“Fun little project Vette here guys!“! is how this listing for a 1976 Chevrolet Corvette opens (and I’d include gals as well). I’m not sure that my definition of fun and his are exactly the same but I’ve certainly been wrong before so let’s see if that’s the case here. This ‘Vette is located in Sacramento, California and is available, here on eBay for a BIN price of $2,997. Thanks to Larry D for this tip!

This is a “Kinda Korvette” as it’s more a collection of damaged, assembled parts than a usable car. And being a 1976 model doesn’t help the cause as ’76 was a low watermark for ‘Vette performance. That said, that little matter certainly didn’t hurt sales as 46K copies found homes – a true Corvette high watermark. The loss of the convertible body style (’75) and the big-block engine (’74) didn’t have an adverse impact either. Moving along, the seller’s claim of, “These era Vettes have really gone up a lot lately in value…” is a subjective call. Depending on the equipment, some do better than others but the mid-’70s models are not among preferred examples.

This particular car is hardly in the best of condition and the seller’s claim of “Slight owie on right front fender” doesn’t ring true, that oops looks like more than “slight” especially considering that the bumper and grille went out with it. All missing parts are supposed to be included in the sale, except for the rear endcap – that item will have to be sourced.

The motor appears (based on the lack of a hood-mounted engine badge) to be the base 180 net HP, 350 CI V8 and we are told that it is “a non-matching numbers 350 motor that turns freely (heads removed/comes with a fresh set ready to bolt-on). Was told she was a runner until a valve issue, that’s when heads were removed, has been parked ever since”. There are, however, a fresh set of cylinder heads included. OK, that gives an explanation of sorts as to why the engine is in its current status. But what really laid this car up, the engine, the body, or both? A Turbo-Hydramatic, three-speed automatic transmission is in place and research tells us that this is the first model year that the T-350 was used in the ‘Vette, though the more powerful L82 engine (210 net HP) still employed the Turbo-Hydramatic 400. That would change in ’77 with both powerplants utilizing the lighter and smaller T-350.

The interior, what can be glimpsed, looks about as you would expect. The seats, which appear to be presentable, are not installed, however. Honestly, the interior image is so poor, I won’t even speculate as to what’s going on in there. One should consider contacting the seller if there is interest in knowing more.

The seller states, “the suspension (sp) is fine, frame solid being from California…” That’s good to know, but there is so much else wrong with this Corvette that the fun quotient is likely to be debatable, California provenance or not. Admittedly, the seller isn’t asking for a lot of money but one would need to weigh the cost and effort of rejuvenating this car against an example in more reasonable condition, again keeping in mind the market value of a mid-’70s Corvette. What do you think, worth the effort?