[VIDEO] Dennis Collins Rescues a ‘Holy Grail’ 1 of 188 1971 Corvette with an LS6

By
Mitch Talley
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[VIDEO] Dennis Collins Rescues a 'Holy Grail' 1971 Corvette with an LS6


Check out the “Holy Grail” of ’71 Corvettes as Dennis Collins goes to Maryland to pick up a real-deal LS6 in his latest YouTube video.

Dennis was a little skeptical about the car, having received lots of spam scam phone calls in the past, but when he finds out that this vintage Stingray has been given the seal of approval by an NCRS judge after two days of inspection, he’s ready to forget about putting it on a lift and instead just lifts his hand to write the check for the asking price.

Only 188 of these LS6 Corvettes were built back in the day, at an additional cost of $1,221, and it was basically a race car for the street with a 454/425 horsepower engine with aluminum heads and a gigantic 850 carburetor.

[VIDEO] Dennis Collins Rescues a 'Holy Grail' 1 of 188 1971 Corvette with an LS6


This particular car was delivered to Neel Chevrolet in Sykesville, Maryland on March 12, 1971, according to the NCRS – a surprising dealership since they weren’t known for being a high-performance shop.

That may be why this LS6 sat on the lot for about two years before being purchased by a friend of the current owner, who has worked on it for decades, the first time more than 40 years ago when he had to remove the clutch and wound up having it rebuilt because new ones weren’t available. From that day forward, the guy knew what a special Corvette this was, and after years of trying, he finally was able to convince the original owner to part with it.

[VIDEO] Dennis Collins Rescues a 'Holy Grail' 1 of 188 1971 Corvette with an LS6 border=


Dennis says the car would have originally listed for around $8,000, but the seller recalls that the original owner was able to pick it up for only $5,000 because no one wanted a gas guzzler in the middle of the energy crisis of the ’70s.

Naturally, the car needs a lot of work now, but all the pieces appear to be original – though a correct factory warranty replacement engine block had to be installed around 1974.

[VIDEO] Dennis Collins Rescues a 'Holy Grail' 1 of 188 1971 Corvette with an LS6


“I’m convinced the car is real,” Dennis concludes. “When you’ve got an NCRS guy put his stamp of approval on it that it’s real, you’re good to go. I was a little bit nervous, it’s such a rare car.”

The car is showing just 47,560 miles and probably last ran sometime in the mid-’90s, according to the seller, so Dennis’ first task will be to get roadworthy again – a task he is eager to complete. We’ll keep you posted on that first drive, for sure.


Source:
Dennis Collins / YouTube

Related:
[VIDEO] Dennis Collins Needs a Forklift to Rescue TWO Rare Midyear Coupes
[VIDEO] Dennis Collins Buys the Cheapest 1963 Corvette Split Window
[VIDEO] Dennis Collins Snaps Up a Black ’63 Split Window From its Longtime Owner

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7 COMMENTS

  3. Dennis has been on TV several times. He’s buddies with Richard Rawlings and he appeared on several episodes of Fast N’ Loud. This Corvette was the top dog Vette in 1971.

  4. “This guy should be on TV.”

    Why? He’s make more money and has 100% control of his media on YouTube. TV will add drama, edit things to sway a narrative, etc.

    Just like Richard Rawling of Gas Monkey Garage (who is a close friend of Dennis), he also does better on YouTube. The salary vs YouTube ad revenue may not be as big, but Richard does car give-aways via merch sales that net him MILLIONS on each give-away.

    Many YouTubers are doing this and they are raking in the money! The trick is to have a YouTube channel that garners a lot of views and subscribers and then do car give-aways. One YouTuber that recently did a car give-away through merch sales revealed that he had over $5M in sales…and he’s his automotive YouTube channel isn’t nearly as big as some of the others.

  6. So the car was finally sold in 1973 and within a year needed a block and a clutch? The owner must have had a IQ about equal to his shoe size.

  7. Hey Dennis, Your 4803 Holley is a 780 CFM. Was pretty sure that only the L88 and ZL1 came with a 850, took a while to confirm in an old Holley publication. Also a little mix-up in the Black Book regarding GM # and List # for A.T. and M.T. Check it out. Zoom Zoom

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