A couple of days from now, you can be the owner of a Corvette. A 1969 Chevy Corvette Coupe, to be exact. A couple of years from now, you might be able to drive it. If you spend all your spare time between now and then restoring it. If that sounds like the deal for you, see the car here on ebay, and get into the bidding, which has plateaued at $3550 with fourteen paddles having gone in the air. If you get in the best, last bid, you’ll need to get to Miami Beach, Florida to push this one home.

You’ll have yourself a factory four-speed, a definite plus. You’ll have an engine. But that’s about where the good news ends. That engine might or might not be the one appropriate to the chassis, or even the correct displacement. Barn Finders—what do those images of the block sitting under the hood (with maybe half the accessories that make a car run, not to mention stay cool, assembled and the other half awol) show you? Is that a 327-CID powerplant? Would the car have had a 427? The presence of a domed hood would apparently point that way. But is this one domed? Is it original? And don’t you think if this were a monster 427 car, the seller would have said something? In fact, he says very little at all about anything. Maybe that’s why the price sits where it does, or maybe there’s not much more to say than, “Here, take this project off my hands,” which is essentially the approach.

One thing that the Miami Beach pickup location suggests you investigate is the structure. Rust from salty air is real, and if the birdcage of this Vette has been exposed over a long period, you’re likely in this for more than you think. Probably way more than it’s worth. So why do people bid on beaters with such long lists of needs?

The real question is, do you see potential here, or pitfalls? Buying this car, you’d almost be starting with a scratch project. That gives you freedom. You’re not obliged to build it back any way but the way your vision tells you to. Put whatever engine to work you feel like. Use the block pictured or not. Paint it whatever color grabs you from any manufacturer’s catalogue.  Spruce up the interior—that’s one place where things are not a total mess, though the wear on the seats would suggest that the 33,000 mile claim is not substantiated. In short, if you make this your car, make this your car. It wasn’t doing anything for the hobby sitting in storage for decades.