Every once in a while a Corvette comes along that is not rare or extremely valuable, but so unusual that I just have to buy it. While on vacation in June, I ran across an ad for a 1973 convertible Vette that was located along our route home. So I gave the owner a call and he told me the Vette had a big block in it and was tubbed with 33/19.5/15″ Mickey Thompson rear tires, a Ford 9″ rear end with disc brakes, and a roll bar. The only problem with the car was that it got caught in a hurricane and as a result, had cosmetic body damage, and needed a windshield and interior work.  Regardless, if you love to burn tires and make lots of noise, this car was the ticket.

Of course, I was interested because I like unusual cars, so I added it to our list of stops on the trip home. I found that the car needed a good bit of body and interior work but ultimately was well-built and very cool looking. So we put the deal together and hauled it home. It spent the rest of the summer drawing all kinds of attention sitting out front, but most people who looked at it could not get past the body and interior work it needed to make it nice again.

Fall rolled around and my painter was looking for a project to keep his workers busy, so I gave him the ’73.  Needless to say, we decided it would be easier to paint the whole car, and if we were repainting the whole car, we might as well go with red, which always looks great with black interior and a black roll bar. Once my painter was finished, we brought it back to our shop and detailed the whole under-hood and installed new leather seats, new deluxe door panels, and new front carpet to really set it off. Now we are just waiting on spring to come so we can start taking it to cruise-ins and car shows if someone does not buy it first.  It just goes to show that when evaluating a car, you need to look past its imperfections and envision its potential in order to know its true value.

Loading it up at the last owners home in NC:

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After it arrived at our dealership:

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At the body shop:

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After its return from the paint shop:

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Wet sanding, buffing, and final assembly:

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Finished up and ready to turn heads!     

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