Corvettes on eBay: Historic Triple Black 1966 Corvette Hill Climb Racer

May 26, 2017

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Corvettes on eBay: Historic Triple Black 1966 Corvette Hill Climb Racer

A 1966 Corvette convertible with a rich racing pedigree and an impeccable lineage is currently up for sale on eBay through 6:56 p.m. Sunday, May 28.

The asking price is a negotiable $235,000 for this Sting Ray that the seller says is likely the only factory built 1966 black convertible so equipped.

The original owner, Howard Fetterolf, ordered the car triple black, the same way he always ordered his Corvette, and he equipped this one to compete in the Production A class. As such, he checked off the boxes for the special high performance L72 425HP engine, M21 close ratio 4-speed, F41 heavy duty suspension, N14 side exhaust and 4:11 posi-rear gears. It also was ordered with the new-that-year J56 heavy duty braking system that included special pads, reinforced calipers, and a master cylinder with a proportioning value for the braking pressure adjustments to the front and the rear.

And race he did. Howard probably raced a hundred hill climbs and maybe as many SCCA road races where speeds were breaking 150 mph, competing in the last decade of amateur hill climbing and road racing before the fun amateur-driven sport morphed into a professional business.

While Howard always considered himself an amateur, he raced with the likes of Oscar Kovaleski, Ben Moore, George Wintersteen, Tom Morgan, Don Yenko, Roger Penske, David Walters and Hal Keck. His #15 Corvette took first place in 1970 in the Jefferson Hill Climb. A friend by the name of Zora Arkus-Duntov even told Howard one time that installing headers on his car would add another 30 horsepower!

After 25 years ownership by Howard, the ensuing chain of caretakers includes George Gallant, a long-time Corvette shop owner in Maryland and driver in NCCC events; Dana Pope, a New York Corvette collector, broker, and enthusiast; Nick Culkowski, NCRS judge; and Bill Skinner, an enthusiast who owns two very special big block Sting Rays.

As for documentation, it doesn’t get much better than the cover of a 1966 issue of Corvette News, as well as more recent appearances in Vette Vues and Corvette Magazine.

The car today has been restored to the way it appears in that 51-year-old photo, thanks to Nick and Bill. Indeed, their efforts resulted in the car being chosen by the NCRS as an American Heritage Award winner.