Would You Save This Corvette? (Man Rescues 1966 Corvette Project in Germany)
Would You Save This Corvette? (Man Rescues 1966 Corvette Project in Germany)
Would You Save This Corvette? (Man Rescues 1966 Corvette Project in Germany)
This poor old 1966 Corvette was shipped to Germany, partially disassembled, and modified, making it a total basket case of a project.
Even today, many years after early Corvette values exploded, we’re still seeing at least one or two surfacing from long-term storage on a seemingly daily basis. It’s unclear just how many first first- and second-generation Corvettes are still out there hiding, just waiting to be found by some barn hunter, but we clearly aren’t anywhere close to reaching the point where they’ve all been found, at least. The latest rescue project comes to us from Germany, where the YouTube channel Roger’s Hot Rod Garage stumbled upon a rather sad-looking 1966 Corvette, which raises a very important question – is it even worth saving in this case?
This particular 1966 Corvette was brought over to Hockenheim, Germany, back in 2015 by its owner, who hails from Kentucky, around nine years ago. The owner proceeded to partially disassemble the car with the intentions of fixing it up and getting it on the road, though that process clearly hit a snag, and was never even close to completed. They did perform some modifications to the car, adding fender flares and a pair of extra taillights, paired with diamond tufted black leather seats and door panels inside the cabin.
When he got the chance to purchase this partially-completed project, our host didn’t hesitate, and hopped in a pretty sweet LS-powered 1955 Chevy Nomad with a trailer in tow to bring it home. As one might imagine, buying a car that’s in pieces isn’t exactly an easy task, and in this case, required at least partial reassembly. Ultimately, it took a few hours to make this happen, or at least, transform the poor old 1966 Corvette into a roller of sorts.
Regardless of its sad state, this 1966 Corvette is still a numbers-matching example with its original 327/350 horsepower powerplant underhood, along with the corresponding four-speed manual gearbox. Even the original tires are resting nearby, though they’re obviously long gone in terms of being useful, but all of this begs the question – will this 1966 Corvette be worth the hassle and cost of bringing back to life, or is it too far gone for that to make sense?
In this case, Roger plans on modifying the old Corvette, tweaking the suspension, adding a bit more power to the original engine, and even closing up the antenna hole on the outside. It may make a bit more sense in this case given the fact that the car isn’t totally original and has already been modified in some ways, at least in this particular case. After all, Roger simply wanted an old C2 to tinker on, and now he’s got one – even if it is a literal basket case.