| It was made a legend in songs and | | | | had a windshield because I would have had |
| performance. The Chevrolet Corvette was | | | | bugs stuck to my teeth from grinning so much. |
| lovingly known just as the "Vette". The Vette | | | | The thrill of standing still, shifting into |
| was and still is a high speed performance | | | | first gear, revving up that sweet engine and |
| car. It started out a a little sports car and | | | | letting out the clutch and being plastered to |
| now is grown up to a relatively large sports | | | | the back of the seat was pure adrenaline |
| car. The earlier ones were made out of | | | | pumping. That was my first experience of |
| fiberglass. Come to think of it, the light | | | | "pulling G's". Last time I felt that type of |
| weight would help save gas today. | | | | adrenaline rush was during chopper |
| Unfortunately, the fiberglass didn't offer | | | | auto-rotations in Nam. That was 40 years ago |
| much protection and you could easily punch a | | | | and I still love my Vette. Maybe it is the |
| hole in it. The 1967 Stingray was born were | | | | legend. Maybe we have gotten the legend mixed |
| an engine that taught you what it was like to | | | | up with reality. All I know is I can't help |
| pull G's while still on the ground. Factory | | | | but smile when I remember my little Vette. It |
| Hot Rods became real in October of 1963, when | | | | is hard to explain to my children why it was |
| the GTO was born. At this time, the Corvette | | | | so special. I owned a 1955 Ford though it was |
| began to grow in size and weight. It was | | | | pretty it just didn't have the appeal of the |
| truly becoming an American hot rod/sports car | | | | legendary Corvette. The royal blue was my |
| with looks to kill and performance to match. | | | | favorite. I have a friend whose color was |
| The Vette came in the 409 engine and then | | | | plum. Can you remember vinyl seats? I can! |
| later move up to large horsepower engines. | | | | They were cool looking and very hot |
| These powerhouses package included a | | | | functionally. I remember leaving my skin on |
| 400-horsepower V8 with dual exhausts, a | | | | the seat many times getting out that car. |
| Carter AFB four-barrel carburetor, a mild | | | | Getting in the summer meant either cooking |
| hydraulic camshaft, and the kind of whip | | | | your legs or trying to keep a towel in the |
| lashing neck pain street-grabbing torque that | | | | car to sit on. Once you started up that 409, |
| left a smile on your face. Other standard | | | | you were transported to another world. The |
| features included a manual three-speed | | | | purr of that engine, the feel of the Hurst |
| transmission with a Hurst shifter (in those | | | | shifter and watching the gas needle drop was |
| days the Hurst shifter was not only very good | | | | worth all the pain of sitting on a hot seat. |
| but also very cool), a heavy-duty clutch | | | | What hot seat? Oh yeah, 4 mpg! It was a good |
| (very much needed), heavy-duty suspension, US | | | | thing gasoline was only 15 cents a gallon |
| Royal red-line tires, a 3.23:1 rear axle | | | | back then. |
| ratio, and the famous Corvette emblem. The | | | | |
| Vette emblem itself was just as famous as the | | | | Jerbob Johnsen owns the "Smoking Hot |
| car and was easily recognized. What Made The | | | | Corvettes" or "Corvette Auction House" |
| Chevy Vette So Coveted? Some things you never | | | | specialing in bargains on corvettes. If you |
| forget such as my 1967 Stingray and Jan & | | | | are ready to buy your Vette, visit or for a |
| Dean Dead Man's Curve. It was a good thing it | | | | bargain on the corvette of your dreams. |