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Moldy Oldie: 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle

1970 Chevelle

According to the seller, this 1971 GM intermediate is completely original, down to the hubcaps, floor jack, and points (!) I’m really hoping the points were changed out during the car’s active life! The car is for sale here on eBay, where the opening bid is $200 but with a reserve. It’s located in Huntsville, Alabama. The seller tells us that the broken windows in some of the pictures have been replaced, but I’m wondering how long the interior was open to the environment. Even after looking at a lot of barn finds, I’m really struck by how decimated this interior is; I don’t think anything could be saved. The car was outfitted with a small 307 V8, air conditioning and since the engine is free, it’s probably at least rebuildable, and will get decent mileage when it’s back on the road. The nice thing about a mainstream car like this is that parts availability isn’t a problem. I’ve been impressed with the quality of the restoration parts for 60’s and early 70’s GM cars, and their continued popularity ensures that parts will be available in the future. For example, a brand new grill to replace the broken one is only $87.95; try to find a part like that for your rare and unusual car! What do you think of this find, and what would you do if someone gave it to you? Let us know in the comments below.

Comments

  1. Avatar justin

    When I first saw the car, I thought that it had potential. Then I saw the picture of the interior. All I could think was,

    “Ooooh that smell.
    Can’t you smell that smell?
    Ooooh that smell.
    The smell of death surrounds you.”

    Lynyrd Skynyrd

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  2. Avatar Ed P

    The bid is up over $1k. To much. The interior alone is a major project.

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  3. Avatar Barry T

    If the broken windows were replaced why were there no new pictures taken?

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  4. Avatar Barry T

    After seeing the interior pictures I would not want within 20 feet of this thing without a hazmat suit including an oxygen mask.

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  5. Avatar dj

    Since I live about an hour from here, this is my take. The true pictures show it was in the woods. So since it’s around Huntsville, it was towed at the owner’s expense due to the junk laws. It’s sitting in a tow lot now. So the tow company is double dipping on this one.

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  6. Avatar Moparmann Member

    A “bottom of the barrel” plain-jane Chevelle..you’d be underwater in no time looking at the condition. IMO, your money would be better spent on one in better condition ( I concur w/ Justin on the interior!) :-)

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  7. Avatar Modifieddriver

    Interior? Looks rougher than RUFF!! But a complete replacement is part of the deal. It’s like a guy say, “There’s one torn spot in the front seat.” Well, that means you have to recover the front seat.

    But what always gets me are the 4 Sale pictures taken with the car looking like the city dump. Presentation is everything. Clean sells better than dirty. Like one poster here said, it’s probably the salvage yard that got the car for almost nothing and don’t care. But almost every yard I’ve been to has a BUBBA. He’s the $50 a day guy that is assigned to the crap jobs, like cleaning this PoS looking Chevelle up. Spend $50 with Bubba and probably more than triple your investment on the selling end.

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  8. Avatar don

    JUNK! bid price now $1200, pass…

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  9. Avatar The Chucker

    The sum of the parts….aren’t worth much more than the whole on this plain-Jane version. 17 bids already!?!?

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  10. Avatar JW454

    I’d be a buyer up to about 2K. Pull out a new Tyvek suit, my fresh air mask, tape me up, and in 4~5 hours and a full dumpster later, the inside would be a thousand times better. I think you could make some money on this car.

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  11. Avatar Doug Towsley

    Jeez, no guts no glory, priced Chevelles lately? Id be concerned about how much actual rust there is, but holy cow, anything under 5k is a deal on this. A quick check of my local CL shows currently 137 listings under Chevelle (not specifying year) and even more in Parts.
    I watch Chevelle prices as we own several (68 & 69) and SS Clones/tributes START at $20K and average $30-35k. Granted thats all done. But when i was running a shop, lets look at numbers say $3k good buddy deal, $8k to 10k budget for the build doing MOST of the labor myself and say a theoretical sale of $25 just to move it quick thats a net return of over $10,000 beer slips laddies, If you got your act together you can turn one every 6 weeks. So i just dont you guys turning up your noses already.

    On the other hand,, Snicker snicker,, ha ha,,, Maybe, Just MAYBE something like this is more your style,,,Rock this Chevelle see:
    http://portland.craigslist.org/clc/cto/5102296708.html I am about 4 miles from this stunning beauty if you want boots on the ground. I work for beer.

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    • Avatar Jason

      “holy cow, anything under 5k is a deal on this”

      Are you serious? Put down the crack pipe and mushrooms (perhaps grown in this car)!

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  12. Avatar Doug Towsley

    Okay, heres an advanced search on feebay for COMPLETED auctions in the last 30 days. Search was 68-72 Chevelles seeing as thats the body style here discussed.

    See: http://www.ebay.com/sch/Cars-Trucks-/6001/i.html?_sacat=6001&_sofindtype=21&_vxp=mtr&_dmpt=US_Cars_Trucks&fisc=c6001&Make=Chevrolet&Model=Chevelle&_yrl=1968&_yrh=1972&Transmission=-1&_nkw=&LH_Complete=1&_sadis=200&_fpos=&_fsct=&_sop=12&_ipg=200

    791 listings, many are no sales or did not meet reserve. And admittedly theres a few pretty decent looking cars starting at $5k up to $10k. However they are not the norm. And, again, without a person doing an inperson inspection who knows whats really there.
    However theres a few at attractive prices if you want to gamble.

    But, ive been buying and selling on Feebay for 16 years, multiple accounts including businesses and estates sales. I can tell you things are rarely what they seem on feebay. Shill bidding, dead beat bidders, and flaky sellers. So any prices seen on feebay should be considered suspect. But i stand on my earlier numbers, on average they are spot on. You can check also Old car price guide and several other references such as Hemmings.

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  13. Avatar Utes

    Beware the dreaded Hanta virus here….

    Like 0

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