Corvettes for Sale: Rare ‘Big Tank’ 1966 Corvette Barn Find Headed to Auction

A Florida man’s collectibles gathered over a lifetime will be auctioned off this weekend, including his rare 1966 Big Tank Corvette Sting Ray and a 1969 L89 Corvette.

The Corvettes, along with other vintage muscle cars and “a multi-generational collection of firearms, WWII souvenirs, vehicles, thousands of rounds of ammunition, gun safes, swords and bayonets, and vintage parts and much more,” will go across the block in an absolute auction on Saturday, Dec. 2.

The sale will be conducted at a rural property off of East Road in Pasco County, Florida. For more information, contact John Harris: 813-784-3926, Michael Harris: 813-528-5840, or [email protected].

Only 66 of the Big Tank Corvettes were produced in 1966 with a massive 36-gallon fuel tank designed for endurance racing, nearly double the capacity of the stock 20-gallon tanks. Production numbers for the optional tanks, available only in coupes, were very low – 63 in 1963, 38 in 1964, 41 in 1965, and 2 in 1967 at a cost of $202.30 from ’63 to ’65 and $198.05 in ’66 and ’67.

The current condition of this Milano Maroon example, which has a 427 V8 engine (either 390 or 425 horsepower) and side pipes, isn’t detailed in the auction listing, but the car is shown in a photo sitting on jacks minus a driver’s side front tire and appears to need a restoration.

During an interview with Fox13 News, the late owner’s wife recalled many good times in the car with her husband, John Cockin.

“I remember when we drove back and forth from Pinellas County, where we grew up, to USF, where we went to college,” Peggy Cockin said.

After the death of her husband in April, Peggy was left with his lifelong collection of cars, tractors, and weapons and has decided to let others enjoy them.

Of the ’66 Corvette in particular, she said: “It would do both John and I great pleasure to know that someone else has dreams and someone else is able to accomplish that. They’ll love it.”

For more information about the auction, visit www.harrisauctionsllc.com. You can watch the news report from Fox 13 Tampa Bay here.

Source:
fox13news.com

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