Putting a high-performance car into storage after only a few years on the road doesn’t make any sense, but someone did just that with a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette. This silver coupe was driven for only four years and spent no fewer than 50 in a barn. Fortunately, someone saved it and put it back on the road.
This 1967 Corvette isn’t exactly new on these pages. We actually featured it back in October 2021, when YouTube’s “Dieseled Dragon Garage” saved it from the barn that’s been keeping it a prisoner since 1971. Sadly, the Corvette had its original V8 replaced.
But the really sad part is that this Vette left the assembly line with the 427-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) big block. If you’re familiar with the C2 Corvette, you probably already know that the 427 was the largest and most powerful mill fitted in this generation.
Chevy added the 427 to the lineup in 1966, two years before the C2 was discontinued. The regular big block was available with 390 or 425 horsepower in 1966, but Chevrolet introduced a Tri-Power version good for a whopping 435 in 1967.
There’s no word as to which 427 this Corvette came with, but what we do know is that the previous owner took it out and replaced it with a much more mundane 283-cubic-inch (4.6-liter) V8. This mill is a complete mystery because Chevrolet did not offer such a small engine in the C2.
The only 283 V8 I can think about is the one that powered the first-generation Corvette and various GM cars, including the iconic Bel Air, but, as I said, we don’t know where it comes from.
But it doesn’t really matter at this point because the current owner plans to restore the car and swap the 283 for a more appropriate V8. A GM crate engine is a likely candidate here, but until that happens, the 1967 Corvette was resurrected with the old 283.
Yes, the small-block V8 came back to life after a whopping 50 years without sipping gasoline and it still has enough grunt to move the 3,400-pound (1,542-kg) coupe around the block. The mill shakes and rattles like crazy and the chassis isn’t yet road-worthy, but it’s fantastic to see an abandoned classic hit the road again after a half-century.
Check out this old Vette in the video below. The driving footage comes in at the 11:30-minute mark.