After spending 8 years trying to convince the previous owner to let go of this wrecked Corvette, I’m a bit confused why the seller would let go of it. They spent considerable time just to get it, so why let it go? They claim the front end damage is just to the body and not to any structural components. Considering that they run a restoration shop, it seems even stranger that they wouldn’t fix it up. Although I can understand having too many projects on your plate and just needing to let go of one to free up space, time and money. Hopefully that’s the case with this one and not that there are more sinister issues hiding underneath it. You can take a closer look at this project here on eBay in Palm City, Florida.
According to the seller, finished this would be a six figure car. They don’t say what motor it has, just that it’s a “Roller Motor” (roller camshaft) and that it is a built up performance engine. Apparently the reason it was wrecked was because the engine had too much power. Given the lack of photos, engine specs or really any details about the car’s history, I’m not sure I would say this is a $100k car, but it might be close to being worth their $25k asking. Well that is if the damage is really limited to the body and not the frame… Do you think this one is worth the risk?
Too much power really means…..the brakes failed.
And yes, if the car is the huge money maker he claims, then why is he not fixing it up?
Because, a corvette without the original engine is not going to be worth 100k for a long, long time. Even if you sink 100k into it.
But, someone will buy the hype and the car, and overpay as usual.
I agree. They need to be original to get into six figures. The listing is too much hype.
brakes failed….or not enough driver….
First, all caps and a bold font are desperately hard to read. Second, it feels as though he Googled a variety of “high-performance motor” buzzwords in order to describe this car as none of them are used exactly as I’ve ever heard them used before.
That said, it does seem odd that you’d pester someone to sell you a car for (8) years, then hop off and market it on the Flea-Bay at some point afterward. Has this seller had the car a few weeks or a few years? Don’t know, not important, but as is true with so many other flipper-sellers, he’s very quick to point out the future value of this car without any provenance or references. Is it/could it be a good deal?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I’d love to own a mid-year Corvette, but surely not this one.
On August 17th you featured a 1965 Chevrolet Corvette STINGRAY
CONVERTIBLE MATCHING NUMBERS SURVIVOR RUNS/DRIVES. It sold for 33K. This one seems to be a little over priced to me.
One pic? Looks like this thing was sitting at the bottom of some lake or just outside forever. Look at the wheels they are packed with sand. Bugged this person for years probably telling them some story how there going to fix it up and cherish it and finally gets it and then just flips it. I wouldn’t be surprised if they paid 10k or less, I know I wouldn’t pay much more for this roach double hump heads and all.
Anyone else having an issue where when they pull up the eBay page on a mobile device and try and open the desktop view, it just reverts back to the Barnfinds.com page?
It could be repaired properly, but not with a ONE PIECE FRONT END! I think the seller has no idea what it would take to make this a $100k car.
( Actually since it is a small block car, it will need about $40k laying on the front seat to make even a NICE car worth $100k.)
It might also have the original motor. But which one? A 327 -300 or 350hp? Need pics and documentation.
Al
There is only one reason the seller would bail on this project, it wasn’t fiscally viable.
If a professional couldn’t make the numbers make sense, an amateur sure isn’t.
Anyone into ‘Vettes knows what the term ‘NOM’ means and what impact it has on the value.
By the time you sunk 25K into this along with the restoration costs you would never make a dime…
NOM= not original motor
There is a reason a restoration shop won’t touch this vechile
Too much power = “hold my beer and watch this!”
AFTER the crash there was only ONE PIECE of the FRONT END left?
The by the way – “Too much power” is an oxymoron
The M-21 transmission is not a “rock crusher” — only the M-22 can claim this moniker. Also never heard “Camel Hump” heads referred to as “Camel Back Hump Heads”.For someone claiming to own a restoration shop this should be basic knowledge. Also way too much hype to sell this car.
Can an engine, roller or not, truly be wicked, if it doesn’t run?
What they all said………….lol This piece of crap will NEVER be worth anything near six figures, first it is a 66, not exactly a big change year except that it was the first year for the 427 engine, beyond that, there was nothing else to make this year Vette stand out. by the time you get done replacing all of the needed parts, you’d be in way over the six figure mark, for a car that is worth about 35K, pass this one by.
“ANY ONE WITH HALF A BRAIN COULD NEVER DENY THE TRUTH AS IT IS.”
“CALL ME FOR GUIDANCE TO HELP ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS.”
Ad is worth a laugh, not much more. Flor-a-duh lol. Hopefully he will add pictures and more text for more laughs.
“PRETTY MUCH A TOTAL RESTORATION PROJECT” (says the subheading).
Ya think?!
This is the kind of listing that gives some dealers a bad name. He talks about photoS, but there is only 1 and it doesn’t show the crash area. He gives valuations of near $100K or more for ’66 convertibles, but there is no 1966 Corvette model that has been selling for a median price of $100K or more at recent auctions, and some of the ’66 convertible models have median auction sales prices of about $60K.
So without the original engine, I don’t see this car being the prize that the dealer says it is. This car is probably best for someone who wants to make a resto-mod, especially with the replacement roller engine and the 1-piece nose that he will sell you for $950.
I guess he must have lots of experience knowing about what you must think to prove you have a whole brain. Arrogance?
Whatever. Most of us have built up pretty good BS detectors.
The market is full of people that need to be brought back to reality.
Like I said, completely restore this car (to NCRS standards, BTW); lay $40k on the seat; then it is worth $100k. Or less.
Reality will come for this car in 3 days.
Al
I agree with the rest of the gang. The car market is way too soft for a NOM mid-year Corvette to get $100K. Paint and bodywork for this car would be $15K-$20K, and that would be just a start…maybe $8-10K for a rebuilt 427 if you can find one with correct date codes and still it is a NOM car….and you have already spent $55K. How about blasting and powder coating the frame, rebuilding the suspension? Trans will need a rebuild. Interiors and tops are not cheap, a person could get buried in a car like this. Not a profit deal, but if you love the car, have the bucks, and don’t expect to make money on this car it would be a great project. Never mind, I said too much.
When Bart crashed the vette it was the straw that broke the camels back hump heads.
What would be a fair price for this? I’m wanting to do a mid year, and keep it, but really would like to know what you guys think. Thanks.
In your situation the real question is, “why this car”?
You already know that you are in it for the long haul. So the immediate expenditure isn’t the same concern.
Thoughtful restoration, with comprehensive documentation and thoughtful care post resto will assure the best return years later.
If a numbers matching car isn’t in your budget, you will need to decide whether you want to spend the money up front, or in mechanical and body restoration costs.
The latter may give you freedom to personalize as you desire (interior, paint improved brakes, etc.) which in my opinion usually results in the best ownership experience.
WRT Waldon Herman’s question: Maybe just watch the auction prices a while. These seem to be going down.
Decide what year you want. C-2’s got disc brakes about what, 1965? While this might be a big deal if you live in the mountains or like to do “canyon carving” the DRUM brakes from earlier modes are much less trouble and will still stop you well ONCE. These are great fun cars and the HP small blocks are pretty fast, the big block cars actually knock the air out of you when shifting.
While the “numbers matching” thing is important to a flipper, you can never read the numbers from the driver’s seat.
Even such a horrible thing as a car with flares will drastically lower the resale value, but will also make the purchase price $5k less and let you put on bigger tires. (some are pretty tastefully done).
Just go look at some cars in person. But beware of rusty frames. Changing a frame is not impossible, but not as much fun as driving.
Buying an imperfect car lowers your chances of disappointment.
Al
Alan is right, lots of good advice there. Watch as many actual sales as you can to get an idea of the market and where prices are headed. And prices are heading down for many collector cars after peaking in 2014/2015.
For me the benchmark source of information on prices is the Sports Car Market Guide. The 2016 edition has 14 pages of prices for just Chevys and Corvettes, and 8 of those pages are for Corvettes 1953-2015. They list the median and the highest prices actually paid for the cars at auction, which have the advantage of being public and verifiable prices that were actually paid.
Median auction prices paid for different builds of 1966 C2 convertibles range from about $59K to about $95K. But those prices were paid for cars that were mostly very nice cars, so this one would be a fraction of the price for the least valuable model since you don’t know what the original build was.
I don’t have a lot of confidence in this seller or this car. The seller promised more pictures but hasn’t even uploaded a picture of the front end damage yet, and the auction ends in about 2 days from now. Why put in just one picture of the back of a car that’s been hit heavily on the front? I can guess at an answer to that question.
So I’d be inclined to assume the worst with this car. The current bid is at $12,200 and for it to be worth that price I would need to examine it closely. If it has significant frame damage or rust I would not pay as much for it as the current bid, and I would keep looking for the best car I could afford.
Basically a free Corvette!! LOL
Big Fish/Don/Mike R kind of sum it up…Way over 35K in restoration cost.Buy one done for around 50K and save some money.
I normally don’t hate but from the description they gave in the ad I’ve been in the car game long enough to know when someone is unloading a pile of crap
Boy, with free local pickup, how could you go wrong?
“IT DOESN’T TAKE A GENIUS” to take this guy’s ad at face value :)
So the auction ended with bids up to $15,600.
Never met his asking price of 25K.
He couldn’t be bothered to upload any more pictures. I think he just wasted his time.
Al
Fishy seller, completed listing removed by ebay…
Just referencing an age old saying, “Buyer beware”. Something doesn’t sound right with this.