Full frame-off restoration with 1100 miles since completed. Date code-correct L76 327/365, 4-speed manual transmission. Upgraded with A/C, power steering, and 4-wheel disc brakes. Fantastic to drive, show-quality looks!
The color is awfully close to Nassau Blue, one of the Corvette’s most enduringly popular colors. It wasn’t available in 1964, but does it matter when the results are this good? Experts will quickly spot the addition of a 1967 big block hood with a black stinger, and we have to admit it’s probably the best look for an early Sting Ray to wear. Fit and finish are exemplary, with gaps that are better than new in every way and a smooth finish that’s only the result of countless hours spent sanding fiberglass. The black stinger is painted on and buried under the clear, so it's seamless, and you'll note that the fit and finish around the headlight doors is way better than most. All the chrome was either restored or replaced with correct replacements, the emblems are new, and even the lenses are correct reproductions that lend the car a bright, vivid, finished look. There will be a lot of guys who might sneer at this '64's not-quite-original look, but I bet none of them own a car this nice.
The interior was likewise fully restored and shows the efforts of a fanatical worker. Everything you can touch is new. Correct black upholstery looks well-tailored and sharp and has been professionally installed so the seats don't have the usual wrinkles, the door panels are exquisitely detailed, and the blending of original and a few aftermarket parts is almost invisible. Note the tilt steering column, the subtle A/C vents under the dash, and an original-looking AM/FM radio. The gauges are all fully restored and show bright markings and clear lenses and even the clock keeps good time thanks to a quartz conversion. There's a Hurst shifter for the 4-speed manual gearbox, complete with cue ball knob, and it's a joy to run it through the gears as the rev-happy 327 snarls away up front. On days when you don't need the ice cold A/C, the windows crank up and down effortlessly and nothing rattles or squeaks—a real achievement in an early 'Vette! Seat belts and embroidered floor mats round out the list, adding safety and practicality to the mix.
The engine is a date-code-correct 327 based on a 3782870 block and built to L76 365 horsepower specs, which was the top carbureted engine in 1964. There's a big Holley up top, correct Corvette finned valve covers, and, of course, Chevy Orange paint on the block that's as nice as the finish on a lot of other cars' bodywork. They took it easy on the aftermarket stuff, so it acts and feels like a vintage 'Vette, but you get things like modern A/C with R134a refrigerant, a giant aluminum radiator with an electric fan that keeps it nice and cool even in traffic, and an electronic ignition that fires the engine so quickly you'll have to practice taking your hand off the key faster. You'll also note a dual reservoir master cylinder for the 1967 Corvette 4-wheel disc brakes and a modern power steering pump and steering box from Borgeson, so the car has uncanny feel on the road that's unlike any C2 you've driven.
Underneath, it's pretty stock, with original-style suspension and steering, although there are upgraded tie rods that work with the Borgeson power setup to give the car great reflexes. Ceramic-coated long-tube headers dump into a custom stainless steel exhaust system with mandrel bends and a fantastic soundtrack that makes this one of the best-sounding small-block Chevys we've ever driven. Seriously, the sucker sounds heroic at full boot! There are 3.70 gears in the rear pumpkin, so this car just rips off the line and always feels like it's on its toes, but highway cruising is still pretty comfortable. 17-inch chrome Torque Thrusts are a traditional look with modern performance, and they carry Goodyear radials with enough sidewall to look beefy in the Corvette's fender wells.
This is not a car for purists, but it's not too far off, either. This is what Corvettes are really about, though, and we seem to have lost sight of that by watching too much TV where pedigrees are all they talk about. Instead, remember that the Corvette was built to be driven, the purest distillation of fun GM could imagine, and this beautiful blue coupe totally gets it. If you want to race judging sheets, that's fine, but one rip through the gears in this car will probably convince you that you're missing out on what really matters when you own a Corvette. Call today!
For more details and photos, please visit www.HarwoodMotors.com
