Anyone recognize where that black plate is from? Iowa maybe? If you missed the other picture showing the front, it said Mass.
Funny. When I looked at the pictures earlier, I thought it might be. I even tried blowing up the picture so I could make out the inspection sticker on the windshield, but could not see it clearly. Guessing this car was destroyed in a crash, but we'll have to wait and see what Jason has to say.
I went back to find the picture and the wrecked Corvette turned out to be a white 1958 in the same photo collection. It said that they were cut off by another car and sideswiped a pole.
The picture wasn't labeled but because of the one year only 1958 hood, I think that it is a 1958. Maybe some one else will chime in on this.
Reading the comments, it sounds like the owner of the car from 65 -68 has a possibility of getting it back. Has some good history on the car also. In reading it sounds like the car was stolen at some time. Hope everything gets worked out and it goes back to the guy who wants to restore it as the race car it was.
I can't say that this is the same white Corvette with the red cohesive and the scoop but this picture came from another location and is labeled 1961 Indy nationals. If it is the same car it looks like it could have been from Indiana.
My old eyes don't see so good, but I can't see the hood louvers in those pix. The rear reflectors were '59/60 only items. A package tray wud have been on the dash under the passenger side grab bar if it was a '59 and up, but I can't see that either in that black interior. The two big, chrome, trunk bars, which are unique to the '58, are missing, yet the small, chrome, dealer's nameplate remains underneath the lock. One wud think that if one was going to the trouble of removing those two big bars, they wud remove the dealer's nameplate as well. Plus, if one left the hood louvers on, why remove those two trunk bars? I don't see a lot of mods done overall. Those are even stock hubcaps on the rear. My guess wud be that it's a '59/60, even if there is a louvered hood. That's the fun of using the SWAG method when all the facts aren't known.
I'd narrow that vette down to a '58 without the trunk bars (can see the hood when blown up on iPad) or a'59 due to no little red and blue bars on the pass dash insert('60 only) .Edit: probably a'59 with a '58 hood due to the fore mentioned reflectors under the tail lites? Did a'58 have them?
Ah, the joys of technology! Thanks, Bowie, for letting me know that my eyes aren't as bad as they seemed to be. There appears to be more '59 attributes than '58, but who knows.
Thanks, elgringo71. I was getting a little worried that the old eyes were getting worse than what they are. Got the magnifying glass out and still cudn't see the louvers in those other pix.
Here is another picture that might be from the Nationals at Indy. This is the J&J Muffler car of Bob "Bones" Balogh from Inglewood California
I asked Bones last summer at the Meltdown if he had the VIN from his 58 above and he told me "no we never kept records of that stuff, we never thought they would ever be worth any real money". I have a 58 body with original paint (in very poor condition) and it does not have the rear reflectors and a 59 body with what I believe is the original paint and it still has the reflectors on it. Not sure how correct my stuff is but if the 58 body I have had them at one time they fell off without leaving a trace.
That is the bad thing about these historical drag cars, it might be right under our noses but if it has been returned to stock or the distinguishing modifications have been removed it is very difficult to identify a car let alone prove it is the same car.
That is correct and why I was hoping on some lark Bones would have some original paperwork. It is also why I enjoy the story of the 1960 winning Corvette at Lemans. It had been returned to stock and was painted red and white (wow that would be really an unusual combination) and Chip Miller tracked down the VIN and bought the car for $30 or $40,000 or whatever and did not tell the owner of its past. He then put it back in race trim and I am sure it is now worth way into seven figures. Same thing basically with Mike Ernst buying the Gulf Oil sponsored 62 Vette that ran at Lemans. That car is fetching way into the seven figures. When Mike owned it I asked if I could sit in the car and bought the incorrect springs that were on the car when Mike bought it. Mike paid peanuts (relatively so) for the car in the 80s. It had been made into a street car in either Minnesota or Wisconsin.
On the subject of the early cars; anyone have any pic's of the Rats Nest drag vette? It was always a fav of mine. A regular at Maple Grove ,it was a'53-'55 , started out red ; then was painted black in it's later form.
Bowie, have found a couple of Rat's Nest. One was Rexrode's Rats Nest and it was a 53 and then Collins Rats Nest and it was a 54. Both pretty cool. Rexrode's Rats Nest Collins Rats Nest Later rats Nest Rats nest versus Imposter Imposter
Jim. Cool pictures of the rats nest vettes. how about putting up some more of that nice one in your avatar? jp
Enloe the cool thing about the J&J Muffler car is that (it has been written) this car was the nemesis of Mazmanian's 61 Vette in 1961 and early 62 I believe and when Mazmanian's nephew and driver Rich Siroonian went in the service Maz hired Bones to drive his car with the engine and trans out of the J&J Muffler car. I actually believe Bones jumped in the car before he went in the service but besides that in late 62 they allegedly put the engine in a Willys and ran in B/GS in 1963. This is when the Willys was red (I think they sprayed the candy red for the 64 campaign). Somewhere I think I have notes but God only knows where right now. There were a couple of hoods on Mazmanians 61 and I would assume they ran with the J&J Muffler hood for awhile. A guess though.
JP The Mazmanian 61 was one I thought of when doing the avatar car. Something about candy apple red on these early Vettes.
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