Corvette Fever

I beleieve that most, if not all, of the HAMBers over 20 -25 years of age have had or experienced
" Corvette Fever " at one point or other in our lives.

Mine was a Red 1965 Roadster with the 396 engine ... 4 speed, side pipes and knock off wheels. Lots of fun and too much car for a teenager ...

Wish I had it back ...

 

'55-'56 'vettes get it for me. Nothing B4, nothing after. I do like the purposeful look - but I'm a sucker for the cream/orange color combo. Will have to dig up a pic for y'all...

 

My first ride in a Vette was a '64 roadster at age 14, I have always loved the 63-67 series.

I like the Nova idea, in high school we all drove what we could afford. Early Novas were popular, knew of one that started with a 327 and later went to a big block, but looked stock all the way around.

That gave me the first idea to drop a V-8 in a stock looking 65 Chvy pickup. I ran out of funds before I could finish it.

 

Had a '67 coupe, 427, 435hp, tri-power, 4-speed, blue.....
then I needed money for school...
sold it in 1971 for $2200. The guy that bought it from me wrapped it around a tree while drunk three weeks after he bought it.
Wish I still had it, but, then again, I wish I still had my '49 Anglia I bought for $15, or the '34 3W that a guy gave to me because he was tired of lookin at it in his driveway...

 

Hey,Ryan - nice meeting you at the Cinematic. Re: "rookie lights" on the Corvette - since Sebring is run partially at night, most cars had a distinctive series if identification lights so their crew could identify the car on the track at night! I still race vintage Corvettes (69 and 82), so I understand the illness......

 

In the Spring of 1963 my older brother bought the first Stingray that was delivered in our local Chevrolet dealership. It was a silverblue roadster with a 340 HP 327 4 speed w/411 gears. Man was that thing fun to drive! Fast your its time and great street racer. Zero to 60 in low gear. Once you got those skinny little tires hooked up it went like a raped ape
A friend of ours got the second Stingray delivered. A 365 HP FI 327 coupe. We thought we were king shit cruisin around together in the ONLY two Stingray in town. That was until I almost drove my grandmother off the road drag racing two abrest on a two lane street Man did I catch hell from my mother for that My brother was cool about though. He only wanted to know if I beat him

 

Corvette's make great donor cars...........

 

Viva Le Fiberglass

 

'63 split windows are the only ones that really "do it" for me.

And call me a pessimist without vision, but I can't imagine an early Nova as a road racer. I like 'em as a good, cheap, lightweight, straight line car. And obviously, they could be built with the right suspension to turn corners.

But the style doesn't seem to work. Most of the road racer cars I'm familiar with are real swoopy. The lines have a lot of flowing curves that the Nova doesn't have. Road racing is not my thing, so I could be dead wrong. I'd like to see Novas, or even squarish cars that were used in road racing back when to help visualize it.

 

I like the idea of the NOVA.......along the same lines, the early '64-'66 Darts and Valiants would make a great little racer.....I have an older suspension book on setting these up for autocross and improved handling......

I'm not much of a 'Vette fan, and I won't go into my few experiences with them, as I don't think that was the intension of your post........but I will admit.....I do like the lines on '57-'60 and '68-'72........

 

For me it's the first group of Corvettes that rule...even the very early 6 cylinders. Just a simple, beautiful design that stills takes my breath away all these years later.

 

The first time anyone took me out & scared the shit out of me in an automobile was my young uncle Ben back in the mid 70's. I was like 7 or 8, and my uncle drove a 69 vette with a 400-something horse 427 & a 4 speed.

We went very fast, and I haven't been the same since.

 

The nova idea is what i wanted to do with my 67 Camaro before i sold it last week. the Trans-am cars are so fucking mean. A nova never crossed my mind but i like it. Now corvette's are another story all together i was ruined by one when i was 5 years old. riding behind the seat of my dads freinds 70 something. Funny thing is a few years ago i chose the spaceherpie over a vette. had a brand new black on black z06 orderd to go thru the drive and buy with my dad. but saw the space herpie for sale and got that instead. good thing too cause id be dead now im sure. To bad ill never be able to afford a vintage one.

 

Here is our '56 - same car my dad almost bought back in '58. A previous friend put in the '62 340 horse/4-speed/posi/'65 fuelie back in the early 60ties - we just cleaned it up and put on the wheels/tires!!!

 

Like Ryan, the first car I can remember our family owning was a corvette. As a 5 year old I remember sitting on the hump between mom and dad in dads 56Vette (no seatbelts?) My buddy is building a 56 now, seems like deja vu when I sit in it. I remember winters in Michigan and my Dad doing donuts on the iced over parking lots, man those were fun times

 

Ryan, I too came from a Hot Rod, Kustom and Corvette enthusiast family. My cousin raced in the IMSA series back when it was financially possible for the little guy to build a car and be competitive. You don't see many Vettes raced in the series today other than the factory team. Before that he and I did a fair amount of drag racing with our 63's, both with 6 taillights.



His Vette was the third highest finishing Vette in the 1975 24 hours of Daytona (see picture) and was clocked at 187 on the back straight powered by the L88 engine and 3.08 gears. In 1974 it may have been the first race car with telemetry as one of his pit crew worked for the company developing it.

 

My story is about a newer Corvette but I'll throw it out there anyway. Like most car guys I always wanted a Corvette. I spent 2004-2005 overseas for O.I.F. I had always wanted a 1996 Collector's Edition Corvette, Sebring Silver with a LT4 and a 6 speed. My Dad emailed me and said there was one for sale in Omaha. I told him to go look at it and buy it if it was good. My Dad had access to my bank accounts while I was away so he was able to make the purchase on the spot. When I got home I was not even out of my desert uniform before I drove the car. For the first 2 weeks I dorve it I did not even turn on the radio. The sound of that LT4 was music to my ears (still is). I have not done many mods to the car. I've got a LT4 Hotcam from GM I plan to throw in it this winter. I've got a little 26 T I'm working on to satisfy my hot roddong urges.

 

Did we all grow up with Corvettes or what? My dad had a 1974 bought it brand new. L-82 4-speed not very good performance wise, but as a kid growing up I thought it was the fastest thing on the planet. When he down shifted it sounded so good! Some of my first memories are of that car and sleeping behind the seats in the storage area while we went to various car shows. I was a Corvette nut had posters ,models, books, you name it. Then it all changed when I saw my friends dads 31 A for the first time. I still have a soft spot for Corvettes.

 

There used to be a first generation parked on the street in front of a cemetary in Orlando, I drove past it a million times, it never moved, not once and then one day it was gone. I regret never stopping and asking about it.
Those 53-55s and Stingrays are my favorite, the rset of 'em don't do anything for me. The closest thing I ever had to a Corvette was the 1970 LT1 engine I had in my 1957 Chevy, but it was missing the hi rise intake anyway.

 

You're right - brain fade. '58's were the first year for quad headlights - and the quads make the car look less like a sports car and more like mainstream piece.

 

My first was a 63 2 top 327-340 4 spd. I added 5 spoke American clones and 67 side pipe covers. I made my own exhaust hiding glasspacks under the covers. I paid 1300 for it, drove it for a year or so and sold it for 1500 to get a newer style 1969 T-top coupe. 427-390 4spd WITH AIR!.. I drove that for a few years. In the mean time I decided I wanted an early model. I found 62 327-300 4spd. for 800 complete with factory knock off chrome wire wheels. I put a 350 and a Muncy in it. I topped it off with a Man-a-Fre for a few weeks. It ran like a striped ass ape but was a pure PITA to drive in traffic.

I missed the old hot rods and ended up swapping it for a 41 Ford sedan delivery and cash.

There is a very cool 58 that comes to the Sunday morning cruise in. White paint that shows it's age. Black steel wheels with dog dish hub caps. Black interior with a Hurst shifter. 2 faded class winner decals (75&80 I think) that were put on the window probably 30 years ago. A genuine weekend warrior survivor from back in the day. It's a real cool piece with all the real patina.

 

PS, Corvette restorers are an uptight bunch, worse than British sports car owners.

 

I also have fond memories of Corvettes in our family, my uncle had a 73 and my Dad had a 74, I remember getting picked up at school and thinking how cool I was! I may have been 10 years old at the time and this was in 83 or 84, I remember not being able to see over the dash..My next encounter was being able to drive my buddys 67 bigblock, four speed coupe..what a car that is.

Yes I think all car guys and girls have at least one or two fond memories of a Corvette!!!!

John

 

My dad owned a blue mako shark before I was born. I only saw pictures of it, but it looked bad ass. It had a 454 with the pipes running under the doors. He wish he still had it and so do I.

 

when i was 15 or 16 i bought a 79 vette at a salvage auction and put on a new front end.

i sure had vette fever then! LOL

now i only want a 58 or 59---someday