These ’68-’72 Stingrays are my second favorite Corvette body style, nudged out by the extravaganza of the ’58’s – chrome up to here, fake vents, quad headlights, and so on. But I digress. Today’s ’72 T-top coupe is described here on eBay as an all-original, matching-numbers survivor located in Kansas City, Missouri. The seller wants $25,000 for the car, with a “best offer” option potentially bringing that down a bit. I am not a Corvette expert like many of you Barn Finders, but join me while I examine this offering to see if we can find reasons to ask for a discount off the full price. You can add your observations in the comments section; together, we’ll form an opinion of the Right Price. Oh, and before we launch – thanks again, Curvette, for the tip!

We’re working with fuzzy photos in this listing, many of which are truncated. I pulled this engine bay photo from a moment in the listing’s video. Right away, we know the Mickey/Thompson valve covers are not original. The Edelbrock intake is catering to a Holley carburetor described as “new”. The radiator, clutch, starter, and distributor are new. So – survivor? or not? I vote no here, and I’m not picky enough to insist that wear parts be original after all these years, but when a Corvette loses its factory carburetor while the car is described as a survivor, I’m bothered. Moving on, the 350 cu. in. V8 was rebuilt – thus the new parts – apparently 2500 miles ago. No documentation is included in the listing, so I asked for it. I’ll let you know if I hear anything. While the AC compressor is present, it is “unplugged”. The underside reveals a few new parts – namely, the gas tank. The seller says the exhaust system has been “fully replaced” and the brakes have been upgraded. Also on the positive side of the ledger, the car does run, and it’s a four-speed.

The interior is worn with dirty upholstery, a crack in the dash around the passenger’s side air vent, a missing steering wheel center emblem. But the gauges, windows, heat, and headlights work. Speaking of headlights, the passenger’s side headlamp door doesn’t lie fully flush. The windshield wipers are not in working order. With the sale comes the original jack, owner’s manual, roadside breakdown kit, vinyl sleeves for the T-tops, and miscellaneous parts. The original wheels have gone missing but the car does ride on new tires.

The paint is dull, scuffed in places, and mottled on the rear deck; the rear bumper is dented. But these sins can be forgiven, if we’re happy to settle for a running, driving, used Corvette that blends a few worthy original features with a few upgrades. What’s the right price? Well, chrome-bumper C3 Corvettes are for sale every day of the week. With a bit of effort, a buyer can find a decent example with matching numbers, shiny paint, and a clean interior for $30k, maybe even less. Project cars will sell for considerably less. Today’s car is a Rorschach test of sorts: do you see a project, a survivor, or a driver?