Some Corvettes have a rougher life than others.

This 1966 convertible has endured an accident, decades of neglect and a long stay in a dirt-floored building.

It hasn’t been registered since the late 1980s. Its engine doesn’t run. Its brakes were frozen. Rust has taken a serious toll underneath.

Somehow, though, the old C2 is still hanging on. Can’t you see the beautiful ol’ gal hiding underneath all that crud?

Someone other than this writer apparently believes it deserves another chance. The battered Corvette is being offered at no reserve on Bring a Trailer, where bidding had already reached $18,000 with six days remaining.

Whether that proves to be a bargain or merely the down payment on a very expensive restoration remains to be seen.

The current owner reportedly acquired the Corvette in 1982, but its troubles began not long afterward. According to the seller, the car suffered front-end damage in an accident during the mid-1980s.

Repairs included replacing the front clip and convertible top, adding rear fender flares and repainting the car black. The front bumper is now missing, and additional exterior damage reportedly came from a blanket that was used as a car cover during storage.

But black isn’t this Corvette’s original color.

The trim tag shows it left the St. Louis factory wearing Trophy Blue paint (like 1,462 others that year) over a black leather interior — a combination that could make a return to its original appearance especially appealing to its next owner.

Getting there won’t be easy.

The Corvette spent years stored in conditions that apparently weren’t kind to it. Severe rust is visible on components underneath, while the four-wheel disc brakes had become frozen and were disabled so the car could be rolled.

One Bring a Trailer commenter summed up the photos rather succinctly.

“Yikes! The rust is very bad.”

Another took one look at the building where the Corvette had been stored and wrote, “I can feel the dampness just looking at the garage.”

Currently under the hood is a 350-cubic-inch V8 installed under previous ownership. It doesn’t run.

But the sale includes something that could make this project considerably more interesting: a 427 V8 short block along with a pair of cylinder heads, intake manifold, water pump, power-steering pump, distributor and starter nose cone.

A four-speed manual transmission remains in the car.

One commenter believes the presence of the big-block components makes the battered Corvette worth saving despite its condition.

“Pretty crusty,” he wrote. “The dirt floored garage it was held prisoner in did it no favors. Still with the original big block this a worthwhile project.”

Inside, the Corvette retains black leather bucket seats along with matching door panels and carpeting. There’s also a Hurst shifter, analog clock, AM/FM radio and lap belts.

The car rolls on aftermarket wheels and old tires fitted with inner tubes. A pair of factory-style rear quarter panels is also included with the sale.

There’s certainly no shortage of work awaiting the next owner. The body needs attention. The mechanical systems will need to be gone through. The underside raises obvious concerns – we worry about the birdcage, and getting a non-running Corvette that has been sitting for decades safely back on the road won’t happen overnight — or cheaply. Still, beneath all the scars is a 1966 Corvette convertible, a four-speed and the makings of a big-block C2.

Perhaps that’s why, instead of seeing a lost cause, some Bring a Trailer commenters see what the Corvette could become.

One even looked beyond its current appearance to a possible future feature about its resurrection.

“Can’t wait to see the BAT success story when it is spotless.”

For now, though, “spotless” seems a long way off.

But after surviving an accident, nearly four decades off the road and years in a dirt-floor garage, this old Corvette has already proven one thing.

It’s a survivor. Now it just needs a new owner willing to get its blood (or oil) flowing again.

Source:
Bring a Trailer

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