Corvettes for Sale: 1965 Corvette with a Non-Original 454 V8 Offered on eBay

Dec 9, 2025

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Corvettes for Sale: 1965 Corvette with a Non-Original 454 V8 Offered on eBay

As good as the 1965 Corvette was back in the day, there’s always room for improvement.

Witness this ’65 Sting Ray convertible that’s been upgraded with a vintage big-block engine and lots of other recent work. It’s being offered on eBay through Christmas Eve with an asking price of $56,000 – maybe Santa will bring it down your chimney that night!

The big-block 396 made its debut in 1965, but this one has been outfitted with a late 1971-dated 454 four-bolt V8 with a steel crank and forged pistons. The owner says it acts like it has a mild solid lifter cam with GM Snowflake aluminum heads and dual plane intake manifold with 750 vacuum carburetor and factory-style large Corvette oil pan. The exhaust manifolds run through a recent aluminized exhaust system “that fits very well,” he says.

The powerplant is mated with a 1965 Muncie four-speed manual transmission, and the seller says the rear end appears to have undergone a rebuild recently, with 3.08 gearing by his estimation based on the way it drives now. He reckons it’s configured to be a mild highway cruiser with heavy-duty parts, including big block core support, radiator, and shroud.

The front and rear suspension has also been updated – the rear with a newer leaf spring, rebuilt trailing arms, new strut rods, and possibly KYB shocks, and the front with restored upper and lower control arms with new ball joints and bushings and newer tie rod ends and idler arm. The tires are also described as “newer.”

The car certainly presents well with its bright red exterior, white top, and black interior. The seller labels the “driver-quality” interior “nice and clean” – pointing out all the gauges work, including the interior light, and the original glove box is still in place.

The hidden headlights work the way they should, as do the horn, wipers, brake lights, and emergency brake. He describes the frame as “very solid with no rust” and labels the paint as “nice driver quality” despite having been on the car “a very long time.” The chrome bumpers look fine from a distance, he says, but like most 60-year-olds, begin to show their age the closer you get. Some may not like the aftermarket wheels, but we’ve always thought these type mags suited the personality of the C2 better than the original wheels. The seller agrees.

He describes his vintage Sting Ray “as a great driver that has the right look,” noting that it’s a “good-looking head turner that shows well with some patina.” Will it fit down your chimney on Christmas Eve night?

Source:
eBay Motors via BarnFinds.com

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