A 1972 Chevrolet Corvette show car has just sold on the used car market. “It is a time capsule!” the seller wrote in the ad. And the photos he uploaded are the confirmation that it comes straight from the golden era of sports cars.
The Chevrolet Corvette has always been America’s darling, from the first moment people laid eyes on it. And the current C8, that the carmaker dropped in 2019 as a 2020 model year, is no different, despite the fact that GM made a massive shift.
The C8 is the first production Corvette to have a rear mid-engine layout, and it came as GM’s first rear mid-engine production car since the 1984 Pontiac Fiero.Back in 1953, when Chevrolet introduced it, it sparked so much interest that the company had to start production earlier than originally scheduled, even though they initially announced they were still six months to one year from production readiness.
You can’t mess with the demand. It was the aggressive so-called shark design, inspired by the 1964 Marko Shark II concept car, that got all the attention, together with the prominent fenders and long dash-to-axle proportion, which made it look slender and longer than it actually was. Three hundred hand-built Corvettes were made that year, all convertibles and all in Polo White, in the first year of production. The car remained in production until 1982, when the C4 arrived.
Fast forward to the C3 that we have here, and we’re dealing with a model that featured a new design inside out. But the engines and components were carried over from the previous generation. 27,004 Corvettes saw the light of day in 1972. And of these, 20,496 were coupes.
Just like the car in the listing, the coupes that entered production in 1968 first received a retractable T-top removable roof panel as well as a rear window. Meanwhile, convertibles came standard with a soft folding top, but a hardtop was part of the offer for an additional cost.
It belonged to a firefighter, now it was sold by a widow
The one we have right here, sold on eBay a few hours ago, is a T-top version. And the car was sent off with quite a story. The C3 Corvette was purchased back in 1983 from its second owner, a firefighter living in Illinois. All the owners pampered it over the years. That is how the 51-year old car only shows minor flaws and looks exceptionally well preserved. The Chevy only has little over 49,000 miles (78,858 kilometers). Now the wife sold the Corvette following the death of her husband.
What makes it special is that it was an International Show Car Association vehicle from the late 1970s and until the early 1980s. So it mostly sat there and enjoyed the admiration of thousands during the time it served as a show car.
The 1972 Corvette rolled off the assembly line wearing a Mille Miglia red paint over a black interior. But one of the owners thought it would look better in black, so black he did in the late 1970s. That is the color it still wears today. A few minor flaws have shown up on that shiny black paint over the years.
The interior is original with one exception: someone wanted crushed velvet type of seat inserts in the 1970s and got them. The car still has them today, and we must admit they don’t look bad at all in there.
The car is powered by its original 350-cubic inch (5.7-liter) engine, backed up by a four-speed manual transmission. It is the new power plant that Chevrolet rolled out with the third generation to replace the 327 cubic inch (5.36-liter) unit. But the output remained the same, clocking at 300 horsepower.
The one who helped the widow sell the car says it would need some detailing and minor paint under the hood. He also says the Corvette runs and drives very well and stops straight.
The car comes with a long list of equipment. It has power steering, power disc brakes, a rear luggage rack at the back. There is an AM/FM radio on board, while all the gauges work perfectly. Cruise control is also on the list.
Over the years, the owners carried out some custom work. So the C3 Chevrolet Corvette now proudly boasts some customer mural on the back side of the hood, as well as wire wheels and a chrome side exhaust.