Upon first glance, this 1971 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster looks like a pretty good candidate for restoration. It has been off the road since 1980 and has only traveled a little over 69,000 miles in 50 years. However, a fiberglass body often survives a whole lot better in New York than the chassis, which is a case in point for this particular third-generation Vette. If you are really experienced in car restoration and in the market for an original C3 that needs some serious attention on the underside, this 1971 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster might be worth a look. Located near Buffalo, New York, it can be found here on Craigslist with an asking price of $8,500. Thanks go out to Barn Finds reader Chuck Foster for the tip on this one.
This Corvette was purchased new in Orchard Park, New York, about 15 minutes from Buffalo, and has spent its entire life there. The car is said to be all original with the same engine and transmission that it left the factory with, which is a 350 cubic inch V-8 and a Turbo 400 automatic. The seller says the motor is still strong and powerful, and that it runs amazingly well. The vehicle also has factory A/C, power steering, and power brakes.
The seller says the original interior is still in good condition, and judging from the pictures it looks pretty good for its age. This Corvette is also still wearing its original Brands Hatch Green paint, Code 983 in 1971, and although not perfect it still looks OK. The body doesn’t look bad either, and the car comes with both the original hardtop and soft top.
So the good news is that the Northern half of this Corvette is pretty well preserved. The bad news, very bad news, is the Southern part of the car. The seller says that the frame and chassis of the car are badly rotted. Several photos of the underside are provided, and it looks like a pretty catastrophic situation, but I always appreciate it when a seller is so straightforward about what a dire situation a car is in.
This Corvette is billed as a very large restoration project and one that should only be attempted by an experienced car restorer. The seller thinks this would be a worthwhile car to save, based on the good condition of the body and interior. He even throws out the idea of installing an aftermarket frame and chassis kit that would update the car to a C4 or C5 suspension, but I would be curious to hear what our readers think about this. What do you think would be the best future for this 1971 Chevrolet Corvette? Is $8,500 in the ballpark of a reasonable price to pay for what you are getting here?
Curious if the “engine runs amazingly well” happened in 1980 when there wasn’t an open oil blow hole in the right valve cover. Think what you have here is a body and most of the running gear, not much else.
I think that is where the PVC valve and hose were fitted.
They sell replacement frames under 5000. One could buy sections to weld into existing frames but not so sure here as it has bad rot showing.
The engine will need rebuild most likely as it looks well used prior to parking.
A rebuild for 63 split was around 4800.
I would be tempted if one decided to spend more than purchase of an original all together cost to store the engine and put a summit racing engine “380-400” ponies within.
Good luck and i hope you have an empty credit card 💳 to spend ten grand on frame and engine with your labor. Then just 3-4 grand miscellaneous items (radiator, gas tank, brakes….)
Once one puts it together just a 12000 paint job it will look sweet too.
I’d love to see it restored with finished look on this site.
$8500 seems like a lot for a Corvette body. Probably bought from Gillogly Chevrolet in the “snow belt” Orchard Park and driven through nine winters. On the bright side, it shouldn’t take much effort to get the body off the “frame”. An honest seller . Good luck to them
Wow- it looked good until the frame pics. I am not sure you could restore this and be right-side up on it. Good luck.
My point exactly Frank. Suppose they pulled the PCV valve the same time they pulled the belts off the rusted pulleys?
@bobhess- Got it. My mistake.
What the heck did they do, park that thing in a salt lake? You need a complete replacement frame to even consider this one! There are some good replacement frames out there that not only fix the rust issue but update the suspension for more suitable product. But to make that feasible IMO you need to get the car on the cheap.
It’s possible but it’s not going to be something you can drive while fixing it, you’re going to have to pull the whole frame and go from there.
First thing you do is say “Hello Dolly” and then you build one to store the body on while you are working on the frame replacement. BIG project here.
I would hard pass on this one. Regular 350 versions of this are available all day long in the twenties. With intact frames and ready to drive. There’s nothing special about this to warrant an expensive restoration like there might be for the L78 Chevelle SS 396 or the 400 HO GTO also on here now.
Bird cage!
Stephen nailed it. If the frame is that shot, what about the bird cage? While the frame is a 5K replacement, also consider all the running gear is probably shot as well. Your looking at a rolling frame with suspension and that is a lot more than 5K. As a C3 owner, I would love to see this one come back, but it’s gonna need a lot of work.
$2k tops, will cost way more than the value to rebuild it
Dont understand…No maintence what so ever and want more than original cost??
Parts car thats all!!!
Stephen nailed it. If the frame is that shot, what about the bird cage? While the frame is a 5K replacement, also consider all the running gear is probably shot as well. Your looking at a rolling frame with suspension and that is a lot more than 5K. As a C3 owner, I would love to see this one come back, but it’s gonna need a lot of work.
GONE.
Seller must have accepted an offer that I would guess was well below the asking price.
At least this car was treated well during its life – no modifications and impressive that the ignition shielding is intact. The rivets in the front end indicate that the front end is probably original.
You could restore it – I’ve seen it done on worse, but will take a lot of time, effort, and more than a few $$. I hope someone does it and doesn’t make it a parts car.
Put it in the front yard and plant flowers in it.
I had a code 983 1971 coupe in 1976. It appears to be a base 270 hp 350. Boring. No 4 speed. Has some options and yes, needs a frame. The time to repair a 50 year old frame is for someone with a blank check and no job, meaning he would need to work night and day. I see a comment that it would not be hard to remove the body. You probably never removed a C3 body from a rusty frame. If It is was a true LT-1, I would pay $3,000 for this car.
I had three Corvettes in my years in Chicago … I always bought a “beater” car for the winter so they never saw snow … my Vettes never looked this bad … a shame to see this on a car …