1968 Chevrolet Corvette C3

“I purchased the car in November 2021 from a local classic car dealership in Tonbridge,” explains the vendor. “It in turn had bought it from the local family that imported it back in 1989.”

The Corvette had always been garaged during its time in the UK and the engine re-commissioned by a Corvette specialist immediately prior to the vendor taking ownership.

“I took it out on a couple of runs and all was okay, but the brakes were very spongy and a bit scary at times; after a few weeks, and as the car had sat for a long time prior to me taking ownership, I decided to carry out a partial restoration.”

A local garage removed the body, so a full renovation of the chassis and brakes could be completed. “The chassis itself needed no repairs or welding and was stripped, shot blasted, primed and painted black. It was then built up using mostly new parts from Corvette Central.”

These included:

• New brake lines, discs, calipers, hoses and a master cylinder

• New fuel lines, fuel tank, sender, tank cap and seal

• New front shock absorbers, front wheel bearings, steering arms and anti roll-bar links and bushes

• New rear shock absorbers, rear trailing arms (with new spindles and bearings), handbrake shoes, backing and cables, new rear adjustable tie rods

“The front suspension wishbones were shot blasted, painted and re-bushed with stock bushes, while the front springs were shot blasted and painted silver. The rear leaf spring is the original stock spring, which has been shot blasted and painted.”

Prior to the strip-down the engine and gearbox were in good running order but with the body off, the vendor took the opportunity to replace a large number of parts (these are detailed in the ‘UNDERNEATH’ section, below) on both these and other areas (also detailed in the relevant sections, below!).

“The car is all back together now but I have not used it since completion, as the roads are covered in salt. It runs, drives and stops – I did go once around the block on a dry day in December – but it’s going to need some minor fettling/setting up prior to use.”

The ‘vette also comes with the original set of rocker moldings for the sides.

For us, there are two colours that suit a C3 Corvette best and show off those ‘coke-bottle’ lines off to their very best: red or blue. In fact, this example is not just blue but a suave-sounding ‘International Blue’. And doesn’t it just look the absolute business with that long mean snout, snake-hipped outline and removable T-top panels; factor in a bit of bling from those five-slot steel wheels and it’s quite a thing.

“The paintwork on the body itself is okay,” says the vendor. “It’s not concours, though. While it does look very nice and shiny from a couple of feet away, on close inspection it does have some minor imperfections and swirl marks. The worst two can easily be seen in the pictures: one by the front headlight and one on the rear lip of the body.”

His honest appraisal continues, “It’s not the original paintwork and may have been completed in the last 10 years or so, but I can’t be sure.”

Again, the vendor has had some exterior restorative works completed, as well as some new parts fitted. These include:

• Rally original steel wheels, which have been powder coated in silver and fitted with new Galaxy tyres, with new trim rings and the original centre caps

• New door handles

• New rear chrome vent grilles

• New rocker mouldings

• New side marker lights

• New rear taillights

• New number plate light, holder and surround

The front and rear chrome bumpers appear in original condition but are not concours, so while they remain nice and shiny they do have some minor imperfections.

The cabin is a sea of blue that complements the exterior hue perfectly. The dashboard housing, seats, carpets, door-cards, headlining… hell, even the steering column are resplendent in (various hues of) that colour – it’s a real visual wild thing.

As you’d expect, it’s seen some tweaking in here too. “Whilst the body was removed, the interior was stripped out and the bird-cage frame checked for corrosion – it appeared in excellent health. I took the opportunity to have a new factory dashboard wiring loom fitted, along with a new factory front light wiring harness. I also sourced a new factory carpet set in dark blue and matching door-cards.”

The dashboard, centre console and rest of the interior all appear to be original, and in good condition; the seats are finished in dark blue leather and are also in respectable condition with no major rips or tears. All dials work, except for the clock and the original radio. A couple of the fibre optic lights on the rear of the centre console are also out of action, but the heater blower fan works correctly.

Lap/seat belts are fitted and the rear glass window is removable. Best of all, the T-tops (it’s worth noting that one of them does have a small crack to the surface of its interior finish) whip out for the ultimate in C3 visual cool.

A new wiper motor, washer pump, hoses and blades should ensure clarity of vision, while a new set of vacuum hoses and actuators for the headlights will ensure the next owner is able to instantly access pop-up light heaven.

A new pair of horns (and respective relay) is also in situ.

The engine bay is something to behold with the bad-boy 427 ‘big-block’ V8 presented beautifully – all 7.0-litres of it. As you’d expect it dominates the space. Under here, the following has been fitted:

• New water pump

• New fuel pump

• New HEI distributor

• New viscous fan

• New alternator

• New engine wiring harness

• New air cleaner and filter

• New plugs and leads

• New belts

• New engine mounts

• New clutch

• New gearbox mounts

Post rebuild, fresh engine oil and gearbox oil has been added. “The exhaust manifolds appear to be the original ones; they were shot blasted and sprayed with a heat proof paint, while I replaced the rear exhaust silencers with new Magnaflow back boxes. All new brackets and clamps were fitted, with new earthing straps.”

As the photographs in the Gallery below demonstrate, a quick peek underneath reveals a stunningly clean underside with all-new looking components (unsurprising, as many of them are!).

First and foremost, prospective bidders should take note of the photographs taken by the vendor during the Corvette’s body-off chassis and braking system rebuilds and general refresh. These demonstrate the level of work undertaken and the standard to which it has been completed.

There is a huge sheaf of invoices and other paperwork in this car’s history file, although not all of them have been individually photographed for the photographic gallery. Included are all of the respective invoices for the multitude of parts fitted over the last two to three years.

You will also find a Chevrolet Corvette Haynes Repair Manual, a State of Ohio Certificate of Title (from 1989), and the importation documents from when it entered the UK.

Two sets of keys complete the sweet-looking picture.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been partially restored to the very highest of standards.

Thunder road. It’s an evocative term and one that is perfectly suited to scintillating this ‘big-block’ beast. This is an opportunity to buy a rare 7-litre C3 Corvette Stingray from a time when the American V8 was unrestrained by 1970s emissions regulations, and ‘vettes still output a truly crazy amount of horses.

The vendor has carried out a whole host of works to get the car back in a road ready condition. Yes, there’s still some fine fettling to be done and the next owner will need to decide whether to go the whole hog and have the car repainted, or to simply use as is (which is, perfectly presentable in terms of exterior aesthetics).

As such, we think this fine C3 will realise somewhere between £20,000 and £30,000. At the top end that’s not too shabby when you consider that underneath, the chassis and running gear present in simply stunning condition; while bag this car up for anywhere near that bottom end and you’ll surely have nabbed yourself a big horsepower bargain.

Once in your garage, it’ll be time to whip off the T-tops, get out on the open road and rustle yourself up a 7-litre V8 storm.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car is located at the seller’s home premises in Sussex; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.