Is this 1965 Corvette the Worst Basket Case on eBay?

basketcase1Anyone who’s interested in restoring old cars has come across a “basket case” or two – sometimes, it’s a car that nature and time have conspired to disassemble without human help, and sometimes it’s the result of a would-be restorer who ran out of enthusiasm mid-way through the project. In this case, we have a 1965 Corvette that seems to have suffered from both.

Currently up for auction on eBay, this car is making its way from Freeport in the Bahamas to Fort Lauderdale in Florida. The seller is honest about the condition of the car, saying, “I TRIED TO RESTORE THE CAR BUT WHEN I TOOK OUT THE WINDSHIELD THE CAR BROKE AROUND THE WINDSHIELD AREA BECAUSE OF THE BIRDCAGE,” and adding, “THE UPPER BIRD CAGE OF THE CAR IS ALL ROTTED OUT THERE IS NO TRANSMISSION NO ENGINE NO BUMBERS OR CROME ON THIS CAR.”

What are present, though, are the chassis and VIN tags, along with much of the suspension hardware, which has been sandblasted and painted (including, oddly enough, the brake rotors). Our intrepid seller is asking $9,500 for this pile of rotting fiberglass and rust, and apparently has had some previous problems with wannabe buyers backing out: “I HAVE HAD MANY MANY OFFERS SOME LOW BALL AND SOME VERY HIGH BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY THE CAR DIDNT SELL BECAUSE SOME THINK THE CAR IS IN ROUGH SHAPE BECAUSE THE UPPER BIRDCAGE IS ALL ROTTED,” he capslock-shouts.   “I HAVE BEEN VERY CLEAR AND PRECISED ABOUT THE DETAILS OF THIS CAR I HAVE ALREADY REFUNDED 2 DEPOSITS ON THIS CAR PLEASE READ AND VIEW ALL PHOTOS BEFORE YOU GIVE ME MONEY OR MAKE AN OFFER, I AM NOT GIVING BACK ANY MORE REFUNDS.”

Is there such a thing as a "dock find"?

Is there such a thing as a “dock find”?

So what do you think? Will he find a buyer who sees $9,500 worth of value in this train wreck, or are the local strains of recreational vegetation in the Bahamas really that potent? You be the judge…

About the author

Paul Huizenga

After some close calls on the street in his late teens and early twenties, Paul Huizenga discovered organized drag racing and never looked back, becoming a SFI-Certified tech inspector and avid bracket racer. Formerly the editor of OverRev and Race Pages magazines, Huizenga set out on his own in 2009 to become a freelance writer and editor.
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