with reasonable offers considered, and it may have some desirable Ecklers components attached.
When we imagine what an Ecklers car looks like, it’s usually quite a bit wilder than this. The Ecklers company made Corvettes into absolutely wild street machines, from the Daytona bodykit to the “breadvan”-style wagon conversion. The car shown here looks far more pedestrian, and the seller confirms he believes it’s wearing a few pieces from the Ecklers catalog, specifically the front air dam and rear spoiler. I don’t believe those pieces add much value in this instance, but perhaps there are other modifications lurking that make this project Corvette more interesting than your typical C3.
The C3 has long been a cheap muscle car when found in project-grade form like this. It’s a hard sell to move at any price, but I suspect the ask is a bit too steep. Yes, the seller is open to offers, but listing it for $2,000 may get a buyer intrigued enough to show up with a trailer. The 350 V8 that’s under the hood came in two flavors: the standard L48 and the optional L82. The latter was a decent mill, kicking out 230 horsepower and 275 lb.-ft. of torque, while the former was slightly more humble with 190 horsepower and a still beefy 280 lb.-ft. of torque. However, with the automatic, it still turned in a 0-60 time of around 8 seconds. Not speedy, but not awful for that era.
Here we can get a clear shot of that front air dam, and it appears to be in good shape with no major cracks or other damage. It looks like the entire Corvette was stripped down and primered on some panels (nose panel, hood) and the rest of the car may still wear white paint. It’s honestly hard to tell given it’s been outside for some time, and on top of that, it’s listed as being on the Jersey Shore – and we all know what ocean air can do to a car, especially one under cover. Now, this doesn’t mean the Corvette is parked next to the Atlantic, but it’s still worth crawling underneath to see what you’re working with. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Mitchell G. for the tip.
Crawling underneath…sure, if you’re an earthworm.
Why does the dam look different in two different photos? Some photos show two upright bars in the center (with license plate), and one photo shows no bars.
One pic is with a tag on it, in the other pic the tag has been removed…or torn off by the looks of it.
Because the license plate spans both bars.
So the bars disappear when the plate is off? Look at the CL photos.
This is as close as you can get to a parts car if it has an engine and you don’t spend more than 2K for it.
He will probably be lucky if he can find someone to haul it away for free. Late C3 Corvettes aren’t particularly expensive when decent drivers, there isn’t much reason to go after a project with this asking price that looks like it’s been abandoned in the woods.
Steve R
Too much money here for this Corvette. 1500.00 tops and I did see a blue New Jersey plate on the front in one picture. New Jersey changed there plates to yellow I believe around 1992-1993 and the blue color plates went away. I grew up there and moved away in 1996. This Vette has been sitting a long time.
Steve is correct, he will need to pay someone to remove it. This car is loooong gone!
removing the tarp and a good leaf blower would do wonders for this car…why do people post stuff like this? a couple of hours would be worth a grand in interest
People are lazy. If they didn’t need to move, then it would have been sitting there for another 10 years. They also didn’t do any editing with all those duplicate shots. If you want $4,500, put in the effort!
PARTS ONLY 1K
1980 Corvettes in this condition are worthless. The base V8 in 1980 was the (L48): 5.7L 350 cu. in. V8, with a whopping 190 hp. California Engine (LG4): 5.0L 305 cu. in. V8, had 180 hp.
been sitting so long the tires are green
You want a very nice 80 Corvette. Look on BAT, a black four speed. Stunning car. This one is horrible. Ralph Eckler was a true pioneer in the Corvette body panel aftermarket more than 50 years ago.
“I know what I got and I am going to restore it some day”
Desirable and 1980 Corvette do not belong in the same sentence. It’s a mess. Period.
This again, is what happens when an aging grandparent tells Junior to put down the X-Box, and go outside and get their “classic car,” that’s been sitting out next to the shed, ready for sale.
Nothing a lit match wouldn’t take care of. Garbage.
The real question.
How much is the seller willing to pay to have it towed, before moving day?
That is an old Jersey plate