I am completely and totally in love with automobiles. This obsession started as a little boy. I spent a large portion of my childhood attending automobile shows at places like Hershey, Macungie and Carlisle Pennsylvania. I saw cars that were truly works of art. Auburn Boat tail Speedsters and the Cord 810 “coffin nose”. Pre-war, post-war, fifties fins, muscle cars, exotic, unusual, beautiful automobiles. When I was about eight years old my father bought his dream car. His dream car was a 1955 convertible black Ford Thunderbird. He bought the car locally and I rode home with him, top down, the night that he bought the car. On the way home the T-Bird broke down in a Howard Johnson’s parking lot. A quick milkshake and a phone call to my godfather. My godfather was primarily a collector of Lincoln Continental’s – although he had just about every type of vehicle you could imagine at one time or another. He arrived with a small toolbox, got the car restarted and we went happily on our way.
Around the same time, I became obsessed with Corvette Stingrays. There was not a year Stingray that I did not like. The lines on those cars were so daring and the car was so uniquely American.
Two years ago I returned to Florida. I needed a new classic car to celebrate the move. At some point I decided to widen my search of classic cars to include Corvettes. Because of the humidity and salt air here in Miami, a fiberglas body sports car has a significant advantage in terms of upkeep – I always loved my Avanti for this reason. After a long search and test drives in a a bunch of contenders for my new ride, my girlfriend found a really nicely reconditioned 75 Corvette stingray for sale a reasonable price. It certainly needed work but it was all original and the cosmetics were good – and what the hell, it was cheap! It was a 1975 L-48 V8 350 cubic inch motor (5.7L) a close ratio 4 speed with a 3:31 posi traction rear. Manual steering, brakes and gear box, T-tops and a deluxe interior.
I went home to think about the car overnight – Still looking for a rational reason not to buy this car. I still was not sure that I wanted a Corvette. The decision was put to rest after rummaging around in my studio, I found a Matchbox car that I collected as child. It was a “sugar scoop” era Corvette. It was one of my old favorites, it had been repainted many times. I remember the way that I felt as a child when I first saw a Corvette from this era – the proportions were so outrageous, there was nothing else like it on the road. Still thinking about the Stingray I drove earlier, I flipped a matchbox over. I noticed on the bottom of the car the casting date for the toy which was 1975.
I bought the Stingray the next morning.
Epilogue to the Stingray story
After selling this first Corvette and having instant seller’s remorse, I purchased a second Corvette, which was black on black and an absolute time capsule. You can find that story on my blog here.
That Corvette eventually had to be sold when I was leaving Miami in 2018. I had many other classic cars from 2018 until 2022 – but none of them could scratch that itch like a c3 Corvette. It comes back to that childhood dream car, I just cant get that incredible shape out of head. I searched and searched for the right car; at this time, I was traveling extensively inside the United States for work. Every place that I traveled to I would search the local classifieds and the like in search of the next Corvette. After searching high and low I found this car in Delaware, close to where I grew up. It was a 1977, and it was an honest, solid car that I found on Craigslist. After a quick test ride with my bother, I decided to purchase the car. Unlike the other two cars, this one was mechanically restored over two and a half years and it is now making the roadtrip / car show circuit and also being driven in vintage rallies.
This 1977 largely original car is finished in Medium Red and powered by a Blueprint 350/5.7L V8 (340 hp / 470 ft-lb), paired with an M21 4-speed and rebuilt 3.70 Posi rear. Upgrades include a Borgeson steering system, LED headlights and fog lights, an Edelbrock manifold with AVS2 Thunder carburetor, thicker Gymkhana-style sway bars, adjustable rear suspension, and an aluminum radiator. The paint is original aside from the passenger front fender, with ghost gold pinstripes still visible. It rides on original GM Rally wheels refinished in modern silver metallic with flat center caps for a deeper profile. Inside, later-model C3 clamshell seats are upholstered in custom Ferrari dark red leather with hand-sewn door panels. The console features a switch panel in place of the factory radio, while the remainder of the interior stays largely stock, including a rear defroster. The original tops have been replaced with an Astro Top.
The car was originally titled in New York City, in the Wall Street Area of downtown. It made its way to Delaware in an unknown set of circumstances in the eayly to mid 90s. Though often shown, this car is built to be driven—logging miles annually, undertaking multi-day road trips, and competing in vintage rally events nationwide.
