cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21405382
The Corvette shop in Metro Denver had over a dozen Vettes waiting to be picked up by their owners. This was my favorite! The inside was as perfect as the outside.
It is cool for what it is, and likely original in its many minor imperfections. With age, my realism has overtaken my nostalgia. As a former auto body shop owner, my professional eye sees a ton of issues with poor quality construction in the panel gaps. Most of the chrome accents are misaligned or have inconsistencies in gaps. The headlight bezel gaps are poor. The hood is so bad it looks opened when it is not. Overall the paint is okay for a refinish job. The reflections in the primary surfaces are pretty clean. The slight distortion at the front and back of the door hint that the original paint is still under this finish and it is likely quite thick. However, the reflections along the edge and inside the elliptical side accent is quite terrible and the same attention to work quality was not applied to this section.
As far as actually driving this thing, it is an awful design. The blind spots with the top up are completely blind without mirrors.
It was made for a certain look to exploit the market, but engineering, ergonomic practicality, and work quality were nothing more than afterthoughts.