Guys With Rides is pleased to offer this Glen Green, 1965 Corvette Convertible equipped with a 427 cubic inch big-block V8 and 4-speed manual in a reserve auction starting Thursday, July 15, 2021, at Noon Eastern Time and running two weeks through Thursday, July 29, 2021, at 7:00 PM  Eastern Time.

This recently painted mid-year Corvette is currently located in the Staten Island Burrough of New York City.

Please note: we will have many more detailed pictures as well as a startup, walkaround, and driving video before the start of the auction!

If you have any questions about this mid-year C2 Corvette before then, please leave a comment below or feel free to call Rudy directly at 877-468-6497.

To inspect all of the pictures provided, click on the photograph below to enlarge it and then click on the gray “<” and “>” icons to navigate through all of the other stills in this carousel:

The C2 Corvette entered its third model year of production in 1965 with minor styling changes and major performance upgrades. The most notable exterior styling difference was the replacement of the non-functional twin scallops (called “speed lines”) with three working vertical “gills” on the lower front fenders designed to remove heat from the engine compartment.

A big safety improvement was the conversion from all-drum to four-wheel-disc brakes in 1965. These new brakes featured four-piston, two-piece calipers that increased swept area by a whopping 41% over the antiquated all drum design. Power brake-equipped cars also featured a new dual-circuit master cylinder system. Despite these braking advances, 316 (apparently either hard-headed or cheap) Corvette buyers in ’65 opted for the drum brakes to receive a $64.50 credit on their purchase. Luckily, the Corvette featured here is not one of them.

Big news came halfway through the 1965 model year when Chevrolet introduced the “Big-Block” 396 cubic inch V8 L78 option in March of that year. Topped with a single four-barrel carburetor, this new monster produced 425 horsepower. Priced about half as much as the Rochester fuel-injected, 327 cubic inch L84 option yet producing 50 horsepower more, it’s no wonder buyers opted for the big block.

If you’re looking for a numbers-matching 1965 Corvette convertible to admire in your garage, this is not your car.  If you’re in the market for a heavily power-assisted C2 to drive back-and-forth to cruise nights, this is not your car. If however, you have your heart set on a well-sorted, good-looking, big-block-powered Corvette that will give all of your senses, legs, and arms a great workout every time you drive, then read on.

The 1965 Corvette offered for sale here started life on December 28, 1964, as a Glen Green over Green Vinyl, 327 cubic inch small block V8-powered C2 that did not come equipped with either power steering or power brakes.  While the vast majority of ’65 Corvette Convertibles came equipped with either a white or black vinyl top, based upon the trim tag information and our research this ’65 is likely one of only 551 featuring a beige-colored unit. While this C2 does not feature power-assisted steering or brakes, it is equipped with a teakwood steering wheel and power windows, although we cannot verify with this car originally came equipped with the former.  As part of the sale, this C2 also comes with a matching hardtop.

From what we can gather, this C2 has spent all of its life in the New York City area and was always garaged by all of its owners over the years.  At some point in this car’s history, the original 327 cubic inch small block received a big block transplant in the form of a 1967-vintage 427 cubic inch rat motor topped with a four-barrel carburetor.

The current caretaker and avid car restorer, Harry, bought the car from a friend approximately one year ago.  During his ownership, Harry had the car’s body soda blasted prior to receiving a fresh repaint in the correct shade of Glen Green. We’re impressed with how straight the body is with no signs of waviness or sanding marks in the paint.

Nice aftermarket upgrades designed to improve reliability and driveability include a much bigger aluminum radiator over the stock unit and the original finicky vacuum-controlled headlight motors have been upgraded with reliable electric units controlled by a well-integrated under-dash-mounted switch.

Based on our experience with this Corvette, we’d rate it as a solid #3 driver-quality example that you can actually enjoy driving without fear of the car losing value. The seller has agreed to a reasonable reserve on this car based upon our assessment.

To help you make informed bids, we’re providing a link to Classic.com, the analytics and search engine for the Classic Car market, that provides an interactive graph of recent comparable sales in the past two years. By clicking on the green dots, you can navigate to each comparable car sold as a way to help you make an educated bid on the car we are featuring for auction here:

If you have any questions about this 1970 Buick Opel GT, please leave a comment below or feel free to call Rudy directly at 877-468-6497.  Thank you for looking and happy bidding!