1971 Barn Find? Might be an LS6 car
 

So my father contacted me about this car.
Just from word of mouth and friend of a friend connection did we find this car.
Now, I don't know jack all about C3 corvettes. I'm too familiar with C4s for my own good.

Condition of this car is not good. Some minor cracks, some of this, some of that.
The motor is not original to the car. It's defiantly a small block and the car hasn't moved sense 1995.
The wiring in the engine bay looks rushed.

BUT! - The center console has the plaque for a 454 / 425 hp on the center console.
We're not trying to get rich. My dad is retiring and wants a time killer, but it would be cool to say he has a real LS6 car.
Light bulbs began to ignite after I crawled all over this thing and raising eyebrows about sketchy repairs.

I'll ask if I can the owner is okay with me sharing pictures or any back story publicly next time we talk.


So here is my questions;

How can I tell if this a factory LS6 car? (Original engine is long gone)

What type ballpark value would a rough project LS6 car worth?

without any real GM paper trail anything is a educated guess. by paper trail I am talking about a dealer bill of sale, window sticker, and POP. the tank sticker is great but I don't think C3 ones have a vin number.

Rear sway bar. Will say if it was big block or LT1. Same with u-joint saddles. Tach redline. Then there are little details like holes in engine compartment where ignition amp and radiator tank used to be mounted. But if the LS6 engine is gone, it is more of an interesting story than high dollar collector's item.

It will have a SINGLE FUEL LINE on the right hand frame rail if it had a HOLLEY CARB... ALL LT1's and LS6's had HOLLEY's...
IF the smaller return line has been removed to make it appear as a single fuel line you can tell as the configuration of the larger supply line is different.

A non matching LS6 is still probably worth 125-150k restored - back the numbers out for a complete correct restoration using NOS or original parts - then back out the carrying costs of all the money knock off some for a profit and there is the number...if it is a non matching project it is probably worth somewhere in the neighborhood of 50k +/-25k.

IF it has ANY original paint etc and not rusty the numbers could escalate quickly.- of course if the original block were located the number would jump LARGE.

take pics and post them here before you buy if you dont know where to look for the hidden rust, The windshield frame, T top and front body mounts are a deal breaker for me

FWIW - I'm not sure about other year C3's but the 69's had the last three of the VIN hand written on the tank sticker. I got that from the Rick Bizzoco guidebook - sure enough, mine is there in the upper right corner. At first I wasn't sure what the writing was...

Well, not exactly. They will have three numbers written in the upper right corner that are EITHER the last three of the VIN or 500 away from the VIN. For example, a car with a VIN ending in 751 will have 251 in the upper right hand corner. When the last three of the VIN went over 500 they started over. This number also has nothing to do with the crayon written job number found on the bulkhead or other areas of the car.

Another interesting bit of trivia with 69 tank stickers is between December and March they would hand write the last four numbers of the VIN on some cars below the printed info. But I have found this was only between those four months for whatever reason.

Very interesting trivia!

The first line of this response is inaccurate. LS6's had a dual fuel line. I have researched that carefully.

Correct! All LS-6 equipped corvette's had dual (supply & return) lines.

IF...it still has the OEM transmission then the factory transmission stamp may help you.
Tach redline
Evidence of the original TI ignition
HD rear end caps
rear sway bar
You can purchase the peel & stick console decal for less than $15 all day long.

Without the original engine though it's not worth much more than any other non-original small block corvette - post some pictures and you'll get better responses

71 LS6 Good luck.
Please, post some pics we cant tell from what youre saying.UNless this car is a 1 of hardly any dont bother....vettes are too expensive to fix up.

What is the build date on the trim tag? Before February 27 means it can’t be an LS6.

The TH400's are coded CY and have six lug converters.