Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and that’s how would-be purchasers will see this custom creation, which once was a 1964 Chevrolet Corvette convertible with VIN # 40867S103144. The owner bought it when it was nearly new from an insurance company, which recovered it after it was stolen and stripped. It went back on the road as a full custom targa top, and it’s now for sale here on eBay in Portersville, Pennsylvania with $55,000 being asked. It’s reportedly been driven only 300 miles since completion. We featured it back in 2019 when it was being offered with a $90k asking price. Is their price cut enough to find a new home for this odd creation?
The car had some body damage, and the purchaser’s father owned a “very prestigious body repair shop” where the custom was created. A lot went into the car from the owner/builder, including a high-performance 409, a custom exhaust with cutouts, an aluminum four-speed, custom dashboard, steering wheel, seats, and upholstery, and a great deal of bodywork.
Back in the day, the car was shown several times and received top honors. But, the owner says, “because of work-related issues I drove the vehicle less than 300 miles, [after which] I parked it in a barn. It has not been driven for over 50 years. The car will require work to be driven. The body is in excellent condition but has some paint chips. The tires are dry rotted and several have blown out. The aluminum wheels are pitted. There is some upholstery mouse damage. The rubber items like radiator and brake hoses will have to be replaced. Battery is missing. The driver’s door glass is cracked.”
It’s hard to imagine putting in all that work and barely driving the resulting product, but here we are. The car is in a barn 40 miles north of Pittsburgh, and it’s going to need a flatbed.
How do we price vehicles like this? At first glance, it looks sort of like a Bradley GT or Bricklin. Throw in the Alfa Montreal, too. I assume the body is fiberglass, but the owner doesn’t say. The fairly plain interior is one of the bigger weak spots, with what might be the original wood dash panel just sort of stuck on to a plain fascia. The pleated seats are pretty dated.
On the other hand, the 409 has Edelbrock valve covers. It’s unclear if the car runs, but probably not. There’s surface rust on the air cleaners. It’s hard to imagine driving somebody else’s Cobra-adjacent muscle machine fast enough to exploit the full power of that 409. But maybe after you get it sorted.
A 1964 Corvette is a sought-after machine, and Classic.com says $73,385 is the average price. But most buyers are going to want either a very original car or a restomod, and this isn’t either one. But it is one of a kind. Maybe the owner still has more room on their price?
$7,300 maybe. Builder was no design guru that’s for sure.
Concept wasn’t too bad. Design and execution are very weak. Maybe the symmetry and lay-up of the glass is good. I hate to criticize another persons vision and craftsmanship. But IMHO this vehicle only has value for those with connections to the project. However, it did make me take a closer look.
Sorry corvette owners are not fans of big mods like this..
20 grand maybe will get it put back to semi correct look..
Good luck with sale
I like your optimism but $100K wouldn’t even do it.
It’s like a Soap Box Derby car that someone decided needed a big block…especially that stone-axe interior.
looks like a clapped out kit car.
If he gets any offer over 20k he should take it This is a mess he may have done well in the sixty he won’t now.
It is amazing how many different ways people have found over the years to absolutely ruin a Corvette …
It was already ruined in an accident, but the poor car should have been euthanized, not “repaired”.
Which is worse, this or the Corvette Summer vette?
As a kid, I thought Carradine’s car in Death Race 2000 was a vette. lol Glad it wasn’t.
This is a other abomination. It’s a bit like the Viper limo offered a few days back… the builder thought he was a genius, but he ended up with something only he would want.
At least one could make money with that Viper limo
$5500
I’d like to see a current registration sticker on that abomination. There’s no way to register that in PA, even as a Corvette. With that many mods, it needs to go through an enhanced inspection, and the low headlights would be an instant “no pass”. Yeah, oof… $5000 if someone just had to.
Someone with a vision took a damaged Vette and being the 60’s “enhanced” it.
Forget that it’s more valuable today stone stock, it’s more or less a product of its time.
The $$ on the other hand seems like a strong number to reach for…
I wouldn’t take this car if it was free,and I’m not joking!
So Al you would not take a free 409 engine,I sure would
Lot of naysayers here for what looks to be a well constructed custom. Back in the day, this was what you did to a theft recovery ‘Vette. IMHO, overall, the builder’s vision is a good one, proportions hang well. My personal tastes would be to restore the dashboard to something more factory-like and re-imagine the taillights and rear bumpers and drive it to all the C&C meets I could!
I’ll be the first one..I like it. There are some touches like rear bumperettes and front headlights that I don’t like but I think the rest is pretty bad-ass
I wanted a Saab Sonnett III, but with a V8, so I made this …..
The tire location in the rear arches isbjust plain hideous. There are some rules of design you have to follow. This is worth whstever you could sell the parts for.
This thing is a disgusting turd. The ‘09 is worth having and maybe the VIN plate and the title. Throw the rest away.
A beautiful 64 Corvette made into an OPAL. ich
Give me 30 minutes in my garage with some wood, glue and scissors and I can build a better looking and more professional dashboard.
You have a misspelled word in your description. It should be ‘beauty is in the eye of the beer holder’.
I think I could have fun with this car. Take it to Cars and Coffee and listen to people pick it apart when told what it once was. More fun leaving, blasting behind the 409.
Only problem is I couldn’t pay more than $500
I’d go $10,000 . You only see whats in front of you from the driver seat for. I’d move the new narrowed rear back just to center it up in the wheel well. Change the tail lights , maybe 69 mustang ? Definitely the dash, thats in front of ya , and drive the wheels off of it . Maybe pull the 409 sell it , stick in a 327 or 350 .
Gary
I am, I admit, too cynical by nature, but 300 miles after all that work rather strongly suggests that this creation turned out to be a pig on the road.
Somebody probably laughed at it the first time it was out on the road.
Stick and LS in it oh wait the put a 409 in WTF and what was someone thinking with the dash that’s just plain fugly. This is a giant pass
I thought when I read a HUGE PRICE CUT I would see a 64 Vette flared to death with a reasonable price. WRONG! Seller is either a drinker or hoping to find a buyer that is. Agree on comment about if 20K is offered, take and run, fast.
Wow! That is one ugly car.
Looking again perhaps the builder used the cobra daytona hotwheels as a model?
Wow!!!!! I have owned Corvettes nearly all my adult life and I have seen them hacked, hammered, cut up, and just generally abused, but I have never seen anything that even approaches the level of disgusting that this does. The ’09 is worth something but given how long its been since it was started, it may very well be a boat anchor. To be quite truthful, anything over about $1,000 and you are literally throwing money away. I am truly blown away by this. Talk about a face only a mother could love!
This is no beauty.
It would have been better if the thieves torched it when they were through with it.
A sad end to what was once a beautiful car. Not even a good parts car.
“How do we price vehicles like this?”
$55K… not like this!
Congratulations to whoever figured out a way to make a C2 Corvette completely worthless. And hideous. Nailed it!
If I owned this I’d never let it leave the trailer park.
A 409 64 Corvette could be a lot of fun to drive. If there is really a solid rust free chassis and the bird cage is intact under what appears to be a coupe body windshield, just trim away the rear mods (he can hang them on the wall at the prestigious body shop as a testament of the work they are capable of) and graft on a Grand Sport rear section. Trim the windshield down, (hang the dash on the same wall at the body shop) and add a GS dash, then unbolt the tilt nose (you know where it goes) and stick a GS nose on the hinges. Since it will look like a race car, add a roll bar, comp seats and belts, and don’t worry about a top, or carpet, hide away headlights and bumpers since that extra weight only slows you down.
I just went back to my high school sketchbook. I had to look through a good number of drawings to find one that matched these lopsided proportions. The dashboard looks like a hospitalized burn victim.