While the seller of this 1971 Corvette LT-1 promotes it as “the real deal,” we’re not so sure that’s totally accurate since it does have a replacement block.
On the other hand, some 50 years later, the car does retain its LT-1 internals, factory solid lifters, and other original components that made the 1,949 LT-1s produced in 1971 the special vehicles they are.
The owner says it would be nice to have a C1, C2, and C3 lined up in his garage, but his wife says no dice. Therefore, he’ll keep his recent purchases of a 1967 big block factory side pipe roadster and a 1959 Corvette found in a field where it sat for almost 40 years, and get rid of his ’71 LT-1.
That’s sad because the LT-1 – produced from 1970 to 1972 – has become synonymous with a high-output small-block V8. The ’71 offered 330 horsepower, 360 lb-ft of torque, and a 9:1 compression ratio and in a road test by Car & Driver back in the day zoomed from 0 to 60 in 6.0 seconds and 0-100 in 14.5 seconds, with a quarter-mile time of 14.57 seconds at 100.55 mph and a top speed of 137 mph.
While this car doesn’t have its original block, the seller notes that many LT-1 components are still present, including a 6500 RPM tachometer, transistor ignition box, harness, HD halfshafts/retainers, original 780 Holley carburetor (included in a box), intake with Winters Snowflake, 2-inch exhaust manifolds to 2.5-inch exhaust pipes, correct radiator and shroud, fuel line and inner fenders (no holes), correct one-year-only ’71 valve covers, plastic oil fill cap, and AX code top left corner of emissions sticker.
He says even after an apparent 123,000 miles on the road, the car runs “very strong” and the clutch “feels good.” He says it drives nicely but an alignment and possibly new rear u-joints would help.
The wiper door and wipers work, and the headlights are operational, albeit the passenger side needs help going up due to a possible vacuum leak, he guesses. The vent controls work, but the neat fiber optics don’t.
All LT-1s left the St. Louis factory with four-speed manual transmissions, which this car still has. It also has power steering and power brakes that have recently been fitted with new pads.
Alas, LT-1s didn’t have air conditioning until 240 were made in 1972, which turned into a problem for my wife when I owned an orange ’71 LT-1 coupe because like me she didn’t much care for the cheaper alternative provided by Chevy – Astro Ventilation that supposedly brought fresh air through the dash vents to replace the previous side window vents – but hot fresh air wasn’t much help on a hot Georgia summer afternoon!
The interior could use some freshening up, with a split in the driver’s seat and the driver’s door trim and the carpet showing signs of its age.
This one has an “overall nice body,” with “good overall paint,” the seller says, although he does note there is some cracking in the fiberglass under the front and rear bumpers where they were hit in the past though you can’t really see it unless you’re on the ground looking up under them. Since it has been a Southern car all its life, always garaged, the car still has a “nice clean frame with no scaling” and is “an honest car.”
He emphasizes, however, that this is a driver, not a trailer queen, though he believes “with a little effort,” it could be taken to the next level “quite easily.”
With this car being offered at no reserve, and with under two days left in the auction and the current bid at just $18,600, someone might get a bargain on this Mulsanne Blue coupe.
Source:
eBay Motors
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The seats have been either reupholstered or they’re incorrect.
And why would you drill a hole in the console?
Saw this car for sale recently, anyone recall where?
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