Pity the 1964 Chevrolet Corvette. It’s almost identical to the ’63 except for the lack of that ultra-cool split rear window. Bidders at the well-known big auction houses seem prepared to sell their souls to acquire one of the 10,500 produced. The 1964 version holds up its end of the collector market too but the lack of that distinctive rear window…oh well. Today’s find, a’64 convertible, is hardly in rarified air, 13,900 were assembled and this example, unfortunately, looks like it was rode hard and put away wet. A lot is going on here so let’s dissect it a bit. Located in Montgomery, New York, this C2 project is available, here on eBay for a current bid of $10,755 with the reserve not yet met.
There is no shortage of 1964 Corvettes covered here on BF. And for that reason, I was initially going to take a pass on this tip. But, this car caught my attention due to its notable condition. Based on its fender gills and hood, I was convinced that it was a ’67 model but no, the VIN assures that it’s a ’64. So, what happened to the original body panels? Hard to say, wrecked maybe? Someone tried a custom job on the rear panel and pretty well made a mess out of it so the seller has included a replacement valance. The fiberglass is crunched in a bunch of places and many parts, such as the headlight pods, are missing. The seller suggests, “Good bones project car. Have a replacement rear panel and bumpers. Was in a barn for 30-plus years. Was kept dry so frame and birdcage are really intact“.
OK, there are two engine images included in the listing, ignore the one of the dressed engine as it’s erroneous. The motor is said to be a 327 CI V8 and the block’s “HC” alpha code bears that out but it appears to be a 275 HP version from a later model passenger car – not an original Corvette spec motor. What is noted is the engine’s non-original Holley carburetor (attached by an adaptor), headers, and if you check the underside, the four-speed Muncie transmission is attached to a scatter shield. The seller claims, “starts and yard drives“.
The interior is an interesting study, it’s not as trashed as the car’s exterior. The seating upholstery and pattern appear to be Corvette-wrong but the rest of the environment is intact and should be workable from a restoration and/or clean-up perspective. The gauges display pretty well and are all where they belong and while the gear shifter is a non-original Hurst unit, it should operate more precisely than the original Muncie piece which featured a manual reverse lockout lever. Good to see is the still present convertible top frame.
The seller suggests, “Would make a cool hot rod“. Well, I’m no Corvette purist or authority, but even I know that’s probably not the best move to take with a C2. Regardless, and it will be the successful bidder’s roe to hoe as to what he does with it, this ‘Vette is going to need a lot of work whichever path is chosen, wouldn’t you agree?
Talk about a mouse motor. This seller is nuts.
Or, more likely, acorns. Bucket of parts.
I think if this car could talk it would make you cry!
No A/C. Pity. Would otherwise…. No I wouldn’t.
I wonder if the rats living on the intake manifold took off or stuck around for the ride around the yard. No further comment.
Total pig. Sorry. But it’s a money pit. The only hope would be to just trick it out and make it a head turner and that’s still going to cost a fortune.
A whole lotta leaves for a car kept inside.
King Tut probably still has good bones, but there ain’t no way he’s getting restored either.
I rebuilt a much worse ’64 convertible over last winter. The frame was almost perfect, having been stored over 40 years. The damaged body had been left outside, and was very rough. It came with a pickup load of parts: a few new, but most everything else needed to be rebuilt/refinished/repaired. The car was about 70% complete, with clear title, VIN, and trim-tag. It had apparently been raced in the past, and came with a built 400 small-block, and TH350 which I went-through and re-installed. As it was a “Nothing Matching” car anyway, I built it with parts left over from previous C2 restoration projects including a disc-brake upgrade. The car has a ’70s custom vibe to it, with the less-than-perfect body finished in satin-black, no front bumpers, and FIA-type headlight covers. It is a fun driver, and I have less than $20K into it.
To try to make this car even sort-of NCRS-correct C2 would cost far more than it will ever be worth. In my opinion, cars like this are more suitable candidates for rods, or resto-mods.
This car is not for most people (except Midyear Mitch). If you can work with fiberglass, and have access to parts, it might actually be a fun build.
Why is this ’64 sporting ’67 front fenders?? ’63 & ’64 fenders are identical. ’65 & ’66, same. The ’67 feont fenders are one-off & are on this ’64.
Johnny Cash built it one piece at a time
One word for the fenders, “custom” This car is far from stock. The 67 side vents were always a favorite, and there were quite a few installed on earlier cars back in the days. The rear end is custom, the frenched antenna, the seats, I wonder what the original hood looked like! Too bad there aren’t pics of it when it was in it’s prime.
It looks to me like an entire front clip from a ’67 was installed on a ’64 firewall-back body. The front fenderwells, core support, brass radiator, and fan shroud are from a ’66 or ’67 big block Corvette. I think.
I don’t know who this car might appeal to. The body, interior, and engine are in horrible condition to use for a restoration. The chassis looks okay, but the Modo-Thingo builders wouldn’t have any use for that.
It would take more courage than I have to tackle this one.
I have restored some in the same condition if you are a hands one guy and know fiberglass this would be a great project if the price was right
What 50 dollars
Admittedly, this car is pretty far gone, but I have been to this shop with a friend who had body work done on his 75 coupe. They do great work, perfect paint match and the price was very reasonable. When I was there last summer, the place was very busy It’s right off Route 84 in New York. I have been involved in four restorations of C2s and my own 73 coupe. The 67 my friend and I did was pretty bad, but we saved a loaded Goodwood convertible with the ORIGINAL 427-400 hp engine, true N14, J50, N40, CO8, U69 and black leather seat car.
1964 Corvette convertible. Great project; only needs everything.
Think seller pulling a fast one, serial number looks like its a 1967, also why two totally different engine bay pictures for the same car. Instrument panel is from a 1964.
Use caution on this one
No, as I stated in the post, the VIN (40867S113701) translates into a 1964 model. Note below:
4=1964
08=Corvette
67=Convertible
S=St. Louis Assembly
113701=Sequence number
I also stated in the post that the “dressed” engine image was an error, read the listing, it tells the story.
JO
Ambitious project that needs to be done by some courageous individual. I wish it the best.