The seller of this 1964 Corvette Coupe purchased the car in 1979 but used it for two years before placing it into storage in 1981. It looks like they may have commenced a restoration on this classic that stalled almost before it started. After four decades of isolation, the owner has decided to cut their losses and list the ‘Vette for sale here on eBay. It is located in Miami, Florida, and has attracted some extremely spirited bidding. Maybe it is partly due to this vehicle’s inherent desirability, although the owner’s decision to list it with No Reserve will have helped its cause. Anyway, the price has soared to $29,900, and a new home is mere days away for this diamond in the rough. Once again, Barn Finder Larry D has used his finely tuned radar to find a promising project for us. Thank you so much for that, Larry.

If you examine the supplied photos carefully, you can see some evidence of this Corvette’s original Riverside Red paint. I suspect that the owner probably took the car out of service in 1981, intent on performing a restoration, but it appears this stalled pretty early. He has stripped away much of the paint, exposing the fiberglass beneath. It will require further work before the buyer can undertake a repaint, but the fiberglass looks like it might be pretty decent. He says that the frame is solid and rust-free, which is a bonus in any Corvette of this vintage. If this is correct, this could represent a fairly straightforward restoration. The wheels aren’t original, and some trim pieces are missing. The owner indicates that this is a case of “what you see is what you get,” so if you can’t see specific components in these photos, that part will be missing. The tinted glass looks good, and the car features the highly desirable side exhaust.

While he isn’t 100% sure, the owner believes that this Corvette could be a numbers-matching classic. That means that a 327ci V8 occupies its engine bay. In this case, the original owner ticked the box on the Order Form beside the four-speed manual transmission. It isn’t clear which version of the 327 we are looking at here, but it would certainly have produced at least 250hp. That combination would have endowed the car with a ¼ mile ET of 15.3 seconds, although that figure could drop substantially if this proves to be one of the more potent optional motors. Apart from uncertainty over the potential power output, the owner supplies no information on the state of the drivetrain. If it hasn’t fired a shot in anger since 1981, it will take some work to coax back to life. This is a case where we have to hope that the motor isn’t locked because if it is, that could complicate things. Regardless, the buyer will probably need to brace for an engine rebuild as part of this project.

If you’ve ever seen the Disney movie Bambi, you will know that there’s a line that goes, “If you can’t say something good, don’t say nothing at all.” If I lived by that philosophy, I wouldn’t be writing a lot about this Corvette’s interior. I’m sure that the custom touches seemed like a good idea in the 1970s, but it is a bit much to digest today. It takes some time to identify the “highlight” in a case like this. My initial thought was the seat upholstery, but then I started to lean towards the carpet. However, a clear winner is the vinyl that someone used on the door trims. It looks like it is a very patchy shade of dark brown, but a closer inspection reveals a rather interesting floral pattern integrated in a paler shade of the same color. The saving grace is that the interior is essentially complete, so returning it to its former glory is possible with the new trim items available today. The original owner ordered the car with air conditioning, but what components remain intact isn’t clear. One item that hasn’t disappeared is the original and desirable AM/FM radio.

The first impression made by this 1964 Corvette Coupe isn’t great. Still, if we ignore flaws like the cringeworthy interior trim, it looks like it could be a relatively straightforward restoration project. There’s no doubt that it features some desirable options, and these help explain the frantic action so far. This ‘Vette has attracted sixty-four bids, suggesting that people like what they see. There is still plenty of time left in this auction for potential buyers to stake their claim, and if restored to a high standard, it should command a value beyond $55,000 any day of the week. Depending on which version of the small-block calls the engine bay home, that figure could easily climb past $70,000. Now that you’ve worked your way beyond first impressions and have seen all that this classic has to offer, are you tempted to drop a bid in the hope that you’ll find it parked in your workshop? If you do, I wish you good luck.