First-year C3 Corvettes always seem to draw attention, even when they’ve been sitting for decades. This 1968 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Coupe listed on craigslist looks like one of those projects that could easily get enthusiasts talking. Located in California, the car is described as a barn find and comes with a factory four-speed, T-top roof panels, air conditioning, and what the seller says is a complete setup waiting for the next owner to bring it back. The asking price is listed at $13,500, and according to the ad, this Corvette has been off the road since 2001. Thanks for the tip, Jack M.!
The seller states this is a two-owner car, with the current owner having owned it since 1973. That kind of long-term ownership history tends to matter with cars like these, especially on early C3s where originality and documentation often become part of the conversation. The listing also says the Corvette has remained in California during that time.
Power comes from a 350 V8 paired with the factory four-speed manual transmission. Beyond that, the ad keeps things fairly brief, noting the car is non-running after sitting for years. The seller describes it as “all there & complete,” though buyers will obviously want to inspect the car themselves and determine exactly what condition the various components are in after more than two decades parked.
The first-year 1968 models occupy an interesting place in Corvette history. Chevrolet completely redesigned the Corvette for 1968, introducing the dramatic “Stingray” body style that would define the C3 generation for years afterward. Features like removable T-top roof panels, hidden headlights, and the fighter jet-inspired cockpit helped separate these cars visually from the earlier mid-year Corvettes.
This particular car appears to check several enthusiast boxes simply from the listing itself. Factory four-speed cars usually attract more interest than automatics, and factory air conditioning is another detail some buyers like seeing on a project. The seller also mentions an FM radio, which feels like one of those period details people either preserve carefully or spend hours trying to source later.
What makes this Corvette interesting is that the ad doesn’t try to oversell it. There’s no claim that it’s ready to drive home, no promises about flawless condition, and no attempt to present it as a finished collector car. Instead, it’s described pretty honestly as a long-stored project that’s complete and waiting for someone to decide what comes next.
That probably opens the door to a few different types of buyers. Some may want to restore it closer to stock, while others might simply see it as an opportunity to build the kind of driver they’ve always wanted without starting from scratch. Either way, first-year C3 projects don’t usually stay cheap forever.
Prolly want to hide those Ohio plates. Pretty wet and rusty there.
prolly
Always wanted a 68′ Corvette, just to keep in my garage and use it like a storage unit.
great to throw garbage on top of too.
First pic reminds me of when I was a teen and my brother had his 1980 turbo Trans Am in the garage because it stopped running. He said I could work on it and fix it but I was not allowed to drive it.
So I used it to store all of my stuff in the garage on top of his car…😂 40 years later it still doesn’t run…
My Mama said if I couldn’t say anything nice then don’t say anything at all, so I’ll keep my mouth shut today!
Besides Ohio salt life .. its good the vette is no longer in weight training and all the junk is lifted.
A very high price for a rough car ….
You have to wonder why this car languished for so long, and the owners cared so little they used it like a PODS storage unit. There’s more (or less) here than meets the eye and before trading hard-earned loot for the car, it warrants an inspection.
I have a couple of friends store things on their cars for a couple of decades. One used his 1957 Nomad and 1957 150 race car, to store things in his garage. He was raising his kids and focusing his attention on them. Once they moved out he was about 10 years away from retirement so he decided to wait to work on them while he worked as much overtime as he could to build a nest egg. When he retired he sold his house in the Bay Area, moved to Oregon bought a 2 acre piece of land built a house and shop to work one those too cars plus the first generation T-bird his wife drove in high school and a 1936 Ford Cabriolet, which they inherited from her father. My point is, it’s easy to critique what others do without any knowledge of the circumstances or priorities.
He bought both 1957’s in the late-1960’s, he loves them and saw no reason to part with them so he decided to sit on them until he had the time and money.
Steve R
And his story would be what? 1% or less of car owners? How many of us here better fit the woulda, shoulda, coulda category?
Might not have come out right last time I talked about a Vette, afore you know it, your chin deep, with today’s prices. You keep lying to yourself saying, It’s almost done… Nature of the beast, I guess. Nice this one has a 4 banger, but seems a smidget high…
You can kind of tell the duration of the storage by, a) the tires and b) how much junk is piled on top of it. Kind of like archaeology, you can see the layers. With all the stuff removed, it actually looks like a pretty decent find.
I agree! You gotta look beyond all the stuff that was piled on top of it and all the dust. There’s a lot of potential with this car if the rust is not too bad. I’m not too fond of the color, but the fact that it’s a four speed, has side pipes, and slotted rims, makes it interesting! Not too sure if the price is reasonable or not though.
At least this proves these fiberglass cars can carry the weight.
Does this car come with all the stuff stacked on it in the 1st picture?
Open headlights extends usable shelf space. I hope Steve R’s friend completes his projects.
So many projects never reach the priority needed to finish. I have those projects and a place to work on them. But there is always something else.
Definitely an inspection would be needed before buying this chrome bumper Corvette. One man’s trash can easily become another’s man treasure. Lots of potential for the price.
The Ohio plates date to the early 80’s.
At least the seller has made, and is making, an effort for the car to have a future.
Love the flipper photos with rolloff trailer visible. Tac suggests engine could the the L79 327 350 hp.
13k + another 50k at least to redo it. you really got to want this to go deep into something like this, a wet hot mess.
If you don’t do a faithful restoration, working with what’s there as a day 2 build it won’t cost $50k assuming the frame and birdcage aren’t rusty.
Steve R
If it has a 350 in it it’s not the original engine. If there’s no rust in the frame or birdcage it could be a start for a nice driver or restomod. As said before, to bring this car back to stock would require way too much money unless it’s a labor of love.
i don’t see any signs of AC and 68 would have been a 327
I will never understand listing the worst photos of a vehicle covered in trash. Would be like me making my dating profile me after doing yardwork for 10 hours or taking a dump
One good thing that is nice is that it is a 4-spped Corvette. I did not notice any signs of A/C here. It has Ohio plates. To bad it has been used for a storage bench since 2001 and why was it parked then. 10k tops here but this one can be saved with a good inspection.
Ten thousand would be a lot of money. Thirty-five percent more than that? Gimme a break.
Tie pity, they used this classic for a sorting table.
I too do not see a/c and do not see power steering. Something is not right here.
Ad has been deleted by author.
Something tells me that this example does not have a clean frame or birdcage.