I Bought a Junk Corvette at Auction that was Basically Brand New 

Part 2, Here's Why it's Near Impossible to Save this Corvette: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-luAF028WeKI.html

What a shame. Salvage title or not, that car deserves to be brought back to life. Even if you're not the one to do it. Sell it to someone to enjoy.

Parting out an under 5K car of any kind would be sacrilege imo. I'm going to hazard a guess that there's plenty of people watching that would love to own and drive that thing as is.

The interior is a huge win . That car can be brought back without too much . Great buy

Clean it up, document what you've done, and donate it to a charity raffle. Someone out there will be happy to get a bargain and clear the title. And the car, an original survivor, will live on.

DO NOT part this Corvette out! She's gorgeous! I've had a few cars with rebuilt titles and loved them! Someone will love this car! You should post what the wrecking yard is offering for it and give us the chance to out bid them to keep the car in one piece!

Such low mileage, it's worth making right, and maybe raffling it off for charity, if it's not to be kept. It would be an absolute shame to let it be parted out.

I loved corvette ever since I was little and I just recently bought my first one A 85 c4 with only 110k miles and I love it Seeing corvettes like this or in a junkyard always hurts they need to be DRIVEN AND LOVED

If there's one thing we've all learned from Sam, it's how valuable it is to have a field full of reference vehicles! (Most of which don't run).

Sam. You are a feeling type of guy. You respect cars. There is someone out there who dreams of owning any model corvette and would jump at the opportunity to buy this. Don’t part it out!

Glad youre jumping back on the C4 / ZR-1 . One of my favorite videos ever was the one where you described as being a kid and your uncle took you out in his new C4 / ZR-1 . After the ride you never wanted anything to do with C4 / ZR-1 because the car was fast and scared you as a boy. Great family story. Thank you for sharing. Ive told my niece and nephews that story, and they loved it too. Take care Bud

Dude I found your channel as a recommendation from RU-vid. I am completely impressed. Awesome work, great tips and recommendations and just overall a great channel. I have now watched several of your segments and am completely hooked. Thank you greatly...

Maximum profit is not always worth the cost of destroying a rare find. Do the right thing and preserve the integrity of that car. Please Sam

Anytime there's a major weather event, it's not uncommon for people to take the opportunity to unload problems. This is because the insurers are usually so overwhelmed with claims that they don't actually investigate each one like they normally would. They just cut a check and send a wrecker.

Hi Sam, WOW! What an incredible and FIND and TREMENDOUS STORY! And, YOU Found It! It is far too great a story, to ever, ever, "PART OUT" this amazing incredible C-4! Likely It Was Never Flooded! That's what really matters! Some happy future buyer, would never be like "a needle in a haystack." instead, you personally might easily be the joyful answer, to someone else's lifelong hopes and dreams! This are obviously so many people here, along with me too, that would love to buy this right now! Perhaps you might be some grateful and lucky person's, "TRUE HERO," instead of parting it out!😉🎉

Dude!!! TAHANK YOU FOR SHOWING THAT WITH SOLDER STICK.. I see them all over a website and now I’ll take advantage of that deal!!

This car deserves to live and not be parted

“We’re just putting it back to get the car to run.” There’s nothing more permanent than temporary wiring that works. 😂

Love your videos, always looking forward to them. DO NOT PART IT... there's always someone looking these classics. Watching u from Zambia 🇿🇲

You do great work I just got a c5 it spend 21 years in Florida it has 20k miles on it. Runs and looks good. I am not handy at all and won't attempt to do anything mechanical but I like washing it

Like leno says: A car is only unmolested and unrestored once. Even with that title, that car is just to nice. Under 5k miles, that is almost something for a corvette museum.

Cmon Sam, parting it out feels so wrong

Honestly I’m with the others Sam I don’t think you should part it out. There’s got to be someone out there (probably here in the comments!) who would pay a price you’d be happy with and would not care about the flood paperwork/salvage title.

Solderstick does sound like a very very useful purchase, thanks Sam.

My 1995 I bought new hadn't been started in 7 years (transmission failure). A few months ago I finally swapped the tranny. When I tried to start it, same problem as yours, except my fuel pump was way more corroded than yours. I replaced the whole assembly. I also had about an inch of molasses in the tank. I scraped it all out with my hand (took hours). I threw the old gas on a brush fire I had burning, and it did burn, but did not explode/flare up like gas should. After a cleanup, the car fired up fine.

Please don't part it out. This is someone's dream car, including mine. I'm sure someone would love to spend the time to make it great again.

Sell it to a subscriber. At least let it live.

Too nice to part out. I’m a current owner of a 72 t top 4 sp. L48 that I have owned for 51 yrs. And owner of 2019 stingray bought new in 2018.

Que gran compra hiciste con ese corvette brother, te felicito por lo pronto que resolviste los problemas que se te presentaron. Yo en tu lugar me quedaría con el. Saludos desde Cuautitlán México.

Sam, that poor C4 deserves better. For all you put into it, it atleast deserves a spot at home in the stables

Tyler Hoover will buy that car in heartbeat!!! That car deserves to be a road Hooptie!!!

Thanks for being consistent Samuel! Hopefully we get step mom back one day

Nice Video! I have a C4 also red with approx 36,000 miles. I try to run it every summer, but you know how that goes. Brother-in-law who is a mechanic and has his own shop just told me when it idles rough, " Drive it like Hell: !!!

Give Tyler Hoover a call ! He'll buy it !!! 🤣

My guess is the owner really wasn't impressed when he bought it and he kept having to dump thousands into keeping it running for intermittent use. He probably took advantage of storm damage in his area to get the insurance company to buy it from him.

Love the solder sticks. I have a boat and they will definitely be used.

Give it to a viewer 😊 I think what happened is pretty much longer the lines of what you were saying. The original owner knew that it needed work and did not want to pay the repair bill. They were likely in a federal disaster area, which triggers special allowances with the insurance where insurance basically has to cover and total it out if the person says it was flooded. One of my neighbors did the same thing many many years ago during a flood in Aurora Illinois those designated a federal disaster area. The water literally reach the bottom of the car where their house was, but because the car was so problematic there are able to get it totaled out under very favorable conditions for them due to the disaster area designation.

With low milleage and condition it is ... im sure someone would buy to make it road worthy again car is really nice !!👌👌

Wow always had a problem with making those connections but that kit is frigging awesome connector it is frigging awesome! 😀

Sam my C5 wouldn’t start do to a bad ground underneath the battery tray (4x 13mm bolts) It’s a splice pack ground (one of many). Jump the fuel pump relay with a wire to see if that helps Sage get it running. If that works it’s probably that ground.

I am guessing this Corvette was written off because the fuel pump went out sometime around Ian. Insurance was already writing off thousands of cars for flood damage, and this one was probably written off with out being checked.

It looks to be an insurance scam. Could you have it inspected and get fhe flood title removed?

I use those solder sticks frequently, but I use a miniature butane torch to shrink the tubing and melt the solder

Nice Job . You r so lucky. Stepmom is going be so proud of you

I would buy that car in a heartbeat just the way it sits. I love the C4 platform.

No to parting it out, drop that tank and clean it properly, new pump and sender, new fuel filter and run thought the brakes, powered coat the wheels and new tyres. Do it right, looks a clean motor

Wow those Solder Sticks are. Slicker than Deer Guts n a Doorknob ! ironically i have been a long time .boat Owner that does all my own Maintnancecand repairs one crucial tool i keep onboard is a HeatGun that is sold at Hobby Shops for covering Remote Control Airplanes those heat guns are. designed to get into tighter areas and also usually come with nozzles andcAccessories that allow you to direct. the air into very specific areas in a concentrated manner on a boat. that’s often helpfull to get hoses on and off easily or even loosen Corroded Fasteners those Butt Conecctors will help make electrical connections in tight engine rooms and Electrical distribution panels Thankyou

That pump access is fantastic.

Sam, when you do those solder connections keep the heat gun on the connector until ALL the solder has melted. On both connectors you only half soldered them!

I tried to tell you about those connectors on another video and all the "experts" said you need to solder it manually. As a former R&D tech, QE, and soldering instructor I know they are good.

The rusty brake rotors are a decent sign of flood damage. The car sat in water but it failed to permeate anything more than the lower drive train/brake components. You should sell it complete and let someone repair the components that were damaged. Nice interior!!

Those connectors are fantastic!!!

Sam My opinion is that’s the wrong move. So many people are struggling to buy a good used car. That one would definitely make someone super happy!!

Not cleaning that tank out is just asking for an injector swap to be added to the list.

Most people don’t realize that the C4 model was a huge jump for the corvette, not unlike the C8’s was recently. The second year of C4 production had big improvements over the 1984’s crossfire injection and rough suspension. I shipped an 85 C4 to Germany with me back in 1987, and I still remember when an American soldier, with a group of young Italian NATO soldiers, asked if I would show them the engine. There were a lot of oohs and aahs to the sight of the engine’s tuned port injection manifold as I opened the clamshell hood.

I’ve been in the car bizz for 20 yrs , a salvage title and your video explaining your find will bring all the money,,, not dropping the tank and installing a new fuel pump was killing me .

If I could make a suggestion regarding those solder connectors: make sure the glue/sealer bands are on the wire insulation PASSED the bare wire. Those are what seal the joint. If you look carefully at 8:16 there's a bit of bare wire outside the sealed area on the left side. Fuel will probably wick into the end of the shrink tube and reach the bare wire. There was no reason to have that much wire twisted together. And pay additional attention when connecting 3 wires like that - the glue/seal needs to fill in the gap between the two wires on the right, or at least cover the bare wire, which it looks like it may have. If this was anywhere else on the car, I wouldn't be too concerned, but going into the fuel tank... that scares me. Last thing you want inside a fuel tank is a short, unless your goal is to make the car live up to it's salvage title.

It’s not always about the money, but about a beautiful low mileage car that deserves to be back on the road

That car is gorgeous, we don't see many of these in the UK. It would be crazy to use it for parts, let someone buy and look after it.

C4s make great cars for someone just getting into autocross and track day stuff. That would be a great car for that and it would keep it together and extend its life.

Those solder stick are actually waterproof as well. They have a heat activated glue inside.

Offer it up to one of your viewers at a price similar to the recycler!

Great video. One thought I have is that the high level of expertise and experience applied by yourself in bringing this car back is well beyond the majority of car buyers. Given that high cost and risk to renovate the vehicle - its value should be very low indeed - I agree with the scrap value for it.

I live in Florida, and after every major storm, the company I work for has a rush to repair power systems and vehicles for the exact problem that C4 experienced. Even my BMW E70 suffered from water penetration last year, causing wire harness issues under the hood (the plastic diverters cracked and let rain run-off flood the top of the engine, drowning the injector and coil pack wiring). Water in fuel tank can be blamed on the tank gasket deteriorating from the horrible Florida climate, and sitting for 8 years. As for what to do with it, I would raffle it off and let someone else find the joy in trying to keep it running.

Do not part it out!! It deserves to be given a new life to an enthusiast!

Save it, To nice to parts out, someone will buy and enjoy it !

I bought a 89 when it was 2 years old, still have it, The car drives, and performs great, is fun to drive and handles amazing. I love it, I have 12 cars in my collection and I just keep adding as I can. In my collection I have a Ferrari, and my 89 vette is every bit as fun as it. I also have a 74 Ford Capri and that car is probably more fun.

Such a nice car. Looks like almost showroom condition interior. I’d love to buy one of these. Not many clean examples left, salvage title or not.

I wonder if there's a way to legally dispute the salvage status of this car. In any case it's too nice to part out!

It’s running and driving and a lot of people don’t care what the title says. Can’t believe you would part out such a nice car.

You must be living right, my friend, you got the car for a good price with a minimum investment to get it running, now with a good detail you should have a good daily driver and/or a good profit when you sell it to a buyer who is looking for a C-4. I wish you all the good things with the car. Thanks for sharing this video with all of us.

I agree with your plan!! Even though the car wasn’t truly flooded (incentivized adjuster??? 😂😂), that title makes it prohibited to import into Canada. The parts can come in,but the car as a complete item, even to be junked, is prohibited. Since “Prohibited” has only one meaning, there are no “what ifs”. With that definitive of a ruling by, in our case here, Transport Canada, part it out!! What an awesome drivetrain to drop into my53 Chevy 3100 pickup! I have a 55 that would look good with that as well because it has survivor paint on the exterior (the interior is brand new with A/C, power windows & locks, leather power & heated seats, S/W gauges, etc. even cruise & a backup cam! That grungy looking motor would suit the exterior so well!! I just put a fully rebuilt 402 in it with a 6L80 backing it up. The 402 wasn’t painted, and the original valve covers were reused. New intake and fuel injection, steel headers wrapped, but I think most get the picture. Hmmm.

Sam, get it road worthy and sell it to someone who appreciate the car and can give it a good home!

solder sticks are awesome. Great thing to use when working on a boat.

If I had the money I would buy it from you in a heartbeat no job the title doesn’t bug me one bit lol. It’s such a low mile car keep it together. I would love to buy it if I could. My dad had a c4 and they mean so much to me.

I've always wanted a Vett but never had the chance (money) to get one. you can just roll it here; I'll keep it forever!! Trust me, I still have my 1985 Dodge D-150 from high school (1985)

We had those shrink wrap connectors with solder in the Air Force in 1980.

I can’t believe he didn’t pump out the acetone once it had dissolved most of the crud in the tank!

Any disabled veteran would appreciate this 'Vettes perfect imperfection. Fit it to a busted-up vet; not only would it be great use of an automatic, it would show your fans some love. Pay it forward!

There underated ..the overall quality..I love em and I'm a trans am man..

Sam - very well done . . . always fun and educational to watch you at work. My question is, why is the frame gasket against the windshield so torn up? My guess is that car was broken into more than a couple times . . . just a wannabe's guess. Thanks for listening, DJB

Man that c5 needs some love!! That c4 is clean and was a good find/buy

I agree, it is a shame to not put a car in this condition back on the road. Surely someone out there would take it? Once it is parted, there is no coming back and I cannot see you getting more money that way after the junkyard takes their cut.

I agree with previous posters. Give us a chance at least to match the J&J bid. Keeping it whole gives someone a chance to buy a time capsule.

I wouldn't doubt it but the dealer probably didn't change or completely clean the fuel tank when it went in for fuel system problems. Just like this temporary fix; if you leave it like this; it will happen again; that gunk in the fuel tank has a way of corroding new fuel pumps rather quickly. Change the tank and complete fuel pump assembly and it will last many years.

FYI- use carb cleaner to spray into throttle body to run the engine instead of starting fluid , it works much better 😎

Hi Sam. I interest in the corvette. I would like to make it my daily driver. So I can buy it from you.

SELL IT on the open market! Someone would be happy to get into that car even with the compromised title. You can make some money and they'll be happy!

I was a little surprised when he said he’s parting it out…but I’m not sure he’s committed to going that route so much as trying to drive up the value a little more. The condition makes this car much more desirable than a typical salvage title car. I live in a state where it could converted to “rebuilt salvage” and I wouldn’t hesitate to own it. The actual condition far outweighs whatever the title says.

Car needs to be given a 2nd chance. Too good to scrap but it gives you the best bucks for the deal.

You can always part it out. Why not try ‘Bring aTrailer’ (or similar) first? Wouldn’t it be better to save it?

If it has been sitting for 7 years, and only had 4k miles, parting it out makes sense. The transmission will probably have seats, seals, o-rings, and components that have also dry rotted through lack of use lubrication and once put back into service, will ultimately require major transmission service work. This is speaking from experience. The crud that was in the fuel tank is also in the fuel lines and injectors. The small orifices in the injectors may randomly clog, causing rough running issues and CELs.

I love the cattle grazing in the background!!!

That car deserves to be save and put back on the road it’s too nice of a car someone would love to have that in there driveway to bad u can’t fix the title and have the car inspected I’d hate to see that car parted out it deserves a home

Salvage or not its honestly way to nice to part out im sure someone will buy it

"Soldersticks" are aviation "environmental butt splices, with an "MS" number and everything. They've been around for 20-30 years. I've been using them on "home projects" at least that long, usually in locations exposed to weather or oil/gas.

I'd definitely put this car back on the road!! Things like this happened a lot in the late 80's and early 90's. Whenever there was a big storm like a hurricane or NorEaster and it causes a lot of flooding people used it to get out of high interest car loans that more was owed than vehicle was worth so people would stick a garden hose in the interior and soak the carpet so when insurance adjuster arrives and many other vehicles that legitimately flooded the insurance company just totalled them all! It wasn't until the mid 90's that insurance company got wise to it they'd test the water in the vehicle and it came back as clean drinkable water not a fresh water flood. So insurance companies raised the level of water damage had to be in the mechanical or electrical systems/ computers. I towed 1,000's of salvage vehicles and you could always tell if it was really flooded or not!

Bro dang, that interiors mint. I’m actually impressed

If flood damage was in the sale description, why wouldn't you check for water in the cylinders first?

That copper line on the top was super oxidized. That can cause more issued than a break as it could be oxidized way up into the wire under the coating and create unnecessary resistance or intermittent operation. clean or strip back until the wire is clean.