If you had a crystal ball in 1972, you could have looked ahead 50 years and marveled at what cars from that era can be worth in the future. You would learn that there would be a substantial financial advantage to stop street racing machines like this Chevelle SS and start keeping them in top shape to sell later for 10 times what they cost new. Unfortunately, the original owner of this car didn’t have psychic powers and it has been left to the elements for more than four decades. Located in Manahawkin, New Jersey, this major project (or donor car) is available here on eBay where the bidding holds at $2,122.

The second-generation A-bodied GM cars were on their last model year in 1972. By then, the Super Sport, which had been a series of its own at one time, was back to option status. More than 450,000 Chevelles were built in ’72, with about 25,000 of those cars being equipped as SS editions. The Chevelle convertible would have its swan song that year and just shy of 5,000 Malibu convertibles were made. But the records don’t go deep enough to determine how many of those were SS cars.

This car is described as a “big project” by the seller and that wording may be optimistic. The car has been sitting since 1979 and the convertible top fell apart who knows how long ago. So, rain and snow and whatever else have had a chance to get into every nook and cranny, resulting in virtually no remaining metal where floorboards once were. The trunk is mostly gone, too. All of this must raise some red flags in terms of the structural integrity of the car at this stage. Also, it took a hit in the right rear quarter and that whole area of the car is a mess. Little, if any, of the interior remains beside the dashboard, which has no steering column.

According to the seller, this is a U-code car, but the rusty cowl tag is hard to read to verify that. That would make the engine under the hood a 402-4 V8. There is no mention of whether the big block is stuck after all these years or whether it could turn freely with some coaxing. But we’re told all the original smog hardware is still there. The transmission is said to be an automatic.

The odometer reading is pegged at 67,600, so you must wonder what sidelined this car when it was only seven years old and presumably not touched since. From what we can see, is this a car worth saving or would it better serve as a donor car instead? And, as a donor, what’s there beyond the drivetrain that can successfully be harvested? Where’s that crystal ball when you need it?