1967 Chevrolet Corvette

Everyone loves mid-year Corvettes, and for a lot of enthusiasts, 1967 was the pinnacle of the breed. If your tastes run more towards a car that you can actually drive and enjoy, one that likes to go around corners as much as blasting away from red lights in a haze of tire smoke, and one that will stand out in a sea of red, this matching-numbers 1967 Chevrolet Corvette L79 Convertible is for you. A former NCRS winner, it was built to that hallowed organizations rigid standards, which unlike popular belief actually sway more toward the imperfect than the trailer queen. The result is 327/4-speed car with killer good looks and lots of performance, making it one of the best bang-for-your-buck C2s weve featured in a while. Sales were down in 1967 because everyone was waiting for the all-new 1968 Corvette to debut and as a result, the 67s are highly sought, particularly the numbers matching cars like this. As of this post, the mid-year Corvette market has never been hotter, and even with that upward value trajectory this is still a great time to get into a small block 67. Big blocks are pretty much out of reach, deep in six-figure territory, and super-clean examples like this droptop L79 are the next best thing for any serious Corvette fan. First, its Code 984 Sunfire Yellow, a very popular color in 1967 and for obvious reasons. Its sophisticated yet fun, the perfect color for cruising down the coast and listening to a groovy Beach Boys tune. To kick things up a notch on the aggressive scale, factory-spec side pipes were added along with factory heat shields, although they left out the usual trappings of adding a silly hood or any obnoxious decals, allowing that original Sting Ray styling to do all the talking. As is common with restored Corvettes, especially the valuable ones, the workmanship is very solid, with a strong driver-quality paint atop a straight and stress-free fiberglass body. Even after all these years (the restoration was completed in early 1990s) and 50K miles on the build, the finished product looks good, with crisp lines, nice gaps, and just the right amount of shine in the finish to make it glow. Its far from perfect, of course, but as a dialed-in driver its a wonderful example. All the chrome was restored years back when the paint was redone, with things like the bumpers, door hardware, and window surrounds still shining up nicely and providing an added zing to this roadsters curb appeal. A factory tinted windshield is still in place, just like the reproduction window sticker calls for, as are the Corvettes limited badges and the iconic flip-up headlights that work exactly like they should. The STD on the trim tag calls for an original black vinyl interior, and although that exact color was kept during the cars refreshening back decades ago, the upholstery still looks awesome inside the 2-seater. Black is a perfect complement to the Sunfire Yellow exterior finish, and the matching door panels, factory center console, dash, and plush carpets are all in great condition and look hardly touched when you consider all the miles registered on the car since it was restored. A factory woodgrained steering wheel warms things up and feels amazing in the hands of the driver, theres a full complement of OEM gauges keeping any eye on the motor under the hood, and the center of the dash houses a unique vertical AM/FM radio that Corvette made famous. And if you like to drive, youll be pleased that this is a numbers matching Muncie 4-speed car and few things are as joyous as the sound of a burly small block ripping through the gears in side-pipe stereo. A black convertible soft top and removeable hardtop both come with the sale and seal up neatly should the weather turn, although by the looks of things its been a while since either was called into service. Theres an undeniable appeal to a drivetrain left in stock configuration, but it almost always comes at the expense of performance. When that original engine happens to be a much-heralded L79 327 V8, churning out a full 350 horsepower, no such sacrifice must be made. Topped with a 4-barrel carburetor atop a stock-style intake its running extremely well, and with finned Chevrolet valve covers, and a chrome open-element air cleaner, along with Chevy Orange enamel on the block itself, the engine bay looks just like it did in 1967. Its paired up with the original Muncie wide-ratio 4-speed manual that acts as the small blocks perfect dance partner, and it sends power to the 3.36 posi-traction rear end out back. Its a truly noteworthy and classic drivetrain combination, with enough power and torque to eat up asphalt with ease. As testimony to just how serious Chevrolet was in making sure their true American sports car stayed well ahead of the competition, they had already gone to a fully independent rear suspension and four wheel disc brakes when this Vette came out, so in its stock configuration its a nimble performer thats also capable of stopping in very short order. Simple Rallye wheels always look great on Corvettes, and theyre wrapped in 205/75/15 BFGoodrich redline rubbers that fill the fenders perfectly. Offered with a binder full of NCRS judging and title history, a reproduction window sticker, owners manuals, and a other miscellaneous provenance, this is a truly dialed-in droptop classic thats turnkey and ready to rock. A former NCRS show car now set-up for rallies and local shows, this Sting Ray is ready to awaken the driver in all of us. Call today!