Corvettes for Sale: 1969 Corvette Barn Find with a 427 V8

It was a different mindset back in the ’70s, for sure.

For instance, who would think of parking a 2014 Corvette today and leaving it in a basement garage, untouched for the next 32 years?

But that’s what happened with this 1969 Corvette convertible that left the factory with a powerful 427 engine lurking under the hood, then wound up being parked in an Alabama basement garage by the second owner in 1978 where it would remain until being purchased by the current owner in May 2020.

At first, he planned to give this rare Stingray a full frame-off restoration, that is after he had driven it as a barn find “for a while.”

Circumstances change, however, and now he’s offering the still-unrestored car at no reserve on eBay, where 43 bids have already climbed to $15,900, with the auction slated to close at 10 p.m. Sunday.

The new owner will have lots of choices with this car. He could leave it as is and drive it around town as a worry-free cruiser, or he could go all in and follow the seller’s original dream of a full frame-off resto.

Either way, the new owner will have to make a decision about that 427 engine. The seller says it’s currently out for a full rebuild and has been disassembled. The car is being sold as-is, “but you can have the engine shop build the motor for you if you like and install it,” according to the listing.

Whatever the final bid winds up climbing to, we assume the winner will have to add the cost of the engine rebuild to that price.

As for the rest of the car, the seller says the frame and birdcage are “in excellent condition.” Some might be satisfied with the chipped and scratched paint and the custom fender flares added decades ago, while others would opt to take the body back to the way it left the factory and then add a nice (read, expensive) paint job.

The latter choice would also likely require some refurbishing of the interior, which isn’t terrible now but would look out of a place in a car with a fancy paint job. Adding to the new owner’s dilemma is the word that the seller has an “almost perfect” driver’s seat he’s including in the deal, along with a factory A/C compressor. Having owned a ’71 LT1 with a driver’s seat that was nicely upholstered but annoyingly always leaned to the left, I’d be tempted to update the seats in this car and go the restomod route.

If money was no object, that is.

How would you head with this car, if you were the winning bidder?

Source:
eBay Motors via BarnFinds.com

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