This burned out 1969 Corvette L89 is one heck of a project, but it’ll reward someone with a very cool story to tell.
We’ve seen our fair share of barn finds and other worthy restoration projects out there over the years, but this 1969 Corvette L89 convertible up for grabs on eBay is what most would consider a lost cause. After all, the poor C3 suffered from some serious fire damage that took its fiberglass body and interior away completely, leaving nothing more than the rolling chassis behind. In most cases, no one would even dream of trying to restore something so far gone, but this 1969 Corvette L89 convertible is rather rare, it seems.
According to the seller, just 390 L89 Corvettes were produced in 1969, making this a rather rare find. Roughly 150 of those were convertibles with aluminum heads, which makes the major project just a bit more enticing. The seller has the original L89 427 cubic-inch, 435 horsepower motor in his possession as well, and all of the requisite VIN and trim tags are still present and accounted for, at the very least.
Originally sold new at Bob McDorman Chevrolet in Ohio, this big block C3 is a well-equipped car as well, with a factory four-speed manual transmission, 4.11-geared rear end, power steering, power windows, and the F41 heavy-duty suspension. It’s impossible to tell at this point, but the car was originally painted yellow with a black interior, though it’s currently fitted with a non-original motor and four-speed gearbox of unknown origin.
Clearly, this is a special car that can be saved, but it will take a monumental amount of effort and money to do so. The seller is asking $15,800 for the fire-damaged shell, which doesn’t seem terribly high, but it isn’t every day we come across this kind of listing, so who knows? The poor C3 is being sold with a salvage title as-is, with no guarantees, but we’d expect nothing less from a steaming pile of what was formerly a glorious sports car.
Of course, we selfishly hope that someone comes along and restores this 1969 Corvette L89 convertible to its former glory, but that person will have to have both the means and the desire to do so. But whoever takes on the project will certainly have a cool story to tell when it’s all said and done.
Photos: eBay
Keyword: Fire Damaged 1969 Corvette L89 Convertible Is a Big but Worthy Project