One Dusty Project: 1977 Corvette

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Saying this Corvette is dusty might be a bit of an understatement! It’s blanketed in a thick layer of dust and dirt, but I bet with a good cleaning it will look pretty good. There are some scuffs and scratches to address, as well as some mechanical and interior work to be done. It definitely has flaws, but with a current bid of $1,925 it might be worth bidding on! You can take a closer look at this project here on eBay in Albany, Georgia.

After sitting for the past 10 years, there’s going to be a lot of work to be done to just make it a decent driver. The engine currently doesn’t run, but the seller doesn’t think it will take much to get the 350 up and running. It’s the numbers matching engine, but there’s no word on whether it’s an L48 or L82. There’s a 30 horsepower difference between the two, so it would be great to know which it is. As long as the engine isn’t seized, getting it started really shouldn’t be a difficult challenge. Given that tangle of wires and hoses, getting it running great again might be a different story though.

The interior looks to have suffered from it’s time parked in this car port. The bright red seat covers have tears, the dash is cracked, the door panels are disintegrating and the carpets are faded. On the bright side, this is an AC and power windows equipped car. Chances are the AC system will need to be fully rebuilt and who knows whether the windows will work. Parts are available to fully restore the interior, but it won’t be cheap.

Getting this Corvette back to like new condition is going to get pricey, but if you can get the engine running without a full rebuild and leave the exterior alone for the time being, you could make it into a driver without spending too much. Personally, I would get it back on the road and focus on the interior first, then as funds and time allows move to the exterior. What route would you take with this Corvette?

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Comments

  1. Mike Layton

    I would be more concerned about what looks like a separation in the quarter panel bonding joint .

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  2. Pa Tina

    Might be an L-48. L-82 have the fancy silver valve covers. Gonna need a Master Plumber to get those engines hoses sorted.

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  3. Blyndgesser

    If you drive it fast enough, the dirt will come off.

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  4. JW

    That engine compartment looks way too cluttered with wires and hoses for my taste.

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  5. rough diamond

    The ’77 is my favorite year of these Vettes. I would say the brakes will need some work.

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  6. Mr. Bond

    30 hp difference – that’s like 50%!

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  7. Poppapork

    Decent looking and driving late c3 go for not a whole lot more why would you anything with this rusty heap when you can have a solid looking runner for maybe 7k? is beyond me.

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  8. gbvette62

    “There are some scuffs and scratches to address”. From what I see, there’s not a panel on the car, that doesn’t have paint damage. Besides scratches, I see what looks like worn, peeling and cracked paint, and maybe some body damage, behind the right headlight.

    The “L” in the VIN indicates it’s an L-48. If it was an L-82, the 5th digit would be an “X”.

    The current bid of $2100 is about all the money in the world for this car. There are any number of 77’s out there available for $9,000 to $13,000, that need little or nothing. I know of a very nice white 4 speed 77, available for $9,900.

    New seat covers, seat foam, carpet, door panels and dash will run $2500+, and that’s just the big interior parts needed. The missing horn button leads me to believe that there might be issues with the 77 one year only steering column. It probably needs brake calipers ($400), a master cylinder ($150), tires ($600), weatherstrip ($250), and who knows what else?

    Don’t be fooled by that fact that it looks like a fairly solid and complete car. Like most old cars, someone trying to restore it, will be upside down in no time.

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    • carsofchaos

      Listen to this man, he knows what he’s saying!

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  9. JB

    Part it out and scrap the rest these cars do not fair well when left sitting anywhere esp outside

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  10. whippeteer

    That’s a lot of years sitting under a deck. You can tell exactly how wide the boards are.

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  11. leiniedude leiniedudeMember

    I am not sure how much value a numbers matching engine adds to this 1977. If it sells it will probably get a transplant any way.

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    • Troy S

      Yea, it’s either a dog or a dog with fleas. Hate to say it.

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  12. Dennis Jorden

    That engine looks like it came out of someone’s old pickup to me. I would verify if the match of casting numbers and VIN is true before purchase.

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    • Mike W H

      I think you might have something there. I had a ’77 L48 and that engine compartment looks nothing like mine. The anti-static flashing is not there and I sure as hell didn’t have that many hoses and wires. And mine had air. That mess in the pic just doesn’t look at all stock.

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  13. Jeff

    77 was not a notch back…

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    • Jeff

      Looks more like a 74…

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  14. carsofchaos

    Went for $2,550

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    • PRA4SNW

      It was “Reserve Not Met” at $2,550, which is unbelievable.

      Like 0

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