Lots of buyers seemed to think a small block in the early C2 cars made them better frequent drivers and easier to live with on a daily basis, but even if that belief held some credibility at the end of the sixties decade it would have been hard to resist driving away from your Chevy dealership without a potent 427 under the hood! That’s the mindset the original owner of this 1969 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible here on eBay had all those decades ago, and the story goes that it was enjoyed for a few years by a pair of owners before getting parked away in an Alabama garage back in 1978. It’s since been pulled out and now calls Dimock, Pennsylvania home, but the car is looking to exchange hands once again, with 35 bids already taking the price up to $12,900.
The current owner says he purchased the car with the intention of performing a full frame-off restoration but wanted to first drive it as a barn find for a while, even though we don’t get an explanation of why he changed his mind and has decided to sell instead. The photos all show the factory 427 still under the hood, but it’s actually out of the car now at a shop disassembled and ready to undergo a full rebuild, or at least that was the original plan anyway. This is where the seller mentions that the ‘Vette is being sold as-is, and I guess that means the buyer will have the option to follow through with the mechanic moving forward with the overhaul and re-installing the big block at an additional cost, or just picking up the engine parts and doing the work yourself.
This one’s got one of those bodies that’s right at the point of making me scratch my head about what to do next, or not to do. Rear fender flares were popular back in the day and they still have a certain cool factor, and while the body is nowhere near flawless those imperfections and chips sort of give the car a menacing look as do the Cragars, so one option is to just put the completed 427 back in, throw on a new set of tires, and then enjoy some care-free driving. But I can also envision a stunning example with some detailed body massaging and a new paint job, so the next owner will have to decide which direction to go in. I’d probably drive it for a while and then give the exterior some attention in the future, but could certainly understand if the buyer chooses to take it to a higher level immediately.
I was pleasantly surprised with the interior’s condition overall, not great but still pretty good for its age and especially for the car being a convertible. The driver’s seat has some tears and the carpet is showing wear, but those appear to be the biggest blunders plus a positive is it’s a factory air conditioning car, so it’ll be easy to keep things cool inside when the top’s not down, and a factory A/C compressor is also included in the sale. I’d kind of liked to have gotten a bit more information about why the seller chose not to move forward with the engine rebuild and his original plan, but I am seeing lots of good possibilities here for the next guy. How would you move forward with this 1969 Chevrolet Corvette?
It’s real simple double check that numbers match, don’t trust anyone,54 year old vette,my 2 cents.
That engine stamp to me is questionable at best. I own a 68 Vette and had a truck motor 454 built the way I wanted it to run. The engine builder asked if I wanted it stamped to match the VIN. I declined and asked if that was legit. He told me its done and has been done al the time. Frame on this on looks okay from the photos, but what happened to the headers and side pipes? Price is actually not bad a 12.9K. Looks like its pretty complete. Just check the bird cage.
My brother had a 68 with 427 390 hp it ran and drove GOOD
Until the damned nylon timing gear took a crap some hi performance part in a motor like that we replaced the gear with a double roller chain and gears all steel
Runs really good
The bokieman
Can’t say I’ve ever owned a BB Vette, but I know a few people that do. Not one says you want to take a trip in one due to it being thirsty. Plus, you can’t buy Super Shell or Sunoco 260 anymore. I have driven a couple of BBC over the years and other than straight line acceleration, they didn’t handle that well (IMO) on windy roads.
Being disassembled and not in that good a condition, this is one I’d pass on.
I just completed a 1300 + mile trip in my ’69 427, 390hp, 4 speed Vett. It runs like a top on 91octane even had to put a tank of 87 in it when a station didn’t have 91, it still ran good never got hot even crossing the desert in 113 degree heat. True my wife’s Dodge dart gets 33mpg and the Vett only gets 14 but IMHO that’s a small price to pay to travel 1st class.
And THAT sums it up nicely. We’ll said!
$5000 that’s it.. Sunoco stations still sell it in 5 gallon jugs
$12,900 for a partially disassembled example seems rich, but the Corvette market has always been more than a little nuts, so who knows? They may have been trying to upgrade the heads to run on unleaded gas and decided to let the new owner deal with it instead.
L72 or L88 makes big difference
Good luck driving an L88 on the street. It is a racing engine. Eboy says its a 390hp. That should be an L36. This would be a Corvette to go after. If the description is accurate, this car has good bones.
not an l88
Even if the car is a non-matching number 427, 390HP they are hard to find at a decent price. The current price of $13k+- is in line. My concern with the rebuild shop is unless you can hear it run you are taking a big chance. ( ie. Spun bearing, bad cyl. Etc.)
Plus good shop work now days is hard to find. Most I have found never finishes the car. I have several cars and one is a 68 corvette matching number 427 tri-power.
Wow, a C3 with enough pictures of the important areas that you could actually bid on it without an in-person visit and feel kind of okay about it.
The seller removed all of the trim pieces to expose the upper and lower windshield frame that I would do if I was looking at it. And, there are almost as many pictures of the underside as there are of the topside.
The seller is doing it the right way. The polar opposite of our buddy in Miami- “Rattlecan Raoul”
I like this car the more I look at it. It needs a hardtop with the hood paint scheme carried over to it and the back deck. The rear fender flares are something I could live with and the wheels should stay. Pure 1969!
Hey, great story. I walked out of the jar store and seen the same model Vette, the owner walked out behind me and I said “”427 ’69 Vette” he goes..”you are the first ever to get it right!” That’s cool, and it is! 😀
There is nothing wrong with that engine stamp. You can see the factory broach marks. Not at all possible to duplicate those to appear as these do. True tolling marks. This one is about as good as can be after sitting for so long.
My brother had a 68 with 427 390 hp it ran and drove GOOD
Until the damned nylon timing gear took a crap some hi performance part in a motor like that we replaced the gear with a double roller chain and gears all steel
Runs really good
The bokieman
SOLD for $21,200.
Another great ’69 Corvette deal. Big Block to boot!