1967 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe 427/390 factory A/C 4 speed PS PB TI - Unrestored

Not Quite a Barn Find, more of a side yard rescue...

Preface:

It is with great hesitation that I offer my 1967 Corvette for sale. This potential sale is a one-time offering that will end soon with the car either selling or being taken off the market. This Corvette is my pride and joy, and has brought me many years of enjoyment and appreciation, even before I actually owned it.

There are dozens of '67 Corvettes for sale every day for every budget. Coupes and Roadsters, S/B and B/B, plane jane to highly optioned, basket cases, survivors and fully restored versions in any color you want. If you are looking at my car than you most likely already know about 1967 Corvettes, so I won't try and educate you about them with loads of generalities the way many other sale ads tend to do.

I will say that you won't find many like mine, and it's not for everyone, but perhaps this type of car is what appeals to you?? There are some in the same color (like the lovely restored B/B non-A/C Coupe currently for sale on Ebay). Or perhaps one with some of the same options (although a B/B A/C car is fairly rare), or possibly an unhit body like mine as well (which could be challenging to validate once the car has been restored), etc.

My price might seem a bit unrealistic to some... but I have had legitimate cash offers of almost this amount recently, and wasn't considering selling the car at those times. If the purchase price is right to me, the car will sell and get a new caretaker. If not, it stays at home with me.. My reserve is currently setat $75K, with a BIN at $80K. Please be aware that if the reserve is met, the BIN price goes away and you will have to bid against others if you wish to attempt a purchase of this car.

Out of all the Corvettes and Muscle cars I have owned and/or restored, and all the car shows I have participated in over decades, this car seems to attract more attention than any other. If a faded old Corvette (that you can actually drive) appeals to you, finding a genuine unmolested unrestored car can be difficult. Don't get me wrong - there are some beautiful unrestored survivors out there, many of which are in better preserved condition than this one, but those cars tend to be sold privately versus ever offered to the public. This is one you can buy right now...

Now for some basic details about this car:

I have spent a fair amount of time cleaning items on this car with the concept of preserving everything in an original state versus restoring them, but there is still more detailing that can be done. FYI - I retained the oem parts for any items that I replaced and they are included with the car if so desired.

This Corvette rolled off the assembly line on Monday February 13th, 1967 and was first delivered to Madisons Chevrolet in Scottsdale Arizona (per the NCRS shipping data report). Sometime in 1969 the car made its way to Novato California (where it was issued the current California black plates), and it remained there until it moved to my house in Petaluma in 2012. I first saw this car back in the '70's (when I was still a teenager) and it was the first Big Block Midyear Corvette that I had the pleasure of experiencing. It took over 35 years of persistent pestering on my part before the previous owner finally decided to allow me the privilege of being the next caretaker of this classic vehicle. Perhaps you can be the next?

So the basic owner history appears to be as follows: Unknown original owner: from 1967 - 1969; 2nd owner from 1969 -1973; 3rd from 1973 - 2012; and myself from 2012 - present.

Side exhaust was added (not a factory installed option on this car) during the 1st two years of its life, then removed by the 3rd owner due to the excessive noise, and then re-installed by me once I acquired the car (since I really enjoy that sound).

Prior to my ownership, the car sat dormant for a couple of decades prompted by a leaking gas tank. As you can see, it didn't live a pampered life stashed away in a garage, but resided out in the elements, usually covered with a plastic tarp for some protection. The paint might be old and very faded, but the body is solid and has never been damaged or in an accident (which is amazing). The front inner fender lips were slightly trimmed for oversize tires, but other than that the body has not been messed with.

The car is rust-free and solid - body, frame, suspension, etc.. There is surface rust, but any rust you can visually see is just a slight haze of surface rust, that can typically be scratched off with a fingernail. All the nuts and bolts that have been removed by me during the cleaning process have come off without any issues, and then reinstalled back in their original locations whenever possible.

To bring the car back to life, I freshened up some of the mechanical and safety items, but have tried my best to keep everything as original as possible. The maiden voyage for this car after resurrection was to the Peggy Sue Car Show/Cruise in Santa Rosa in 2013, and it performed unbelievably well.

The next adventure involved taking it to Laguna Seca for the Monterey Historic races in 2013, to participate in the 60th anniversary of the Corvette gathering. Even though this car was literally surrounded by dozens of beautifully restored Midyears, this worn out wonder managed to attract the bigger crowds who thoroughly enjoyed seeing this unrestored classic.

I've had this car at a handful of car shows, and have won "Best of Show" awards at two of them - one of which was an all Corvette car show! The number one comment I constantly get wherever I go is: "whatever you do - DON'T restore this car!"

It's an absolute pleasure to drive and cruises down the road pretty darn well for a 50 year old car. I'll continue to tinker on it, but have no plans to transform it into yet another restored Corvette that can't be driven.

Here are some additional details about the car:

In 1972, the 2nd owner replaced the original 427 short block with a 454 Chevrolet warranty replacement block, (luckily most of the other original parts remained with the car). The 2nd owner told me recently that the original short block was not damaged, but he simply wanted more cubic inches. That means the original born with engine could still be out there somewhere... I recently acquired a period correct properly date coded 427 block and built the engine using as many of the original other parts as possible. The block was decked and does not have any numbers stamped on the front pad. I am not a believer in restamps, so a blank pad works fine for me. The most challenging effort was making a brand new freshly built engine look old and unrestored. But with lots of effort and a little luck, it looks very natural as it sits in the engine compartment today. I only have about 200 miles on the rebuild so far and it runs excellent.

Most of theitems on the engine are the correct and original parts: Intake, carb (professionally restored), exhaust manifolds, water pump, starter, heads, pulleys, brackets, etc. The clutch fan and fan blade are not correct items. Wiring harnesses were replaced with NOS parts since the original harnesses were fairly stiff and crusty (but I still have them).

I have the original dirty unrestored numbers matching M21 close ratio four speed, which worked fine when I removed it recently during the engine build. However, I had a fresh professionally built 1968 M21 Muncie from one of my old Camaros readily on hand, and chose to install that in this Corvette until the original gets rebuilt. So you get the fresh Camaro trans currently in the car, as well as the unrestored OEM trans with this purchase.

Tank sticker - Don't have one because I lost it in 2012. I will share that sad story with potential owners....

Paint: back in the 70's, the 3rd owner had a friend paint part of the car (at least most of the exterior) and change the stripes to what you see now. The door jambs and under hood areas are original paint, and possibly some of the exterior, but it's hard to tell in some areas due to the age and fading.

All original suspension component, except I replaced the bushings and ball joints with correct new parts (not generic aftermarket) and replaced all the bearings and shocks as well. Original steering components except for a new correct repro idler arm and NOS P/S ram hoses. Original brake components except hoses and brake pads, calipers were cleaned and rebuilt but not sleeved or painted, repro master cylinder (original had been replaced earlier and was not retained).

Original date coded glass except for the windshield, which was replaced long ago due to a garden hose mishap.

Original paint on the (five) DG rally wheels. DG wheels (versus DC stamped rims) were used for a very short period of time when this car was produced. Original jack assembly. Has a barely used old correct redline bias ply spare, but the tire has a DOT rating so it's not an original 1967 factory installed tire.

Headlight assemblies: I removed the original headlight motors and pivot assemblies and cleaned them thoroughly. The buckets now open and close properly, but were stuck open for decades hence the color variation on the bucket housings. The headlights are all the original T-3's and they still work.

Unrestored interior (except front carpet and kick panels I believe). Headliner shrunk so I just installed a new Al Knock headliner (but retained the old). Everything in the interior works: gauges, tach, speedo, odometer, trip meter, clock (unrestored so it has the ticking movement), radio, dash dome and glovebox lights, etc. Wipers work, flashers, turn signals, reverse lights, etc... Odometer currently shows approximately 58,500 miles, which I believe to be original.

What does it still need?:

I have been working on the A/C system in an effort to get it functioning again. Most of the parts have already been cleaned (evaporator, fittings, vacuum valve, switches and relays), rebuilt (filter-dryer, POA valve) or replaced (condenser, TXV valve, wire harness) as necessary. Still needs the new correct refrigerant hoses, then a final flush, add oil and charge, along with any troubleshooting that may come up. The compressor has not been tested yet and can't be checked properly until the system is fully charged, but spins freely and is clean inside and out.

Small oil leak: the original oil pan was in decent shape yet not perfect, but I didn't want to install an incorrect new replacement pan. So the fresh engine currently has a small oil leak that I haven't messed with yet. Probably just need to pull it off and reseal it a bit better. Just want to share this so there are no surprises.

Very small oil leak on the P/S actuator ram shaft. I have not tried to repair or rebuild it as of yet.

Probably could use an alignment, but drives well as it is. I doubt this car has ever had one in its life.

Fan shroud: It has the original upper piece of the fan shroud, but the two lower sections and the A/C extension are long gone. There is a correct OEM shroud on Ebay for $2500, but I just can't get myself to pay that much for a shroud, even if that's a fair price.

Ignition/Distributor is currently a '66 dated points system. The T.I amplifier is in place and I installed a NOS harness (retained the original harness), but haven't installed the T.I. distributor as of yet. It is unrestored and may work fine or may need attention. I have the TI coil as well.

The horns stopped working (they worked before I pulled the engine). Haven't got around to troubleshooting that as of yet.

The wipers work, but the squirter stopped working. Not sure why. The original reservoir bag over the battery still holds water.

The starter and solenoid are original and not rebuilt (just cleaned). Occasionally the starter just spins when you turn the key, versus cranking the engine. If that happens, I just turn the key a second time and it works fine.

For you Corvette aficionados who like production option quantities and ECL codes, this car was originally equipped as follows:

1967 Coupe (production was 8,504)

977 AA Lynndale Blue paint (dark blue -1381 made)

402 AA Black Leather interior (1601 total - for all five colors of leather).

L36 427-390HP (3,832)

M21 Close ratio 4 speed (7,789 - ECL AA - with L36)

A01 Tinted Glass - all windows (1,995 - ECL AB - Coupe with A/C)

C60 Air conditioning (408 examples - ECL BB - Coupe with L36 and manual trans)

G81 Positraction 3.36 ratio (2,235 - ECL KA - with L36)

J50 Power Brakes (260 - ECL FA - L36 with manual trans and A/C)

K66 Transistorized Ignition System (224 - ECL AC - L36 with A/C)

N44 Power Steering (1,027 - ECL AH - L36 with A/C)

QB1 Redwall tires (4, 230 - ECL AA)

U69 AM/FM radio

Some final notes:

Feel free to ask questions and I'll respond as quickly as possible. In person inspections are highly recommended and it can be put up on a car lift at my home for closer viewing by a professional of your choice.

Car can be safely stored here for a period of time, but the sale must be completed and $$ transferred promptly or sale will be considered cancelled.

FYI - obviously this is an old unrestored car, so there is no official warranty on any part of it. I've had great luck cruising it for the last five years and have made many improvements, but as with any old car, something is bound to act up on it sooner or later. Just keep that in mind before considering ownership of this vehicle.

Please - Serious buyers only that already have the funds to complete the purchase. No dealers or offers to help me sell my car, and no trade deals.

Thanks for taking the time to read my listing!