CorvetteForum - Chevrolet Corvette Forum Discussion - FS (For Sale) 1971 Corvette Coupe Project

1971 Corvette Coupe Project

I have decided I just don’t have the space or time to take on another restoration so I’m putting this up for sale. This is a numbers matching Steel Cities Gray car, I also have the POP.

This car came to me in 2017 and had not run under its own power since the early 80's. The car was missing the fan shroud, fan & clutch, Carb, air cleaner, Alt Etc. so I bought new and used to get that all back together. I replaced the battery, fuel tank, fuel pump, all four calipers and rubber lines as well as the master cylinder to get it running and stopping. That transmission has a torque converter whine and engine has an exhaust leak on the passenger side and a lifter tapping on the driver side. Engine idles smooth and does not smoke.

I stripped it to bare fiberglass with the exception of the T-Tops and hood. I think only one gauge in the instrument panels works. It for sure needs a complete frame off restoration. I pulled all the interior trim down after I bought it and there was no birdcage rust. At some point in its life it's had a couple front end taps that damaged the fiberglass, bent (nothing major) the LH frame extension and crossmember.

The story behind this car is as follows;
Purchased new on Dec 15 1970 from D&W Chevrolet in Fountain SC.
Base Corvette Sport Coupe / TRIM 400 / Paint 988
Power Windows
Air Conditioning
Power Brakes
Turbo-Hydro-matic Automatic Transmission
Power Steering
AM-FM Radio
L48 Base Engine
3:08 Rear End

Owner #1 sold the car to owner #2 (date unknown) who lived in Sumter SC.

Owner #2 relocated to North Alabama and drove the car up to 1983 at which point front end came into contact with a Raccoon at an unspecified speed. Car was parked to never move under its own power again. Last registration was 1985.

Now having said all that it's worth noting that either owner #1 or owner #2 did a hell of a lot more damage to this car than just hitting a Raccoon. The front end (fiberglass) is just beat to crap in areas that defy logic. This is not impact damage per say but neglect and poor repairs, wheel well lip damage, cracks in the upper surround Etc. Also, Owner #1 or owner #2 repainted this car in the early 80’s I’m guessing.

Owner #3 bought the car in 2012 and pulled it out of a barn than passed away in 2013. The brother got it in his estate and sold it to me after he decided he didn't have the funds to restore it.

My guess is the car set under cover from 1983 to 2013 and from 2013 to 2017 set uncovered. There is 5K and change on the odometer and the overall condition of the interior would point to the odometer just turning over once. Car is complete as delivered from GM and if it wasn't for the front end damage someone could rebuild the transmission, slap some paint on it and drive it. The front end could be fixed but it would be a lot of man-hours. I have two hoods with each having fiberglass issues in the hinge and hood prop area, you could make one good hood out of the two. The 71 production run was 21,801 cars with only 1,591 being Steel Cities Gray.

My initial inspection of the car and birdcage were as follows;
1) Body mounts 1-4 are solid no rust
2) Both RH and LH Verticals as well as the upper birdcage forward of the rear window are solid with no rust.
3) #2 body mount verticals LH and RH are solid no rust.
4) RH and LH Sills are solid no rust
5) Windshield frame header inside is solid no rust. The only evidence of rust is the extreme upper corners where the windshield where it lays against the windshield frame. Both sides show some minor rust but it's hard to say until the windshield is removed. Should not require cutting out any of the windshield frame sections.
6) Frame is in good condition with just the usual surface rust.

As for the front end, I have seen some beat up front ends but this one takes the cake. It would appear well before the Raccoon committed suicide this car has had a few runs in with being tapped in the nose. Something along the lines of parking and bumping a wall or parking post, nothing as violent as a collision. Being thrifty the past owners chose to do the repairs themselves or they took the car to Bubba down the road. Their material of choice was Bondo and rivets. It's also worth noting that this was just to cover up the damage not fix it. Bubba said hey there is a crack here let's just cover it with Bondo that will fix it. Every bad spot on this front end was never fixed with glass mat just bondo.

I will get more pictures later in the weekend but in the meantime if you have any questions just send a PM my way. $4,000 FIRM

PRICE REDUCED

NOTE
The first person to put cash in my hand or a $500 non-refundable deposit via PayPal owns the car. I will not hold the car waiting for someone to get around to looking at it. You want the car or you don't, pretty simple.

Thanks
Dennis