This auction is for a 1957 Corvette project car, VIN #E57S104334. It's in very poor condition.
Originally
this Corvette was white with a red interior, and was factory equipped
with a manual transmission, carbureted engine, heater/defroster, power
soft top, AM radio, courtesy lights, and power windows. It didn't have a
hard top when new. The current rear end is an open 3.36. I don't know
if that's the original ratio. The Florida title is clear (NOT salvage),
and the car is legally registered/licensed in my name with 1957 Alabama plates. Both of the
original frame VIN stampings are there and legible. However, I'm certain the
stock-appearing VIN plate I got with the car is actually a reproduction.
I bought the body and chassis in
Florida last summer. Evidently this '57 had been badly wrecked decades
ago and then stripped for parts. The body fiberglass (from the
firewall back) and the mangled frame were left outside for many years.
The
body is a patchwork of panels needing major repair. The right quarter panel is just sitting in place; it isn't glued on. The front outer
fiberglass is a one-piece hand-laid nose made by "Legendary Corvette". It isn't glued in place either.
The doors, firewall, dash, and deck lid appear to be original to this
car. The hood, front fenderwells, radiator core support, quarter
panels, and trunk lid fiberglass came from other '56 - '57 Corvettes.
The engine is a disassembled '65 283 that needs a .040" overbore and rebuild. The transmission is an iron case Borg-Warner 4-speed in untested condition. The shifter is a stock '57 - '59 Corvette set-up. The cast iron bellhousing is also stock.
This Corvette has many of the parts needed to get it back on
the road. For example, the body is now sitting on a
straight, complete '56 chassis. It's from Washington, and only the battery tray has rust damage. I've parted out the original, but bent, '57 frame. The buyer will get the original '57
steering column, cut-up (and damaged) frame side rails, and rearmost crossmember with the car.
I've already cut out the original section with the VIN stampings from the '57 driver's side frame rail. I intended to transfer it to the
'56 frame, but I haven't welded it in yet. Of course, that side rail section goes with the car too.
Almost all of the chrome and
stainless body trim pieces are present. The interior is a
white vinyl custom job that was done around 1970. All gauges are there except the clock. I have very few screws, nuts, bolts, and fasteners.
The following
significant parts are missing: power window switches / motors, power
top mechanism, driver's door latch / window crank mechanism, windshield glass, jack / handle, spare cover, trunk
cardboard / mat, engine fan shroud, front wheelwell stainless trim,
ignition shielding w/brackets, carburetor / air cleaner,
distributor, starter, generator, horns, and probably thousands of small parts that I can't
remember right now. The Wonderbar radio, 283 engine, bellhousing, transmission, clutch linkage, and splash pans don't show in the photos, but they do go with the car.
I know it's hard to determine the value of a project car from photos. I want the buyer to be happy with this purchase. A $500 deposit by PayPal is required within three days of the auction end. However, if you don't want the car after inspecting it personally, I'll refund all of your deposit. The buyer will have four weeks from the end of the auction to inspect and pick up the car.
My name is Jerry Bramlett. I can be reached at (251) 478-4003 from 8 am to 9 pm Central Time.
On Aug-07-15 at 15:38:47 PDT, seller added the following information:I had this car for sale on eBay previously. I started with a Buy-It-Now price of $30,000 "or Best Offer" because I'd already spent over $32,000 on this project. I thought it would eventually sell for more than $25,000. I received only very low offers during the first few days, however, so I lowered the price to $20,000 "or Best Offer". Still no one made a close offer.
I then made one last attempt to sell it for $17,000 firm. In order to reduce the price to $17,000, I removed over $1,500 worth of parts from the package: the engine, exhaust manifolds, bellhousing, clutch, transmission, shifter, clutch linkage, radio, etc. But the car didn't sell even at that low (in my opinion) price.
When I started the current auction at $5,000 with a reserve, I added the $1,500 worth of parts back into the package description. I was trying to make the auction as attractive to bidders as possible. But if the smaller (and cheaper) $17,000 version of the package is more attractive to you, please give me a call. I'm still willing to do that deal. You can look at my completed auctions to read exactly what is included for $17,000.