Reader-Owned 1980 Corvettes

My 1980 L-48 Coupe, automatic, almost 100% original.

Let me introduce you to Lady N, my 1980 all stock named after my wife Nilda . It was painted at our home in our one car garage by my wife's 18 year old nephew, his first solo job. He was trained by my brother in law who is a master at the art of car repairs. My wife is in charge of detailing the engine and I do the body. My plans are that when I pass on to a better life (hopefully there will be Corvettes there ha ha ha) is to leave it to my son who was born in 1980, what a deal eh! I was looking for this color combo for five years and I found it four years ago today.

Some information about my 1980 Corvette

• Black leather interior
• L-48 350 C.I. 190 h.p.
• 4-speed manual transmission
• Removable glass roof panels
• Power steering, brakes, windows, antenna, and door locks
• Tilt/telescopic steering wheel
• Factory air conditioning
• A.M.-F.M. radio with cassette
• Aluminum wheels

In May 2008, I purchased this beautiful and rare 1980 Shark with only 17,622 original miles. There were only 2,077 1980 Corvettes trimmed in yellow paint, and an even fewer number equipped with a four-speed manual transmission. In 1994, this car was honored in the August issue of Corvette Fever Magazine, where it appeared both on the cover and a feature article entitled Rare Original (center pages 42-43). The article highlighted an extremely well preserved 1980, Code 52 yellow Vette with black leather interior and a four-speed transmission. At the time the article was written, then second owner, Tom DeLuca, had logged only 15,700 miles on the car. Recognized for its beauty and originality, this Corvette was also honored with autographs from Corvette Chief Engineer Dave McClellan and the "Father of the Corvette", Zora Duntov.

As this being my first Corvette, it is one I will truly cherish. A rare find for any Corvette purist!

Binnie writes:

They don't come much nicer than this.

My 1980 work in progress.

Here is a picture of my 1980 Corvette. It has yellow/tan leather interior, 4 - speed, and 50,000 original miles. Finished restoring on August, 2000.

Honestly, it has been almost five years that I have been trying to bring this 1980 back to life. People would tell me that it is a waste of time and money, but it is for the love to the car that I did it. During this time, I picked up some information here, some information there, piece it together and that is how restorations come to be. Although I do not have lots of cash for a showroom restoration job, I did the best I could and brought it back to be a road worthy car (when I got, it it was barely drivable).

Back in 2005 I wanted a Corvette C3 so badly. I made arrangements over the phone to travel from Saskatoon (where I live) to Canmore, AB to pick it up. I phoned the owner and told him I had the bank draft in my hand, the day off from work and that I would pick it up two days later. I called the night before to confirm with him the time and place, and he gave me the news that he had already sold it even though we had a verbal agreement.

The next day, instead of taking it off knowing the car was sold, I went to work as usual, and a friend of mine came over to my office to ask about the car. I told him it had been sold and he left for lunch. He comes back from lunch and tells me there is a C3 at the business next door, and I thought he was just messing with me... when he said he was serious, I ran next door and saw it, that was a sign I thought.

That afternoon I called the number on the car, made an appointment that evening and took the car for a ride and an inspection. The car seemed abused but tranny and engine seemed OK. I bought the car, and the next couple years I found more and more things wrong with it as I was trying to make some progress replacing the obvious. Finally, this year I got it painted and it is waiting for an AC transplant to be complete. There were times there was so much wrong that I thought of giving up, but it was not until this year when everything started to come together that I could really enjoy driving it. Those rides really motivated me to keep going and today I feel so proud to take it out at the first excuse.

Right now I am at the stage where I would like to know more about the car....since I completely tuned out the previous owner when he wanted to tell me about it, I just wanted to take it for a ride!!!!!

Oh!!! by the way, the car was manufactured one month after I was born, so when I got it, I looked way better than the car... but nowadays... I am losing some hair, gaining a gut, and the car just keeps getting better... and I do not expect that to change anytime soon!

Binnie writes:

Like many of us, Fernando is a testament to our hobby. He has an extreme passion for these cars and has invested many pleasurable hours and I quote Fernando "bringing this 1980 back to life". Please give yourself a well deserved 'pat on the back' from all us C3 enthusiasts.

I live in Matthews NC. I am 49 and this is my second Corvette that I have owned. I owned a black '94 4/speed convertible, however, deep down I REALLY wanted a C3. So in '07, I traded my '94 for a red '80 4/speed that needed some TLC. 4 speeds are hard to come by so I jumped at the trade. In 1980, stock engines were only pulling 190 hp with a 350 engine. After 'throwing a rod' in the first six months, this is what I have done done to the original engine block: The original engine was built as a Stage II Crate engine with 9.5 to 1 Speed Pro hypereutectic pistons, a Comp Cams .500 lift hydraulic roller camshaft, Professional Products Typhoon intake and a 750 CFM Holley Carb. Also, installed was a new Ram clutch. The engine compartment was 'cleaned up' a bit so the smog pump and all the unnecessary wiring and vacuum lines were removed along with the original air cleaner and accompanying duct work making for a very neat, yet factory look. It is pulling about 375 HP. Here are some other restoration items: (I changed from red on red to red on black), new black leather seats, replaced a broken seat frame, new carpet throughout, new radiator, new clock that actually works, new rear stereo speakers and glass T-tops (it has the hard tops also). Everything is still original and will stay that way. I love this car! I am not finished with all the restoration yet but it is truly a labor of love. I am not very mechanical but my buddies in my 'Generations' Corvette club have helped a lot. This car, as well as ANY C-3 Vette, turns a lot of heads on the street.

Some updated pictures of Robert's car (October 15/11)

I have no history on this car other than it is from the original owner and was originally a white car. I painted it so it would be different than anything else in the car shows. I chose the copper color as I have never seen one painted that color before. It has 75.000 miles and runs and rides like a dream. The car receives compliments wherever I drive it.

Binnie writes:

Gorgeous car Kevin and your color choice gets an A+ from me. Your wheel selection also gets an A+.

This is my 1980 Corvette. In the four years that I have owned it I have completely redone the suspension (set up for autocross ), all new brakes, new 330 HP 350 CI small block with Edelbrock Pro Flo fuel injection, and 700R4 transmission. I replaced the 85 MPH speedo with a 140 MPH speedo, a little paint and body work, and new 18" wheels with high performance tires. The car runs great with it's 3.70 rear gears and gets pretty fair gas mileage. Also I don't have to slow down too much for corners.

Bought this 1980 for my wife last year. Been slowly doing odds and ends.

About four years ago, my wife and I were married 25 years and were planning to take a Carribean cruise. When she saw me looking online at some C3's for sale, she said why don't we just take the cruise money and buy a Corvette. You know you've always wanted one. So we bought this 1980 with 11,676 miles on it from the original owner in Cincinatti, Ohio. It is Sebring Silver with Dark Claret interior,Vortec Heads, Edelbrock Air Gap, Holley 670 SA, CompCam Magnum 270H, Dynomax Ceramic Coated Headers, and Magnaflow true duals She's really got the fever too and we've just added a 1998 convertible 6 speed for the 1980 to play with.

This is my 1980 C3. As you can see, she has had some customization done to her which really makes her one of a kind. She turns heads everywhere we go.

Binnie writes:

Very nice Pam and one of my favorite C3 colors.

Pam writes: And of course don't forget the grandkids, they have to have their own Corvette too even if is a C6.

As a young boy about 11 years old I saw my first Corvette (that I paid attention to) sitting in a parking lot. All I remember was it being the most beautiful car I had ever seen. Since that day the image of that car stuck in my head. As I got older I started looking at the different years and decided on the later C3's. I purchased a 1981 red L48 from a classic car dealer about an hour from where I live. He had it certified and cleaned up and ready to go. I drove it home that day and for the next several days my wife and I had a great time with it around town. I took it into a local body shop to do a small paint repair on the front bumper. The guy at the shop indicated the car was not in as good of condition as I originally thought. I took it back to the dealer and got my money back for it but never lost the bug. Over the next 2 years I continued to look. One day my daughters friend's father and his daughter came by to pick up my daughter and he noticed another classic car I had in my garage (1964 Pontiac Parisienne - Canadian car). We got talking and one thing led to another and as it turned out he had a 1980 C3 in his garage he was looking to sell. I took the car out for a run and to a local garage to put it on a hoist. The car was so clean, I could not believe it. We finally reached a deal and I took it home. Since then I have done a lot of work to it to get it the way I wanted the car. It is now our weekend cruiser, never winter driven and always stored in our garage.

This is my 1980 L48 with approx 40,000 Miles, (60,000 KM here in Canada).

There is about 3000 Miles on a completely rebuilt engine.

Complete Edelbrock Performer package with the following add-ons:
(heads, intake, cam, lifters).

Comp Cams roller rocker set
Marche under drive pulley set
7 blade flex fan (with spacer)
Edelbrock 600 carb - larger rods and jets
K&N 14X3 filter (drop base with spacer)
Flow Tech headers
Re-cored rad
all new hoses and belts
KYB Gas Adjust shocks
new Good Year Eagle GT II 255 60 15 tires
fibreglass (TRW) leaf spring

My 1980 NCRS Top Flight with 4790 original miles.

Randy lives in British Columbia, Canada. I'm really enjoying your website. It's helping to keep me motivated as I work through my Corvette restoration. Here's some photos for your showcase and a bit about the cars... At the age of 20 years old I bought a brand new 1980 Corvette. It's the only automobile that I've ever owned that actually made driving a car a fun thing to do. It was white with a burgundy cloth interior. In the attached photo is my '80 Vette flanked by Rick's red '80 and Jeff's blue '78. This photo was taken back in July of 1980. When I was engaged to be married, my future bride told me that I had to get rid of my Corvette because 'A married man doesn't drive a car like that.' Sadly, to impress her I sold my car when I really didn't want to give it up. Hindsight has taught me that I should have gotten rid of her and kept the car. Even in divorce she swore that I'd never realize my dream of ever owning another Corvette.

The next two photos are of my dream come true. In July of 2009 I found what I was looking for; a 1980 Corvette with a 4-speed manual transmission that was in desperate need of a lot of TLC. Before buying the car I purchased its vehicle history report. It had been broken into three times and in November of 2008 it hit a deer. It was obvious to me that the previous owner didn't appreciate what it meant to own a Corvette. The car was a wreck inside. The body was damaged and the drive train and power steering bled all over the place. I wasn't sad though because under my care that car will be reborn. At this moment I'm ready to perform the body lift. I live on the West Coast of British Columbia so once I have a few days of dry weather I'll roll the car out of the garage and lift the body unto its wooden dolly. Then I can finish stripping the car down to the bare frame. This will of course be a complete frame-off restoration. The car is presently yellow and it had a white leather interior. Once rebuilt it will be black on red leather. I'm not rebuilding the stock L48 engine. I'm opting to install a GM 350HO crate engine rated at 330 hp. I'm still considering replacing the 4 speed with a 5 speed. Along with stripping the car down to prepare it for the body lift, I've already rebuilt the entire steering column, both headlight assemblies, the heater box including dampers and ducting and the brake/clutch pedal unit. There have been no surprises and everything is going better than I hoped. I love the '80 Vette and of all the cars I've ever owned, it's the only one that I'd ever devote so much time, money and effort on.

We are the 3^rd owners. It has no modifications. Everything works and works well. 1980 L48 ' Approx. 93,000 miles.

This is my 1980 Corvette with 65,000 miles. It has a 350 ci engine, Holly carb, performance cam kit, performance intake manifold and auto transmission with shift kit. I bought it in June of 2007 and had to work out some of the bugs. She is running fine now. I am looking forward to driving around town this summer. Great site! Bill Saleman