To start you off, here is a picture of my '68 on the beach across
from Patrick Air Force Base, just south of Cocoa Beach, FL.A nice toy I bought in January, 1977, it was loaded for the time with the 427 - 390 hp, wide ratio 4 speed, 3.08 positraction, Power Steering, Power Brakes, Power Windows, Air conditioning, telescopic column, and hardtop. Yes and no, I have/don't have the tank sticker. It is still on the tank and is too fragile to take off. However, I did photograph it several times.
Picking it up in the middle of a blizzard was not too wise, but due to the previous owner's insistence on selling it to another guy (I had the downpayment on it), I had to get it to prevent him from doing something stupid. With one nearly bald tire and four skinny F70-15 bias ply Goodyears, the 65 mile trip home was an adventure.
In the beginning, I ran autocrosses, high speed events, and hillclimbs with it. It has seen laps at Mid America Raceway and trips up the IVSCC Hillclimb in Peoria. The 427 proved to be excellent in these. The top speed I have had it to has been 150 mph. (One of those times was with a helicoptor in chase.)
When I bought it, my first reaction was "Oh no, not red!" as it seemed every Corvette was red then. But since that time, I have never regretted buying this car.
I bought it from a kid in Lebanon, IL who was going into the Air Force. He bought it around May 1976 from a lady who was a school teacher in O'Fallon, IL. They bought the car from Placke Chevrolet in St. Louis in 1974. If anyone knows anything from farther back, please email me.
My '63 I bought in a barn. I found an ad for a Corvette and went to
check it out, finding it in a barn near the Missouri River. The car
was in very rough shape, so bad most would have left it there, but
I had noticed one thing -- the Air Conditioning sticker.I made my way to the front and checked. Yes, it was a factory Air Conditioned coupe. There were 278 cars with air in 1963, of which 50 were convertibles. This car is more rare than the famed '63 Fuelie.
Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of it scanned. It is currently being restored to a street driver. I am not going to NCRS standards, simply because I want to drive it as much as possible. I do not intend to have it judged or shown, except maybe with local club events to support the club, so NCRS standards are meaningless to this car. So items like bearings, u-joints, tires, and so on will be what does the job best, not NOS. Otherwise, it is stock.
It is a 327, 250 hp, 4 speed, Air Conditioning, AM-FM radio coupe. It is red with a black interior.
The only history I know on it is that it was wrecked around 1970 near Hermann, MO. The windshield had a University of Texas - Austin Staff parking sticker for 1967-1968. If you went to U of T - Austin around then and remember this car, please email me. I would really like to piece together some history on this one.
This is the 1979 Corvette coupe I just picked up. The car has been well cared for through most of its life, however, it has been sitting now about a year or so due to mechanical problems. I haven't even taken it off the trailer yet. The rear wheel bearings need replacing and so that is the first move before finding out what else may need repairing. I'll update this as I go. Ironically, this color almost made me trade my '68 back in 1979 when the first '79 to show up at the dealer was one of this Light Blue, often called Ice Blue.
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Last updated 4/5/2004
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