Ok i recently had to sell my 1970 impala and it was a very sad day, But i am finally ready to buy another car. I am seriously considering a 1980 berlinetta but i have a few questions. How is the leg room in the car because its pretty far away and i dont want to drive all the way to see it and not be able to fit (im 6'6"). Second, what are a few of the key things i should look at before i buy the car to make sure its in good condition?

Thanks

 

As far as leg room,if it has stock seats in it,you should be ok,i have heard of several people in the 6' plus that have said they have plenty of room with the seat moved all the way back.Main things to look for is these are unibody cars,and alot have problems with the rear frame rails rusting out,so definitely check those,and any body or floor rust all of which can be fixed,but just depends on how much you want to do.

 

I worked on one few years back, and test drove it after the fix. I'm 6'2 and fit in it fine with ton of extra room(did not have to put seat all the way back).

It did have stock seats, not the aftermarket bolted to floor that don't move.

 

Thanks guys, going to check the car out tomorrow and if i like it im going to bring it home sunday

 

Check the trunk area. Others can chime in here but, some of the 2nd gens have issues with back window/trunk lid water seep. It pools up in the trunk (mine was on the drivers side, had 1" of water sitting) and can cause rust collection. Check the trunk lid itself also. It can pool water inside and rust through. I also had rust through on the very bottom edge of both doors. Not much but, enough to need some touch up.

 

Make sure you feel the front floors to see if they're solid, and not soaking wet.

 

only thing is that this is a garage car and he doesnt drive it daily but im off right now to check it out

Thanks everyone

 

Thank you for that, first thing i did was look under the car and see some rusted frame rails. Got 1k knocked off the price for it.

Does anyone know about how much it will cost to get them replaced?

 

Don't get me wrong,just because they have rust on them doesn't mean they need to be replaced.What i was referring to,is severe rot to where there are holes or whole sections missing.If they are just rusty,you could sand or grind the rust off,even if there are a few small spots that have rusted through,you could cut out small sections and weld some metal in to repair them.I have never looked into the cost of a full replacement,but i would imagine to go that route would get pretty expensive.

 

yeah i looked at it and it is pretty extensive, he is a cop who got in a motorcycle accident so he hadnt seen the rust. He said he will knock off 1k of the price because of it. I have checked the car out and it is the only thing that i cant fix.. Should i buy and and replace them or just move on?