Many of us have friends and colleagues who are into old cars, but we don’t always know it until we’re standing in their barn and looking at some forgotten project. That’s the story with this 1969 Chevrolet Corvette convertible, which was revealed after one friend announced to another that he was retiring and had hopes of spending time restoring his projects. The start of the project car collection is this 1969 Chevrolet Corvette, which left the factory with a four-speed manual and 427 big block. It comes with both hard and soft tops and is a major project – and the owner is apparently willing to let it go for $10,000. Find the story here on Motor Trend.com. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Larry D. for the find. 

The Corvette is a tricky one to evaluate from an ROI standpoint: the amount of money this convertible will require to restore makes it a slippery slope in terms of not going underwater quickly. Of course, that’s only if that’s a concern to you; as the friend of the owner points out, you don’t work all of your life to eventually find time to work on your projects, only to scuttle it when the numbers don’t make sense. There’s certainly a desire to not lose your shirt, but if you can do the work yourself, there’s a level of reassurance that comes into the process. This Corvette sadly lost its numbers-matching 427 eons ago, so that’s another expense the owner will have to account for. The trouble is with projects these days is most enthusiasts want a turnkey car, and flippers want something they can fluff and buff.

It’s apparent he had big plans to go all the way with the restoration given the body has already been removed from the chassis. The article doesn’t explain when or why the disassembly phase commenced, but it looks like the Corvette had good bones underneath. The ’69 Corvettes were still good-looking cars that were still a few years away from the malaise period taking hold when the performance took a dive and the styling lost some of that space-age edge that the early models had. The underpinnings look to be sound but it’s hard to tell for sure that there’s no cancer; obviously, this Corvette needs total reassembly, as even the gas tank is just resting on top of the chassis. One positive: the tires still hold air!

There’s a random picture of an engine with no explanation as to what it is; the original four-speed transmission is still with the car. I had a chance recently to interact with a gentleman looking for some cars to restore, and he wanted a few Bel Airs that my colleague in Georgia has on his property. It was evident he didn’t want a restoration project, but rather a car he could spit-shine and flip at the auction. Sadly, we couldn’t help him, but I fear that many car buyers are going down this path these days as opposed to enjoying the satisfaction that comes with bringing a car back from the brink. No word on whether this Corvette has found a new home, but hopefully someone out there has a lonely 427 looking for a partner in crime.