ok I am considering buy a 71 Chevelle has 468 th400 pretty good interior.. only prob is the paint, well there is little bubble kind of all around the car in diff places, and there is one spot on the back upper right panel that looks like fiberglass is cracked. from what the guy says is the bubble are not rust that its probably they painted the car over the old green paint. but my friend thinks his neighbor used to own the car and that back cracked piece was a fiberglass patch the guy put in. what do ya'll think

Gotta figure any 30 year old car is gonna have some hidden damage or repairs, its not a problem as long as the price is right and you can afford to fix the car. Have a bodyman give it a look if you are concerned.

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Dave (NY)
70 chevelle ss396 conv
66 chevelle ss396 hdp/conv
72 chevelle
TC member #493
Never forget Earnhardt!

To me , bubbles mean rust-through. Not good. And why a fibreglass patch? If the body is real steel, it will need no patches. You should approach this car as if it is "guilty' of being rusted. Guilty 'til proven innocent is the plan here.

Inspect the he%$ out of it. What ever is there will need some serious effort put to it anyway. So if you don't have the means or the funds to tackle the hidden issues, you might be best to walk and keep searching. I've been doing cars for quit a few years, and you'd be amazed at what can be hidden under the paint. And I've even found cardboard to hold bondo in place to fix a quarter panel hole the size of a softball. So buyer beware here for sure. See if you can borrow the car for a test drive and set up a visit at a good bodyshop to have them inspect it for you. A unbiased opinion can go a long way. Good luck. RandyB.

thanks for advice.. i do not want to jump into it but there is that certain desperate kinda thing. he wants 6500 for it and i have been looking for a chevelle for 4 years and seeing i am 18 i also want one to restore and around here in tx i can not find any that are in my price range everyone wants 20K for there car.

Richard from dallas here. We spoke a while back but I lost you email. I now have 2 cars that could work for you for much less money.
On the car you are looking at now if it has bubbles it has rust. If they patched with glass it is probably patched in several places. If the car is put to gether like that pass all you are buying is a motor that you don't know the history on. The only way to fix rust is to kill it and use the por puddy for very minor pinholes or cut the bad metal out and weld new in. There are no exceptions to this. Unfortunatly more people do it wrong than right. I buy and sell cars to help finance my personal projects and I
see cars that are (finished) pieces of over priced crap all the time. You have to concider anyone that will half way do body work to sell a car will also do the same on the mechanics of the car. If you are interesed in one of mine I sent a email direct. Wheather you look at a car from me or anyone else look everywhere. Crawl inside the trunk and look at the underside of the back window, look inside the lower 1/4s, crawl under the car and look for makeshift patches in the floor etc. If you are not sure what you are looking at bring someone with you that does.
Sorry to make so long, It is a major pet peave of mine to see someone get burned (espesially a first timmer) on 6500.00 car that tunrs out to be a 2000.00 car that still needs everything......

Gigo,

If it has bubbles I guarantee you it is rust. I have been down this path many times and the bubbles are only indicative of a much more serious rust issue.

The price of $6500.00 is a lot of money for a car that will probably need a lot of body work.

My opinin...Bodywork is way harder than fixing the mechanicals on a car. Take your time and find a solid body that needs little or no metal repair.

Don't spend a lot of money for your first car because you will make mistakes. Look for something under $5000.00 as a learning experience. You should take a road trip up into Arizona. My sister lives there and I have found some really decent bodies there for reasonable prices (even found some in Arizona salvage yards).

Good Luck,

Sleeper

[This message has been edited by 1969sleeper (edited 03-28-2001).]

[This message has been edited by 1969sleeper (edited 03-28-2001).]