1974 Corvette Project With 35K Miles

While it certainly doesn’t look like it in this first picture, this 1974 Chevrolet Corvette is said to have only covered 35,250 miles from new. Even if the real mileage is 100k more than that, the project car is still worth consideration as current bidding here on eBay is only up to $1,800 and there is no reserve! The car is being stored outside in New Haven, Connecticut.

After reading through the 1974 Corvette factory brochure, it’s painfully obvious that Chevrolet had it’s attention elsewhere when prepping the 1974 models. Aside from some bumper changes, there really wasn’t much new to report on this aging C3 platform. Emissions changes were about to kill the big-block option (this is a small-block car) and safety considerations were killing the convertible option. Meanwhile, cars like this soldiered on with what I think is the standard 195-horsepower Turbo-Fire 350-cubic-inch V-8. Unfortunately, regardless of mileage, this car has not been started in at least 10 years. The current seller purchased it three years ago but has not found the time to start the refurbishment process.

One of the great things about refurbishing a Corvette is that every part is available, and some have even been improved upon over the years. So the front and rear bumper caps can be purchased from several suppliers and may well outlast the originals. I’m wondering if the white-looking traces around the gas cap and rear end indicate a repainted white car or if they are just debris or broken fiberglass. What do you think?

I actually expected the interior to look far worse; I’m thinking those seats might respond well to deep cleaning. Perhaps even the carpet might be saved for a driver-level car, although the center armrest will need some work, and I wonder what happened to the driver’s side door panel? But heck, at less than $2,000 so far, as long as the frame and birdcage are solid what do you have to lose? As long as you are okay with the Turbo Hydra-matic doing the shifting for you this vintage Corvette might make a terrific cruiser, with enough sport thrown in to make driving it interesting. And with a car that doesn’t have any special options, it’s not an issue if you want to personalize it a bit. So what do you think this ‘Vette is worth? Do you want to take it on?