Obviously being sold by a Corvette fan, this 1965 Corvette coupe looks neglected but certainly not hopeless, and it’s for sale here on eBay in a no-reserve auction starting at $1.00! For you bargain seekers it’s located in Homestead, Florida.
Although the possibility of the price being low is certainly attractive, one thing I’ve learned from you Barn Finds readers is that despite having a fiberglass body, there’s plenty of parts on a Corvette that can rust. If you look closely, the bumpers have quite a bit of surface corrosion visible in this picture.
The seller describes the car: “…has 60,550 original miles. Solid frame and nice straight body. Pretty complete car, was a running and driving car prior to being parked.”
The dash and seats don’t look bad, and the seller tells us the headliner is good too. However, there’s some more of that rust, I think. I do like the presence of a third pedal and a four-speed, though.
The seller also states that the engine ran when gas was poured down the carburetor. Now as most of you know, a lot of a Corvette’s value is how original it is. While this car only is showing 60,550 miles, it would take a lot to bring it back to showroom condition. On the other hand, if like me you would love a small block C2 coupe driver, this might be your ticket to happiness! Let us know what you think in the comments below!
Homestead, Florida had a hurricane hit a few years back…..that could be a concern
1992 was one. It looks like a flood car…..but then Florida is so humid, just sitting rust grows. and its a slushbox. Florida seems to come up with a lot of cars………..wonder why.
clutch pedal and ball “t” lift lockout shifter indicate 4 speed….. just sayin’……….
Looks like sand and mud in engine compartment. Me, cost of returning it to original would be the same to resto mod it. And drive the hell out of it.
Homestead fla has had a thousand hurricanes since this car was built what’s the point lol
Being a Corvette fanatic I love it and I also love what appears to be a 1970 or early 1971 sitting next to it. I have always liked the the look of the hard tops on the C- 2′ s and the floor pans don’t look bad at all. It’s a bummer the original radio isn’t installed, (maybe the owner still has it ?) but if this checks out as far as rust is concerned it would be a excellent candidate for restoration. These cars still look futuristic to me to this day , and I hope the next owner has a good time resorting this beauty and giving that four speed transmission a nice workout ! Good luck to the new owner.
What 70/71??? ….I see a red C-7!!
Check the Ebay post Rocco. Then watch the Superbowl!
Thanks I skipped the 1st picture! A blue C-3! Go PATs!!
Signs of a flood car. I once bought a Miami car. Rust not seen as it was anywhere paint did not reach.
Probably enjoying his new red one and decided to let this one go. Looks like the rear is sitting pretty high. Pretty cars for sure.
Rusty bumpers and shifter. No pics of frame or underbelly. Up to 20 large already!! Let the winning bidder set the value. The primer is scary also, and you guys are correct could be a flood car. Beware of bird cage also. Good luck to the new owner!!
Cheers
GPC
After looking at this car for quite some time,I think it is a flood car. In looking at The wheels it looks like a light to dark two thirds rusted to not rusted line on wheels. Also bumpers all rusted just about the same on all four but the turn signal housing is not. Under hood looking at shroud it has a line about one third way up on side showing plus steering pump top is dirty but looking on lower part it is clean. I think maybe door panel and seat cover changed because the is no chrome trim replaced on door panels.
I couldn’t bid w/o seeing it, crawling around under it, looking it over real good. But, it is an early Vette, and we all know restored they bring big bucks. Good luck to the winning bidder.
I have a 65 convertible that I spent over 90K restoring. Once you start it’s hard not to do it all as you keep finding more items that need replaced. They can become a money pit. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t do it. Mine is numbers matching 327/350hp.
I think the price on this car is going to keep climbing. The seller lists the color as white, but the 900 and 420 on the trim tag, indicates that this car started life painted Tuxedo Black, with a Saddle Tan vinyl interior. The desirability of that color combination on a midyear coupe, probably adds $5000 to it’s worth, compared to the same car in any other color.
It’s not a very good ad, with no mention of what the engine is in it, or if it’s the original engine. Also there are a lot of pictures, but they don’t really show much. For someone with a yard full of Corvettes, the ad appears to be written by someone who knows very little about old Corvettes.
Still, I think anyone in the market for a midyear coupe, would be wise to take a serious look at this car.
Good observation! Motor looks correct in appearance & to be the base 300 HP motor. Yes Blk is a rare color. Even rarer would of been Blk with Blk interior!!
Actually I was wrong about the color. For some reason I was thinking it was a 66, and 900 is Tuxedo Black in 66. BUT, in 65 ALL of the colors were coded 900, with two letters following the 900, to indicate the cars exterior color. In this case, 900CC is Ermine White, while Tuxedo Black would have been 900AA.
I apologize for any confusion I’ve caused, and even though white is hardly as desirable as black, it still appears to be a fairly decent coupe to me.
Flood car! Pull up photo of steering wheel, you can is mud still on bottom.
still has green flood water dripping out onto the sidewalk in the first photo…..guess that will definately break the bank…
Just my observations:
1. I bet it smells like a wet dog in there.
2. It is a low optioned car, my guess is 250hp motor and, if I am correct, it looks like drum brakes. ’65 was the first year for disc brakes but it looks like it has “disc brake delete”. Only 316 cars had that option. I have no idea what that means value wise, but certainly something. It COULD be a $150k car but it would take $100k to get there…plus the cost of the car.
300 HP 327 was the base motor not 250 in 65!! According to my C-2 restoration book it doesn’t say Drum brakes delete…. Just credited in ( )!!. Normally cars getting disk brakes got disk front drum in the rear except Vettes. BTW this combo would never make it worth 150K!! Even in a convertible.
Perhaps my “” marks were misused. You made me get my black book:
RPO J61 was Drum brakes (substitution credit)…
RPO L75 was 327ci, 300hp engine. 250hp was the base motor.
Again, according to my black book.
Prices are up and down. I have seen vettes go for crazy sums. Some not so crazy.
Lol!! What else you got in your Blk book!??? I’m gonna stick with my restoration book. But will look deeper into this. I’ll CHK with my local Corvette club judge on what was the base motor. Even 68 C-3 base motor was 300HP
“Even 68 C-3 base motor was 300HP” As was the base motor in ’66. Just not in ’65. :-0
I said that! But my restoration book says 300 in 65!!
So did Vettes come with Carters?
If you are referring to C-2’s I believe the low HP motors were Carters and the higher HP had Holly’s.
Wrong. 62 down 250 hp motors had dual carters as well as single carb motors had crater AVS carbs
Rocco, don’t bust my balls here. I am not an expert. I was referring to C-2 cars. There were a lot of vettes that had Carter carbs…altho, I have never heard of a Crater AVS carb.
Oh well sorry not trying to. You seemed to know what options were. The base motor on all Vettes till 68 emissions called for Carter carbs. AVS stands for air valve secondaries as they had no top plate. All performance motors had Holley’s till 71.
Yes, and I think ’68 was when the quadrajet debuted.
Agreed, same with Mopar they the same AVS Carter’s. Then AFB Carter, then Thermoquad in 71 except for Hemi engine used Carter carbs & 440 / 340 six-pack cars used Holley’s.
I had a new 1969 Road Runner 383 ci. 4 spd. stock from the factory with a Carter AVS.
Was it blue?? Lol!! I had a 70 RR yellow same motor 4spd!! Pistol grip shifter bench seat.
Rocco it was medium green, no pistol grip but it was freaky fast . 2, 3, tenths faster when I changed over to a torqueflite. Ran consistant 13.3 with the stock 383.
12.8/13.0 with the cheater motor.
Sooo…rocco, rally wheels were standard in ’67 (I think), not ’65. But those wheels look, besides being wrong in general, to be the right width/offset for the front but waaay too wide on the rear.
Base cars had hubcaps. Looks like someone back in the 70’s jacked up the rear with air shocks. Popular look back then to fit fat tires.
Ya, C-2s I guess. I am not a Vette expert either, that’s for sure. Just used to seeing Holleys on them. Carters were good carbs in their own right. And I LOVE a well-tuned Rochester Quad.
This is a Black Hole!
I knew a woman like that!!
Some know that I have been looking and wishing for a 64 or 65. I feel almost obligated on this one. I am going to get one done up for my son. Good thing that I happen to have a connection down there. He’s going to set up a meet and inspect what is there. Story to be continued.
I have 64 hub caps from my first car in high school in the 70’s lol. Car got sold when I joined the Navy!!
Kinda hard on hubcaps were you? LMAO :-)
i only have 4 hubcaps and 4 rally and rings for my 69 red; change them around every once in a while to fool the locals…. only guy i ever knew that had 64 hubcaps ran a salvage yard.. don’t know what they fit on tho……..
No had cragars on the car when I sold it. Lol kept the hub caps hoping to get my car back!
Bid is $25K, More than it’s worth.
This car was just listed on craigslist on Friday for $11,000 out of Panama City Florida. This guy got it the same day and relisted it on craigslist for $34,000. Here is the new craigslist posting for $34,000. https://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/cto/d/miami-1965-corvette-barn-find/6809419226.html