This is an interesting project car opportunity: the seller reports he left this 1971 Chevrolet Corvette behind in Buffalo, New York, when he relocated and he’s looking to cut it loose in a no reserve auction. It was brought to a body shop for engine work and the repairs were never made; therefore, he’s lost interest and wants it gone. Interestingly, it was equipped with a Donovan-built 350 engine, which has been removed since it was left at this shop for repair. Find the Corvette here on eBay with bidding over $11,000 and no reserve.
The C3 Corvette is a venerable muscle car option if you’ve been looking for a starter classic, but we don’t see them all that often with three pedals. Taking the four-speed, wild purple paint job, and upgraded engine into consideration, this had to have been a street machine back in the day. The pictures are pretty bad – I imagine the seller asked the one guy at the body shop who cared enough to take his call is the one responsible for these awkward photos – and it’s hard to say with any confidence what shape the cabin is in. Still, we like seeing an OEM-like radio and the tall, OEM shifter as an indication this Corvette isn’t too hacked up.
Despite being in Buffalo, it looks quite solid underneath. I can’t help but wonder if it was stored indoors for years the body shop, awaiting its turn in the spray booth, or if the shop stuck it outside knowing the seller wasn’t likely to pop in any time soon. While this picture is promising, you want to have a clear idea as to whether there’s any corrosion lurking anywhere on these Vettes, as a rusty structure is oftentimes not worth repairing given how you don’t have to look too far to find a non-rusty C3. The tires appear to all hold air; what’s harder to judge is whether every suspension bushing is hardened and in need of replacement.
I will admit, I came of age after the muscle car era, so I don’t know exactly what I’m looking at here. Is there a performance advantage to mounting your oil filters outside of the engine bay, and to have two of them (don’t hate me if these aren’t oil filters – like I said, every car I’ve ever had with a part labeled “Fram” meant that it was an oil filter and that it was buried deep in the engine compartment. The seller includes some photos of how the Corvette looked when it was far younger, so it appears he’s owned this car for quite some time. Hopefully, he can find a new caretaker who will bring this street rod home and give it the attention (and garage) it deserves.
Hard to tell with the lousy pictures but close by the two filters should be an oil cooler. Big engines require more oil cooling than stock engines and if run hard require more filter area to catch any particles from bearing wear etc. Still, a strange setup but maybe made necessary with other stuff in the engine compartment taking up space. Now maybe something other than parts pictures?
Might have been a great vette but just a pile of parts and I just quite can’t figure out the door picture. I the seller showing the mirror without glass, the door latch? Yeah had two remote oil filters, that used to be a thing, added capacity and engine oil wasn’t what it is today. This one is a maybe, but should probably inspect before any real money is offered.
That looks like a Hurst Super Shifter to me.
Dusty Rider, Yeah I thought so too, the stock shifter has the 2 finger grips that need to be lifted in order to engage reverse. If I remember correctly the stock shifter body was mounted to the trans cross member and sometimes tended to bind up the rods , the Hurst shifters mounted to the tail shaft housing and eliminated that problem.
I’m doubting this has a Super Shifter, the design was unique and normally could not be used with a console. The main feature/advantage of the shifter were the shift rods. On a Competition Plus, the rods had various bends to bend around the other rods and offer clearance. The Super Shifter body was mounted much higher on the transmission, allowing the use of perfectly straight 1-2 and 3-4 shift rods. The straighter rods were also thicker, and did not flex under hard use. If I remember correctly, the Hurst Super Boot also came out around the same time, it was relatively large to cover the bigger hole you generally had to cut to mount the shifter. The shifter handles themselves were interchangeable. Most Hurst shifters are the Competition Plus models, which were first factory installed on the 64 GTO, without the Hurst name stamped in them. The shifter itself was a Competition Plus, without the stop bolts, and used Pontiac supplied shift arms and rods. Pontiac recognized the value added with the Hurst and had the Hurst stamped sticks from 1965 and up, the first manufacturer to do so.
Looks like it sits pretty high to me. I had two of these, one with the lock out and one like this. Straight rods and short stick. I think the non lock out one would fit under the console, but I’ve been wrong before.
Great info. Well done!
Save the wave 👋
The luggage carrier type deal on the trunk
is a monstrosity and needs removing as soon as the buyer gets the Corvette back to their residence
The tach would indicate an original LT1 or LS6. The motor shown is downright loaded with bad-assery. Probably not a project for the Corvette purist, but to this beat up old RPM/g-force junkie, it has a lot going for it.
It’s also got a BB or LT1 hood on it as well. Could be after market, or the real deal. Might be a good candidate for restoration back to original. It could be the true diamond in there rough. But I would check it out in person first.
2 oil filters = a pretty big drop in oil pressure at the mains. Just saying (from experience)…..
cheers,
BT
Not necessarily, the engine being a Donovan build probably had a high volume oil pump as part of the package
After the ‘Body Shop?’ finshed the engine I suppose …off to the mechanic for the body and paint work. Maybe the guy that rewires it can do the upholstery???
I had a race car with 2 oil filters because it was converted to a dry sump. I’m not familiar with Donovan, but maybe they converted it?
My computer must be acting up, I hardly got any pictures. Must be from my end, no seller would list that few pictures. Time for the computer Dr.
Its my car. It has a donovan 350 engine. Yes. Those are oil filters. I couldnt take pictures as I dont live near Buffalo I hired a local person to take a bunch of pictures
Go to the ebay ad for all the pics.
“baby’s got rack!!!”
looks like a milodon? deep pan. maybe windage tray? my Mope had a swivel pick up. HI vol. pump.engine looks like a killer!
My favorite Donovan song is season of the witch.
That’s a good one, indeed!
From the ad pictures, identifiable parts:
Barry Grant modified Holley carburetor
Brodix aluminum cylinder heads
Moroso aluminum water pump
Donovan 350 aluminum engine block
A more knowledgeable reader should be able to identify that single plane intake.
The cogged belt running off the front might be a dry sump oiling system pump.
so if belt breaks or spins off, engine blown?
If you don’t shut it off when the oil pressure suddenly drops to zero, yes.
Like any oiling system.
Keep your eye on your gauges!
Occasional cause of engine failure in NASCAR, which run belt driven oil pumps for their dry sump systems. Oddly, I’ve heard of the power steering pump belts getting kicked off, it then ends up knocking off the much bigger and stronger cogged oil pump belt by getting wedged between the belt and cog gears.