1966 Chevrolet Corvette

Fusion Motor Company proudly presents a stunning, numbers-matching 1966 Chevrolet Corvette! This beautiful Corvette is finished in the original and RARE Laguna Blue exterior (code 978), paired with the gorgeous Bright Blue Vinyl interior (code 414). Offered only in 1966, Laguna Blue is a very rare and desirable color. Only 2,054 Corvettes were painted Laguna Blue. Under the hood lies the original numbers matching 327ci, 350hp V8 paired to the original 4-speed manual transmission. The car has undergone a full restoration and shows very well. The sale includes a binder with receipts and other documents about the car, such as an Arizona title/registration application from 1987. Decoding the trim tag shows the car was built on November 18, 1965, in the A.O Smith Plant. St. Louis-Corvette didnt manufacture ANY fiberglass body panels - they welded the birdcage together in the basement, primed it, sent it upstairs to the Body Shop, and bonded the body together around it, using fiberglass body panels molded, trimmed, and prepped for bonding by outside suppliers. Almost ALL the body panels were molded by A.O. Smith in Ionia, Michigan, with some smaller panels molded by others. There was only one set of molds for body panels, and the panels were used both at A.O. Smith on their body assembly line and at St. Louis on their body assembly line. A.O. Smith-built bodies were assembled, painted, and partially trimmed (glass, exterior moldings and hardware, and interior garnish moldings and internal door hardware - just enough to make the body water-tight), and were shipped to St. Louis on tri-level rail cars; all interior soft trim, seats, carpets, pedals, heater/AC, and complete instrument panel assemblies were installed at St. Louis.(corvetteforum.com) 1996 Paint Production Numbers Below: CODE EXTERIOR QUANTITY 900 Tuxedo Black 1,190 972 Ermine White 2,120 974 Rally Red 3,366 976 Nassau Blue 6,100 978 Laguna Blue 2,054 980 Trophy Blue 1,463 982 Mosport Green 2,311 984 Sunfire Yellow 2,339 986 Silver Pearl 2,967 988 Milano Maroon 3,799 About the Corvette: The Chevrolet Corvette (C2) also known as the Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray is the second generation of the Chevrolet Corvette sports car, produced for the 1963 to 1967 model years. The 1963 Sting Ray production cars lineage can be traced to two separate GM projects: the Q-Corvette, and perhaps more directly, Mitchells racing Sting Ray. The Q-Corvette, initiated in 1957, envisioned a smaller, more advanced Corvette as a coupe-only model, boasting a rear transaxle, independent rear suspension, and four-wheel disc brakes, with the rear brakes mounted inboard. Exterior styling was purposeful, with peaked fenders, a long nose, and a short, bobbed tail. Zora Arkus-Duntov was was developing an innovative new chassis for the 1963 Corvette, while other designers were adapting and refining the basic look of the racing Sting Ray for the production model. A fully functional space buck (a wooden mock-up created to work out interior dimensions) was completed by early 1960, production coupe styling was locked up for the most part by April, and the interior, instrument panel included was in place by November. Only in the fall of 1960 did the designers turn their creative attention to a new version of the traditional Corvette convertible and, still later, its detachable hardtop. For the first time in the Corvettes history, wind tunnel testing helped refine the final shape, as did practical matters like interior space, windshield curvatures, and tooling limitations. Both body styles were extensively evaluated as production-ready 3/8-scale models at the Caltech wind tunnel. The vehicles inner structure received as much attention as the aerodynamics of its exterior. Fiberglass outer panels were retained, but the Sting Ray emerged with nearly twice as much steel support in its central structure as the 1958-62 Corvette. The resulting extra weight was balanced by a reduction in fiberglass thickness, so the finished product actually weighed a bit less than the old roadster. Passenger room was as good as before despite the tighter wheelbase, and the reinforcing steel girder made the cockpit both stronger and safer. The 1966 models frontal appearance was mildly altered with an eggcrate grille insert to replace the previous horizontal bars, and the coupe lost its roof-mounted extractor vents, which had proven inefficient. Corvettes also received an emblem in the corner of the hood for 1966. This 1966 Sting Ray is extremely clean and has its original, Numbers Matching Engine and Transmission. Finished in beautiful Milano Maroon over Black Interior, this coupe is a real head turner. Fully restored top to bottom, this is a great driving car and is ready to be enjoyed.