At one time, almost every Corvette is a used car. Used cars often don’t get the treatment they deserve. Many used Corvettes in the sixties and seventies also suffered through owners who customized them. Some of these attempts were beautiful. Others not nearly so beautiful. They say that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder or some intelligent sounding stuff like that. If that is so, then feast your eyes on this heavily customized 1966 Corvette currently for sale on eBay in Frazier Park, California. Some may feel that this Corvette is not worth the $19,200 that it is currently bid to. Others may see this car as a bargain canvas to build their masterpiece upon. Let’s take a closer look to see if this Corvette is worth the effort.
Corvettes are relatively easy to customize in comparison to steel bodied cars. Fiberglass is an easy to work with material, and it is fairly cheap to both purchase and make mistakes with. Body kits from Eckler’s Corvette Parts were the rage in the seventies and eighties, and a determined owner could radically change the look of their Corvette without too much assistance from professionals. While parts like the fender flares may be off the shelf components, the radical tilt hood and the duck tail spoiler on the rear end look to be custom fabricated.
In the rear, we see the aforementioned spoiler and an extra taillight on each side. Corvettes originally had two on each side, but the addition of a third was a popular “addition.” Even fairly plain cars were modified in this way. We can also see that the bumpers have been removed, and the tail pan has been blended into the body. Mid year Corvette frames aren’t the strongest in the world, and the cars can flex a bit. Modifications like this make me wonder how they will hold up over the long haul.
The trim tag tells us that this Corvette was built on December 27, 1965 (Wouldn’t the factory be shut down for a holiday break?). Of course, it was constructed in St. Louis, Missouri as were all Corvettes up to that time. It left the factory as a coupe with dark blue vinyl interior and Laguna Blue paint. Some of you may wonder why I even mentioned that it was a coupe, which the pictures make obvious. The reason is that Corvettes were one of the most popular cars for thieves to be seen driving off in. Many Corvettes ended up with the identification plates of junkyard wrecks to hide thievery. Those were the lucky cars. The unlucky were often in multiple pieces before the next sunrise.
In this limited view inside, we can see that the seats are definitely not dark blue. They look to be black seats out of a 1963 or 1964 Corvette. Other than that, I spy an oversized Hurst shifter and a steering wheel that might be a smaller aftermarket unit. You can also see by the height of the rear cargo area that this is not a big fuel tank car. The condition of the rest of the interior is unknown.
Under the tilting hood we find what the seller describes as a “383 stroker.” In other words, a 383 cubic inch small block V-8. The engine seems to be freshly built, and the bright and shiny look of it and the master cylinder and booster are in stark contrast to the primer body and unrestored steering and suspension. The seller tells us that the transmission is a four speed M-22 Muncie “Rock Crusher” transmission, and that the braking system has been completely replaced. There are other issues to attend to, such as fuel lines to the gas tank and wiring. We are also told that the front suspension is an old school cross leaf design. Looking at pictures, it appears to be the monoleaf suspension kit that Eckler’s and other Corvette parts vendors sold to customers looking for more cornering performance. Autocross events are a big deal in some Corvette circles.
In all, a lot of work has been put into this car. It is probably too late to restore it to factory perfection. It could be a pretty awesome performance car if finished by someone who knew how to get the most out of the trick suspension and the built up 383 engine. They would also have to be an expert in auto body to make the looks match the performance. However, adding pallets of cash to any project can perform miracles if the new owner doesn’t have the required skills. A lot of cash will be spent no matter who buys it.
How would you handle this one?
Even now….almost every Corvette is a used car. Common custom in its day. It would be cool to see a few left that way.
Yep, so many looked just like this. I’m sure that a lot of the big buck “original” ones looked like this at some point.
Purists will hate it but put some “patina” paint on it and you have Dennis Hoppers Vette from King of the Mountain. Drive the hell out of it and enjoy it.
The whole vin tag not matching the body style is enough to detour me. Nothing like dumping a bunch of money and time into something just to have it taken away.
There is nothing wrong with the trim tag or VIN tag on that car.
The “D27” indicates that the body was assembled on December 27, 1965, in St. Louis. The “S” in the body number indicates that this is a St. Louis Body. Corvette bodies were also assembled by A.O. Smith in Michigan, and shipped to St. Louis, but A.O.Smith body numbers start with an “A”. Body production began a month earlier at A.O.Smith in 66, so if this was a Smith body, the “D27” would have been November 27th.
The “437” in the VIN and on the trim tag, identifies this car as a coupe. If it was a convertible, the VIN would have been “467”. The VIN tag is installed using the correct rosette style rivets.
The VIN number of the car is 9561. 66 Corvette VIN 9561 was assembled on December 28th, 1965, one day after the body was built, which is pretty typical for St. Louis bodies. A.O. Smith bodies usually have a body build date proceeding the car’s assembly date, by about a week.
Not that I’m a big fan of the styling of this car, but it is pretty typical of the custom Corvettes I grew up with, in the 60’s and 70’s. Though with the square headlights and Greenwood transverse leaf suspension, I’m guessing that this car was more likely built in the 80’s.
This could be a good starting point for someone building a custom, but between the primer, and the way the pictures were taken, it’s hard to get any idea of the quality of the bodywork done on this car.
Very thourogh insight decoding the VIN. Thankyou
What happened to buying something you can afford and enjoy? …no disrespect to buy/flipping.
Great platform to finish to your liking…maybe some vintage car racing?
GB, you are a treasure,
Boy, if that was a tanker car I can imagine the comments. I don’t mind the tail light treatment on the 66, But the 65 was to nice of a car to add them to. Maybe that was done 40 plus years also. I know, it’s his car and I am good with that.
Dropping the headlights behind a tube grille and flared fenders were popular ‘Vette mods in SoCal when these cars were relatively new. (Photo is one I took in 1975 of a buddy’s one-owner ’67 427 Coupe on Mulholland Drive – last I heard, he still had it!)
I had a bit of chuckle after seeing the license plate on this listing. The SCCSCC events I mentioned on the Lotus thread, yesterday, evolved into Solo 1.
Assuming that this particular Sting Ray participated in the same series, I probably saw it racing…
I’d clean it up, put a decent paint job on it and take it to track days at a local road course. Maybe one of you guys would like to do the same.
Tom, you mentioned the wonderfully horrible ‘King of the Mountain’ film. Hopper’s character was loosely based on a friend of mine who, in fact, had a ’58 ‘Vette that he’d raced on Mulholland Drive since the 1960s. A lot of the extras in that movie were Mulholland regulars.
As an aside, I got busted there in August, 1971 during a police crackdown on ‘boy racers’ on The Hill.
I would never customize a Vette this way, and although I would not want this car, I’ll bet that with the 383 stroker, it would be a fun car on the highway or the track.
In my less rational moments, I think of buying a C2 Corvette again, but I have to many projects to buy one that needs a lot of finishing.
I am surprised that the car is a small block with the M 22 transmission. Can someone tell me if that was an option for the small block cars?
Bob
We now know never to bastardize a mid year like this again
I have to say “Cheese and rice”, as wife has made a housewide “J.C” rule.
You can’t mention Jacques Cousteau anymore?
For about $8,000 eight thousand and some hard labor you might be able rip all the trash body work off and restore it to original using awesome quality aftermarket pressed reproduction fiberglass panels.
8 grand to basically rebody the car (front and rear)? Oh, my. I would never build something like this today but it’s cool ol’ skool…
Do the required electrical and mechanical and drive it.
I dont think the car would be worth anywhere near the cost to attempt to restore back to original, and I do mean attempt besides that cat is beautiful just the way it sits. If my settlement from a recent cycle accident was in my hands that car would be mine…
GB, you are a treasure,
It always brings a smile to my face when I see a less-than-perfect C2 being driven and enjoyed.
Of the many customized Corvette’s I’ve seen on Barn Finds this is the first I could live with and drive. Rather have it original but with paint and if it is close to being road worthy it wouldn’t be a bad purchase.
Never could understand stripping off the bumpers. Unless you never got anywhere near a parking lot, etc. you’re guaranteed the first time someone parks close enough by feel to have a big repair job.
Where is my puka bead necklace and Led Zepplin concert tee when I need them? Part my hair down the middle, little ‘feathering’ treatment a la Farah Fawcett and it’s1977 again…
What Tort said…..FOR THE MONEY – try finding a drive able coupe….like this as a period before the number matching crowd came about….
Ended: Jun 28, 2018 , 4:29PM
Winning bid:US $25,000.00
[ 95 bids ]