To Be OFFERED AT AUCTIONEstimate:
$125,000 - $150,000
- One of just 771 fuel-injected examples produced in 1965
- Highly optioned, including teakwood steering wheel, power
windows, and rare side-mount exhaust
- 375-hp, 327-cu.-inch fuel-injected V-8 engine mated to
four-speed Muncie transmission
- Originally delivered to La Pointe Chevrolet of Charlotte, North
Carolina
- 2003 NCRS Top Flight Award-winner
- Offered with award documentation, owner's guide, unrestored
hardtop, jack, window sticker, and period model literature
Built on March 15, 1965, this fuel-injected Corvette Sting Ray
convertible is an exquisite, highly optioned, and meticulously
restored example of a mid-series C2 rarity. Now offered with a 2003
NCRS Top Flight Award and indicating just 18 miles since its older
frame-off restoration, this desirable C2 is an eminently attractive
opportunity to acquire a concours-grade "Fuelie" from the curated
collection of Edward Terry.
It is interesting to note that the 1965 model year would prove to
be the last time one could order a C2 Sting Ray with two modern
driving conveniences: Fuel injection and disc brakes. This
combination, which we take for granted today, would not be offered
together again on a Corvette until 1982 when fuel injection was
reintroduced. With only 771 of 15,376 1965 Corvette Sting Ray
convertibles specified with the fuel injection option, you almost
can't blame Chevrolet for striking it from the dealer catalog at
the end of the model year-even as this relative rarity when new has
made fuel-injected C2s among the most valuable and highly sought of
all Corvette variants today.
Accompanying records indicate that this St. Louis-bodied chassis
was originally delivered to La Point Chevrolet in Charlotte, North
Carolina. Additional factory options presented on this car (and
listed on the accompanying window sticker) added a staggering
$1,861 US to base MSRP, with several desirable additions
strengthening its claim to collectability: a teakwood steering
wheel, knock-off wheels, Positrac 4.11 rear differential, and power
windows are a sampling the notable options listed.
The optional 327-cubic-inch/375-hp fuel-injected V-8 engine is
paired to a Muncie four-speed manual transmission. Despite the list
of options selected, the 375 hp small block engine did not require
the "heavy load" M21 clutch option, and so this chassis' original
order eschewed it. The car did, however, come with the dual side
exhaust, an exceptionally rare option present on just 759 Sting
Rays from this model year.
Clad in Tuxedo Black over spotless blue vinyl with a black top, the
matching blue trim, upholstery, and carpets of this Corvette make
for an attractive monochrome interior aesthetic interrupted by
chrome elements such as the gauge bezels and shifter assembly. The
15-inch center knock wheels are presented with period-style B.F.
Goodrich whitewall tires.
Fresh off winning a NCRS Top Flight award the year prior, this
Corvette was acquired by Terry in 2004 and has since been held in a
climate-controlled garage and rarely exhibited at events over the
past 16 years. The earlier frame-off restoration was reportedly
completed sometime in the late 1990s by noted workshop D & A
Corvette Restorations of Gillespie, Illinois. Additionally,
accompanying paperwork confirms that the fuel injection system was
entirely overhauled contemporaneously by noted Corvette
fuel-injector specialist John DeGregory of Greensburg,
Pennsylvania. Further inspection of all visible Rochester-branded
injection components attest to their proper sequence numbers.
In short, this 1965 convertible is a rare and desirable Corvette
Sting Ray "Fuelie" made even more attractive to the discerning
collector by its long list of factory options and its time spent in
the meticulous custodianship of Edward Terry. An American icon
worthy of any serious stable, this car is accompanied by NCRS award
documentation, an owner's guide, unrestored hardtop, jack, window
sticker, and period model literature.To view this car and others
currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at
rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/0520.