Rarity and desirability can be two key attributes to any project build, and our feature car seems to possess both of these characteristics in abundance. It is a 1961 Corvette that has spent forty-five years hidden under all of this debris, but it has emerged to reveal itself as a car with plenty of positive attributes. It would seem to represent a straightforward restoration project, and that would help explain why it has already received fifty-nine bids since it was listed for sale here on eBay. The Corvette is located in Los Angeles, California, and the price has soared to $30,099 in this No Reserve auction.
Once the owner dragged the Corvette out from under all of that junk, it revealed itself as a project loaded with promise. It rolled off the line wearing Sateen Silver paint, the rarest color in the 1961 palette. A mere 747 buyers chose it out of a production total of 10,939 cars. The next rarest was Jewel Blue, with a total of 855. The buyer will need to apply a fresh coat of that gorgeous color, but they will need to perform some repair work on the fiberglass first. There are a few cracks and flaws, but none of these appear particularly bad. The second owner suffered a minor accident in the car early in its life, but it did little more than damage the fiberglass on the passenger-side front fender. This saw the car parked for a while before it found its way to a third owner. A new partial clip was installed, and the vehicle was returned to active duty. It was parked again in 1975, and it hasn’t been on the road since. The beauty of this ‘Vette runs more than skin-deep because the underside and frame are spotless. Most of the chrome and the hubcaps are in good condition, while there are no issues with the glass. There is no soft-top with the vehicle, but a factory hardtop fit for restoration is included.
The Corvette rolled off the production line with an interior trimmed in Black vinyl. It remains largely complete, but this is another aspect of the car that the buyer will need to tackle. A few smaller items aren’t visible in the supplied photos, but the owner has some boxes of included parts that may contain those items. An interior trim kit would seem the most viable option for returning it to a factory-fresh state. However, the buyer might need to swallow hard on this point because I doubt that they’ll receive any change out of $2,000 for this. Still, it’s a job that will only need to be done once, so if it lasts for another sixty years, that will make it money well spent.
Numbers-matching classics will always command a premium in the market, and this is accentuated when you consider the drivetrain combination housed under this car’s fiberglass. The engine is the RPO Code 468 V8. This 283ci brute features a high-lift camshaft and a dual-quad setup that allows it to produce 270hp. Those horses are fed to the rear end via a four-speed manual transmission. This car should be capable of demolishing the ¼ mile in 15.6 seconds. Chevrolet offered more potent versions of the ’61 Corvette, but the cost was pretty eye-watering. This engine would’ve added $182.95 to the Corvette’s sticker price of $3,934. The next step from here was a 283 fuelie, but that cost a whopping $484.20. The 283 doesn’t run, and it hasn’t done so since 1975. However, it does turn freely, so coaxing it back to life is a possibility. I urge a note of caution here because it would pay to inspect everything carefully before hitting the key. There would be nothing more heartbreaking than hearing it produce a horrible bang or grinding noise because the buyer missed something on the checklist.
There are classic cars that are dream barn finds, and this 1961 Corvette must rate as one of them. It rolled off the line clad in a rare color, and its drivetrain is one of the most desirable offered in that model year. It needs a total restoration, but it would seem to be worth the effort with values climbing steadily. I’ll be interested to see if any of our readers would consider joining this classic’s bidding frenzy.
What is the first picture ? Is there a car in the picture ?
A lot of clothes. Why have this picture at all ?
I’m confused. Oh, well. No biggie
Time for that Corvette to come out of the closet. What a job that must have been getting it into the upstairs bedroom.
I think people like to show the long-term storage of a car that’s been off the road for so many years. It’s just like the common shot of a freshly found barn find, still in the barn and covered in dust. It answers the question, “where has the thing been all of these years and in what kind of storage?”
Hoss:
being in the Classic and Antique Car frenzy now over 65 years that is a lying selling point.
I learned years ago to no fall for that long stored story. People will do anything to make you believe in their story. I am 83 years old, Founder of several Classic and antique Car, Truck and Motorcycle clubs and have written articles for many magazines.
I went to a place in Anderson California to look at a 1956 Studebaker President that was supposed to have been stored in this barn for years. It had a thick layer of dust all over it plus a lot of light boxes and other things stacked on it.
The story was the car belonged to this Old mans sister and she died something like twelve years earlier and he drove it into the Barn to store and had just left it. The Upholstery was a complete trash job with Rat manure as well as Raccoon tracks and other such tell sadness.
He said it had a great motor and ran great and that for years he did start it and shift it from time to time. He wanted $5,000.00 as is for it.
I worked my buns’ off getting it ready to tow out of the dilapidated old Barn Actually a lean Too next to the Barn. I has to air the tires, replace two, Jack the car up and move it sideways away from a collapsing wall, Finally I got it out into the open where I could really check it out and there was no oil in the Transmission that was a jaguar Transmission. Very, very expensive to repair, $3500.00 and I do all removal and replacing. I did get the motor to start and ran really good. I thought well I can buy a used Transmission cheap so like an Idiot I bought the car. I could not even buy parts from the Studebaker Parts house because they had changed everything and nothing lined up. I spent a small fortune on the car and that was just trying to get it to drive. I finally traded it t a Farmer who had another President like it for Antique 1901 Carbide lights and other Antiques I could use on my 1901 Oldsmobile reproduction and ended up throwing well over $4,000.00 away.
Then to top it all off, I represent the American Fallen Warriors and use the 1901 Oldsmobile as a Memorial vehicle to catch attention. I even drove it over 4,000 mile round trip from California to Missouri on a Fund Raising trip . and after returning home was forced off of a Bridge approach over a creek rolling and crushing it as well as myself and ending in the E/R. as a D. O. A. to be revived crushing my beautiful Antique Brass lights. That happened to me twice in two years two days to the Hour apart. Always be ware of false impressions when looking at Barn Finds. They are not usually what they seem in the advertisements.
Raymond – I, too, have been involved in this “business” since I was 6 – 62 years ago. I have crawled through attics and barns that had supposedly NOS parts, seen wrecks that were “only” driven home before meeting that light pole, etc., etc. What astounds me is the imagination of the human. That, and time, are the real enemy, as what was once a tall tale becomes accepted fact when enough time is involved. I have learned that the cash I have budgeted is my limit – I will always have one more $100 bill in my pocket, but no more. The sight of cash usually overcomes what may be in their whatever bush.
Honey, can you get my red sweater? It’s in the passenger seat.
-/I’m sure this will bring top $$. The only thing I wouldn be afraid of is the fresh coat of primer, and the seller admits that it has had repairs over the years, to his credit. Either way an inspection by a savvy ‘vette guy would be needed, With everything numbers matching its a beauty. You are still looking at a lot of coin to restore, wonder what its worth in the book? Good luck and happy motoring.
Cheers
GPC
$30,250 now with 60 bids!!