I can’t be the only Barn Finds reader that remembers the ISCA “Hot Rod Show World” car shows that used to be held in major cities across the USA? Actually, it turns out, they are still held. This 1972 LT1 engined Corvette “Day 2” show car that might have competed in its day has only covered 28,622 miles from new and is for sale here on craigslist in Angola, Indiana for $25,995.
I have no doubt that this Corvette can live up to its license plate claim! The seller explains in the advertisement that this is one of 1,741 1972 Corvettes equipped with the LT1 solid-lifter engine, and includes the build sheet and a decoded serial number as proof that this is one of them. Of course, the custom paint (the car was originally Classic White) narrows the group of folks that are interested in the car, but if you remember the “World of Wheels” and “Hot Rod Show World” car shows and programs as fondly as I do, you may be smiling. My Dad took me to several of those shows, and I’m not sure which made more of an impression — the gorgeous custom cars or the swimsuit-clad lovely ladies that adorned them! I did not find any pictures of this car in particular after researching ISCA Corvettes, but you may have better luck than I did.
The seller has returned the car to running condition after more than 30 years of storage. “Day 2” refers to cars that were customized almost as soon as they were picked up from the dealership, and it’s certain that this car didn’t stay a stock Corvette for long. Depending on your personal tastes, this could be a good thing or a bad thing. As the seller points out, a stock LT1/4-speed car would certainly be worth more than a car in this configuration–as much as $70,000. However, I did find that documented ISCA show Corvettes can sell for a good sum of money, with a car not that far removed from this one selling for over $40,000 back in 2007.
The custom velour interior seems to have held up well over the years, and just look at that gorgeous 4-speed shifter appealing to all the three-pedal fans!
There was no denying the LT1 of this car, and despite the period performance modifications and shiny stuff, that beast of an engine is still in there just as Chevrolet intended it to be. This begs the question–would you keep this “Day 2” find as it is now, or go back to “Day 1” with a full restoration? Be sure to let us know in the comments below! I’d love to hear about any of your old car show memories as well!
Seems to good to be true. Not a fan of the paint, and I own a classic white 72 but I think the plain white color looks good on it. Looks like she has been flaired a bit. Very nice C/L ad! This would be a great ride.
Have a good friend with a ’72 similar to this car except the base paint is silver with medium gray and dark blue highlights. It’s a good looking car… I have pictures but the site only takes small ones. Lots of cars like this out of the ’60s and ’70s. John Greenwood’s Spirit of ’76 race cars were about the last of the really modified Corvettes with the radical paint jobs. Just seems like car life was a lot more fun then.
Love that paint, that’s what makes the car, besides the LT 1 and the stick of course.
I don’t believe that the car competed with those wheels on it. Nobody chose black wheels back in the day. Also very odd that it doesn’t have bubble tail light lenses. The price seems like a bargain.
From the pictures they look like 1980’s generic wheels, the steel ones with a bunch of holes, that typically came chrome plated. I would have assumed this would have had some form of Torq Thrust style wheel or slot/dish mag.
This car is cool as it sits because it represents a point in time, and does it well. More than a few people on this site give the reason for wanting a particular car, especially obscure cars that don’t have much appeal on their own merit, is that it would attract a crowd at a cars and coffee. Here is a car that would draw a crowd and rightfully so.
Steve R
JB and others, that’s what happens when the original ad is pulled and a similar one exists (as far as the Craigslist algorithms are concerned). Not me!
The wheels on it remind me more of the eighties, or later.., I picture an entirely different wheel if it was shown in the seventies.
Leave it like it is, it represents the car hobby from a different era.
Link to Corvette comes up as 70 Z/28 not Corvette??
Seems like a good price on an LT-1 regardless of the show pony look.
Gary Rhodes If you can find the ad/seller??
@barnfinds
The 71 LT1 Z28 that the link now leads to is an interesting story in and of itself.
I had a 72 LT-1 Vette no frills car just fast, at the time ( 1985 ) I had a friend that wanted my LT-1 but, I told him I wanted to trade both of my Coevettes for a new one. The next thing he said is I’ll give you my new Vette for your Vettes, at the time it sounded like a good deal but, moving forward I got the lesser of the deal. He only had it about 2 months when a couple of kids stole it lost control flipped it and his passenger got killed, anyway I liked the car wish I had it but, I have a couple of other cars to keep me happy a 1969 Camaro Z-28 and a C-7 Corvette
The original ad must have been pulled or switched to the Camaro. I used Search Tempest to search Craigslist is Indiana, and only the Camaro shows up when using “1972 Chevrolet Corvette LT1 Show Car”