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Special Order Buckskin: 1977 Chevy Corvette

I’m a sucker for special-order or rare paint colors, and this 1977 Chevy Corvette is such a car. However, the rarity of the paint code may be undermined by the fact it’s not original (based on the seller’s description). Called “Buckskin,” this was a one-year only color with less than 3,000 built that way. The seller says the color was applied by the selling dealer when new, so it may not be as special as we think. It is a nicely preserved specimen regardless, and you’ll find it here on eBay with bidding over $6K at the moment. 

The seller claims the owner purchased the car new for his wife, who drove it until her passing in 1984. The Corvette then stayed in storage, getting started a few times a year but otherwise sitting unused. Mileage is low at 27,500, and the Buckskin paint appears to remain in excellent condition. It seems odd to buy a new car and then have it promptly repainted, so I wonder if the seller means this Corvette was a dealer special order in the rare Buckskin color. However, it’s spelled out fairly clearly in the listing: “He had a special buckskin color painted on the car at the dealership.”

The repaint was extensive, getting into the door jambs and engine bay. The interior remains in excellent condition, although the driver’s carpet looks a bit tatty / dirty in this photo. The stock radio remains in place along with all factory gauges. The brown leather and dash match nicely with the Buckskin exterior, provided you can live with that many shades of tan / brown in your life. The seller claims the Corvette fired up on the first start, but all fluids were still changed proactively. Tires are original radials the Corvette was sold with, so new rubber would be a smart investment.

The 5.7L V8  is said to run well, and we’d assume it to be numbers matching. Paired to an automatic, this should make for a reliable classic driver that will definitely stand out next to the typical red or black Corvettes in the crowd. Of course, that assumes you like Buckskin enough to warrant this unusual shade appropriate for a Corvette of this generation. I’d personally like to know what the original color was, and here’s my question for the crowd: even if it’s a rare color, wouldn’t it be worth more if it still wore its factory-applied color?

Comments

  1. Avatar 86 Vette Convertible

    might be an auto, but still looks good. For a Sunday driver, this could be a good one. So far the price seems reasonable.

    Like 7
  2. Avatar Jack M.

    When my Dad was shopping for a second hand Corvette back in the mid 70’s, we looked at quite a few cars in this colour. The name may have changed from year to year, but I don’t believe that it’s very rare.

    Like 5
  3. Avatar Joe Plath

    Looks like Corvette Tan to me. Regular color available.

    Like 6
    • Avatar Pa Tina

      Code 80. “Corvette Tan”. 4,588 painted that color. Not that big of a deal.

      Like 4
  4. Avatar Coventrycat

    “Buckskin” sounds like genius marketing for “Diaper Brown”

    Like 11
    • Avatar Dan in Tx

      For a while, AMC called their brown “Yucca Tan”.

      Like 2
  5. Avatar Suttree

    A local guy had a C3 Corvette this color.
    He loved it. Almost nobody else around here did.

    Like 6
  6. Avatar SAM61

    One of our neighbors in NW Indiana bought a similar one in 78 or 79 for his wife. It was cream/buckskin over a metallic brown. It actually looked good with the t-tops and brown leather if you like earth tones.

    Like 4
  7. Avatar Tom

    I have a ’76.

    Like 21
  8. Avatar Mike

    If I receive what I expect Monday I may feel compelled to play with real money should the price buying price hold :

    Like 1
    • Avatar PatrickM

      5/20. 12:30 PM. $6653.53. Not too bad of a price. But, seller thinks to be pretty slick, from the write up. Not quite as rare as one might think. Attitude means a lot. This car is not for me. More honesty would go a long way

      Like 0
  9. Avatar JohnD

    What is a “GP LS 5.7 liter”? And what’s up w/ the T Tops?

    Like 0
    • Avatar Frank Sumatra

      Saratoga tops were pretty popular in the late 1970’s. The engine reference seems incorrect for that year Corvette.

      Like 5
      • Avatar R Soul

        You could even order aftermarket soft t tops for C3 corvettes.

        Like 1
  10. Avatar R Soul

    Buckskin was an interior color in 1977, with 3,281 cars ordered with it.

    Like 2
  11. Avatar scottymac

    Back when you could actually order the car you wanted, you could specify a different color than was currently offered. Perhaps the buyer was up against a deadline (anniversary, wife’s birthday), and couldn’t wait for the special paint to be scheduled on the production line, so had the car delivered in primer (gelcoat?) and the dealer’s body shop painted the car?

    Like 5
  12. Avatar ACZ

    It would be interesting to see the trim plate. It was possible to order a Corvette in primer from the factory back then. A dealer that I worked for, in the mid 70’s, did exactly that. Then he had the body shop paint it a rather hideous shade of green. There is no accounting for taste. He also took a 76 Monte Carlo out of stock and put one of those Custom Cloud (Rolls-Royce) conversions on it. And this guy used to work for Chevrolet before before becoming a dealer.

    Like 3
    • Avatar Frank Sumatra

      I believe the trim tag would say “PRIME” if ordered that way.

      Like 3
  13. Avatar ACZ

    Don’t remember exactly. Seems it might have been a couple of dashes.

    Like 0
  14. Avatar Brian W

    Now if this were the infamous chartreuse Corvette, we’d be talking. Diaper brown? Not so much.

    Like 0
  15. Avatar Ronald Cory

    Thats not a rare color at all. I had a 76, L-82, 4-speed, that i lost in my first divorce!

    Like 2
  16. Avatar Tort Member

    I have seen a couple tan Corvette’s over the years and along with the “buckskin” I really like the color in part probably because you don’t see many.

    Like 1
  17. Avatar Rob Little

    Too bad that color is so ugly. And, it’s everywhere, too, even in the engine compartment! Shame about that. Nice Vette underneath it all.

    Like 3
  18. Avatar PAPERBKWRITER

    Big difference between 350 cu in and 350 HP.

    Like 3

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