I wonder what the future holds, old cars are getting too expensive to fix and new cars are getting too expensive to buy.

I'm a mechanic and a customer so I can appreciate you for being an honest mechanic and everyone should appreciate that but just as you know most people have been burnt by shady shops so that's why they talk crap about mechanic shops you're just like me you're honest

Love the older general motors. Had a 1970 firebird and also a 78 trans am, and I miss them both greatly. Strangely I also miss a little Mazda MX3 V6 manual that I had for a couple years after those cars. But the Pontiacs win, they were so much fun and easy to work on.

The package is actually called the Collector's Editon. The package was the only way to get an opening hatch

This video caught my eye as I had one of these. I should have never sold it. Mine was purchased new by my cousins who put it in a barn with a cover over it 13 years. I bought it with around 17,000 original miles. Still had it on Jack-stands for about a year polishing everything even the exhaust pipes shined. Replaced a bunch of dried out stuff like valve cover gaskets and so on. I really liked the TBI. It ran flawlessly. Sold it to a neighbor with 21,000 miles who kept it 4 years then sold it to a collector in Oregon. I always have wondered where it is today. Guess this is not the one but sure brings back memories. Thanks for all you do.

That design is timeless

Great video...Many people dont realize how destructive TIME to be on cars, not just mileage. Also highlighting the importance of a good relationship between shop owner and car owner for tackling projects like this.

In 1982 I saw this Corvette in a Detroit Mall and fell in love. Hiring manager at my first big interview had the exact one for 30 days before it was stolen and stripped to the frame.. we spent most of the time talking about the car, which I feel got me the 18 year job. I've always hated the stories about this Corvette being the worst model to have. Still beautiful to me

Crossfire Injection was only on the 82 and 84 Corvettes. 81 was carbureted and 85 had tuned port injection. My dad had an 84 Corvette he bought new. Such a fun car! I’m looking to buy a C4 myself.

I love the C3 Corvettes… the most beautiful in my opinion! Thanks for bringing this video to us!

Loved my '84 also, cannot say enough about it, first one around here that sat covered on the display floor at the dealer until its release April 24 th. They use to let me sit in it under the cover. On the road the reactions were amazing, everyone loved the look. The Digital Dash had all the info you needed,. metric too. a radiator that defected radar signals, plastic springs, hidden storage under rear glove boxes, entire front end hood opening, gyroscopic head lights, and off course the Bose stero, One thing missing, an Ashtray

When I was in high school in the 90’s a friend of my dads had a car lot, he had a clean early 80’s Camaro that I wanted. Stopped bye and asked to take a test drive and he said he would never sell me that car. He didn’t want to get crossways with my dad.

Missed Mrs. Wizard's interior tour. Misfire Injection earned it's name because nobody knew how to work on it and it was so much more sensitive to vacuum leaks and bad gas than carbs. I remember putting Collector lower stripe kits on several regular Vettes and matching the interior color with the upper pinstriping.

Oh Wizard sucks to see the old car problems, i feel your pain indeed. As someone who works on old bmws and vintage dirt bikes. Very often if not every time on one of these mid 80s products have so much go wrong with them as your working on them. Didnt plan on doing fuel lines and brake lines but i shit you not i sneezed under the bay and tapped them with a ratchet. All three replaced from parts from germany set me back a month. My summer e30 turned into the autumn one just like that.

Wizard I I definitely get what you’re saying about older cars You said they didn’t make many of this 30 year anniversary vette I owned a 1963 corvette roadster I loved it how every it wasn’t built fro gandering or braking fun to drive in a straight line A cheap for repairs 327 but with a 2 speed power glide automatic So many corvettes had been made since Except for special editions idk how collectible they are. Great video I will share Best wishes always from Las Vegas Craig This video is 8 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Bravo wizard 👏🏻

A GM engineer took me for a ride in the then new '84 Corvette. That thing rode around curves like it was on rails. it was a very cool car.

A few years ago you could find every part for this C3 and now you have do a lot of research online. I have a 2013 Caprice and parts have dried up for parts specific to the Caprice. Drivetrain is okay, and some parts were the same as other GM/Holden/Pontiac, but since Holden shut down it’s slim pickings

I still have my Dad's '67 Camaro RS. You are so correct, when you go in for repairs it's never just one thing. I call it the "Domino Effect". When you tip one over, the rest fall one after the other. But, the old car has a home as long as I'm alive. It's in the body shop now for a little facelift. :)

Having had at least 5 Corvette 76-up C3s in the shop in the past two years, I got to say I do not want to work on them again. All sorts of conditions, from nearly new to hacked up. The only thing I like about them is the ease to remove the oil pan...I'll take a C4 over a C3 anytime. By the way the cat bracket isn't bolted on, but I'm sure it's already taken care of.

I called so many mechanic shops for my 71 VW Super Beetle. All of em were all like "nope we don't do that" I was losing hope, but then I was referred to the right shop.

Technically there were a few 83 Corvettes manufactured, but they were all test productions that were condemned to the crusher, but only one escaped that fate thanks to mother nature at the time, and that 83 Vette ended up staying preserved and is part of the permanent collection on display at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green Kentucky

Wizard: We're going to look at this sweet 1983 Corvette. Me: I thought 1983 didn't have a Corvette released to the public. The only one that exists is stored in a museum as the only survivor of that year.

I love the c4. My goal is a silver one with red interior and stock wheels

back in the day we did a lot of work on that model of vett , seems like we replaced a lot of rear leaf springs to restore the proper height. i had a 84 it had the crossfire engine , never had any problems with the engine, though the 4+3 transmission was a constant problem.

Mine came-off the show room floor, love it !

Wizard I would enjoy a build video on what you guys repair on this vette!

To start out, I really do love old cars. they are just cool. I feel your pain relating to old cars in a repair shop environment. You have to charge time and materials to make it worth your time. Any type of warranty is a whole other topic. A high percentage of customers have no clue what it takes to work on the "classics". Just trying to find quality parts that work/fit properly, can take hours and hours of your time. Often times finding parts take more time than the repair. Then, one problem leads to another and another, etc. Where do you stop!!!. Most customer don't understand. One thing I am guilty of on my KZfaq channel, Up-N-Runnin, is making it look easy. I can complete any job in just 20 minutes!!! In reality, it can take months to compete some of these jobs. I could write a book. Anyway.....great episode.

Don't have a garage to protect your hobby car during the cold Kansas winters? No problem... Just take it to the Wizard's for some hard-to-find parts and rest assured will be warm and toasty in the shop for those critical months. Hee hee. 🤣

I am so glad I’m not the only one who loves the C4 above all!

I love seeing it in the background of your videos as well as the 66 Chevelle.

Glad to hear your comment about not wanting to work on older cars due to the difficulty in making a decent return on the time spent researching and working on the vehicle. You may be a You Tube Star but your a mechanic and running a business. Your employees count on you to have a profitable shop and provide them a nice, clean, and safe place to work.

Great video. I love these C3 Corvettes. And congratulations for crossing 3/4 million subscribers! Been with you since 50k! 👏🎉💪

old cars are in the shop a lot b/c they are old and need to be gone through and have all their bushings, hoses, etc replaced with new, as well as having the motor, trans, and rear ends looked at to make sure they are good have the suspension checked maybe even updated to better stuff

Love your attention to detain and balanced attitude you work with!

Thank you, Wizard and Mrs. Love the looks of old cars, love more the reliability of new cars. I am a Geezer, from the days (the 70s) of distributor caps, carburetors, points, drum brakes, having to replace sparkplugs once a year, and when cars were toast by 80-100k miles. Cried when I traded in my 96 Audi A6 with 375k

it's funny even back in the 80s, all the autos I owned leaked somewhere, it always seems to start around 45K.

Wizard, I definitely understand your dilemma with older cars and not wanting to work on them anymore. But, consider just doing the Chevy pickup and corvette from 1968 and newer. Plentiful parts and high end clients. Charge 50% premium on labor. Not restoration shop, just a high end repair shop for high end clients.

You would think that the wizard could subsidize his vintage car labor costs with KZfaq money and keep the videos coming. I think a lot of us subscribers like to see cool vintage cars. Charge what it takes and business comes to you, if you do a great job.

I seen a full restoration of this car & all the decals were actually painted on! That body shop did a phenomenal job. Those sides & hood fade jobs take amazing talent! The striping does too! If I recall correctly, they're double stripes, fat & thin. They're awesome accents to the car though. It's a shame that GM used stickers. 😏 Edit: the customer said he missed the factory orange peal paint job, jokingly, of course!

My 68 Mustang is down when I work on it, not because of hard to get parts or money, it takes time because I want things done the right way. It may take a week just to put radiator hoses on correctly. It has been down sine June for new water pump, radiator and condenser. It will take another month or two just to get condenser lines put on my way. It is a hobby that I enjoy. My wife and I have many very generous offers, will never sell.

Had a friend's father that had one of these, he used to come in like a pimp to football practice circa 1986.

I have a 75 Corvette. I need paint and a radio for it. I done new fuel tank, pump, sending unit, fuel lines, brake lines, calipers, side pipes, new carburetor, new white wall tires and new interior carpet. But now I'm out of money :( and having trouble tuning the Avs2 carb

My mother bought this car, new, off the showroom floor when I was 14 years old and it's the first car I ever drove (illegally at 15...hey, she needed smokes) and it was amazing. I think it was the first Vette, to have a hatchback that opened, too! Did I mention she was a single mother and had 2 boys? That was always a fun ride home.

I mean, yeah, old cars have their problems. But i'd still rather drive an old car where stuff can be fixed rather than drive a modern shapeless blob with a engine that is designed to fail after 100K and you cant fix anything on because it all requires you to plug into a special-made diagnostic machine.

There is a shop in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on the corner of Prince & McGovern Street that works/ restores cars.

The Crossfire Injection system, was inspired by the 1969 Camaro 302 Z28 Cross Ram (2x4BBL) intake manifold, used in the Trans Am racing series. Chevrolet needed a low profile, higher flow intake, that could use off the shelf throttle body injectors. It provided a stop gap solution, until GM came out with the 1985, Tuned Port Injection system.

That's good to hear that the Wizard likes the C4. I heard a lot of trash talked about them. I bought a 1 year old red C4 TPI in '86..Loved that car. Bought a '97 C5 vert in 2004, wish I had both of them still. Classic cars cost a lot of money to buy and maintain. I'll stick to bikes. My 2006 Springer Classic gives me the old skool feel with modern technology.

My friend got the bug...he finds and restores the 60-70's vettes. And wins awards at shows. Thing is, he once said he would never do an off-frame restoration. Now he's on his fourth. And its just a hobby. But yes, they are classics. Yes, they are difficult to get parts for.

I had a 1977 L-82 Corvette for many years, did all the work. Use Stainless Steel sleeved calipers to fix the leaks in the front/all brake calipers. You will never have to replace them again. Also, make sure the pistons have "O" ring seals. Also, replace that steel rear spring with a fiberglass spring. Two things that will make this replacement worth while. About 30 lbs weight savings, and the ride will be "much" better with the fiberglass spring, get the heavy duty spring, it will not be too harsh but, is better than the stock spring rate. The 1984 was the first year for fiberglass springs, both front and rear. Also, replace the emergency brake shoes if you do all 4 wheels. These calipers and spring should be available from, Jeg's, Summit Racing or other Corvette only type businesses. It was found that that slanted radiator helped to deflect police radar, they could not see the car until it was closer to the radar unit, fiberglass helped too. You should check the rear wheel bearings, if they have never been serviced the are way overdue, front bearings too. If you cannot get new/rebuild power steering cylinder, there used to be a rebuild kit.

That shot of the front end approaching had me singing "Go Speed Racer, Go!" LOL

The rear main and front trans seal might be a bugger to fix. Even the Wizard gets a 50/50 shot at getting them both right first try. Wish you luck Wizard.

None of my six cars that are between 32 to 57 years old spend any time in a shop ever. One, is I do preventive maintenance and two I do all my major work. I just finished my 1990 Mazda 626 hatchback rear suspension was entirely rebuilt by me making it completely new to go along with the front rebuild two years ago. Shops do not do good enough work to meet my standards which I learned back in 1977.

82 Collettor Edition. One of my most favorite cars. Thank you for showing it. I have been waiting

Most "old car owners" have NO CLUE what it takes to keep a machine with 30+ years on it in safe, running condition. They forget that rubber and gasket material has a finite lifespan - it doesn't last 'forever'. Suspension systems "work hard" whether you drive the car or not - it supports the weight of the car whether you're driving it, or it sits parked in the garage. Few people look at the 'date-code' of their own tires, or understand what that means. Few fuel hoses exist that are formulated for today's ethanol-spiked gasoline. It costs BIG MONEY to address these issues, and there's a huge disconnect between purchase-price and needed maintenance upkeep.

Mine Never been in the shop,,, I have a 2007 xk jaguar convertible, 1 of 97 Winter Gold 53000 miles on the clock. It's not a garage queen! Have had it four years now, I do car shows with it. Great car, put a smile on my face everytime I get in it and drive it. Love looking at it, it's just a great design.

Honestly my two TBI 350 trucks from the 90's were really reliable. Never had any problems up there. Simpler to work on too. You knew right away whether you were getting fuel!

Lol no cats, that bad boy brings me back. I remember a neighbor had that very same one. Same color and everything 😍

That’s a beautiful looking car 🚙 , I see that the Nissan Juke is still hanging around 😮

My dad bought a '79 new when I was 13. These C3's were at the height of the Malaise Era. The '79 was very similar, just not as gutless and has less useless body crap on it. There is an '83. GM was late with the '83, so they scrapped production. They made a dozen or so and ordered them all crushed. Someone at the plant decided to hide one and it now sits in the Corvette museum in Bowling Green. It looks like a C4 of course and not your trick with the C3. Also, during this time they moved Corvette production from St.Louis to Bowling Green. I believe that '82 you featured was one of the first produced in Bowling Green.

The steering arrangement look like the one on my early 90s Ford 6600 Ag Tractor.

My grandfather had a 1982 Corvette that him and my uncles shoehorned a 1970 427ci V8 into back in the 1990s and that car was awesome. When my grandfather passed away in 2008 my uncle got the car and he has spent a fortune trying to keep that thing from literally falling apart. He lives in Utah so of course the winter weather doesn’t help but there’s no doubt those older vehicles will literally nickel and dime you to death and unless there’s sentimental value there is no reason to own an old vehicle.

I just repaired the steering cylinder on my 1980 Corvette. If the shaft is not bent or gouged you can simply replace the seal. ($6 plus shipping and tax from RockAuto). You don't even have to remove the cylinder from the car - just remove the shaft from the bracket on the frame and remove the old seal with picks and magnets, then press the new ones in place with a pipe (I used an engine crane handle).

It is a *1982 Corvette*. Had one. Worked very well, long legged 2:86 diff. Rear hatch opened. Gorgeous wheels. I had mine redone with fresh Urethane over machined surfaces. Usually needs SS sleeved brake calipers. Always carry an emergency bent rod so hood latches can be opened from drivers door.

I love how a car seems to sit forever then the owners seem to get shocked it’s going to take like 10,000$ to fix it and get running and replace almost everything

That car is art - even thought the silky white paint job was deliberate!

Although you said your customer, the owner of this nice ‘82 Corvette, wants to keep it totally stock, he and you should consider changing the power steering to a Borgeson unit. It consists of a GM integral PS steering gear modified to easily mount in a C3 chassis. Check out all on the posts on the Corvette Forum. He’ll end up with no leaks, quicker steering, and a much better steering feel. Win-win-win.

Great video enjoyed it. Beautiful car I knew that it was automatic cuz I heard you shifting through your microphone. I can't wait to see the progress on this machine keep up the great work much love stay safe and healthy and God bless

I have this exact Corvette. Even though I have never had a problem I refer to its injection system as "Cease Fire".

I have a 95 c1500 with with a 350 TBI. Super simple and super easy to work on Love it

I’m not a big fan of Corvettes but this one, the C3 is one of the few that I like. This particular model, the 25th Anniversary ‘Vette is one I could gladly own. I wouldn’t consider this as an “old” car, just a used one. You get something back in the early ‘60s and before and that I would call “old”. But I’m sure that parts ARE hard to get for almost any that I’ve mentioned. My ‘classic’ car is a ‘63 Cadillac Series 62 4 Window (Hardtop) Sedan deVille. I bought it in 1980. In 1981 I bought a Parts Car for it. I also began buying anything I could find NOS and mechanical. I wish now that I had tried harder to find NOS Rubber door seals etc. That’s really the best way to own an Old Car. I used to do nearly all of my own work on it. Now I only do that which I really enjoy doing. From a Business standpoint I get where you’re coming from but from a Customer point of view it really, really sucks. Finding a reliable Auto Shop eases one’s anxieties immensely. But to now lose it is crushing. I have a Brother-In-Law who lives on the Kansas/Colorado border. He has a Model “A” Ford. He just had a frame off full restoration done in it at an antique restorer in Denver. Cost him about $30,000. He’s ecstatic with it. You probably don’t have to go to the West Coast to get an Antique restored. There are such speciality shops really all over. Maybe you could figure out a way to do a new business venture of Antique Auto Repair/Restoration? There is a College in McPherson, KS which runs a degree program in Antique Auto Repair and Restoration. You might want to check them out if you haven’t already.

I want to correct you, Wizard. There were a few 1983 Chevrolet Corvettes, they were the test cars for the C4 generation, it took longer than expected to work the bugs out of the new car so the 1983 Corvettes were never available for sale to the public. There is 1 single 1983 Corvette left, it is white and I actually saw it in person when I took a tour of the Bowling Green Corvette Assembly Plant in 1991. It was placed in the lobby. Currently, the car resides at the National Corvette Museum also in Bowling Green, KY. It very narrowly missed being lost to the sinkhole.

If you're interested the largest C4 corvette in the world is actually located in mulvane kansas, its owner cliff starbird just completed a total restoration of it a couple of years ago.

There’s a good few C3’s imported to Ireland where I live. In fact a local man I know literally five minutes from my house has one, I got a clip of it on my channel.

Kinda sad the owner wants to keep stock. You can do soooooooooo much to these cars from the Corvette catalogs. Just a conversion to headers, dual exhaust, and high flow cats would gain a bunch of power. That Crossfire intake manifold is very restrictive. Hand port it or buy the Renegade manifold for 30hp gain. The ECU can also be tuned. Read up on the Corvette forum.

I pulled a 84 corvette out of the junk yard over Covid with a seized engine. I was going to replace the cross fire because I never really worked on Fuel Injection cars. I came across a video of some guy in Long Island and he said that if you keep up with it, it could be reliable system. I rebuilt it and it works. My confidence went up with this project. I wish I had a mechanic like you close by. Good stuff as always!

Old cars are like old people. We start fallin apart more and more. Unless you do a full 100% restoration, it will always have a problem somewhere. But then again, todays parts are purity shit. Even a full restoration these days may continue to haunt you with constant parts replacement.

That is a beautiful Corvette! I love the C4's myself.

I wish I could fit in a C4 Corvette. They're my favorite one as well. The cool digital dash, the troublesome but fascinating 4+3 manual transmission with the pushbutton OD. Unfortunately when I sit in one, my head is bashed sideways on the roof there's so little headroom. I'd go convertible except that the top of the windshield and it's frame are dead in the center of my line of sight.

Upper sway-bar bushings are toast,especially the passenger side.Great car.Would love 1 myself.Thanks for the updates.

Another great video from the wizard. Thanks

Love Corvettes! Best bang for your buck! That 82 Vette looks great!

You had me worried for a sec with the 1983 thing

I recently got a 86 c4. Grey with silver grey interior. While its quick off the line in 1st gear, other than that its not really fast. Biggest gripe is the build quality. Interior sounds like its going to collapse going down the road. EVERYTHING rattles and squeeks. The entire interior is held together with tiny exposed philips screws. Over tighten them even slightly and it snaps the plastic.

Understandable decision by The Wizard not to take on older car repairs and/or restorations ... It would mean a total change of business direction, not to mention additional facilities such as fabrication, paint, interior etc. A massive capital outlay with stop/start cash flow, parts supply & a current economy on the cusp of recession, not just in the US but worldwide. As the workshop stands now ... there is more than enough variety for Omega staff and money coming in ... even with an economic downturn ... I understand why people keep contacting Crazy D with their classics ... it's the trust factor ... people trust The Wizard and his staff with their classic ... plain and simple ... 🤔

That Corvette is a beauty !!

I would be happy to find anyone willing to work on any old car. It is worth the extra cost. Everything in life always costs more than you think.

An acquaintance in Northern Ireland has a 1972 454 4 speed manual T top Stingray, which I got to drive on an autocross in 1993 when I was 21. It had 53,000 miles on it. I saw it again about 4 years ago and it only had 58,000 miles on it then. I do like the shape of the C3.

My late husband had a "Special Package". Oh, what a lover ! ! !

I’ve never seen an older corvette like this completely stock. It’s beautiful!!

I worked on these cars when new, and the Z-28's that also had Cross Fire. Went to GM training school in 1983 and got certified. Not a stellar system, like the single pots were. The intakes leaked at the rear gasket and sucked air. And gas liked to pool on shut-off. I get why The Wizard can't really do older cars for a profit....usually the loudest boos come from the cheapest seats, and people with 40-70 year old cars who aren't mechanical find it hard to see why there may be issues with stuck fasteners, out-gassed parts, or unavailable parts. I'm in the hobby, and have huge respect for guys that overhaul 50-100 year old parts and warranty them. I know I sure wouldn't.

SBCs prior to '86 had the two piece rear main seal.

My motorcycle shop refuses to work on anything older than 20 years

Another great video. Will the Corvette hang around as long as the Juke in the background - only kidding.

There were no '83 Corvettes. the C4 was supposed to debut that year, but they wisely let it ripen for an extra year.

This Corvette is so gorgeous. Would love some videos on the fixes.

in corvettes, crossfire was 82 and 84 only. that is also a great driver quality collectors edition 82, with the 700r4 trans.

Had this model on my slot tyco car set, always loved them!

My favorite corvette year.

Remember the old 1980 something pace car that was black and silver. I really liked that one.

WOW an amazing looking car,l think this style was the best looking Corvette of them all.....Thanks David....Old Shoe🇺🇸