“I’m trying to restore to a good condition. No way will it ever be stock, there are no matching numbers. Everything under the hood is new, and I am now working on the interior. I bought it as so I can tool around in my driving machine with my baby-doll on Sundays with no particular place to go.”

If you would like your car featured in Reader Wheels click on the link below and tell us a little bit about your ride.

CLICK HERE

*As an Amazon Associate, Old Cars earns from qualifying purchases.  

The post Old Cars Reader Wheels: 1966 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray appeared first on Old Cars Weekly.

By Brian Earnest

Ron Acker figured he had it right the first time. As a college student back in 1967, he took delivery of a shiny new 1967 Chevrolet Corvette coupe from a Madison, Wis., Chevrolet dealer. The date was April 7. He remembers the date like a family member’s birthday.

“Oh yeah, I remember it exactly,” laughs Acker, a resident of Waunakee, Wis. “I think that is something a guy would never forget, when he gets a new Corvette, and he’s only in college. I worked for my dad at his business while I was in college, and my dad bought me that new Corvette for working for his business. I was very fortunate.”

Seven years later, Acker’s life had changed dramatically and his beloved Marina Blue Corvette was getting squeezed out. It is a tale many car lovers can relate to from their younger days.

“I sold it in 1974 after we had three kids under 2 years of age,” Acker recalled. “I didn’t drive it much anymore, it was kind of in the way and I didn’t have any place for it, so I sold it, and that was something I always somewhat regretted.”

By 1996, Acker found himself in the mood to become a Corvette owner again, and he knew exactly what he was looking for. The 1967 Sting Ray was his favorite car and probably one of the most beloved American cars ever made. There was no reason to go looking for anything else, and when Acker found a car that was the same color and optioned almost identically to his first ’67 Corvette, he couldn’t resist.

“It was down in St. Charles, Ill. I saw the ad for it in April, and I thought about it for a while and didn’t do anything about it. Then, around the end of June, I called the guy and he still had the car,” Acker said. “We went and saw it around July 4 and wound up buying it. It looked just like the one I sold in 1974. It didn’t have the side exhaust and didn’t have whitewall tires like my first one had. Those were the only two changes I really added to it to make it identical to the one I sold in 1974.”

The Corvette had not exactly lived a sheltered life and had plenty of issues and shortcomings, but Acker says he was almost as excited as he was when his new ’Vette arrived in 1967. “To get one like I had originally … the ’67 in my opinion and many other people’s opinions is the greatest Corvette ever made,” he says. “The Sting Ray style is still great and it is still interesting, and in 2014, they brought back the name … But to a lot of people, the 1967 was, you might say, the epitome of Corvette design, and it’s still great today.”

Acker figures there was some karma at work, too. He had waited patiently for a long time to get back into Corvette ownership, and the timing was more than a little coincidental. “The story I always tell people is that I sold my first 1967 Corvette two months after our twins were born, and I bought this 1967 Corvette two months after they graduated from college!” he says.

Three decades had passed since he bought his first 1967 Sting Ray, but Acker, like many other red-blooded American males — and females — still considered the ’67s the coolest, sexiest, most desirable model ever made. Its styling was similar to the 1966, but a bit cleaner. The egg-crate style grille with Argent Silver finish returned from the previous year, and the hood was unchanged. Big-block cars had a large front-opening air scoop over the center bulge instead of the previous power blister.

The crossed flags badge on the nose of the 1967 Corvette had a widened “V” at its top. On the sides of the front fenders were five functional, vertical louvers that slanted toward the front of the car. Other changes were more subtle. The parking brake was moved from under the dash to the center console. A new headliner was cushioned with foam and fiber material. Four-way flashers, directional signals with a lane-change function, larger interior vent ports and folding seat-back latches were all new. At the rear there were now dual round taillights on each side instead of a taillight and optional back-up lights. The twin back-up lights were now mounted in the center of the rear panel, above the license plate.

Standard equipment included: a new dual-chamber brake master cylinder; six-inch-wide slotted rally wheels with trim rings; an odometer; a clock; carpeting; and a tachometer. The optional finned aluminum wheels were changed and had a one-year-only, non-knock-off center. Ten lacquer paint choices were offered: Tuxedo Black; Ermine White; Elkhart Blue; Lyndale Blue; Marina Blue; Goodwood Green; Rally Red; Silver Pearl; Sunfire Yellow; and Marlboro Maroon. Convertibles came with a choice of a black, white or teal blue soft top. The all-vinyl foam-cushioned bucket seats came in black, red, bright blue, saddle, white and blue, white and black, teal blue and green.

Acker can easily rattle off his car’s list of options and standard equipment. They are the same boxes that were checked on his first car. “It’s got the 350-horse 327 [V-8], wide-ratio four-speed, Marina Blue with the black vinyl interior, AM/FM radio, 3:36 Posi-Traction rear end. And this car has the bolt-on wheels. They are the repros and they were on it when I bought it in ’96. And that’s it … no power anything. No power brakes, no power steering. It’s not air-conditioned or anything, so it can get kind of hot in the summer.”

The L79 engine option with the 350-hp version of the 327 was one of seven engine choices available to new Corvette buyers at the start of 1967. The L75 was the standard 300-hp/327-cid mill. It was followed by the 350-hp L79 and four big-block 427 options that produced 390, 400, 425 and 435 hp, including the rare aluminum head L89. The ultra-high-performance L88, rated somewhere in the neighborhood of 560 hp, became a mid-year addition.

There were also five transmissions to pick from: three-speed manual; Powerglide automatic; wide-ratio four-speed manual; close-ratio four-speed manual; and special heavy-duty close-ratio four-speed.

Popular options included leather seat trim; tinted glass; power steering, windows, and brakes; side mount exhaust; air conditioning; and an auxiliary hardtop for convertibles. The droptops proved to be the most popular with buyers, with 14,436 produced at a base price of $4,141. The base coupes were actually about $212 more at $4,353. A total of 8,504 of the closed cars were assembled.

The vast majority (more than 88 percent) of 1967 Corvettes came with four-speed manual transmissions. Only about 10 percent had Powerglide.

By the time he got it, Acker’s car had been given a repaint with the same type of Marina Blue lacquer paint that it had from the factory. It was one of the few things that Acker decided to leave alone as he and his brother embarked on a lengthy “rolling restoration” that has never officially ended.

“It was painted in like 1995 by the guy I bought it from and it looked just like it does now. It looked really good and it was a nice paint job,” he says. “But otherwise, interior and mechanically, it was rough. Under the hood it was a disaster … missing pars, wrong parts, broken parts … the carpet was shot, seats were shot, trim pieces were bad or missing or faded.

“My brother Vern and I have done a frame-on restoration on it since I bought it, really. Each year we do a little work on it. He rebuilt the old drivetrain for me. The transmission wouldn’t shift down into second when I bought it, so he rebuilt that. The coil springs weren’t right on it and rear leaf was not correct … It’s been a work in progress and kind of a hobby of mine to work on the car. I have a lot of books I’ve read and learned a lot about the car. It’s been enjoyable learning to work on the car and I’ve really enjoyed having the car at shows. It’s a fun car to drive and take to shows, and I like to help people who are working on their ’63 to ’67s. I know a lot about it because I’ve had just about every nut and bolt apart on this car.”

Acker has rolled up about 25,000 miles over the past 18 years on his “second’’ ’67. The odometer shows 86,000 miles these days, and that total is sure to go up as the Ackers continue their old car hobby travels. Ron and Vern, who has a 1964 Corvette, often show up together at events such as the Iola Old Car Show in Wisconsin. They are going to rebuild the carburetor on Ron’s ’67 before they start hitting the road again. Ron also has a matching blue 1998 Corvette at home that he bought second-hand. The 1967 remains his favorite, but he would never rule out adding another iconic ’Vette to his stable.

“What do they say, Corvettes are like Lay’s potato chips,” he chuckles. “You can’t stop with just one.”

_________________

If you’ve got an old car you love, we want to hear about it. Email us at oldcars@aimmedia.com

__________________________________________________

The post Car of the Week: 1967 Chevrolet Corvette appeared first on Old Cars Weekly.

Iconic comedian, talk-show host, and noted Corvette collector Jay Leno commandeered motorcade of classic ‘Vettes from years gone by whilst behind the wheel of the new, highly anticipated 2014 Stingray.

Leno, who reminisces about his first ‘Vette, and Hendrick both lauded the new Stingray which is the first Corvette to bear the “Stingray” name since 1976.

To VIEW: Click here or on video above.

The post H-H-H-Here’s Jay… and Rick Hendrick in the 2014 Stingray appeared first on Old Cars Weekly.

Story and photos by Al Rogers

The Aug. 16, 2012, issue of Old Cars Weekly featured a forlorn 1965 Chevrolet Corvette roadster found languishing in the grass at a secret location. Not far from that 1965 roadster rests this 1967 Corvette roadster in a similar setting, but unlike the previously featured ’65 Corvette, there’s hope of resurrection for this ’67.

Tall grass attempts to drown Lee and Amanda Sloppy’s Corvette, but the unique profile of the Sting Ray sports car floats above the grass tips. The Sloppys have not forgotten their numbers-matching 327-cid, 300-hp 1967 Corvette roadster as it slips into a sea of green. They have a long history with the car, which they purchased from the original owner in 1973. Amanda Sloppy used it as her daily driver for her two-mile commute to work until 1981. After they replaced the mufflers a few times and its brakes went out, the ’67 Corvette was parked in its grassy field hideout for more than three decades.

“Family life took over with the arrival of our children, campers, dune buggies and other projects [and] the Corvette was not a priority,” Lee Sloppy said.

The couple plans to start a body-off-frame restoration before year’s end to give the Corvette a second life. A new shop is under construction on their property to serve as the restoration facility for the project. Lee Sloppy, now retired from work as a GM mechanic, has the time, resources and determination to see the project through.

Almost since the day the Corvette was parked in its grassy hideout, Lee has maintained a goal of restoring the Corvette. Many offers have rolled his way to sell it, but as he put it, “No need to do that.”

We’ll be following this project and its progress in the near future. Stay tuned. In the meantime, more of the Sting Ray…

‘Vette fan? Check out Corvette: The Greatest American Sports Car.

The post Sting Ray in the grass: Neglected ‘Vette to see new life appeared first on Old Cars Weekly.

LOS ANGELES – The Petersen Automotive Museum will celebrate the 60th anniversary of “America’s Sports Car,” the Chevrolet Corvette, with a tribute March 1-2.

Organizers say the most anticipated and significant event of the weekend is the 60th Anniversary Gala featuring speaker Kirk Bennion, the exterior design manager of the Corvette C7 Stingray. Bennion will discuss the C7’s radical departure in style from previous generations, allowing industry experts and enthusiasts alike the rare opportunity to gain insight into the design process and ask questions about one of the most anticipated new vehicle debuts in recent memory.

Other highlights include the Corvette Car Day Show, an exhibit inside the museum featuring the rarest examples of each generation including the very first Corvette “EX-122,” which debuted at the GM Motorama in 1953 and a series of educational panels featuring Corvette legends and industry experts.

The 60th Anniversary Gala is March 1. The Corvette Car Day Show from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on March 2 is free to spectators. The cost for participants is $60 per car and includes two free museum admissions, free parking, a goodie bag and a limited edition medallion created by Mid America Motorworks to commemorate the event.

The Petersen will host three panels throughout two days, each with a cost of $25: The Corvette Values Seminar at 10:30 a.m. March 1; The Racing Panel Discussion at 2 p.m. March 1; and The Corvette Restoration Seminar at 10:30 a.m. March 2.

In addition to the events, a special Corvette exhibit showcasing Corvettes from every generation, along with significant vehicles from history will be on display from Feb. 27 through March 31. Notable Corvettes include:

• 1953 EX-122: the first Corvette shown to the public
• 1956 SR2: an experimental race car
• 1959 Corvette Italia by Scaglietti: an Italian bodied masterpiece rendered in aluminum
• 1960 CERV I: the first mid-engine prototype
• 1964 “World’s Fair” Corvette: customized by GM for the New York World’s Fair
• 1963 Grand Sport and a 1968 “Sundowner” Bonneville Racer: driven by many famous racers including Dick Doane, John Mecom, Alan Sevadjian, Auggie Pabst, Jim Hall, A.J. Foyt and John Cannon

Event sponsors include Mid America Motorworks, Hagerty Collector Car Insurance, Corvette Mike, Intercity Lines and Fender Guitar.

Register or buy tickets online at www.CorvetteDay.org or call 323-964-6325. Some events have limited availability and will sell out.

Also, learn more at www.petersen.org.

‘Vette fan? Check out Corvette: The Greatest American Sports Car.

The post Corvette Day celebrates 60 years of sports car appeared first on Old Cars Weekly.

By John Gunnell

Several 1963 American cars broke new ground for the auto industry in styling, equipment and technology. Three particularly “classic ’60s” designs came from Detroit styling studios that year: the Buick Riviera designed by Bill Mitchell, Raymond Loewy studio’s Studebaker Avanti sports car and the Corvette Sting Ray that Bill Mitchell dreamed up during a fishing trip. To sweeten the pot, the Sting Ray of ’63 had a one-year-only “split-rear-window” styling triumph.

All three of these iconic designs were fashion hits in an era that generated passion for all two-door sports-personal cars, such as the Ford Thunderbird, Oldsmobile Starfire, Studebaker GT Hawk and Pontiac Grand Prix. Sportiness, luxury and performance in glitzy packages held strong appeal for “jet setters” of the early ’60s. Bucket seats and floor-mounted gear selectors were all the rage. Buyers wanted racy cars with something-special looks with potential to draw stares.

Important manufacturing innovations of 1963 included a Riviera rear window that needed no weather stripping. AMC started stamping Rambler door frames out of galvanized steel. The Corvette revived retractable headlamps and Pontiac adopted a new bake-sand-bake painting process. The venerable Chevy received a cast-iron crankshaft with seven main bearings and started a new trend.

Aluminum engines didn’t fare well. Pontiac dropped its alloy V-8 and Chrysler discarded its aluminum Slant Six, but the “cubic inch race” continued and the number of cars built with 144- to 200-cid engines fell 26 percent. In contrast, the number of cars with engines displacement greater than 400 cubic inches doubled the figure of 1961. Chevy installed 3,670 409s, Pontiac turned out 3,670 big 421 cars, Chrysler Corp. produced 2,130 wedge-head 426 machines and Ford shoe-horned 4,978 of its 427-cid high-performance V-8s into engine bays.

With the U.S. economy picking up steam, the compact cat market began to shift in an important way. Overall sales of compacts were up, largely because car sales were up in general. There were now 11 compacts from which to choose: Chevy II, Corvair, Tempest, F-85, Special, Falcon, Comet, Valiant, Dart, Rambler and Lark. However, market share for compacts declined from 35.2 percent to 32.9 percent, although sporty compacts were selling better. Sales of small two-door hardtops were up two percent and compact convertibles sold nearly 12 percent better. This is the trend that Ford’s Mustang tapped into.

Many small engineering refinements of 1963 were important: Cadillac’s five-joint drive shaft — which had one single joint and two double joints — gave a smooth ride, even if a slight misalignment developed. Olds mounted its V-8 flatter and farther ahead to reduce the height of the drive tunnel and increase roominess. The trend towards floor shifts and consoles turned many coupes and convertibles (and a few sedans and wagons) into five-seat cars.

Many of the year’s advances in automotive styling and technology were summed up in the three iconic designs of the year, which were all sports-oriented, powerful two-door models. They led the pack and we’ll look at each of them below.

Riviera: Iron fist in a velvet glove

Buick used the Riviera name on its early postwar hardtops when it described its two-door hardtop as a “Riviera Coupe.” When the four-door hardtop arrived in 1955, it was called the Riviera Sedan. The all-new ’63 Riviera came only as a hardtop coupe, and it was far different than earlier Rivieras. For one thing, instead of being just a unique body style, it was a totally unique car. It also brought leading-edge design to Buick for 1963, which also helped change the entire image of Buick Motor Division during the period.

The Riviera began as an effort by GM styling chief Bill Mitchell to revive the LaSalle, a Cadillac companion car built from 1927-1940. The LaSalle is famous for being the first car to come out of GM’s Art & Color design studio. In 1955, Buick stylist Ned Nickles — the father of the fabulous ’53 Skylark — designed an experimental LaSalle II. Around the same time, public reaction convinced GM that it needed a sports-personal car to compete with the Thunderbird. The development program was assigned to Buick and the Riviera name was selected to replace LaSalle.

Mitchell was a great talent in car design, and the Riviera was among his crowning achievements. With its Rolls-Royce-like, razor-shape body lines, the Riviera had a hint of classic styling that blended perfectly with up-to-date motifs such as a long hood-short deck configuration and restrained use of bright metal trim. It was also one of those iron-fist-in-a-velvet-glove cars with Buick “nailhead” V-8 power under its hood. The first Riviera could get through the standing-start quarter-mile in 16 seconds and looked great doing it. In addition, it handled well, too.

The Riviera came in one model priced at $4,333 and weighing slightly less than 4,000 lbs. It had a 117-in. wheelbase and was 208 in. long. The base 401-cid V-8 produced 325 hp. It pushed power through a two-speed Turbine Drive automatic transmission. Standard equipment included front and rear bucket seats, a console, deep-pile carpeting and a smoking set. The Riviera was aimed at affluent buyers, and only the Electra 225 convertible cost more with a price tag $35 higher than that of the Riviera.

Sting Ray: Sea creature-inspired

The ’63 Corvette Sting Ray was all new and an evolution of the Mitchell Sting Ray race car. Bill Mitchell replaced Harley Earl as head of GM styling in 1958. He thought it was important to race the ’Vette and persuaded Chevy general manager Ed Cole to sell him the 1957 Corvette SS “mule” chassis, which he obtained for just $1. Mitchell then had designer Larry Shinoda create a manta ray-inspired body for it, which influenced the production 1963 Corvette.

“Oohs” and “aahs” went to the new “split-window” Corvette fastback coupe. Shinoda created the “split-window” that Mitchell loved, although chief Corvette engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov was dead set against the vision-impairing feature of the design. Zora eventually had the split-window canned before the 1964 model year, so it was offered just one year and remains collectible.

On both ’Vette models (there was also a convertible model), the front fenders had two long, non-functional louvers resembling brake cooling ducts. The rear deck resembled that of the ’62 model, but the rest of the car was totally different. Hide-away headlamps were housed in an electrically operated panel and enhanced the car’s aerodynamics.

Firsts for Corvette in ’63 included optional knock-off wheels, air conditioning and leather seats. Four engines based on the 327 offered 250, 300, 340 or 360 hp. The 360-hp job had Rochester fuel injection.

Avanti: Design that survived its maker

The Studebaker Avanti was conceived as a way to save the South Bend, Ind., automaker. Industrial designer Raymond Loewy was responsible for guiding a team of talented designers in their effort to produce a Euro-styled Grand Touring car that could change Studebaker’s stodgy ’60s image. Studebaker president Sherwood Egbert asked for a closed four-seat model with an aerodynamic shape. He got a milestone design that survived the company.

Loewy hadn’t worked for Studebaker since his 1956 redesign of the Hawk series, so he gathered designers John Ebstein, Robert Andrews and Tom Kellogg at a house in Palm Springs, Calif., and wrote a new chapter in automotive styling history. What his crew came up with was a startlingly different look that literally stopped people in their tracks. The Loewy group’s scale model went to production with nearly no changes from his design.

In profile, the body of the car resembled a horizontal Coke bottle: narrow in front, bulging over the front wheels, then tapering in the center and flaring out at the rear. It had large glass areas and a flat roof with a built-in roll bar. The front fenders were angular with flat edges. There was no grille. The front consisted of V-shaped flat panels that slanted forward at the bottom and carried large headlamps in large, square, bright-finished housings. The hood had an asymmetrical hump. Inside were four bucket seats in an aircraft-like interior layout with lots of crash padding. The look was light and functional.

Three engines were offered for ’63: the base R1, the supercharged R2 and the seldom-seen and expensive R3. The R1 was a respectable, if somewhat unexciting 280-cid, 240-hp V-8. The highly promoted R3 was rare. The R2 was readily available and only $210. While it lacked the brute force of other muscle cars, the use of a small, supercharged V-8 and the clever use of existing Studebaker parts created a car with fast acceleration and great handling.

The Avanti received a publicity boost from a successful assault on existing American speed records. In August 1962, an R3 established several new marks including a 168.15-mph two-way Flying Mile. Early in ’63, a near-stock four-speed R2 averaged 158.15 mph through the measured mile. Road and Track reported a 7.3-second 0-to-60 mph time for the four-speed R2. In addition to being fast, the Avanti was rare. With a model-year run of just 3,834 units, Studebaker’s sports-personal car was a true limited-edition vehicle.

Stars of ’63 50 years later

Now we have reached the 50th anniversary of these iconic 1963 model cars. They are designs that made the fourth year of the ’60s stand out in automotive history much like the earlier years of 1903, 1932, 1940, 1955 and 1957. It is hard to say why the industry peaks in certain years when design trends and engineering developments converge to spurn the creation of great automobiles, but there’s little doubt that 1963 was a special time for special cars.

Got Old Cars?

If you don’t subscribe to Old Cars Weekly magazine, you’re missing out on the only weekly magazine in the car hobby. And we’ll deliver 50 issues right to your mailbox every week for less than the price of a oil change! Click here to see what you’re missing with Old Cars Weekly!

More Resources for Car Collectors:

• Classic car price guides, research, books, back issues of Old Cars Weekly & more
• Get expert restoration advice for your classic car
• Get car pricing, data and history all in one place
• Sign up for Old Cars Weekly’s FREE email newsletter
• Need to buy or sell your classic car? Looking for parts or memorabilia? Search our huge online classified marketplace

________

HOT OFF THE PRESS!

Restoration advice and how-to projects for your collector car!

In this car restoration guide, the staff of Old Cars Weekly opens the shops of several prestigious restoration businesses to show how the professionals and experts bring cars back to show-ready condition. From simple projects to detailed engine rebuilding work, Old Cars Weekly’s Auto Restoration Guide has something for all levels. Check it out

________

Standard Catalog of American Cars: 1805-1942

This is the only book with detailed histories behind the 5,000 automobiles built from 1805-1942, most illustrated with period photographs. This extremely desirable resource covers all of the well-known and little-known vehicles built during this period, including steamers, electrics, motor buggies, high wheelers, cyclecars, high-volume production cars and one-offs among its 5,000-plus entries. Check it out

The post Sixties Swingers: Special ’63s celebrate 50 years of cool appeared first on Old Cars Weekly.