1967 Corvette 2 top roadster
Rally Red
Black vinyl interior
327/350 HP
4 Speed Muncie transmission
3.55 posi rear end
1 of 326 roadsters with air conditioning
Rally Red
Black vinyl interior
327/350 HP
4 Speed Muncie transmission
3.55 posi rear end
1 of 326 roadsters with air conditioning
We purchased the 1967 Corvette Roadster in 1976. I had been looking
for a mid year Corvette for a while. Our kids were young (6 and 3 years old)
and I sold my wife on the idea that these cars would appreciate in value and by
the time our kids were old enough to go to College we could sell the Corvette
and pay for their College. I found out about a fellow who was selling
Corvettes, and he had a warehouse full of them in Lombard, Il. Further
investigation revealed the shop was behind a Good Year tire store on Roosevelt
Rd. I found the store and drove around the rear and sure enough there was the
warehouse, and yes he had 20-25 Corvettes of all years inside. I walked around
the warehouse and picked out 3 or 4 favorites. I really didn’t know what I
wanted, and picked cars that looked cosmetically appealing. I later found out
that was not the way to choose a Corvette. There were a few guys there that
guided me to the two best choices. One was a 1967 Marlboro Maroon Coupe with a black interior and a 300
horsepower 327 small block with a 4 speed
manual transmission. I liked the color because I painted my ’51 Chevy Honduras
Maroon back in 1961, and I always liked that color. The second choice was a
Rally Red 1967 Corvette convertible with a black interior and a 350 horsepower 327engine
and a 4 speed manual transmission. This car had air conditioning, and I thought
my wife would enjoy riding in air conditioned comfort. She has always had hay
fever and I thought it would be more comfortable for her. I was about to take
the Maroon Coupe out for a test drive, when one of the guys who worked there,
took me aside and told me all the things that was wrong with it. He told me
that the Rally Red convertible was a better choice. I took the Rally Red
convertible out and drove it around and liked it very much. When I returned the
car, I found a wallet tucked in between
the driver’s seat and the console. It belonged to one of the mechanics there
who was using this car as his summer driver. I negotiated a deal with the owner
and we settled on a price. I needed to borrow the money from our bank, so that
was the next hurdle to jump over. A few days later, the loan was given, and I drove over to the shop where the car was. I told the owner of the shop that I was not happy with the black convertible top, so he threw in a new white convertible top with the deal. I was a happy camper, and could not wait to show off the new purchase. I drove it home and the whole family hopped in. The kids were small enough to fit in the compartment behind the seats that the convertible top is stored in when it was down, and off we go. We drove around our neighborhood, and the longer we drove the car, the worse it ran. We barely made it home, and the excitement of owning a mid year Corvette was wearing thin! I was always a “gear head” so I thought I could diagnose the problem. After a complete tune-up and good inspection of the engine and all the parts under the hood, all was well and it ran like a scalded rabbit! Getting the title from the state of Illinois was another issue. It took the better part of six months to finally obtain a clear Illinois title. I traced the car’s origin to a dealer in Leeds, Alabama- Hufstatler Chevrolet. I found out the car was built in St. Louis on March 4, 1967. I also found out that the Chevrolet dealer replaced the original engine with a warranty 350 Horsepower 327 engine. While tracing down the history of the car, I discovered that this car was one of 326 cars that was built with A/C. The rest of the car was all original. Over the years I replaced a lot of the parts that were wearing out, and enjoyed working on that car. We took many wonderful trips all over the USA in that car and many memories were made as we travelled the highways of America. Many trips to Bloomington Gold shows and some NCRS road trips.
One of the NCRS road trips included a trip to Steamboat Springs Colorado in 1995 to the NCRS convention there. That was a memorable trip, not so much for the trip out there with other Corvettes, but for the trip home from the Convention. The last day of the Convention, I was looking at the map to see if we could take a different route through the Rocky Mountains going home than we took getting to Steamboat Springs. I discovered a different road, and it looked like Rt. 14, through the mountains was a better choice. We took Rt. 40 going east, then turned north onto Rt. 14. We drove along enjoying the beautiful mountain scenery, then we came upon a woman standing in the middle of the road next to her Suburban. We stopped and she told us that she had 150 head of Cattle that she was moving from high pasture to the low pasture. She instructed me to stop and let the cattle go by and no damage would occur to our nice car. Out there all the cattle are what they call “free range,” and are not fenced in, so the cowboys herd them together and drive them along the roads to wherever they want them to be. Well, here we were in the middle of the road, with a red car and 150 head of longhorn cattle! As they moved along the highway, they brushed against the car, and I was petrified, but my wife was laughing hysterically and snapping pictures like mad! As the end of the herd passed by, the cowboys on horseback were laughing too. I was finally able to continue on my way. All too soon, we found out what the cowboys were laughing about! The cattle had left their manure all over the highway, and we were driving through it at 60 mph!! I pulled off the road as soon as we saw a gas station and got out and looked at the car. I was shocked to see cow shit all over the sides from the door handle to the rocker panels and the wheels and wheel wells were caked with cow shit 2 inches deep!!! Now remember that 1965 was the hottest summer on record, and that didn’t help the situation. Where we were in Colorado the temperature was 104 degrees! I rinsed off what I could with the hose that the gas station attendant let me use, but it was drying on the car and the hose was ineffective. I had to find a pressure wash somewhere soon! We travelled about 30 miles on Rt. 14 to a town called Walden. Surely they had a car wash there. Luckily there was a car wash with a pressure hose that I could use to blast off all the cow shit. It was a very smelly job, and to this day, I can still smell how bad it was. It took 30 minutes to get all of it off the car, and we continued on our way. We made it to North Platte, Nebraska that first day, and when we pulled in the hotel parking lot you could still smell the cow shit. Obviously, I had not gotten all the shit off the suspension and the underside of the car. It wouldn’t be until we got home and I jacked up the car and put it on jack stands and removed all 4 wheels and pressure washed the entire under carriage and suspension that all of the shit and smell was removed. I remember pressure washing it 4 times before the smell was gone!
One of the NCRS road trips included a trip to Steamboat Springs Colorado in 1995 to the NCRS convention there. That was a memorable trip, not so much for the trip out there with other Corvettes, but for the trip home from the Convention. The last day of the Convention, I was looking at the map to see if we could take a different route through the Rocky Mountains going home than we took getting to Steamboat Springs. I discovered a different road, and it looked like Rt. 14, through the mountains was a better choice. We took Rt. 40 going east, then turned north onto Rt. 14. We drove along enjoying the beautiful mountain scenery, then we came upon a woman standing in the middle of the road next to her Suburban. We stopped and she told us that she had 150 head of Cattle that she was moving from high pasture to the low pasture. She instructed me to stop and let the cattle go by and no damage would occur to our nice car. Out there all the cattle are what they call “free range,” and are not fenced in, so the cowboys herd them together and drive them along the roads to wherever they want them to be. Well, here we were in the middle of the road, with a red car and 150 head of longhorn cattle! As they moved along the highway, they brushed against the car, and I was petrified, but my wife was laughing hysterically and snapping pictures like mad! As the end of the herd passed by, the cowboys on horseback were laughing too. I was finally able to continue on my way. All too soon, we found out what the cowboys were laughing about! The cattle had left their manure all over the highway, and we were driving through it at 60 mph!! I pulled off the road as soon as we saw a gas station and got out and looked at the car. I was shocked to see cow shit all over the sides from the door handle to the rocker panels and the wheels and wheel wells were caked with cow shit 2 inches deep!!! Now remember that 1965 was the hottest summer on record, and that didn’t help the situation. Where we were in Colorado the temperature was 104 degrees! I rinsed off what I could with the hose that the gas station attendant let me use, but it was drying on the car and the hose was ineffective. I had to find a pressure wash somewhere soon! We travelled about 30 miles on Rt. 14 to a town called Walden. Surely they had a car wash there. Luckily there was a car wash with a pressure hose that I could use to blast off all the cow shit. It was a very smelly job, and to this day, I can still smell how bad it was. It took 30 minutes to get all of it off the car, and we continued on our way. We made it to North Platte, Nebraska that first day, and when we pulled in the hotel parking lot you could still smell the cow shit. Obviously, I had not gotten all the shit off the suspension and the underside of the car. It wouldn’t be until we got home and I jacked up the car and put it on jack stands and removed all 4 wheels and pressure washed the entire under carriage and suspension that all of the shit and smell was removed. I remember pressure washing it 4 times before the smell was gone!
One of our favorite Bloomington Gold shows was in 1992 when 1967 was the Silver Salute car. Here's a few pictures from that meet. We took the road tour and there were so many cars we were back to the starting line before a lot of the cars even started. My wife's '81 received a gold certificate that year.
Another nice road trip was the St. Paul, MN NCRS Convention in 1996.
We also attended an NCRS meet in Effingham, IL in 1998. Mid America Corvette Museum had a nice assortment of cars even at that time.
We think one of the nicest road trips we ever went on was when Chevrolet put on a 50th Anniversary party for the Corvette in Memphis, TN, June 2003. We went with our friends, Barb and Earl, Lenny and Sue and Ron. We started out with a "clean-up the cars" day the weekend before we left.
We enjoyed the Corvette Museum, a tour of the Corvette plant, and a special day at the Gaylord Hotel grounds and the Grand Ole Opry.
We have so very many good memories of the '67 with our family.
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As the years went past, the need to sell it became a non issue. Our boys graduated College, and we still had the car. In fact, in 1980 we ordered a new Corvette and it was delivered on Feb. 10, 1981—our oldest son’s birthday. Now we were a 2 Corvette family. We drove both cars to many events including parades, picnics, and Corvette events. One summer in June, 2004, at the Bloomington Gold Corvette show, a fellow from Texas saw the 1967 and offered me a boatload of money for it. I sold the car on the spot.
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