I promise that I am posting the best pictures from the ad on this 1975 Chevrolet Corvette that has sat in a barn since the mid 1990’s. You can see the ad and contact the seller here on Facebook Marketplace. The car is located in Cleveland, Tennessee with an asking price of $5,450.
If you have some experience in fiberglass or Corvette body work, this might not seem as daunting as it looks. The car appears to have been originally maroon or red with a tan interior. The interior indicates the car has an automatic transmission and the seller states this would be a great father-son or father-daughter project. I am not sure about that claim.
As far as Corvettes go and C3’s in particular, the 1975 model is probably the least desirable. I say that respectfully because I love the looks of the 1975 Corvette but the engine options were not that great compared to other years. Chevrolet marketed the 1975 Corvette as the more efficient Corvette with less need for maintenance and service. It was the first year for the federally mandated catalytic converter.
The base engine for the 1975 Corvette was the L-48 350 cubic inch V8 engine that dropped to an all time low factory rating of 165 horsepower. The L-82 was the only other engine option and it was rated at 205 horsepower which was down 45 horsepower from the prior year. I think this car would need to much to justify a restoration. What do you think?
The only thing it has going for it is that it’s smog exempt in California. I wouldn’t restore this car back to original, but it’s still a good platform to throw a high horsepower LS or crate big block in. There are tons of aftermarket parts that fit the platform to make it a pretty serious performer and they are all pretty reasonably priced since there are a lot of C3s and suppliers. It’s definitely not worth the asking price, but for $3000 a $3500 for a smog exempt sports car project it’s worth it.
In California it’s not exempt from having smog equipment, only exempt from testing. That likely won’t last based on the makeup of the states elected officials. I’ve recently had a couple of friends buy nice, fairly low mileage late-90’s to early-2000’s LS powered Corvettes for less than $10,000. At that price, there isn’t much reason to mess with a car like that.
Rubber bumper 70’s Corvettes, Camaro’s and Trans Am’s never really caught on in California, largely due to the availability of older corvettes and muscle cars as well as the state mandated emissions testing. Those cars were popular when new, but littered the self service wrecking in the late-80’s and 1990’s.
Steve R
Nobody cross-shops a 2000 corvette and a 1975 designed in 1963. My 10 year old dodge caravan will out accelerate, outhandle and outbreak my C3 and i have double factory horsepower in the vette….
There isn’t much cross shopping because they are and always have been largely ignored. They generally aren’t even on people’s radar, there is no reason they should be. The mid-70’s Corvettes don’t have much to offer, especially in California, where emissions testing is the elephant in the room.
Steve R
“littered” being the operative word. Can’t imagine these cars ever becoming a platform for restorations.
STEVE they do have a lot to offer, way better performance compared to everyrhing else from mid 70ties. vette has 4 piston calipers on the back! Independent rear, front mid mounted engine for aweosme weight distribution. What else from the 70ties comes close? Definately not camaro/firebird, mustang2? I don’t think so.mopar? Nah… All these cars cost more than a vette but offer significantly less performance.
:D
These can be had running, driving, insured with current tags for less then this!
And where are the important pics- Frame in front of the rear wheels and bird cage top and pottom, heck even the door jamb by the fire wall would tell a lot .
Presume this is rusted out, they had it on a trailer and they woulda taken a pic or two if it was at least half decent or restorable.
-Aftermarket for these is big but it gets expensive fast, especially interrors
-nobody would even attempt to paint my c3 for under 12G and it doesn’t require any fiberglass work.
-weak spots is rust in the birdcage
-driveline weak spot is the one of a kind differential, the proffessionals massaging performance and durability out of these are dropping fast
As someone in the Corvette parts business, I can tell you there isn’t $5000 to be made on this car by parting it out. To make any money on parting it, you’d need to get it for around $1500.
I don’t see any fiberglass damage in the photos. The bumpers are easy replacements. Value is about $2500-$3500 in current condition. And yes even in California you do not need to worry about any smog equipment on this car or get it tested.
No way this is worth 3500, for that much they should at least lot drive
From the pictures of the environment it was in as well as the current state of the interior and the paint in the close-up shot of the VIN sticker I’d stay way far away from this as it looks like it came out of a swamp and you’d need a full hazmat suit to work on the inside. As others have said, you can get a solid non-runner in much better condition for this money and parting this one out and making a profit is a pipe-dream at anything near the asking price.
As someone who lives and breathes plastic bumper corvettes i can assure you you can get a runner for this price no problem, i test driven 4k vettes that had plates and were road worthy (but with issues- restore while enjoying type of deal) all you need to look for is someone who needs to sell for a good reason not someone who just wants to tell their spouse “im trying to sell it honey but nonone is buying”
I think these are fantastic cars, way better perofrmance than anything else from the era (4 piston disc brakes in the rear anyone?) Sbc means cheap horsepower. Very low value means dont worry about numbers and modify whatever you want
I concur on all comments on the likely rust bucket.
1. Undesirable automatic
2. 1975 undesirable year
3. Pictures of loading suggest damp storage
4. These are sold cheap running and decent paint.
5. While bumpers are cheap the 6-10 paint job and not even a convertible is a crazy not worth it purchase
Certainly worth fixing just VASTLY OVERPRICED based upon condition!
The loss in hp for the 1975 Corvette was primarily due to the requirement of a catalytic converter. Going to the cat, which was the early, very restrictive pellet type, also necessitated going from a true dual exhaust to a 2-into-1-into-2 system. Replacing the original converter with a modern, freer-flowing one, will reclaim a lot of the lost hp. Even better is replacing the exhaust with a true dual system. That’s an easy bolt-on since all of the attachment points are there as are the pass-throughs in the frame crossmember. The 1975 L82 retained a lot of the good parts from previous years, heads with 2.02″ intake valves, hypereutectic pistons, 4-bolt mains, forged crankshaft, etc.
In terms of handling, really significant gains can be had with just replacing the stock components. A number of places sell upgraded springs, shocks and roll bars for the front, as well as a one-piece single leaf fiberglass spring and upgraded shocks and roll bars for the rear. Some vendors even sell complete kits, including some that replace the coil springs in the front with a transverse leaf spring ala later generation Corvettes. The prices for these parts/kits are pretty reasonable, due in no small part to the competition engendered by the size of the Corvette aftermarket. In terms of handling, the greatest impediment with the addition of the parts mentioned is the size of the stock wheels and the size and aspect ratio of the tires available for those wheels. Upgrading those will greatly help in the handling department but, in this, each owner has to make the choice between maintaining the stock appearance and performance improvement.
no Thanks!
Any Corvette outside of one with a rusty frame deserves to be made roadworthy again but the buy-in has to be tolerable. I’m not talking about a 100 point Bloomington Gold restoration just one that would make the car roadworthy, safe and attractive. This one is listed with some pretty $hitty pictures and for the ask I seriously doubt it will sell if a prospective buyer does a physical inspection. I’d love to have it but not for $5450.00
I am very critical of 1974 up Corvettes project cars and this is one of those. You have the guys that love them don’t want to buy it BUT wants to save it.
Then there are those in the know that know the reality of buying one running NOW for less. I had a 77 Corvette I have talked about before. It was a pig. Girls liked it until they baked alive with the A/C on and their hair blowed with the tops out.
The cheapest thing about it to work on was the engine and transmission. Sold it after four years. I have had many cars and that is one I care never to own again. It was fun at the time as I was in my early 20’s (only time to really enjoy and experience when you are young) Not an old fart. But then the only people that can afford and maintain them.
I am with the consencess. Part it out. Give me Popapork’s 10 year old Caravan.
The caravan is my squad car so technically not mine but it has 290hp with a perfect shifting 6 speed auto. When i make a U-turn on the interstate thru the concrete barrier gap (i work in the city so no grass median)i need to slow my foot down bacause the car accelerates way faster than i can turn the steering wheel. Limiting factor are the van tires and i think with ultra performance front tires it would do 0-60 in low 5 seconds (6.5sec with factory tires)
Its really an eye opening experience with the newer 6 speed auto transmissions.
The corvette to me is something like a vintage bi plane, i dont take it far, its not comfortable, i need to dress acordingly (hat& long sleeve), its loud and it smells. But it sure can put a grin on my face!
Went on vacation last year (amazing to look back one could do that and be carefree ) We rented a Dodge Caravan GT. It looked the part of being sporty. Automatic doors and Sto N Go rear seats with the clever numbering system to fold them in the floor. A caveman such as myself don’t have to get out the owners manual to operate them. It is always nicer when you don’t own it. We laughed at each other when the “mini van” was our only choice. The laugh was on us after an hour into the trip. It made quite an impression. After the trip though we hated to turn it back in. Now Fiat has has chose to end production of this signature vehicle. With the car rental companies shedding inventory makes it a good opportunity to nab one. Had a Chrysler tech tell me to opt out for a 2013 as they were more reliable then the new ones as there are sensors upon sensors. Dunno. We have sorta one now. Our driver/beater (we both have newer vehicles) is a 2004 Scion xB it has 280,000 miles and no end in sight. A local has one with 450,000 with the original drivetrain. I recently hauled a new washer in it. Amazing but true.
Minivans can be really capable vehicles. Had a Honda Oddity that I used for everything, including hauling my loaded track-day trailer. Great versatility, you could even sleep two in it comfortably. And with +1 wheels and decent tires it even handled pretty OK. Now minivans are no longer “in”. It’s SUV’s, CUV’s and pickups. Even what people of my age so quaintly describe as “cars” are on the endangered list. Clark Griswold would be stymied. I’m pretty sure the Wagon Queen Family Truckster is no longer in production.
The “Oddity” is not a typo. That’s what I called it.
If the body is the only thing that can be salvaged, I could see this Corvette being turned into a pro-touring beast with an E-Rod LSA engine and a custom chassis from either Art Morrison or Roadster Shop.
What’s all this mini van BS got to do with a Corvette for sale????
A commenter compared the handling and acceleration of his minivan with his C3.