[VIDEO] Dennis Collins Brings Home a 1965 Corvette Coupe Plus an Update on the 1971 LS6

Oct 18, 2025

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[VIDEO] Dennis Collins Brings Home a 1965 Corvette Coupe Plus an Update on the 1971 LS6

What started as a last-minute pickup mission – “it came to fruition this morning in that they accepted our offer” – became an afternoon spent in Victoria, Texas, eating at the family’s favorite seafood place, trading stories about the car’s past, and loading a 1965 Corvette onto a trailer for the trip home.

All in a day’s work for Dennis Collins and his “Coffee Walk” crew.

The barn find Goldwood Yellow ’65 wears a fresher coat of the original color, and Dennis is quick to note that the car is an early build – the serial number ending in 102 tells him it was produced in August, the first month of 1965, and it wears many first-year details for that model.

Under the hood is the original small-block 327 with a 365-horse HH code and a chrome air cleaner atop an aluminum intake with Corvette-marked valve covers, a combination that marks it as a high-performance offering of the era. The transmission and rear end likewise are matching-number original pieces. The transmission is a close-ratio four-speed manual, and the rear diff carries a 3.70 Positraction setup. Dennis points out that the interior is standard vinyl (not leather) – though with the optional teakwood steering wheel, and the seats are the wider, hard-back design introduced that year. The car runs, the tach hits a 6,500 redline, and it has only about 200 more miles on the odometer than it did in 1998. All the gauges are working, even the clock, and the headlights flip up and down.

“Should be a fast car,” Dennis concludes.

The owner says he changed out the fuel tank, rubber hoses, and all four brake calipers (the first year for disc brakes and power radio antenna, by the way) about five years ago. After returning to the shop, Alex inspects the car – checking the fluids, installing a battery, and reporting that it runs and drives fine. A new owner will need to replace the tires, though.

Dennis takes the car for a spin and wonders what kind of tires will be chosen – blackwalls, whitewalls, or a nice set of BFGs for better road manners?

“I personally am a fan of the ’63 to ’67 coupes over the roadsters,” he says. “I love them both, but I think the coupe is the most iconic design out there.”

Be sure to check the burnout at the 19:05 mark in the video.

Dennis also gives an update on a green over green 1971 454 LS6 – one of the biggest horsepower Corvettes ever produced, period, and definitely the highest horsepower rated at 425 that year. This car is one of only 130 Corvettes in ’71 with a real M22 rock crusher four-speed manual transmission.

“What a stud car!” he concludes. “Brutal. It screams. Feels like an LS6, which is one of the greatest feelings you have when you’re driving a Chevrolet. Better than a tri-power car.”

Watch the video to see where Dennis hopes to sell this rare car later this year. It’s one of just 188 sold that year as it was a $1,221 option at a time when the base price was just under $5,500.