The Corvette nearly broke 10,000 units sold in 1959, which may have been Chevy’s original goal in introducing the sports car in 1953. Other than toning down the chrome that had been piled on in 1958, the cars were little changed. This ’59 ‘Vette appears to have been sitting for quite some time and was the subject of an earlier attempt to customize its appearance, with the grille and front bumper area along with the hood an experiment in what you can do with filler. Located in a garage in Santa Maria, California, this project is available here on craigslist for a healthy $30,000. Another tip brought to us by Barn Finder T.J.
Designers added quad headlights in 1958 after they were approved for highway use in all (then) 48 U.S. states. That seems like a lot of peepers for not such a big car, but the Corvette wore them better than some other brands in the day. The ‘59s were cleaner in appearance than before, more like the ‘57s. Besides making the Corvette look better, the reduction in chrome also reduced weight a little. Engines choices were unchanged for 1959, so you could have your 283 cubic inch V8 with or without fuel injection (no sign of the latter on the seller’s car).
We assume this ‘Vette was Roman Red at one point, but the paint has faded and flaked a lot from likely exposure to the California sun. We’re told little about this automobile other than it has a 327 (which was still three years away) and a Muncie 4-speed manual. Whether it runs or not isn’t up for discussion and “what is pictured is what comes with the car.” Either the seller believes the Corvette will sell itself or maybe he or she just doesn’t know much more about it.
Much of the interior is missing. Besides the seats, the dashboard appears to have been decimated, so perhaps this was a project that was abandoned long before the seller came along. We must wonder what was envisioned when the front bumpers and grille were removed in favor of a bigger section of fiberglass or some other material. 9,670 corvettes rolled out of the St. Louis plant in 1959, the last year that the marque would produce fewer than five significant digits. If you were to buy this Corvette, would you continue to customize it or go back to Square One?
At 30K this car is really stalled now.
Nothing another $30K can’t fix.
Beautiful job of making it ugly .
This is exactly why, in 1974 a small group of folks met in Ohio and formed the National Corvette Restorers Society.
WOW, only 30 grand to buy some clowns failed attempt at customizing……….lol
I made a model once and filled in those “air scoops” but I wouldn’t do it to the real thing.
I assume this is now a non-original motor car that need complete restoration, many missing parts, doubtful running motor or trans and a modified front end. The 30K asking is overly optimistic and remain in the owners possession until reality set-in
If you could get this for a decent Price (!!!!!) it might make a cool project. Like Frank said, it’ll take a lot of coin, depending on how far the new owner wants to take it. I am sure someone with too much $$$$ will buy it. Anyhoo, good luck and happy motoring
Cheers!
GPC
is the ‘bean can’ in the pass seat floorboard part of the car or just junk sittin there…???
The best thing is the previous owner never had time to destroy the back end of the car.
Uhh, that ‘bean can’ looks to be the clock!
Cool hot rod just to much money.
This car is overpriced at $30,000. You can’t get much of an old Corvette for that amount, but you can damn sure get one with more potential than this.
The smart play would be buying a body with an existing paint job you like. Properly stripping and repainting an old Corvette is time-consuming and very expensive. It can be a project killer if you hire the wrong shop.
Hard pass. $30K buy in, $100K to properly restore, final value $75K-$90K
Square one for sure. Two options for me if I could get it for under 10k with a good title.
1: Get rid of the Ford Thunderbolt hood scoop and fix the grill and fenders. Get it running and driving, recover some seats, add carpet, new brakes and tires. Enjoy and flip.
2: Street legal gasser with a nasty small block in it.
Option 2- You only need one seat.
Great point! However, what’s the fun in having a street legal gasser if you can’t scare the crap out of a passenger?
Overpriced parts car!!!
30k? Hahahahahaha