CHEVROLET CORVETTE

The iconic Chevrolet Corvette (named after a small, manoeuvrable warship) has now been in production for eight generations with enormous pedigree and style. The first model was a convertible penned by designer Harley Earl and was introduced in 1953 at the GM Motorama as a concept show car.

The C2 Corvette followed and was produced between 1963 and 1967. Perhaps the car that is most entrenched in American automotive history with its dramatic styling, deeply scalloped side panels and the evocative Sting Ray model name.

The C3 arrived in 1968 with a slight name change to Stingray, although it closely followed the design of the Mako Shark II concept car. The new C3 displayed a number of innovative features including vacuum operation of the headlights, a shield to conceal the wipers when not in use and 17" wheels as standard. The chassis, fully independent suspension and disc brakes were carried over from the C2 and the car was offered with a choice of engine sizes and 4-speed manual or 3-speed automatic gearboxes.

If you were on NASA’s Astronaut Development Scheme in the 1970s, you could lease a Corvette for $1 a year and if you happened to have been on the Moon Landing Mission, you were gifted a manual gearbox, 'big-block', C3 Stingray, presumably as an added incentive to return to Earth. Mere mortals had to join the queue to own one of last of the true US muscle cars, with 7,400cc V8 power and 'four on the floor'.

The first owner of this beautiful, Bridgehampton Blue T-Top C3, who sounds like he could have been an Astronaut, was Glen Buchanan of Aspen Park Manitoba Canada. Unusually for a US car, this Stingray is accompanied by a lot of its early history and the file contains the original Chevrolet Motor Division Corvette Order Copy confirming a 'Black Custom Interior, 390 HP Turbo Jet 454ci V8 and 4-speed close-ratio transmission'. It still wears the Warranty Protect-o-Plate and is supplied with its original GM PDI sheet, original owners manual, the dealer wallet - branded Holiday Chevrolet Oldsmobile of Winnipeg Manitoba - still containing all the original items right down to who to ring if you had an accident, period photographs and a quantity of invoices.

The second owner was Laurie Brown of Victoria BC and it was eventually imported into the UK by our vendor, a very successful auto engineer. He was keen to retain the car's looks and originality but it became his quest over the last few years to improve those aspects of the car that took away from the enjoyment of driving it. Firstly, he decided to add fuel-injection to eliminate any fuelling issues followed by electric power-assisted steering. Standard Corvette headlight covers and wipers are vacuum-operated so these have been replaced with cleverly engineered, rose-jointed operating rods powered by electric motors. The result is instant and wipers that work. All the indicator lenses are correct 'orange' UK-specification and it benefits from LED reversing lamps cleverly concealed within the originals.

Make no mistake, this is a very well sorted Corvette, beautifully presented and subtly upgraded to enhance the ownership experience. Our retired owner is now concentrating his time on his latest project, an AC Cobra and reluctantly has to offer his beloved Stingray for sale. Have yourself an Aldrin, Armstrong and Collins moment!