Before we go any further, I would like to publicly praise the seller of this car. When dealing with sellers, a lot of them will either provide pictures taken with a potato, photograph the car after hosing it down with water, or put a three word description in the ad with a ridiculous price. This seller has provided around one hundred pictures, an accurate description, a video, and is selling the car at no reserve. Inspections are also encouraged. This is the way to conduct business. With that being said, I am glad that the seller so thoroughly documented this car, because there are a lot of issues to deal with on this one. This 1971 Corvette convertible, found in Dade City, Florida and for sale on EBay, is beautiful from 100 feet. However, it has not led the most pampered of lives. Bid up to $6071 as of this writing, this white bruiser is well below the value of other Corvette convertibles.
From a distance, the white body, black fiberglass top, and the Corvette rally wheels make an incredibly good looking combination. 1968-1972 were great years for Corvette styling, but they were rough brutes lacking in finesse. The lack of finesse was overcome with liberal doses of good old American horsepower and torque. Later Corvettes became choked down with emissions equipment, and the focus shifted to becoming a comfortable cruiser. Nothing wrong with that, but you have to admit the earlier ones were oh so right in so many ways.
The good news on this Corvette is that the frame looks to be pretty solid. While the owner has provided a multitude of pictures, there are no pictures of the important “dogleg” sections, where the frame kicks up in the rear. This is a known rust area for Corvettes. However, usually the rest of the frame is pretty thin if the doglegs are shot. This one looks to just have surface rust. It needs to be removed and repainted, or POR-15ed, before the rust gets worse, but it is not too bad as it sits.
The interior is a mixed bag. One of the pictures shows the trim tag for the car. Deciphering the codes, we find out that this white car rolled off the assembly line painted the fairly rare Ontario Orange, and it had a Saddle colored interior. The interior, or what’s left of it, is probably original for the car. The bad news is that the carpet has been removed, the dash and the door panels are ripped and cracked, and the seats are pretty faded. I am also curious as to why the seat belts are black and not brown. As for the carpet being ripped out, there are a lot of clues that this car was pretty moist inside, as seen by the patches of rust and the rust in the screws on the speedometer and tachometer in one of the seller’s pictures. The carpet likely stank like a wet dog.
Under the hood is a non-original 350 cubic inch small block V-8. It is backed up by a 3 speed automatic transmission that is not numbers matching to the chassis either. There are a few goodies added, such as Holley valve covers, headers, and new ignition equipment. While it looks like part of an air conditioning system is attached to the cowl, the pipes look to be cut and no compressor is evident at the front of the engine.
The ugly part of this one is the rust in the door frames and around the cowl. The top of the driver’s door exhibits heavy rust, and might be fixed if the rust hasn’t damaged other areas we cannot see. The cowl area, or birdcage in Corvette terms, is a big mystery here. Obviously this car has leaked a lot. All Corvettes of this vintage do. However, the birdcage is almost impossible to replace in any way that is financially reasonable. If the birdcage is rusted out completely, then this Corvette is nowhere near worth the cost of repairs or replacement of this area. A good look at this one by a competent Corvette restorer is in order.
It is a shame that this one has so many issues. The original color combination is a good one, and if it is an air conditioned car, then that is another feather in its cap. Unfortunately, the condition is so rough that the full restoration it would need would likely leave you upside down in a hurry. If the birdcage checks out OK, despite the warning signs, then maybe this one might be worth it. Maybe the best use for it would be to make it a race car or dedicated track day Corvette. If the frame is good, then you could add a much stiffer suspension, lower profile tires, and breathe on the engine a bit to make a fun toy. It is too bad that not all of them weren’t garaged and pampered.
Don’t see em this solid up north. This would make a great dtiver with a little sweat equity provided it don’t get bid up on the barret jackson price scale.
Could this be a hurricane car from decades ago that was stored rather than scraped or sold to a unsuspecting buyer.
The vents above the gauges indicate an air car. A project for sure. A beauty when done.
Could look similar to my t-top ’72
Love the color!
The rust is a deal-killer unless you own a Corvette repair shop. Beware.
Am I the only one that bails on a car like this as soon as I see it’s a two pedal model?
For 6K it’s a no brainer
Ontario Orange is not all that rare, in fact it was one of the more popular colors in 71, only being outsold by War Bonnet Yellow, Mulsanne Blue and Brands Hatch Green. It became the most popular Corvette color 72.
The rusty dash screws are pretty common on those years. They were only black oxide finished, which doesn’t hold up well, especially in humid climates. I’m more confused about how the hardtop latches could have become so rusty, it’s almost as if the top was sitting outside, up side down, and full of water?
The seat backs are black, because the reproduction ones come molded in black, and have to be dyed to match the interior. I’m guessing someone replaced them, without bothering to dye them.
It’s hard to tell what’s rust and what’s old paint, under the peeling white paint on the hinge pillar. It does seem a little strange to see so much rust in the door’s frame, and yet the a-pillar looks surprisingly good in the area of the VIN plate. Normally cars with serious rust issues in the cowl and hinge pillars, have obvious signs of rust in the a-pillars. Looking at the pictures of the frame, I see what looks like a couple cracks, so it’s possible that the frame is rusting inside?
From what I can see in the ad, I’d say that $6000 is all the money in the world for that car, and maybe to much.
I owned a “71 Vette Roadster before trading it in on a “75 Roadster. Agree with comments that it would take a big pile of money and time to restore it to its original condition. Doubt that the collectability of this car even in excellent condition is high enough to warrant the investment in $$ or time. Only can make sense it someone does the work themselves and invests their sweat equity.
This car has been standing in water somewhere, either flood damaged, or it leaked for a long time and no one ever took the time to dry it out. It hurts to see cars like this, but the fact is all cars- including Corvettes are subject the whims of nature. This one leaked, like they all do, and it god ignored. It needs to be humanely put to sleep. I really don’t even see too many salvageable parts. It is sad.
We’re color matched “deluxe seat belts” optional on Corvettes of the era? Such was the case with most other GM cars back then. The standard seat belts were black.
Unlike “regular” Chevrolets, Corvettes always came standard with seat belts that matched the interior (except 58’s, which all came with gray belts).
Three pedals would help, but the birdcage rust is too suspicious at this point. $4-5K tops with an uncle in the restoration business.
Could have had LH Front damage note dark red paint on LH Door and fender inner .
So red replacement used parts for accident damage then a repaint to white?
Looks like a car that sat outside in Michigan for years and then was moved to Florida and parked on the beach.
If you like to do deep rust repair, this may be your car. Start with a new frame and go from there.
If it was originally orange, why do I see burgundy where the white has lifted off by the door jams. Doesn’t look like red oxide primer either.
Cars in florida rust in high areas due to salt in the air and dew. This is evident often on the bottom of parallel surfaces. Roof panels and fender tops can be decimated while the lower portions survive. Sad. Birdcage may be ok due to it being protected. Big problems if not.
See Peter’s hypothesis on the colors[ scroll 4 up].
The repaced selt belts may be part of the accident scenario or new post accident repair color scheme????
Winning bid:US $10,690.00
[ 41 bids ]