Ive never had the desire to own a Vette myself. If I were to choose a favorite though it would be a 67 coupe. Only one Vette story to add. When I was 19 or 20 I had a customer at a small auto parts store that had a dark green 67 coupe. He only drove it to work once in a great while. I stopped in one day and his car was out back, and I was asking him about it, he asked if I would like to take a ride?. The thing was bare inside. He said it came with the carpet and side pipes etc etc etc in boxes, not installed. No radio no nothing. I believe he said something about a huge gas tank. (its pushing 30 years ago now so not positive on all the specs) Long story short...that was the loudest, meanest, scariest, fastest car Ive ever been in then or now.
The Vette museum Ryan and everyrone else went to is worth stopping in Bowling Green for. I had just spent 12 strait hours in a car with three friends, one guy and one girl were hot rodders, and we stopped there. Later when we got to Michigan, and drank some beers, the chick hot rodder admitted that after see all the Vettes she actually got herself off in the bathroom before leaving. That was a pretty good road trip.
Just a thought.... When '69 Camaro Convetibles go for more than a '69 Corvette Convertibles, there is something wrong in this world. Look on auction results sites, you can still pick up a presentable open Corvette for less than $20K. I've always thought it would be fun to do a 65-66 Rambler in the SCCA racer style, cheaper than Nova's, simpler design.
Here is my best corvette story. My first job in autobody was at a corvette shop. My boss had a 1954 corvette barn find that he had just sold. It was low on gas so my boss says, "Take to the corner and fill it up". I'm as giddy as a school girl so I jump in and take off. I get up to 30 mph and the top BLOWS OFF the car! It goes up in the air about 20 feet and smashes to the ground in the street! I go back pick up the top, Still in one piece, very chewed up, and headed back. I thought I was dead. My boss said "oh well, I should have checked it". We told the new owner that it was that way when we got it. The new owner never questioned us.
I traded my hot rod HenryJ off for a 53 Vett that was nasty,like 2 bears had sex inside and the out side was gator skined,i was thinking i can fix this up,but 5 days latter the guy came back with my rod and wants his Vett back. Now in that 5 days I'd clean out a lot crap and gunk'ed off the 6 too,but he had blowed the intake gasket on my rods Olds 3x2 motor in the Henry J and it was running bad. I told him to go to hell,but my dad gives him the Vett back,to avoid lawsued,it sucks when your still only 17 in 1959. And to think I'm mostly a Ford man.
I still am a stricken Vette junky. I still have a 66 BB coupe. I lost interest in them, when they lost their chrome bumpers.
Here's a picture of my 67 coupe. It's a well documented 435 horse car that sold new at Peyton Cramer's Dana Chevrolet. The original owner put in an over the counter L88- wish it had that engine when I got it but I put back it back to stock with a tripower 427. I shot the pictures when I was taking a detour to miss the Dover Downs traffic on the way back from a meet in Woodbrifge NJ a couple years ago- ended up on a back road through somekind of wildlife preserve. Best stretch of road & photo op I ever had- glad I had the camera!
My Family has always had a Corvette in the garage even before I was born. My Dad bought a 53 vette in 1963 for $700 and a second 53 for $400 with a seized motor in 1964. He still owns both of them today. One is restored and the other is waiting to be a retirement project. Dad actually drag raced one at the Salinas Drags in the 60's with a pumped up 6. In 1965 they bought a brand new vette,small block four speed, traded it for a new truck in 72, traded that in 78 for a new vette, with a four speed! I drove the 78 in High school, yeah I got alot of shit for being 16 and driving a Corvette to school.! Mom still has an 85 vette that they bought new. Its something that gets in your blood.
The first 'vette I loved was a blue '66 StingRay when it was brand new. I still want one but doubt I could pay for it. First 'vette I ever drove was my bosses '54. I was in high school and my after school job included putting that car away every night. At the time I was not impressed by a 20-year-old six and automatic. First one I ever owned is the '85 parked outside and I currently drive it nearly every day. The one I really want is one of the '62 look-a-likes wrapped around C-5 running gear. I think the '62 is really my favorite, but like the '66 I'll never have enough money for one of those.
Ryan & Kevin spotted this Photo oppertunity place on the way up to Cinematic and told us about it. We drove down there the next day and got this shot of the 62. BB
That's me in 67 standing next to my Uncle's 64 Daytona Coupe. He did 2 tours in Vietnam and the whole time he was there he sent money home to my Grandfather (his Dad) to save for the car. Shortly before he got home my Grandfather went down to the lot and bought the car for him. He spent 2 years traveling the country with it drag racing at every track he could find. Said he just needed to clear his head. It must have worked because he is the coolest guy I know and I'm proud to be named after him!!
My Brother is to blame. I was tooling around in his 71 in 78 and put more miles on it than he did. I wanted a 70 model but found this 69 427-400 hp 4 spd Tripower instead. Had to get it out last weekend.
I haven't seen many Vetts I didn't like. I had a 1990 and it was great to drive but I hated having a body style that wasn't current. Vetts seem to do that when your just a few years off of the new one's. I should have bought an older one so I wouldn't end up being just a few years off the latest ones.
My dad had me "driving" his 72' 4spd roadster when I was maybe 6 or 7. Of course I was incapable of reaching the pedals so I'd sit in his lap and shift and turn when he told me to. We beat a Porsche once at a stoplight with my dad calling out for me to shift! These are among my best childhood memories! This is also why I love the Muncie 4spd so much. I was already a pretty skillful driver by the age of 13 thanks to my pop, it wasn't until I was around 16 my father realized his great error in teaching me too much too soon.
We were not a Corvette family, coolest thing I saw my Dad come home with was a red/red 59 Impala, which I thought was pretty damn cool..He was company pilot for old man Phillips, Phillips 66 Oil Co. and had the company car thing going too..Family car at the time was a 57 2D 210 stationwagon he painted "Black Widow" black and white..closest I got to a Corvette was putting the 435hp/427 out of a 67 into my 55 Chevy..to me, the 67 was the last good Corvette with the 61 62s being the nuts..back in the late 60s I had a chance to buy a 62 out of storage for $3000 and thats the closet I've ever been..
The first Corvette I drove was a 1989 my sophomore year of high school in 2000. I could barely fit my foot between the brake pedal and the transmission tunnel to get to the gas pedal. It was a pretty impressive drive compared to my S-10. My second Vette drive was my friend's fathers 1967 drop top. He had it with him at our frat house in Madison the night before we went down to Chicago for a 1920's party. I jokingly asked if I could take it for a spin, he threw me the keys. I'll never forget driving that car. It had a 327 4 speed with side pipes, manual brakes, manual steering. I called up a girl I was chasing at that time that was drinking with friends on the Terrace and told her to meet me in the parking lot. We ended up going for a 30-45 minute joy ride around Madison. I dropped off the car to get my Trans Am so I could park up by state street for the night. My buddy said "where the hell have you been? I thought you were just taking it around the block." Classic. Oh yeah she was very apprciative of the ride. I picked up a 62 about a month ago. The guy I bought it from fixed it up in the mid 1970's put it away in the early/mid 80's when he started his family and was saving it for his kids. His two boys wanted nothing to do with the car. It just sat in his nephews shed who was a ford guy until the shed caught on fire about a week before i bought the car. No damage was done to the car. I saw it sitting outside a mile down the road from my house. Unfortunately the owner knew what he had so I didn't get a screaming deal on it, but I still got a deal. Summer can't come soon enough. It was a right place at the right time kind of deal. If I had driven past that house one day later it would have been in his main garage and I never would have saw it. I guess it pays to stop and ask about a car even if it doesn't have a for sale sign in the window. Mines blue on blue now with both tops and a 300 hp 327. It was originally a silver car with a red interior. I'll be putting it back to that paint scheme if I end up holding onto the car. I really wanted a 1959 but for the price and how close it was I figured I could not go wrong. http://s443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/srsterr/Corvette/<o></o>
My corvette memory is my dad driving his younger brother 69 convertable big block with side pipes, top down. Man that car was fast, loud and fun. I personally have owned a red 76 4 speed, a 78 that was shit brown and an 80 for 2 days before it was stolen.
This 60 corvette fuelly has been in our family since 69. when my late brother bought it for $700.00 at a public service auction here in colorado. It is now owned or willed to my nephew who lives in Mo. With nothing but a barn for storage. So I am the caretaker until he's ready or I say he's ready to take it. But the barn is out of the question for storage. Have a look at the corvette. And my riviera that was in storage in the barn and you'll see what I mean...ghost
Remember Watching Bonanza to see the New Corvettes ? Or how about Route 66 with Martin Milner. Had a 58 & a 66 Coupe when i was young. who knew they be worth so mutch $$$$$ now
Well, since we're on the topic of Corvettes I'll chime in with mine. 1966 Coupe w/flares. 427 4 spd supposed to have 3:90 as p.o. has said. The story goes that a kid at 17 y.o. got a job at a gas station in Napa Valley Ca. in 1978. The owner bought this vette in 1967 as a used car. Then added what is called the Beltline Thumper Flares and widened the stock rallyes to 15x10 and 12. His wife drove the car until 1984. It sat NEXT to the garage on a dirt road for many years before being moved inside. The couple got older, the boy grew up, stayed in touch and finally bought the car. Then a year later lost his job. Posted an ad on the Corvette forum where I'm a member at and after months there it didn't sell. I spotted the ad, contacted the owner and had to sell two cars to be able to buy it. After 6mos. I finally sold my cars and the darn vette was still there. So I paid the guys price of $23,000 delivered from Napa Valley. I jumped thru a lot of hoops but here it is. Not pretty but it wouldn't be cool if it was now would it?
My plans are to pull the body off of the frame (it's very crusty) Powder coat the frame black, rebuild everything and paint it a flat Nassau Blue.
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