This 1970 Corvette would have been quite a car when it was new. Sadly, it has fallen on hard times. It now needs the right person to take it and return it to its former glory. It is a genuine big-block Corvette, and it appears to be virtually complete. If you feel that you might be the person to tackle this project, you will find the Corvette located in Anna, Texas, and listed for sale here on eBay. Bidding has reached $6,000, and with the reserve now met, someone will become the new owner of an iconic American classic.
This Corvette would have ticked so many of the right boxes when it was new. This includes the fact that it was finished in Mulsanne Blue, which was one of the best colors on the 1970 Corvette palette. However, that was a long time ago, and it looks a long way from its best today. Someone has fitted a custom front clip, and while it appears to be in respectable condition, I have to agree with the seller when he says that it needs to go. There are a couple of ways that a buyer could tackle this, but fitting a new front clip would seem to be the best option. At $2,000, these aren’t cheap, but it is the option that should provide the best fit and finish. The shopping list will be a long one on this classic because it will include bumpers, trim, badges, tail-lights, and sundry other small odds and ends. Probably the most positive piece of news is that because the car has spent most of its life in Texas, it has remained structurally sound. The owner says that the frame and birdcage are in good condition, and the limited photos of the Corvette’s underside would seem to support this claim.
Probably the most unfortunate aspect of the Corvette is that it isn’t numbers-matching. The original LS5 454ci V8 has disappeared, but the original automatic transmission and rear-end are still present. The big-block that now occupies the engine bay has a “289” casting number, which indicates that it is a 454 that saw service somewhere between 1972 and 1978. The owner specifies that its original home was a ’72 or ’73 Corvette, and that seems feasible. It doesn’t currently run and hasn’t done for some time. However, the owner is making every effort to coax it back to life before the car sells. If this engine is also an LS5, the Corvette promises to be a relaxed cruiser. With 390hp on tap, an automatic transmission, and power steering, it could be sedate if driven gently but could storm the ¼ mile in 14 seconds if given a poke with a sharp stick.
The Corvette’s interior is a sad and sorry sight, and it will need nothing less than a full restoration if it is to be returned to its former glory. It was initially upholstered in Blue vinyl, but it has undergone many changes over the past five decades. On the plus side, it does appear to be complete, and even the original AM/FM radio remains in place. Once again, the shopping list is going to be a long one, but at least all of the parts that will be required are easy to locate and remain relatively affordable. Reflecting on my earlier comment about this potentially being a relaxed cruiser, it seems that the original owner ordered the Corvette with air conditioning with that thought in mind.
The owner floats a potential value of $42,500 for this Corvette once fully restored, and that probably isn’t far off the mark. Its lack of numbers-matching status will impact its ultimate value, but a big-block 1970 Corvette with power steering and A/C will still command respect in the market. The buyer is going to face a long and arduous journey to get to that point. However, with manufacturers like General Motors starting to put a potential extinction date on new vehicles with internal combustion engines, big-block classics like this Corvette will almost certainly continue to soar in value. I hope that someone grabs this one and treats it to the restoration that it deserves. Future generations can then see what we have been fortunate enough to experience first-hand in our lives and what will be missing from theirs.
My Corvette mechanic paid $6,000 for a 350/350 Nevada Silver coupe five years ago. Rust free frame, but top of bird cage looks like it sat next to the Titanic. Restoring these cars is expensive. He is $40,000 into it and not done. The time involved in redoing the trailing arms and wiring alone is insane. This car is a project, but worth no more than $8,000. TH 400 kills it for me. Appears all the AC parts are missing. They cost a ton. I have factory air in my 73. When he told me the cost to fix forget it. I take out the t tops.
You might want to find a new mechanic. He might be charging you too much to help pay for his project. And he ain’t too bright if he has sunk $40,000 into building a $15,000 car.
(Spoiler alert for George- This is meant to be a joke.)
$2000 will buys a hand laid fiberglass nose, but to do a proper restoration, you’ll want a correct, press molded nose, which are $6000.
Besides the nose, the rear clip’s a mess too. It’s cracked across the top of the spoiler, in the left rear bumper area and even the right side roof sail panel. The tail lamp panel has repairs, and in an underside photo, it appears the right quarter was repaired with chicken wire. Even with a lower quality $2000 nose, expect to have over $15000 in just paint and body work. That doesn’t include a $400 bumper, $1000 for grills, $300 for bumperettes, $800 for headlight assemblies, marker lights, bumper brackets, emblems, etc. The firewall’s cut up too, in the area of the heater box, needing major repairs.
The seller may think it’s a 73-74 Corvette 454, but the 75 up HEI distributor and passenger car PS & alternator brackets, make me think it’s a 75-79 truck or Caprice engine.
We parted a lot of Texas, Arkansas & Oklahoma Corvettes with good frames, and bad birdcages and windshield frames. This looks like a bottomless money pit to me. The Maroon 69 427 and white 71 454 from a few days ago, both make far more sense.
This car is a serious beater, but with a donor car all these problems can be easily fixed, and in fact that might be the best way to go. But it’s not an original engine, and it looks like the frame has been distorted at the chain lock underneath the drivers door. I like how the seller shows the *asking* price of a restored version, not the sale price.
Another thing to factor in, which I never do but I should – what is the cost of your time if you do the restoration(sans paint, usually) yourself? Imagine you paid to have it done – that’s the real cost of restoration, not just parts and your time on the weekends, etc. If I factor paying myself $25 an hour, every car I’ve fixed turns out to be a money loser. Sometimes it’s better to have someone else take the loss and buy and drive a restored one. One day I may take my own advice on this.
If there was 10K in the glovebox….
Corvettes will always remain as fascinating cars, in almost any condition and yet with a multitude of potential obstacles for the person attempting to restore one.
And for the average person who will quickly tell you, “Oh, no need to worry about rust, these are all fiberglass”, well hopefully they will never have to discover that a birdcage does not house birds.
That is one heck of an adjustable steering wheel.
Every time I see one in this condition, I wonder where the previous owner’s head was at. Did he buy it and just start taking every bolt loose that he had a wrench to fit? Did he figure on doing mechanical work first or body first? Or was he just an idiot ?
I would rather have the white one in the background. This one is going to be a dump truck full of $$$$$ to be even be presentable as a driver.
The guy selling has a youtube channel (thecorvetteben) he does know his stuff about vettes for a such a youngster.
I doubt this car gets restored. Smart seller