Corvettes: Do You Prefer New or Old?

[chop456]

How about both? 


http://www.hagerty.com/NewsManager/templates/template_prot.aspx?articleid=1296&zoneid=2

The Right Way to Preserve a Collector Car
July 2007 / John Gunnell

By now, most old-car hobbyists — along with most people in America — have heard that the Plymouth buried in a time capsule in Tulsa, back in 1957, didn’t do well surviving the ravages of time in its concrete tomb. When the car was taken out of the supposedly sealed vault, it was found that moisture had leaked in and ruined the vehicle.

While the case of the ’57 Plymouth proves it is hard to preserve a car in like-new condition, that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to do so. In fact, on the very same weekend that the Plymouth was raised, a car show in Illinois was showcasing a vintage Corvette with four original miles that had been preserved in near-perfect condition for 35 years.

In 1972, C.L. Green of British Columbia contacted KATLA Chevrolet-Oldsmobile in Port Alberni, B.C. to order a new Corvette convertible with the highest horsepower engine and every factory option that could possibly be put on one car. Green’s order was placed on June 9, 1972 and the dealership sent a letter to GM of Canada explaining that Green was buying his Corvette to preserve it, rather than use it.

“Our customer for this vehicle intends to purchase this car with the idea of keeping it as a collector’s item and wishes to have ‘0’ miles on it,” the letter explained. “He intends to put it in a display room in his basement and keep it for at least 10 years. He has asked if this car could possibly be the last one off the line for the year.”

Green wasn’t able to get the last ’72 convertible. GM probably gets dozens of offers to buy the last ‘Vette of any given year. However, the automaker did manage get Mr. Green a loaded-up car with less than one mile on the odometer. This is probably quite a hard thing to do, as cars are driven off the assembly line, on and off transporters and from transporters to dealerships. Many also rack up a few miles during customer test drives. So, Green’s car came into the dealership with two-tenths of a mile showing on its odometer.

Green got his house ready for the car by removing the doors and windows from the outside wall. He then picked the vehicle up, drove it 3.6 miles to his home and steered it into the basement. He drained the fuel tank and removed the battery and buttoned the house up again. The car remained in the basement of Green’s home until 1983.

At that point, Green put the house up for sale. He had the Corvette taken out of the basement and transported to a warehouse in Seattle, where it was stored for 19 years. Green died in 1999 and hid daughter Donna took possession of the car. In September 2002, she sold the car to Ed and Cindy Foss of Roanoke, Ind. They had the Corvette transported there. Ed Foss put gas in the tank, checked the oil, installed a new battery and started the car on the first try! The last time it had started was 30 years earlier!

Today, the car is as close to new and as close to perfect as anyone could wish for. It has won a number of prestigious Corvette show honors including two Top Flight Awards, Gold Certification, Special Collection recognition and a Triple Crown. In June, on the same weekend the ’57 Plymouth was dug up in Tulsa, this Corvette was inducted into the Bloomington Gold Corvette Hall of Fame.

This car proves that a vehicle can be almost-perfectly-preserved for a long period of time. Of course, no one knows if the Tulsarama Plymouth survived for 35 year and deteriorated in the last 15. But we would guess that this Corvette is still going to be near perfect when Ed and Cindy Foss light the candles at its 50th birthday party.

John "Gunner" Gunnell is the automotive books editor at Krause Publications in Iola, Wis., and former editor of Old Cars Weekly and Old Cars Price Guide.

[Andy Zarse]

Surely it was born to be driven hard, not sit in a candy ass museum? People who do this sort of thing are kind of weird if you ask me.

[Leftie]

Surely it was born to be driven hard, not sit in a candy ass museum? People who do this sort of thing are kind of weird if you ask me.

It's nice to see such a perfect example of the marque that is totally original.

But cars are for being driven, thats what they were designed for.  My old motor has had a total and a partial rebuild, it looks good, drives good, gets lots of good comments.

Anyone know if someone has burried a Micra or Civic?

[garyfrogeye]

In my honest opinion........a stupid waste.

[chop456]

Certainly a stupid waste if you're the original owner.

Oh, but to have a big pile of money and be able to buy a "new" old car like that?   

I'd just buy two and be done with it. 

[Perdu]

Surely it was born to be driven hard, not sit in a candy ass museum? People who do this sort of thing are kind of weird if you ask me.

It's nice to see such a perfect example of the marque that is totally original.

But cars are for being driven, thats what they were designed for.  My old motor has had a total and a partial rebuild, it looks good, drives good, gets lots of good comments.

Anyone know if someone has burried a Micra or Civic?

[/Turns on old curmudgeon mode/]

Shouldn't someone bury ALL of those?

 

[Matt Harper]

Why is it a stupid waste? The venerable Mr Green may have anticipated this car's investment potential - or perhaps he considered it to be art - neither notion is stupid - or wasteful. The car still exists, it hasn't been 'wasted'.
This car does worry me slightly though. I don't consider myself to be an authority on the C3 variants - but the most powerful package in 1972, as referred to in the text as what was ordered, was the 350ci LT1/Muncie M22 combo, denoted ZR1, which pushed-out a emmissions strangled 330 hp. The engine in this car looks like a 454ci LS6, which delivered an even more miserable 270 SAE net, but was quieter (hydraulic rather than solid lifters) and less busy.
Chevy built just over 6500 convertibles in '72, so this one is hardly a one-off.
Had Mr Green bought his StingRay a couple of years earlier (500+ hp ZLT ally motor), he really would have had a piece to pass on to his survivors.
As an afterthought, this car really shouldn't have been awarded all those gongs either - it hasn't been restored - just moth-balled. I'd sell it to the museum at Bowling Green - or better still, swap it for a current Z06.   

[Chris24]

Surely it was born to be driven hard, not sit in a candy ass museum? People who do this sort of thing are kind of weird if you ask me.

It's nice to see such a perfect example of the marque that is totally original.

But cars are for being driven, thats what they were designed for.  My old motor has had a total and a partial rebuild, it looks good, drives good, gets lots of good comments.

Anyone know if someone has burried a Micra or Civic?

Personally that is the best thing you could ever do with a Micra. Please can we bury every single one of them !

[Chris24]

Nice , but I would prefer a 69 Corvette myself.

[VETTE_1978]

There's an article in this months Classic American about a fella in the UK who bought a 78 Pace Car which has less than 10 miles on the clock.  The last time I saw it the thing was on display at the NEC Classic show over a year ago and just looked drab.  It's never been washed, never polished, driven about twice and is now stuck in limbo.  If you drive it the value drops, you can't sell it unless the buyer does the same and mothballs it or transports it.  Think 35k is about the valuation.  He's even proud that it has the dust from 1978 on the airfilter!!

Give me my 78 Pace Car anyday, done Le Mans 3 times, TT twice, Hockenhiem and countless weekends away.  Who gets the most pleasure out of their car?

[DelBoy]

I think the 'lady' at Donington last year seemed to prefer the one in the museum to yours.........

Del

[VETTE_1978]

I think the 'lady' at Donington last year seemed to prefer the one in the museum to yours.........

What is it with these people that need sleep and can't appreciate a V8 being "gently" rev'd at 1am?  I'll be on my best behaviour at Silverstone this weekend of course.

[Andy Zarse]

Why is it a stupid waste? The venerable Mr Green may have anticipated this car's investment potential - or perhaps he considered it to be art - neither notion is stupid - or wasteful. The car still exists, it hasn't been 'wasted'.
This car does worry me slightly though. I don't consider myself to be an authority on the C3 variants - but the most powerful package in 1972, as referred to in the text as what was ordered, was the 350ci LT1/Muncie M22 combo, denoted ZR1, which pushed-out a emmissions strangled 330 hp. The engine in this car looks like a 454ci LS6, which delivered an even more miserable 270 SAE net, but was quieter (hydraulic rather than solid lifters) and less busy.
Chevy built just over 6500 convertibles in '72, so this one is hardly a one-off.
Had Mr Green bought his StingRay a couple of years earlier (500+ hp ZLT ally motor), he really would have had a piece to pass on to his survivors.
As an afterthought, this car really shouldn't have been awarded all those gongs either - it hasn't been restored - just moth-balled. I'd sell it to the museum at Bowling Green - or better still, swap it for a current Z06.   

Fair enough but I still think he's some kind of weirdo.