[1]50 years is a long time, and up until a few decades ago that was about the life expectancy for the average American. These days though Americans are living longer than ever, and their love for the cars and collectibles of their youth has never been strong. But while many Baby Boomers are lusting after restomods and drag cars, others are looking to pick up exactly where they left off.
For these men and women, the cars of their choice are the handful of unrestored-but-drivable “survivor” cars that take them back to the days when cars like the 1967 Corvette dominated the streets. Hemmings Auto Blog [2] reports that at the recent Mecum Bloomington Gold Auction, a pair of unrestored ‘67 ‘Vettes sold for a combined $185,000. That’s a lot of money for two otherwise unremarkable Corvettes.
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The first ‘67, a Rally Red Coupe with just over 32,000 miles on the odometer, sold for $100,000 when the gavel finally fell. It outpaced many more-desirable, big-block Corvettes that the Bloomington Gold show is known for. But with a 350 V8, 4-speed manual transmission and an unrestored, all-original body, this is the kind of collector piece that is almost impossible to find these days.
The second ‘67 was a Rally Red convertible with over 52,000 miles on the clock, and as you might have guessed, this 327-powered Corvette sold for $85,000 at the auction. Original, unrestored cars become harder and harder to find every year, and finding two absolutely mint models is all but unheard of.
Now comes the eternal question; drive it, or hide it?