Back in 1966, a Maine car dealer bought this 1964 Corvette coupe.
Over the next 52 years, it turned out to be quite a good investment for the owner of Gorham Transportation Center.
We don’t know what he paid for the car back in the day, but we’d guess it would have been less than $5,000, considering the base price new was just $4,252!
Today, the car – which is listed on appraisals as a one-owner vehicle because it was acquired as a demo from General Motors in 1966 after being driven for a year by the GM regional sales manager – is being offered for sale at the negotiable price of $49,999.
The 1964 Sting Ray, of course, was the first C2 without the controversial rear split window, and the chrome hood inserts of the ’63 were removed but the two indents remained, making the ’64 hood unique among the five-year run of the C2. The non-functioning indentations on the front fenders, meanwhile, featured the same two wide horizontal bars as the ’63. However, the left rear pillar vent did become functional in ’64, and the steering wheel switched to a simulated walnut-grain plastic composition from a color-coordinated composition.
We found this car, one of just 8,304 coupes made in 1964 (as opposed to 13,925 convertibles), after it was listed as a Hemmings Find of the Day.
While the car isn’t in perfect show condition, it appears it would instantly make a great daily driver for someone who wants to make a bold statement with his vehicle, at least according to a review of the photos that accompanied the listing.
The frame appears to be in good condition, with what looks to be minor surface rust and peeling paint. The body seems to be undamaged, and the paint remains the original shade of Daytona Blue though it is said to have been repainted early on and now “shows its age as it should,” according to the listing.
By the way, Daytona Blue made up 15.5 percent of the production in 1964, with some 3,454 leaving the St. Louis assembly plant in that shade.
The interior likewise shows some wear and tear, as any 55-year-old would, but all the parts look to be there, including the gauges, radio, and glove compartment door. The door panels also appear to be in fairly good shape, too, but no photos of the seats were included. Based on the condition of the rest of the car, we’d expect them to be in decent condition, however.
We are also told that the seller decided to have the car gone through in August 2018 “to get it in perfect mechanical condition.”
The Sting Ray is powered by its original L75 327/300 hp engine, which is still far from the 100,000 mile mark but could use some minor cosmetic work to spruce it up for car shows. The seller points out that the odometer read 50,000 in 1983, but the car’s usage slowed considerably over the next 36 years, hitting 60,000 miles by 2008 on the way to the current mark of 65,000. The L75 was the most popular engine choice that year, with some 10,471 cars made with this $53.80 option that supplanted the 327/250 base engine.
This car left the factory with the rare automatic transmission, as just 2,480 examples with this $199.10 option were produced that year, as opposed to the 19,034 four-speed manuals.
All in all, definitely not a show car, but still a fun second-generation Corvette for sure, especially with the cool-looking sidepipes that have been added at some point.
Source:
Hemmings.com
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