The Bear Necessities: 1970 Corvette Coupe

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What has four wheels, fender flares, side pipes, candy paint, and an airbrushed painting of a half naked woman next to a bear with huge fangs?  The answer is in the pictures above and below.  This 1970 Chevrolet Corvette coupe, for sale on eBay out of Conway, South Carolina, is one of the more unique vehicles we have covered here at Barn Finds.  Customized in the seventies style, this chrome bumper Corvette is actually in pretty good shape.  It comes with a number of spare parts and is a great candidate for conversion into a pro touring monster.  With a current bid of $4,055, is this Corvette worth bringing home for restoration or refurbishment?

Before we go any further, we have to get the naked lady with the bear thing out of the way.  Back in the day, airbrushing fantasy images onto your vehicle was considered an “in” thing to do.  While this normally happened to vans, Corvettes also fell victim to this fad with some frequency.  Just Google “seventies car airbrush” or “seventies van airbrush” if you want to see some of this Sistine Chapel level artwork.  Just keep safe search on if kids are around.  This Corvette was gifted with one of the more unusual airbrush murals I have ever seen.  There is a close up photo in the ad, but I can’t show it here.  Let’s just say that things were a bit less politically correct and a lot more laid back in the seventies.  You had to be there.

The flanks also have artwork depicting the stereotypical lone cowboy and his horse.  That is not the best part of the car however.  Take a step back and look at the well integrated fender flares and the overall stance of the car.  It is hard to do a good job on rear fender flares for Corvettes of this vintage.  The door is just too close to the wheel well to tastefully flare the fender.  However, these flares look as if they might have been designed by the factory for a high horsepower version of the Corvette as is done today.  The lack of cracks gives evidence that the body work was well done.

The same cannot be said for the big block hood.  I am not sure if the hood warped or it was never installed correctly.  What is certain is that it would have to go, mural and all.  It would make for a good piece of garage art.  Just keep your kids out of the garage to avoid the inevitable “What are those?” situation.  In addition, the blue T-tops would also have to be painted or replaced with some clear glass aftermarket tops.  The blue ones were put in the car to replace earlier acrylic replacements that cracked.

Inside we see that the carpet has been removed in addition to the cover for the emergency brake.  The seller tells us that the previous owner ripped out the green shag carpeting and gold velour seat material.  Additionally, the seller has new door sill plates, door panels, and other interior parts to add to the sale.  Replacing the carpet also gives you the opportunity to put modern insulation all along the cockpit.  These cars need it, as that engine heat has to go somewhere.  The seats were obviously recently recovered.  The reproduction GM black vinyl looks very good in these cars.  It also holds heat in the summer like you would not believe.  If your parents had a car with vinyl seats in Florida you brought a towel or refused to wear shorts.  Any of you remember this?

Under the hood rests the usual 350 cubic inch small block Chevrolet V-8.  The plate on the console tells us that this is a 300 hp engine, with 380 lbs. ft. of torque and an 10.25:1 compression ratio.  The engine is backed up with a four speed manual transmission.  According to the seller, the engine has been brought back to running condition.  The fuel lines, gas tank, and braking system have been gone through as well.  The car runs, drives, and stops.  Surprisingly, it looks like the engine was never removed from this car.  Getting it back to factory condition wouldn’t be too hard if you were thinking restoration.

There are also a lot more new parts and some original pieces still in great shape that come with this Corvette.  In all, I am not sure that I would restore this one back to its seventies custom greatness.  The half naked lady and her bear would cause far too much unpleasantness in the current climate.  If this car  were mine, I do believe I would call an outfit like Detroit Speed to order the parts to build up a monster Corvette for the street and track.  Take a look at their 1972 Corvette test car shown here and let me know if that would be the direction you would head with this Corvette.

What would you do with this groovy seventies Corvette?

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Comments

  1. TimM

    Not a car I want!! Don’t like the flares or the paint!! Someone will paint her and make her look nice!!

    Like 0
    • Val plaza

      I agree

      Like 1
  2. Rock On

    I don’t think that there is anything painted on this car that would offend the average six year old. Irregardless, I would repaint it in a nice candy or pearl colour and add bubble taillight lenses to keep the ‘70’s theme alive.

    Like 4
    • leiniedude leiniedudeMember

      I gotta agree that it would offend many. From what I see in Wisconsin, bull balls, the kid urinating on a car brand and other kinds of immoral stickers in back windows. Maybe it is just in Wisconsin that you can pull that off. As much as I like naked ladies, this hood would be on the ceiling of my garage, along with a couple of old centerfolds. Maybe hold it up with four hoodpins!

      Like 3
  3. Steve R

    Yes, it’s tacky. But that’s the point. I’d clean it up and drive it. It will turn heads, which you can’t say about generic most stock/restored early-70’s Corvettes. It may not fit with today’s politically correct environment, but old cars don’t exactly fit well into that world either. If someone wants a restoration or resto-mod project, a more original car would be a better starting point.

    Steve R

    Like 9
  4. Billy1

    I would buy this just for the “bear” naked lady. Ha-ha.

    Like 5
  5. bobhess bobhessMember

    Fix the hood, single color 2 stage paint, clean up the engine compartment and drive it. Flares and wheels are done properly so it should be able to be a good looker on the road.

    Like 2
    • Poppapork

      Flares and wheels done properly? You need a new prescription buddy .. look at the rear wheel gap- it’s different by the door and 5 inches larger by therear bumper!

      Like 1
  6. Matt steele

    Bryar blue wouldn’t hurt the eyes like the paint on her now

    Like 1
  7. Tony

    It’s a saber toothed tiger on the back…still groovy

    Like 0
    • Ian C

      I slightly disagree. Nearest I can tell it is a sabre toothed, bear headed, bison bodied, pig legged, goat tailed Chupacabra. Quite rare and most people don’t have the stones to actually paint a picture of it for fear of their lives. Which could explain her lack of head and feet. Quite possibly the artist was struck down before he finished painting.

      I would still drive the snot out of the car though! lol

      Like 5
  8. Troy s

    Whoever winds up with this at least leave the rims and side pipes. Oh yeah, and no shy people need consider this freak.

    Like 1
  9. Danger Dan

    Not a bear!
    Wart hog or wild boar
    Big difference in price
    Bears are way more expensive

    Like 6
  10. hatofpork

    Given the headless female torso and Florida provenance, I was wondering if Ted Bundy might have been a former owner….GLWS

    Like 0
  11. Fireman Dan

    All I can say is remember Mark Hamil from Star Wars. Corvette Summer 🙁👎

    Like 1
  12. irocrobb

    I remember in the early 1980s it seemed alot of muscle cars had Firestone Super Sport tires on them. I had blanked them out of my small mind for 30 years.

    Like 1
  13. bobhess bobhessMember

    Hey pork… Look at any C3 with flairs and you will see the same thing. They are offset slightly to fit behind the door openings. If the wheels were toward the rear of the openings I’d agree with you. As it is I was commenting on the lack of cracks, smooth bodywork, etc. making it candidate for looking presentable.

    Like 0
    • Poppapork

      I know plenty of c3 with flairs… I own one and I am also on the corvette forums so I do realize on a certain old style flare there is an offset but its nothing like this one! Did you see the pics from the Ebay? You can fit a handle (1.75l) of Jim Beam thru there! Heck just google c3 L88 flares and your see nothing.like.this!

      Like 0
  14. JWH

    Not sure what it says about me but I rather quickly recognized the “naked lady and bear thing” after scrolling the pics on the eBay site. Definitely 70’s, if you want to see what the artist who put this on the car was shooting for (but fell far short), just google “Frank Frazetta Sun Goddess”. Be forewarned, it would likely be considered NSFW, which is why I didn’t provide a direct link. You may recognize Frazetta’s work from 70’s prints of Edgar Rice Burroughs Barsoom/John Carter/Mars series or Molly Hatchet album covers.

    Like 3
    • brianashe

      Nailed it. Good recollection.

      Like 1
  15. Retired Stig

    Are we not men? Find some testicular fortitude gentlemen. Leave the paint! Would almost pay extra for a contemporary photo of the guy that had this done. Come to think of it a photo of him now might be nearly as amusing.

    Like 2
    • TBAUMember

      We are DEVO.

      Like 2
    • moosie moosie

      Speaking aboot testicular fortitude, the seller states he just scored a sweet BB roadster in Blue (last picture in the listing) and his wife told him one must go ,,,,YES DEAR.

      Like 0
  16. Mikey8

    That’s a bear??? Really??
    Maybe it was cool back then but nothing that looks good anymore in my mind. Too much done to the vette to bring it back to “decency” for me ( not even counting the naked lady. Pun intended)

    Like 0
  17. RoughDiamond

    Good example of compromising and buying a topic of conversation Corvette rather than waiting on the beast of a Corvette he really wanted. Patience Grasshopper. Don’t compromise.

    Like 0
  18. leiniedude leiniedudeMember

    Ended: Jun 22, 2019 , 8:00PM
    Winning bid:US $8,477.00
    [ 31 bids ]

    Like 0

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