Wow!
This brings back great memories. I had the same model in a 1966
Corvette, Nassau Blue in color, 327 V-8 engine, four speed manual transmission.
I bought the car from the Chevrolet dealer in Oak Harbor, WA after trading in
my Jaguar XK-150 before leaving on deployment in January 1966.
(The Jaguar was very difficult to start when it was raining, and
it was frequently raining at Whidbey Island in the winter. Starting the Jaguar
in the rain usually required removing the distributor cap and spraying a drying
agent onto the distributor contacts. I had a similar problem with the fuel
pump, located on the frame under the driver’s seat. I kept a leather mallet
handy so I could open the driver’s door, reach under rocker panel, and tap on
the fuel pump. That would usually get it going. So much for the Lucas British
electrical systems. From a related web site: “The
electrical systems used in British cars in the period 1950 to 1980 have gained
some notoriety, most of it unfavorable.” )
My Corvette was waiting for me on my return to NAS Whidbey
Island. It was a great car except that the fiberglass body leaked in the rain
at the top of the windshield on the left side, right on to the steering wheel.
The dealer was never able to stop the leak, although he told me it was fixed
every time I took it in. I just learned to live with it. In every other
respect, I loved that car.
My Corvette, with the smaller 327 engine, did not have the
exhaust pipes on the rocker panels. 1966 was the first model year without the
split back window. I still think it is one of the most beautiful cars, and one
of the best-handling cars, ever built anywhere. It was truly a dream to drive.
Once when I was at my NAS Olathe, KS near Kansas City for my
Navy Reserve drill weekend on a bitterly cold winter day, I found a small black
kitten that had been severely injured after climbing up into the radiator of a
parked car and getting her face sliced open by the fan blade when the owner
returned.
I took the cat in my Corvette to a veterinarian who was also a
Navy squadron mate.
He sewed up the cat’s face, and she recovered to be one of the
best pets I ever owned. She purred whenever I picked her up, she would jump on
my lap whenever I sat down, and she enjoyed riding along with me in my
Corvette, with a perfect place for a cat basket in the open area behind the
front seats of the Corvette.
When I re-located from Kansas City back to San Francisco with
TWA in 1970, my brother Mike drove the car out for me. As I recall, he had a
great trip.
The car was later stolen from the Stanford campus parking lot
near the Business School in early 1971 when I was attending as a student.
It was found several days later on blocks in San Francisco, completely
stripped and unsalvageable.
Thanks for sharing this.
Dave
Sent: Sunday, April 28, 2013 6:18 AM
Subject: Fwd: 67 Corvette Uncovered-in Colorado Springs
Have you seen this one?...Al
Subject: Fw: 67 Corvette Uncovered-in Colorado Springs
CORVETTE LOVER’s DREAM
COME TRUE
1967
CORVETTE with 2,996 original miles found sitting in a garage in Colorado Springs, CO.
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