• Seller: Albin N ovinec
• Location: Beaumont, California
• Mileage: 87,423 Shown
• Chassis #: 1Z67J5S412938
• Title Status: Clean
• Engine: 350 V8
• Transmission: Automatic

Automotive milestones have fascinated me since those grade school years when the local pharmacists would yell at me for reading their car magazines without buying them. I vividly remember the return of the Corvette Convertible in 1986, “just in time” to pace the Indy 500 that year. It had been gone for 11 long years, according to all that surreptitious reading I was doing, and I sure got caught up in the hype. So this 1975 Corvette, now available as a Barn Finds Auction, represents the first bookend of those childhood memories, the last convertible, at least for a while.

The C3 Corvette emulated David Bowie throughout its fifteen-year (!) model run: It underwent some changes. It saw aluminum 427s to Cross-Fire Injection and everything in between. Chrome bumpers, split bumpers, hatchbacks, four presidents…you get the picture. They were so popular that finding nice ones like this convertible is easier on the pocketbook than a ’60s Corvette is. Our featured convertible has a new white paint job (it was originally gray), a new convertible top, new tires, and new brakes. It’s road-ready.

Once you open the period-appropriate Corvette Summer hood, you see the classic Chevy small-block. It’s impossible, however, to ignore the cold hard facts of 1975: the Corvette’s standard 350 had some explaining to do. With 165 horsepower, the ‘Vette was built for looking good rather than storming the drags or giving those Jags a whipping at the 12 Hours of Sebring. The owner has recently given the engine (which is original to the car) a valve job and a new exhaust system, in addition to an aluminum manifold and a Holley-based carburetor in an effort to give the ‘Vette a little more oomph. If you’d prefer it, the original Quadrajet and iron manifold will come with the car.

There’s a new carpet in the Corvette’s racy interior. (Aren’t those round central gauges cool?) I think the white exterior and blue interior is a striking combination; maybe it’s the heritage of the original ’53, but white is always an appropriate color for a Corvette. Kudos to the seller. As you can see, this is an automatic Corvette, which isn’t a shortcoming in an era where one can’t buy a new Corvette with a manual transmission, even if one wants to.

So, if you always pictured yourself behind the wheel of the “last” Corvette convertible, your significant other by your side, with no particular place to go, maybe this one’s for you. It’s located in California, and there are plenty of pictures and a video so you can get a good idea of what you’re looking at. Good luck to bidders!

Bid On This Auction

• History (3 bids)