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What’s Under There? 1974 Corvette Coupe

Thirty years ago, Bill Clinton was US president, and some guy rolled a Corvette into a garage and gave up on it. Now someone new has penetrated the piles of junk and is offering this 1974 Corvette for sale. All you’ve got to do is uncover it. Oh, and give the guy some number of bucks that approach $5000, but realize that he’s taking offers. Then find your way to Fraser, Michigan to trailer home your prize.

“Looks really nice under all the dirt.” Does it? Well, you want to say, get it out, wash it up, and let’s see. But that would take away from the story, the one with a name that rhymes with “Barn Finds” because it is a barn find. Or a suburban garage find. A closer look might reveal some issues, but the seller says that there is “very little rust on what metal I can see.” The body also looks good, and the rubber is soft. There’s no word whatsoever about the mechanical fitness except the cryptic, “Don’t know what it will take to get it back on the road.” Let’s hope the answer to that is not, “a new engine.” Only your inspection will help you build an appropriate pro/con list as you try to envision your future inside this t-top equipped runner. The bonus on this one is that it has apparently not been messed with, a la fender flares or tufted-vinyl seat skins, among other horrors of the decade when the car was born.

Packing more of a whimper than a wallop compared to today’s Vettes, this smog-exempt car has a 350-CID engine with an automatic transmission, a combo good enough for the average sports car driver in an era when compact cars were still in double digits in terms of power numbers. This was the third generation of Corvette, lasting from model years 1968-82. To say that another way, there are a lot of cars that look roughly similar to this one, so if you’re not super keen on the condition of this one, feel free to move on.

The questions this raises are three. First, how good, or how bad, is this Corvette once you uncover it properly and get into the nooks and crannies with a flashlight? Second, do you want a project, even though it seems relatively straightforward on the face of it? Third, how much are you going to have to spend to get to even? Book values for a #2 are in the low $20K range, topping out around $30 for a #1. The market is crowded with cars that look good in ads and are priced in the high-$20s. Where would you place this one now and when redone, with those numbers in mind?

Comments

  1. Harvey Harvey Member

    Doesn’t seem to be a motivated seller. Maybe they want the buyer to clean out the garage:-)

    Like 14
  2. Craig Baloga Craig Baloga

    White, auto L48……. I would do the bare minimum “Roadworthy Restoration”, like Derek Bieri, and drive it like I stole it…..

    👍🤓

    Like 8
  3. Rw

    The Magician tribute car.

    Like 1
  4. Louie

    Where’s the link for the ad?

    Like 8
  5. Bill W.

    I really don’t understand people any more. I could understand something like “help me clean out the garage, buy this for 500.00” or, pull it out, clean it up and say found in a garage in a coma, what’s your best offer?
    5K as in the photo? YKM?

    Like 9
    • Al camino

      Should say 1974 slob mobile for sale,wonder how they treated it when it was running?

      Like 4
  6. Jules

    This is the least desirable car. The automatic and buried under objects doesn’t help I have had convertible 74 models. These are starting to slowly edge upward. They still are not the hot commodity vehicle. I would have thought to at least clean up some…

    GLWS

    Like 0
  7. ccrvtt

    Fraser is a suburb of Detroit which is built over a salt mine. Michigan salted its roads heavily during the period from 1974-1993. After 19 Michigan winters saying a car has “a little rust” is not the same as an Arizona car with “a little rust”.

    Caveat emptor.

    Like 7
    • kim in Lanark

      Well, there doesn’t seem to be any rust on the body :), The interior looks good, which says something. If it’s been sitting there for 30 years, anything the seller is getting is essentially free money. But I do wonder about a guy who is too effing lazy to at least take the effing boxes off the car. Let me walk that back. This might be an estate sale or the original owner is in a nursing home or something.

      Like 4
      • Richard Jones

        Yep, no rust on the body 🤣🤣🤣

        Like 1
  8. Marshall Belcher

    Buy it for 500.then get 250 back for cleaning the garage find a farmer that will let you put it under a far shed. List it as a barn find some nut will give you 12. K. The word ban find makes them go crazy..

    Like 1
  9. Roxanna Belcher

    The engine will be frozen guaranteed.trans. will be junk..what are you buying. They would have to give it to me in return for cleaning their garage..

    Like 4
  10. Drake J Nailon

    This seems like the perfect candidate for what I want to do except for the location, price and need to uncover it. Lol

    Like 1
  11. Ashtray

    It is worth nothing! It wasn’t worth a whole hell of a lot before it was parked.
    I know these are strong statements, but I have owned a few Corvettes, and I know this particular one is certainly not one of value.
    Just my oponion!

    Like 1
  12. Jim in FL Member

    OMG, yet another seller too lazy to clean up and present their vehicle in a favorable setting where you could at least see what was for sale!

    Like 0

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