Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post: Ever feel like a Car is Following You? Continue reading the Original Blog Post
In about 86 I was working in a friends body shop after school. We were doing rebuilders and lots of big rig paint jobs as well as building my HenryJ. An old mechanic in the shop next to us had a Green 56 sitting outtside rotting. I wanted to save that thing so bad, my dad even tried to buy it but the guy was intent on "fixing it up some day"
What happened to all the $500.00 '63 corvettes?? Wait, I couldn't even afford the $500.00 '63 Corvettes
After the 63 Stingray, the 56 body style is my favorite. I'd love to have a 57 4 speed, with all the obsolete stuff restored to order. I think the fuel injection too much for my current skill set, but I'd keep the ignition points. and kingpin suspension. When I was 17 my buddy's sister let me drive her 59 and I was hooked. Everyone says they drive like trucks but that's not how I remember it. I have no interest in "restomod" with an LS and C7 suspension and leather seats and AC.
I have a friend that bought a corvette (1981) it was cheap, he said "everyone needs to own a corvette at least once in their lifetime" Not too sure about an '81, but, being a model a guy, i would have to say, any vette, 1953-1970 would suit me fine for a bit. But, yes, the 1956-57 vettes are really cool looking american made sports cars
I got to drive a 1961 Corvette a couple years ago and it was truly a dream come true. I did not feel like it drove like a truck and the muncie 4 speed was very firm and easy to shift. I thought it rode and drove great. Compared to our Austin Healey, it was different for sure, but growing up a kid of the late 80s, early 90s and only driving cars from this period, I thought the Corvette was great! Having an LS and an Art Morrison chassis kind of takes the romance out of the drive. Nothing like feeling the chassis flex and a carbureted engine. The more I drive my carbureted Chevy pickup, even on cold North Carolina days (all original) I question why people feel they need to modernize the whole thing.
I have a 59 with a (slightly hopped up) 283/4 speed. The thing shifts like butter, sounds perfect and overall has that antiquated feel of flying a biplane. A really visceral experience, almost a perfect combination of old and funky but modern enough that it's not quite the "seat of the pants/white knuckle" experience of driving an old hot rod. The window sill is perfectly positioned for the "elbow out the window" driving position.
This 57 has followed me my whole life. My Dad bought it in ‘62 i was born in ‘67. He had it completely dismantled by ‘66 it sat that way until about ‘83 or so. We put it together at home in the two car attached garage. We finished it just after i graduated high school in ‘85. A couple years ago he gave it to me right before he passed. I grew up playing in it then got to drive it when i was a teenager. I got to help him maintain and modify it over the years, it’s had several motors and trans even a blower motor. It’s now down for a much needed repaint and repower. @Jive-Bomber, i hope you get one! ^^I’m the little guy in front laying claim to it
One of my dad's closest friend brought a '62 vette brand new. Traded it in on a station wagon 2 years later because he got his girlfriend pregnant and they needed a bigger car. He wishes he had kept that car now but back then most people could afford only one car at a time.
I don't know why people think these drive like trucks. My 61 drives like a dream, I wouldn't think of changing or modernizing it. I did put a smaller (cragar) steering wheel on it...
If that 61 Corvette had a Muncie 4 speed in it then it was swapped in, the OEM 4 speed in those cars was a Borg Warner T-10.
The C-1 and C-2 Vettes are an experience that everyone Needs. Are they the most comfortable, easiest to drive automobile out there? No, but they weren’t meant to be! I had my ‘64 Coupe for over 20 yrs and I Still miss it ( long story). Will I have another? Probably not, but I Had one. Bomber, you’re turn!!
If you've owned a Corvette you "get it". When you pull in to a store or gas station, people stare and strike up a conversation about the car...Honda drivers want to race you off the stop light, girls you know you don't have a chance with will smile and wave....and more! When I was over at my ex-brother-in-law's house driving my black 56 Victoria hardtop, inevitably his buddy, Marv would show up in his red 64 coupe. One day I even got a ride in that car. It was following me around!. I ended up with that ugly red coupe and had it painted black. Now, I loved the car. Life threw a few curve balls at me and I sold the most beautiful car I ever owned....never saw it again.
I bought a '67 Coupe new. I drove it every day with no problems. Unfortunately, I sold it two years later. In 1987, realizing the error of my ways, I bought another '67 coupe (350 HP 4 speed, just like the first), and drove it for 20 years until it got a bit tired. I have restored it over the intervening years and now it is difficult for me to drive. I'm sure it's me. not the car. Gettin' old is a bitch.
Hello, My first ride was in a 1954 Corvette as a teen. It was new and the owner drove us around Bixby Knolls to show it off. It did attract a lot of attention, even if it was white. It was a Corvette. To most, it was a sporty car with a couple of teenagers sitting and having fun cruising around. As far as power, the 6 cylinder with an automatic transmission. It took off, because it was lightweight, but not like a big horsepower V8. The seating was ok, but we both felt cramped. It was just a fiberglass shell on a rolling chassis. The Corvettes I filmed at Lion's Dragstrip were in the Sports Car classes. Some were modified to go faster and others were just the latest 1959 V8 powered Corvette. The differences being 230 HP all the way up to 290 with a special cam. The 4 speed was just the right thing for these newer powered Corvette cars. But, there were older 1956-58 Corvettes in all stages of builds. Some were fast and were challenging the tops sports cars of the era. While others were just those cool stock cars with the hubcaps taken off for some Saturday afternoon speed runs. They were street cars with the ability to have fun at the drags. Jnaki The 54 was slightly cramped and in 1961, we thought the newer model was going to be a little larger, but with the powerful V8 and dual carbs, it was a little scary at full acceleration. The noise came right through the floorboard and firewall. It threw us back into our seats and we thought it was going to be an accident in the making. But, the feel of power in a lightweight sporty car was like no other. But, now that the max height is 6 feet tall, the seating in any Corvette is out of the question. It just is not our style of driving or seating. To us, it was like riding in a tight fitting shoe that had some good horsepower. My wife would fit, but after driving in her own classic, sporty car for 12 years, she would not go back to any sporty car for daily driving. Her powerful AWD station wagon is powerful enough. It is faster than those old Corvettes and half of the current cars, while on her daily cruises or visiting friends. Good luck in your search and wanderings Corvette racing at Lion's Dragstrip Hard shift green Corvette at 5:33.
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