Restored 1960 Corvette is a Rolling Piece of Automotive History
Restored 1960 Corvette is a Rolling Piece of Automotive History
Early Corvette might not offer modern performance, but this iconic design will never go out of style.
While flipping through the listings on Bring-A-Trailer for the Corvette, we came across this stunning example of a first generation car. The car has undergone a complete frame-off restoration “years ago,” but this little red Corvette looks like it could have just rolled off of the showroom floor. Inside and outside, top to bottom and front to back, this C1 appears to be in like-new condition, even though it is nearly 60-years-old.
Clean Corvettes from the C1 generation are getting harder and harder to find, as so many went under the knife to be transformed into street rods or race cars, making a car like this hard to find. However, with some hunting there are clean, unmolested first generation Vettes on the market, as is displayed in this auction post.
270 Horsepower C1
This 1960 Chevrolet Corvette came from the factory with a 283-cubic inch V8 under the hood, sending 270 horsepower towards the rear wheels by means of a four-speed manual transmission. When this car was restored, the exact same engine was not used, but the builder did install an era-correct replacement of the same size and specifications, including the two four-barrel carburetor setup. Corvette buyers back in 1960 who opted for the 270-horsepower V8 also got a “high-rev tachometer” and a three-spoke steering wheel, both of which were retained during the rebuild.
Roman Red
While the Corvette has been offered in all sorts of colors over the years, it is hard to argue that the classic Chevy sports car looks best in bright red. This car is painted Roman Red, to be exact, while the coves behind the front wheels are finished in bright white. When the body was painted, all of the chrome was refinished as well, so aside from a few stone chips here and there, this car looks like it did the day that it rolled off of the assembly line.
In addition to the red-and-white paint scheme coupled with the fresh chrome trim, this Corvette has the correct wheels and polished hubcaps, along with some era-correct tires with massive white wall trim.
The Cockpit
On the inside, this Corvette has black carpeting and leather, along with new stainless steel door panels and a new Wonder Bar radio. Of course, it has the correct manual transmission shifter and, as mentioned above, this car has the high performance steering wheel and tachometer.
In other words, if you are looking for a clean 1960 Corvette, you want a car like this one.
The only bad news here is that this Corvette has sold for a price of $66,000, which means that if you fell in love with it while reading this piece, you are too late to bid. However, this auction listing provides a great idea of what a restored-to-factory condition C1 Corvette is worth on today’s market.
