1972 was a year for some lasts when it came to the Chevrolet Chevelle, with big changes in store for the following year, including a new Colonnade body style which was originally scheduled for ’72 but got pushed back due to delays caused by the UAW strike a couple of years prior.  The only notable difference outside in 1972 was a fresh grille, but more significant was the elimination of a hardtop or convertible for the following model.  If you’ve been in the market for a last year second-generation Chevelle project, this one here on eBay may fit the bill.  The car is located in Logan, Utah, with bidding up to just $3,650 so far, not surprisingly short of reserve.

Some background information we get about the Chevy is that it was originally Cream Yellow in color and last registered in 2000.  The seller mentions that he recently rescued the car from an Arizona desert environment, and believes one strong reason it’s such a worthy candidate for restoration is all the cash it will save the next owner in body repairs, as he says there are very few rust issues.  Granted, the body looks fairly decent overall, but it’s not quite ready for a new paint job just yet.  The metal is showing some rust in the lower fenders and at least on the passenger side quarter, nothing terrible, yet it will need to be addressed.  There are also a few dings plus issues around the windshield to be repaired, and the hood isn’t fitting quite right.  And your guess is as good as mine as to what happened with the front part of that fender.  In spite of all this, it’s really not a bad starting point though.

The 350 under the hood is believed to be the original motor, but it’s not stated if the small block began life as a 2-Barrel or 4.  At some point, an aluminum intake was added with an Edelbrock 4-Barrel on top, but beyond this, we don’t get many other engine details other than it’s running good at the moment but could use a tune-up.  The transmission is far from original, as it was automatic from the factory, but now there’s a manual that the seller thinks came from an S10 pickup. which he thinks should be replaced.  I agree.

More transmission woes are that the automatic was a column shift, with the seller also saying the key entry section of this component is needing repair, so it may make sense to just replace the entire steering column if the next owner stays with a stick shift.  The car also came with a bench seat, but it was swapped out for buckets that came from who knows where, and with at least one crack in the dash and battered door panels, I’m guessing this one could use a whole new interior or significant work to salvage some of the things in there.  I’ve seen far, far worse examples, but I’m kinda not thinking this one’s going to be exactly a piece-of-cake restoration.  What do you think?