So I enquired on a 1977 in the USA...

James Vette

CCCUK Member
Black on red 3 speed auto. It comes to £8751 and I'm awaiting shipping costs. I'm confident in buying sight unseen as they have photos all over and under the car. I did ask for photos to be taken of where the T-Tops sit and behind the footwell kick panels. Only thing that annoys me is the rubber bumper pieces on the front and back but oh well it's not a deal breaker. Need to tell my Granddad to get his garage ready! :LOL:
 

Mad4slalom

CCCUK Member
Black on red 3 speed auto. It comes to £8751 and I'm awaiting shipping costs. I'm confident in buying sight unseen as they have photos all over and under the car. I did ask for photos to be taken of where the T-Tops sit and behind the footwell kick panels. Only thing that annoys me is the rubber bumper pieces on the front and back but oh well it's not a deal breaker. Need to tell my Granddad to get his garage ready! :LOL:
Well done Jamesvette, I must say, having sourced and imported one myself, it does add an extra dimension of satisfaction and makes the car extra special. Buying blind was , once I decided to go with it , was a better option for me as I couldnt talk myself out of it as I had done on several occasions over here . I was less stressed and had almost zero reservations over buying from the states. Only thing I would say is to more than double any time frames given by the shippers .also I had the good fortune to reply to the ad posted by a lifelong vette enthusiast who has become a friend who I can call with any queries and he will run through them . We have all heard horror stories of mis described cars etc etc but go with your gut feeling , obviously backed up by pictures and history and go for it if you feel happy. Good luck, hope you clinch the deal, look forward to some pics. 😁👍
 

HJG

Well-known user
Lots of photos from which the condition looks fair, but like you say, missing the critical ones. I think hold off until you see those that you have requested. I hope red is your favourite colour :D
I've always liked those style wheels.
On a side note, since when did Trans Ams become so expensive?!
 

Chuffer

CCCUK regional rep
Definitely wait until you get photos of bottom of birdcage around body mounts inside the kick panels . Based on the degree of surface rust on what you can see I think there may well be some issues in areas you can`t see . The car will certainly need a serious rust preventative treatment asap if you do buy . The rust on the underside of cross beam where the shock absorbers pass through from lower control arms looks quite bad to me in one photo and and the underplating of the cross member is only spot welded on and prone to stress cracks . Also get them to take a photos deep down in engine bay of the top of the cross member where the mounting brackets for trailing end of lower control arm fixings are . They are only press formed steel and welded on to cross member . Another week spot as welds can crack and were described as " barely adequate " when they left the factory . I will try to dig out some photos to make it clearer but there are some good USA forum and Youtube stuff on these things if you search .
 

kentvette

CCCUK Member
A curious mix of good and bad. The interior looks pretty good, but is not commensurate with the state of the underside, or under the bonnet. Clearly a car from a region that uses salt on the roads, it almost looks as though it has been steam cleaned at some point, then left. The rust looks almost "surface" in some areas, but in others, the rears suspension, strut rods, trailing arms etc, it looks to have eaten in nicely! It will definitely need a few new parts in that area.

But it has had work; new brakes and apparently some "smog" equipment, "cat", various fittings, a PCV valve etc, and oddly, roll bar bushes.

I wouldn't mind betting you'l find the birdcage OK, I reckon the rust has come "up" from the road, rather than the result of rain getting down into the car.

But there would be a goof bit of work apart from getting the rust cleaned, sorted etc. A steering hose seems to be leaking, it'll possibly need new strut roads (one is bent), probably new U/Js.... And it needs a handbrake, and based on the condition at the back, that'll be a "fun" little job to replace and get working, probably why the cable is missing!

It'll be interesting to see what the photos you are asking for look like.

And hey, nothing wrong with those bumperettes - the best cars have those!:)8959
 

Dazaa

Well-known user
Car looks good, assuming it's only surface rust underneath and nothing more serious. I noticed the aftermarket hood doesn't fit right on the driver side where it meets the top of the fender, should have been shaved down before it was painted as the long hoods always need some work to fit right, that would drive me mad.
 

James Vette

CCCUK Member
Lots of photos from which the condition looks fair, but like you say, missing the critical ones. I think hold off until you see those that you have requested. I hope red is your favourite colour :D
I've always liked those style wheels.
On a side note, since when did Trans Ams become so expensive?!
They're usually not that expensive.
 

Chuffer

CCCUK regional rep
I wouldn`t put money on the bottom of birdcage being ok on a 44 year old car from even a so called `Dry County `DSCF2451.JPG. I have seen them starting to corrode on cars with better looking chassis condition than that one .
Here is a shot of the bracket I mentioned . Not the prettiest extra welding on mine but its difficult to access in situ . This is the passenger side that`s easiest to see . The drivers side one is rather obscured by the power steering pump and easy to overlook . I know at least one other club member that had a serious weld failure on that one !
 

James Vette

CCCUK Member
Thanks everyone! As I said I might hold off but then again I'm not the type of person to talk about things and never actually go through with it so if the shipping and import duty is fair and these rust issues are not that expensive to fix then I might as well. I would probably change the interior to white (by myself) but I do like red!
 

James Vette

CCCUK Member
I wouldn`t put money on the bottom of birdcage being ok on a 44 year old car from even a so called `Dry County `View attachment 8960. I have seen them starting to corrode on cars with better looking chassis condition than that one .
Here is a shot of the bracket I mentioned . Not the prettiest extra welding on mine but its difficult to access in situ . This is the passenger side that`s easiest to see . The drivers side one is rather obscured by the power steering pump and easy to overlook . I know at least one other club member that had a serious weld failure on that one !
Thanks for taking the time to post this.
 

Mad4slalom

CCCUK Member
Black on red 3 speed auto. It comes to £8751 and I'm awaiting shipping costs. I'm confident in buying sight unseen as they have photos all over and under the car. I did ask for photos to be taken of where the T-Tops sit and behind the footwell kick panels. Only thing that annoys me is the rubber bumper pieces on the front and back but oh well it's not a deal breaker. Need to tell my Granddad to get his garage ready! :LOL:
Hi James , prior to my last post re the 77 , I have now seen the pics, the underside is very edgy , not many new parts visable at all. i dont know whats going on with the exhaust system. . As others have said you cant see any hidden bits in the flesh. I know you are super keen but I really dont think that is the car to buy unseen. Unless you are buying it with expectation to have to completely go through everything and are prepared for outlay of lots of money . Just my thoughts. I only risked buying mine blind because I was happy all mechanicals had been done and I am still finding quite a few jobs to do and nearly a thousand spent already. I would look at similar cars over here first as at least you know what you will be buying and going in with your eyes open. Best of luck , ps I know what you are going through , 👍
 

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kentvette

CCCUK Member
Actually, the exhaust system on the prospective black 77 is one of the good points! It's the stock system and has a new looking "cat". I'm not saying I'd keep it, but....

I guess I'd look at a few more before this one and definitely try to see some in the UK
 

Nassau65

CCCUK Member
The import taxes/duty should not be a deal breaker on that sort of car value. It’s easy to work out. No import duty and VAT at the reduced rare of 5% calculated on the total amount ( purchase price plus shipping )
Give hill Shipping a buzz, they ship all my cars, always had a excellent service, never any damage, and always arrived on time.
 

Mad4slalom

CCCUK Member
Actually, the exhaust system on the prospective black 77 is one of the good points! It's the stock system and has a new looking "cat". I'm not saying I'd keep it, but....

I guess I'd look at a few more before this one and definitely try to see some in the UK
I only glanced at it on my phone and thought it was some sort of single pipe system, didnt realise that any vettes had cats that long ago. .have you tried dromney corvettes, he has been dealing in vettes for 30 + years and from projects to concours, so may be worth telling him what you want and what your budget. Is , he may know of something suitable . Also it eliminates the risk of buying blind. 👍
 
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