“Jamie, back away from the saw,” (welder, fiberglass, torch, wrench, whatever I happened to be holding)! Some version of that is what my automotive mentor, my Dad, used to say when he saw me about to make a mistake. It seems the modifyer/s of these two Chevrolet Corvettes didn’t have someone like my Dad looking over their shoulder! The seller of these cars is trying to thin their herd and is offering the pair for $8,500 here on Facebook Marketplace. The cars are located in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Thanks to reader Jack M. for scarring my eyes forever with this find! You certainly won’t find a duplicate of either of these unusual builds anywhere else!
The seller describes the black car as a 1985 Corvette Custom Rat Rod and also uses the words “outrageous” and “imaginative.” I can’t argue with either. On the other hand, the older C3-based car is a 1976 model. Its body is described as “striking” and “unconventional”. Again, I can’t argue with either term. When they also call the ’76 “Ferrari-inspired”, though, I draw the line. Enzo and his designers would be rising from the dead if they heard that. The 76 has a very 1980s vibe to the design, and the color-keyed aluminum wheels and Dunlop G/T Qualifier tires also remind me of my high school days (I graduated in 1982). I’m honestly not sure what the mounter of the “side” view mirrors was thinking, and the positioning is even worse when you see that monstrous *wing* that is probably right in the field of view from the mirrors. Wow.
The ’85 wears a Mercedes grille, horns (?) on the tops of the front fenders, dune buggy headlights, enough diamond plate to build a mezzanine in my garage, and a gothic sculpture of some sort as a hood ornament surrounded by a horseshoe. On the other hand, I’d love to know what the very front of the yellow car is; some sort of attachment point for towing, perhaps? There are 30 vents in the hood and front fenders; I’m guessing engine compartment heat isn’t that much of an issue, although who knows where the air would come in from? Even the mirrors have fins of their own!
Speaking of fins-well, I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves here. I’m guessing rear vision for the yellow car wasn’t a concern, and I’m trying to figure out if the pipe on top of the spoilers on the black car is a fake gun or an exhaust pipe. Your thoughts, readers? Also, are those Eldorado taillights on the yellow car?
Neither interior is anything to write home about, but at least the black car has seats and a dashboard. Neither car is guaranteed to run, although the 1985 is believed to run. Both cars have small-block Chevrolet V-8s and automatic transmissions. I’m struck by the seller’s request for serious inquiries only; even if I were interested in purchasing the pair, I don’t think I could be completely serious when contacting the seller-could you? I do have a serious question for you readers: if these were both in running condition and you HAD to drive one home, which would you choose? I thought long and hard and decided on the 1976 yellow car. I want to see lots of answers (and no fair saying neither!), and I’ll tally up the responses and add them to the post. The choice is yours!
Line ém all up I’d take the Hudson.
That’s not playing by the rules, Bob. ;-)
Eek!!
If I had to drive one home. I’d walk.
They are both messes, hard to see $8,500 out of the pair.
Steve R
Saw this last week, thought about sending it in, but was too busy eye bleaching