If you love Chevy power, or race against it, you quickly learn that “LS6” means “King of the Hill,” and normally we think of the LS6 Chevelle as the car showing its tail lights to the competition. Jamming any 454 cubic inch big-block in the two-seat fiberglass-bodied Corvette seems mentally unstable, but upgrading to the potent 450 HP LS6 may constitute legal evidence of clinical insanity. This 1971 Chevrolet Corvette LS6 sat in the yard for years until the owner’s high-school friend inquired about it. Be sure to check out Jerry Heasley’s original story here on superchevy.com.
This 1971 Chevrolet Corvette LS6 sat in the yard pictured here after tearing up the streets in the ’70s. The owner had actually considered digging a hole and burying this 1-of-188 beast at one point to get rid of it.
The double-red color scheme must have been stunning when fresh, with or without the non-original Baldwin-Motion style paint-job.
Underneath the rust, leaves, animal nests, and squirrel food lies the aluminum manifold, 11.25:1 compression, solid lifters, forged internals, and deep-groove accessory pullies of the highest horsepower engine of the muscle car era (thanks to corvetteactioncenter.com for some details). Hopefully this rare Corvette will get the restoration it deserves including the occasional tire-smoking burnout.
This, won’t be cheap…
Definitely worth a full restoration, just hope it’s not too far gone.
But Please ditch the goofy paint, awkward scoop & ugly side pipes.
I like the Ford hood scoop on a Chevy!
You beat me to it!
Menicing car . Big block vettes in my experience threw a lot of heat on the driver and passenger. The only way to stay cool was to drive it fast. I think that heat issue gets fixed now with aftermarket. Always preferred the look of the side pipes on the convertible. This one deserves star treatment restoration
The international signal of overheating was open headlight doors during daylight hours. Didn’t help much in the cockpit.
The international signal for an overheating car was the outline of a Corvette big block, year was almost irrelevant, showing in a car’s headlights (any car) (a la Bat Signal).
If someone wants to show some mercy and love, that will have to go a long, long way AFTER emptying the wallet. It’s a crying shame how some people allow great cars to deteriorate like this….
“The owner had actually considered digging a hole and burying it”
Sigh. You have to wonder what is wrong with people.
This car, if it indeed is a real LS-6, will be worth the resto. A new frame can be had if needed, along with just about everything else.
If they had left it where ever it was, it probably wouldn’t have taken more then a few inches of dirt. The poor thing. Buried alive with a Ford hood scoop on your head. What a way to go..
Who makes new OEM style frames?
Nice. I hope it gets restored. As for the Ford Hood on a Chevy. That’s a Baldwinn Motion hood fool. Not a Ford. A lot of the Baldwinn Motion cars came with that hood. ZESH.
That scoop is a Ford scoop 1968-1970 fool bolted on the existing original hood. The one you’re showing is is Baldwin hood with the “stinger style”. Look at the pic closely! It’s not what you think.
Yet another one with a Ford hood?
Here is another one with that Ford hood?
Nope, the one on the car we are talking about is a Ford.
Baldwin hood… like two scoops in one! it does resemble a Ford, to some degree. I’m sure it’s worth a restoration.
I can’t imagine how much of a pain it would be to render routine maintenance on this engine. There’s barely more than a paper-width of room in that engine bay. With the amount of heat generated, how did that engine not melt the entire car!
Lots of Big Block C-3s with A/C got 7 cylinder tune ups back in the day.
Pretty cool to see it go up against that Yenko Chevelle from the other day!
Another neglected Vette…..
It’s getting old to see these sad scenarios. Yes this one is a rare find and should be brought back to life but good grief……do all Vette owners belong to some secret society who takes some type of twisted vow stating they and their family members will refrain from reading any kind of car publication once they park these things? It’s like watching youtube videos of super cars getting thrown away in Dubai
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You should visit here more often Mark. More than just Corvette owners.
Leiniedude………
believe it or not for some sick reason I check BF out everyday. Lol
Yes I agree, its hard to see something this desirable in such deplorable shape–i’m sure the frame is crackers, what about the birdcage…good luck to the new owner, brave for taking this on. Love the rear fender flares,,,,
That is a J C Whitney fiberglass hood scoop on top of the BBC hood! No opening on the back side.
Certainly the bottom of the barrel here. Rare, schmare, so many Vette’s out there,( almost 500 of these C3’s on Hemmings alone) let it sit. Thought of digging a hole, until a B-J auction came along on the tube,,,
Uhmmmm…. so there’s 500 C3s on Hemmings, how many have this engine as original equipment? I’d say ‘1 of 188’ counts as Rare, not ‘schmare’. YMMV
I always figured these hoods were styled after the stinger hoods of BB ’67 Vettes.
Pretty sad state of affairs on that one. It’s going to take some deep pockets to bring it back. Probably a frame and bird cage and who knows what else. Ugly paint, sheet tin fender extensions, trashed out interior and who knows on the engine. It will never be close to original numbers matching car IMO, so where’s the draw on it other than the engine and who knows how bad it is.
I know it’s rare but it’s not something I’d like to step into (fill in your own what you’re stepping into), too many negatives for me.
If you read the linked article, it says the car has the original, numbers matching engine. Since you don’t want it, lucky someone who wants it got it.
Its actually a rare Lada hood scoop.
Designed by Putin’s Grand father who was Stalin’s pastry chef.
When will it get posted to Ebay ?
Another money pit. Fill your boots boys
Del, your mind is deep. Don’t stop.
First you get moose, then you get squirrel
.
71 LS6 actually had 425hp
Thanks for pointing this out. There’s so much wrong information out there about older Vettes, (and muscle cars in general), but there is still no excuse for passing it on.
Here is a YouTube video with some more info about the restoration.
https://youtu.be/mtBGcWkU4ok
Some of your specs are for the 1970 Chevelle LS-6. The 1971 engine had lower compression and a slightly lower 425 HP rating.
Todd, you talk about insanity like it’s a bad thing. You should come and visit some day. It’s nice here, and the people are all so friendly!
Ha! Thanks for the scouting report, Adam T45. One of my gear-head friends says (usually while looking at whatever is in his garage) “There’s a fine line between ‘Hobby’ and ‘Mental Illness.'” I’m sure I’ll find out in good time. My wife probably thinks I crossed the line some years ago.
I work on the theory of “a clean desk is the sign of a sick mind.” My desk isn’t just clean….it’s polished!
Actually Todd, if your wife ever says that you’ve crossed that line, point out that you married her. That always goes down well!
Adam T45 gets it.
You don’t rescue this beast to make a killing on it. You do it because you love this car and want to make it nice again. So many posts begin, “You’ll be upside down on this in a week…”
Well, duh.
Keeping these cars going is a labor of love, not a rational economic plan. The only limit to the utter craziness is one’s desire to remain married…
I always thought the most “insane” Corvette one could own was the L-88 ‘vette. That was a baaad as!!! car if there ever was one!
Same thing but more cubic inches.
This poor car and whoever did this to this car should be shoved into a very deep hole and back filled with……………………
Similar thoughts: drop them in a deep hole with a large rock after them.
No matter what the vehicle, it’s sad to see them go down like this one has.
I put a LS-6 in my Hondo flat-bottomed boat when my 427 had a rod punch a hole in the block. I installed a Comp roller cam, Vertex mag, dual 750 Holley double-pumpers on a Edelbrock tunnel ram and Bassett headers on it and that thing made 754 HP on the dyno. Fun boat {Def: boat = hole in the water to pour $$ in.} I sold it when premium hit 70¢ a gallon. That thing could use 40 gallons a day.
Mine was just a 427, but you are correct, sir. She held 40 gal in two 20 gal saddles, and I could easily go through 40 gal (at $3.00/per) in every outing. That is with an average amount of skiing, and a lot of laying to anchor. If everyone wanted to ski, and (God help us) there were 1 or 2 newbies, I’d have to add some at the marina$ pump$.
longer legs needed here,very warm
Deep pockets or not, another one has been saved and brought back to it’s original glory. If your going to own a C3 that one is definitely top of the list. Kudos to the new owner that’s a bad ass car.
#2 on that list is the LT1.
The 1971 Corvette LS6 has 425 horsepower (Gross, it drops to 325 Net), and 9:1 compression. Do you guys do any research???