Garage Find ’66 Corvette Big Block
Although we prefer to feature cars offered for sale by owners, we know that there are some good finds on offer from resellers, and with this car appears to be one of those. It’s a garage find ’66 Corvette convertible with the big block 390 HP engine, and it’s being offered by a well known California vintage project car seller. Find it here at the Beverly Hills Car Club with a price tag of $46.500.
This ‘Vette has been untouched since 1976, so the systems will need to be gone through for safety, but after being cleaned up after that long rest it came out looking better than most barn find cars. I am not too familiar with C2 Corvettes, although a Split Window coupe has always been one of my top wish-list cars. So although this car looks pretty good to me, I would like to know what readers who know these cars better than I do think.
The numbers are claimed to be matching – are they? That ultra-white interior doesn’t appeal to me, but it is likely to be original? On the other hand it looks like this car has my preferred transmission, a 4-speed manual. Am I right about that? There looks to be surface rust on the frame but it doesn’t look too bad to me. Am I missing some clue in the underside photos that warns of big-$$$ bills down the road?
So, what do people think? The $45,500 price is high compared to a lot of the cars featured here on Barn Finds, but we know these cars have appreciated quite a lot. The Sports Car Market guide has this particular model valued between $59.500 to $118,000 for an excellent #2 example. We know the values vary a lot with the options on the car. What do you think – is it worth the $45k asking?
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Comments
A little history on the car would be helpful. Still don’t understand why people sell cars to dealers, what with the internet and the ability to reach people without selling to a middleman instead. A strange color mix to my eye. Like the 3 pedals though. By the way I passed this today………
People die, others don’t have time, or the knowledge, or the interest. Most people aren’t into cars and don’t know where to begin when selling one. Nor buying one…
It only proves there is still money lying on the street…….
I agree, why use a dealer ?
Those are the most worthless people in the whole industry.
Do nothing to improve the cars other than raise the prices.
It drives me up the wall when I see people paying more for the car they buy from a dealer than from a private person, who kept the car safe for decades.
Just stupid.
Looks like someone thought it was worthwhile….
Jesse……….sometimes sellers cant or wont spend the time to market a car properly, as I know you know. Illness, estate sale etc. They’d just as soon take what they can get from a dealer. Looks to me like the car came from waaaaay out of California. And I’m with Tucker Torpedo. it was bought at much less than whatever it sold for. Corvettes occupy a niche market that seems to have very well heeled buyers willing to pay what I consider more that I would.
is there another corvette next to it in the photos of the car still in the garage?
Nothing wrong with a high asking price. Weeds out the BSers. It is worth the price to the right buyer. Some things I have sold for less then I wanted. Usually regretted taking a lower price for.
Good approach, that I should take to heart.
Thank You
Shouldn’t be a 396 if it’s a ’66; 390 horse is a 427. Still, looks doable.
On a few of the side shots is is marked 427.
The car looks to be correct, and Jerry is correct the 396 was only offered in 65. I’ve seen higher prices on lesser cars.
It is sold.
I am sure BHCC appreciates all the free exposure here. Isn’t the consensus here that those guys should fly the Jolly Roger?
@Kevin:
“Some” might say you’ve insulted pirates. Not me, of course.
I second the Jolly Rogers with a swift kick you know where.
Somebody got a deal at 45.5 K ! Wish it was me.
Gotta love a reseller who spends two days cleaning a Corvette garage find, advertises , promotes, oversells heavily, flips it to a dreamer for a quick $25K profit! They say there’s one born every minute, here’s proof…
That’s how these places stay in business…..
There is an endless supply of morons out there that enable them to continue…..
I wish ONE of them would stop by my house……
If you’ve been watching the auctions lately, Vette prices have declined. B-J had several that looked better than this for the SAME MONEY!!!!. BHCC and another guy on the East Coast buy up anything/everything trying to capture the market. I cant blame them for trying.
the seller sure has a lot of other interesting vehicles for sale. this car looks like it is sitting high but might be becaused of mismatched tires. it is going to need rebuilt but in todays market it was a good deal as it is sold. i wonder why it was just parked for all that time. great find.
Harumph.
Where is the exhaust system on this car? There is exactly *nothing* that I can see, not even manifolds. The motor could easily have a bad rod or bearing, and the car may have been parked for it. Yep the rear is so high… Those gas shocks from 1998 might be the reason… (lol)
+1 on the BHCC indicators….
Good catch on the ride height and the air shocks. Take a close look at the center mount on the rear leaf spring (BHCC site), those two small brackets with the bent bolt going through it are for a trailer hitch. I’ve taken a few of these brackets off of C3’s and I’ve got a set of those same brackets in my tool bench. There are also a couple of open holes at the rear bumper mounts that would support a trailer hitch mount. Those brackets and the air shocks, someone used this big block C2 to tow something, hopefully it was something cool. I’ll also side bet that bolt is what the chain was hooked to when they pulled it out of the garage.
I sure could use that tractor in the first picture.
In addition to the lack of an exhaust system, take a close look at the center spring mount on the rear end. Those two extra brackets with the bent bolt going through are for a trailer hitch !! I’ve taken a set or two off a few C3 cars and I have a pair of the same brackets out in my work bench drawer. Don’t see any left over brackets or extra holes at the rear bumpers, but someone had a hitch on their C2 sometime back in the day. I think that’s also a good explanation for the air shocks. Sure hope they were hauling something cool !!
I wondered whether a car from this seller might get some discussion going. There are two of these sellers that I sometimes look at—this one in LA, and another one in NYC that gets a lot of criticism.
I stopped looking at Beverly Hills Car Club for a while because so many of the cars were a bad combination of rusty and incomplete, plus high prices. I think that’s changed, because now I see lots of interesting vehicles in OK condition for OK prices on their website.
It looks like someone thought this Corvette was a decent combination of condition and price because it was sold almost as soon as it went up on Barn Finds.
There’s a lot of choice for buying cars now, especially since project cars are so popular that they are coming out of the woodwork. So do I want to buy from a reseller like this one, or from a private party?
I think one thing BHCC are doing right is being professional about their selling, with lots of choice in cars and lots of photos of each car that always include underside shots with the cars on a proper lift. I wish the photos were larger, but at least they show lots of them for every car. They also give the VIN and engine numbers.
I have never bought from them, but the few cars that I have ever bought (used) from dealers have been good buys, and also good experiences. They knew what they were doing about the process, didn’t change their mind in the middle of a deal, and they got the sale.
Although I prefer to deal directly with a seller, what with ebay and CL now anyone can be a “dealer”. Unfortunately a lot of these folks are real bad at it. I have had more than enough bad experiences with them that it has made me look upon the pros like BHCC in a new light.
That, and I have seen cars offered by BHCC that looked like they were in better condition and for no more or even less money than I have seen similar cars actually sell for on ebay. Maybe the competition has been a good thing.
For all the negative comments this dealer gets on discussion lists like this, it would be good to hear from some of their actual customers. Yeah, a lot of their stuff is not as nice as the inventory of many classic car dealers, and their ask can be high. But that doesn’t mean a buyer is going to be fleeced. Most buyers of these sorts of vehicles know what they are getting into, and if not, whose fault is that?
Didn’t anyone notice the dash picture of the tach ? redline at 5k ? 6k ? Maybe it’s not areal bb car?
always check dem corvettes for rust i had one it just flew it was rusty someone put one of dem corvair badges the previous owner must liked dem corvairs a lot to put that badge on it that was one weird vette some put a engine it the back they must have been crazy i tell ya
(this is a joke)
I am a ‘Vett fat but I prefer some later classics to these earlier, that said this is a beautifull example and whilst I like the White interior I think that the grren doesn’t work with it, in fact I’d say that the green (much like MGs “Blaze” red/orangy colour) the green doesn’t work at all and I’d be tempted to re-spreay this example a nice deep midnight blue to contrast the interior.
Once done this car would look stunning but I’d also look at upgrading a few parts, things like the Brakes with full silicone system and all round service and upgrade where neccicary, the wireing loom might need some work and I’d fit an alternator with more output than whats currently fitted. Other than that a complete safety check, Service and new tyres should make this a nice car.
I vote that you prohibit car flippers and re-sellers from being on this site. This site should be for car enthusiasts, not for money enthusiasts….. By putting this car on here, you’re just giving them free advertising and making them MORE money…. :(
I would’ve purchased it for that price if I knew about earlier… Also, the clean, white interior is oddly refreshing in a big block corvette. What a waste of an opportunity for the average joe.
I think in many cases these “dealers” have means of sniffing these things out rather than owners seeking them out. If a dealer or private party for that matter, “beats” someone out of an old vehicle, it will come back around at some point.