“Corvette Sting Ray Convertible.”
If there are four automotive words that can elicit a stronger visceral reaction on a nice day like today, I’m not sure what they are. And the second generation “C2” Corvette Sting Ray (1963-1967) has to be my hands-down favorite.
I spotted this sunny example in “hot rod corner” at work and simply had to stop and take a closer look (the C6 barely got a glance, natch). Given the legendary nature of the car, there are plenty of highly detailed accounts of the Corvette elsewhere, and besides, I mainly want to enjoy the delightful visual feast this car represents…
1965 would be the last year for optional fuel injection on the ‘Vette until throttle-body injection returned in 1982. First offered on the Corvette in 1957, checking the FI box in 1965 would set you back an additional $538 on a car with a base price of $4,106 (convertible) or $4,321 (coupe). As this car is equipped with an automatic transmission, it should have either a 250hp or 300hp 327 c.i.d (5.4l) carbureted engine under the hood – the 375hp FI engine was only offered with a manual – so either the engine or transmission has been swapped, or someone did a little “stick-on performance” along the way. The gills in the fenders were functional as of this year as well.
Four-wheel disc brakes arrived on the Corvette in 1965, dramatically improving braking under race (or ‘vigorous driving’) conditions. Interestingly, a buyer could “delete” discs for drum brakes (while supplies lasted), receiving a credit of $64.50, and amazingly, 316 buyers actually checked that box in 1965. Those wheels threw me off a bit, as they are sporting 1964 Corvette hubcaps (which look quite sharp to my eye). Each production year of the C2 wore a different hubcap design, and an optional aluminum “knock off” wheel was also available (the spinner was in fact a fake cap that covered a standard five-bolt setup).
Other changes for 1965 included a subtle revision to the front grille as well as removal of the hood depressions from the previous year. Rocker panel moldings and interior trim also received minor tweaks.
This car appears to sport an optional teakwood steering wheel ($48.45), and an optional hard top was available as well ($236.75).
This appears to be a snug, purposeful cockpit – perfect for cruising the beach scene or perhaps doing some exuberant hooning in the hills (an upgraded suspension was also optional at $37.70, a bargain, if you asked me). This car also appears to have leather seats ($80.70 for the option), so I’m leaning more toward it being originally purchased as a cruiser.
Here’s a nice gallery of Corvette Auto Typography – the fuel fill door is actually off a ’63 I shot the same month as the ’65.
This is a car that doesn’t have a bad line on it anywhere and this shade of blue sets off its lines perfectly.
A better shot of the ‘egg crate’ grille and delicate bumperettes.
Hey, look – the radio aerial’s up! There’s a good chance it first pulled in tunes by The Beatles (Ticket to Ride), The Righteous Brothers (You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling), The Beach Boys (Help Me, Rhonda) or perhaps Petula Clark’s Downtown, which would be a perfect place to cruise on a nice day like this! AM/FM Stereo was a $203.40 option, if you were so inclined…
The average American home in 1965 cost around $21,000, and average annual wages were around $6,500. This example, with the options we spotted along the way, had to have totaled out near $5,000 (or more) – almost a year’s wages!
We’ve had some mighty nice convertibles on revue this week, but I really can’t think of any I’d rather tool around in than this one (well, except maybe the Connie). 15,376 convertible Corvettes were sold in 1965 –a much more popular choice than the coupe, of which only 8,186 were sold – and it’s perfectly clear why!
And just for the sake of contrast, we’ll let the C6 fully sneak in frame just once… what a difference 40 years makes!
For some reason these always remind of the the Space Program. These pictures especially; that paint color is like the sky and even though I know it’s nowhere near Florida, the weather and flat, wide open spaces just reinforce that. Nice find!
Italian sculptor Constantin Brancusi’s Bird in Space from @ 1932. Unrelated, probably, but, for me, one is always evocative of the other:
Interestingly, a fair number of astronauts liked to tool around in Vettes back in the day around Houston.
The NASA/Corvette connection:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Corvette#NASA
A combination of enterprising dealers & the usual pilot fascination with speed. Eddie Rickenbacker was an early example, competing at Indy several times before becoming a fighter pilot; much later, he bought Eastern Airlines from Alfred P. Sloan.
Proverb: “Speed is life, altitude is life insurance.”
Or as my flight instructor* pointed out, “There are three things that won’t do you any good: Altitude above you, runway behind you, and gas in the truck back at the airport.”
He also said, “The only time you can have too much gas is when you’re on fire.”
*”Popps” served in WWII as an A&P on B17s, and got his CFI on the GI Bill after he came home. He was around 70 when he trained me and was a stickler for hitting the numbers *every* time.
It is because many were purchased by those involved in the space program. And since they got their thrills strapping themselves to a rocket, a 275hp automatic was just fine for cruising and not pissing off your neighbors in your gated community.
Beautiful looking car. Although no one in my family has ever owned a Corvette of this generation, I’ve seen enough of them to know what they look like. I particularly like the colour of this nice example.
Another 1965 model that makes the case that 1965 was a the pinnacle of U.S. auto styling.
Breathtaking really, and a terrific color combo.
Agree! Was there a badly styled American car in 1965?
I think NOT.
The ’65 Ford Fairlane would like a word with you.
LOL! The stinkers list for ’65 is pretty short, the poor Fairlane may be car number one on that list.
Marlin. ‘Nuff said.
This was the last Corvette that I would cheerfully use holes-in-my-underwear and survive off no-brand mac & cheese to afford.
I am not much of a fan of later corvettes. Owned a 75 ragtop and liked it a lot but it was a simple/honest car. I really like this one. Good find.
“Corvette Sting Ray Convertible”
And, in the class of pre-Malaise American car, absolutely nothing else needs to be said. Anything else is wishful second place, at best.
Of course, this was the car that I “knew” dad would be getting in for me to drive to school every day during my junior year.
And then he leaves the Chevrolet business nine months shy of my sixteenth birthday.
My neighbor (in the mid ’60’s) owned an auto-parts store. He had a coupe version of one of these. It was red. It was very cool. I was too young to check what engine he had.
Nice car, but a bit of a mishmash really….
Sporting 63/4 door panels….and the eggcrate grill was 66/7…
Not to mention the faux-fuelie badge…
Looks like maybe a 64 with a later front clip
Probably added the teak wheel later too
Great write up. But why oh why did you have to refer to the Sting Ray era as the C2. it was never called that in the 60’ss
No one referred to the Pontiac GTO and the competitors it spawned as “muscle cars” in those days. If anything the automotive press called them “supercars”. Times and terminology change.
Correct or not, still a car I wouldn’t kick out of my driveway. The C6 looks like the rear end was cut off with a chainsaw in the last shot.
GM at its apogee.
Sorry XKE, but the first Stingray was w/o peer and that includes you.
http://www.autotribute.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/1963-Chevrolet-Corvette-Sting-Ray-back-angle.png
http://www.autotribute.com/10560/tribute-1963-chevrolet-corvette-sting-ray-the-road-shark/
This is one car where the coupe is sexier than the convertible, especially in 1963.
the ’65 coupe w/fuel injection and 4wheel disk brakes is the king of the C2 vette.
I owned a 65 Stingray convertible, and this isn’t one. It is a 1964 with a 65 front clip as the gauges do not have flat needles, and most of the other details are also 64, including the color. It also has the standard vinyl seats and fake wood look wheel, not leather or the teak. Also to correct your statement about the knock-off wheel option – they are real spinners that you need to hit with a lead hammer to knock them off – in other words they are real knock-offs if they are original or most repro-versions. Interesting thing is that the spare is a 5 lug regular wheel so if you have a flat you need to undo the center-lock threaded adopter to expose the regular 5 lugs. The adopter is at least as heavy as any weight saved by the alloy knock-offs so they are really only about appearance and don’t really provide any performance advantages.
Thanks for clarifying these details… I went back and re-read my source on the wheels, and I did mangle that – it looks like the “true” knock-offs were revised into falsies in 1967 (spinner was a cap covering standard lugs).
So perhaps this car was a rebuild from an accident? At any rate, it’s still a looker.
I believe 1965 was the only year you could have F.I., and 4wheel disk brakes, and aluminum knock-off wheels, all on the same car.
Order it sans power steering, sans A/C, sans power brakes, then add functional hood vents, remove bumpers, and add a dry-sump oil system and lake pipes, and you have an authentic track car.
The 2015 convertible MSRP is $60K, about 12× the fully-optioned C2 above. The 2015 Jag XK MSRP is $91K, so the ‘Vette is still a relative bargain.
Those do appear to be hubcaps or did the alloy wheel centres feature steel rims like this car (look at the wheel weight fitted to a steel rim), nice looking car though despite being built from several others who cares its still out there amongst the traffic.
The ‘true’ knockoffs were indeed aluminium wheels. This car has hubcaps on steel wheels (which from a distance look quite like they might be magnesium (“mag”) wheels.
(the ’65 Corvette cost)…”Almost a year’s wages!”
Or about 70% actually.
The last year average annual wage info is available is from 2013, when it was $44,888. What would 70% of that buy you today ($31,500). Not a new Corvette!
I was including tag, tax and title. (c:
A coworker is saving up for a C7… gonna be saving a while!
My point was not a quibble about the 70% A new Corvette goes (on average) for $95k. That’s about 2x annual average wage. My point is that the Corvette was a whole lot more affordable in 1965 than in 2015. About three times as affordable.
Are you talking about the Z06, or is dealer markup extreme? MSRP is $55K for the standard coupé.
As it turns out yes. I didn’t mean to, but when I googled “2105 Corvette MSRP”, that’s the number that came up. I was just running out the door, and ten minutes later it hit me that it must have been for a Z06.
Still, the Corvette was about twice as affordable back then, not three times. Of course the new one is about twice as fast. 🙂
Offhand, my explanation of your observation is the popularity of low % financing. Supply & Demand. I think this also explains other price trends exceeding inflation, like tuition.
CC effect today — saw a red ’65 or ’66 going the opposite direction on the interstate! These are stunningly gorgeous cars; peak GM for sure.
Beautiful photos of a beautiful car. Thanks Ed.
Those fake spinners may not be the real thing, but make for a nice set of dress shoes.
My favorite generation of the Corvette. During the summer, I occasionally see a silver ’64 Sting Ray fastback around our neighborhood.
Hey, look – the radio aerial’s up! There’s a good chance it first pulled in tunes by The Beatles (Ticket to Ride), The Righteous Brothers (You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling), The Beach Boys (Help Me, Rhonda) or perhaps Petula Clark’s Downtown, which would be a perfect place to cruise on a nice day like this! AM/FM Stereo was a $203.40 option, if you were so inclined…
$1527.75 adjusted for inflation, and all you got was the speaker in the dash. Corvettes didn’t get a stereo option until ’68. After ’63 the AM/FM was also the only radio available on the C2s.
As for all those Top 40 classics, chances were good you wouldn’t hear them on FM anyway. In most cities in 1965 the closest thing to rock on FM was Rachmaninoff. Lots of jazz and “beautiful music” as well. Perhaps the most blatant example of the difference between AM and FM in the ’60s was the mighty WABC in New York. The AM side was considered the gold standard of Top 40 radio. Highest ratings in the country. What was their FM station playing for a time in the late ’60s? Broadway show tunes, and nothing else!
The Superhit Sound of 77WABC – and the Hotline of Hits!
While I have never been much of a Chevy guy, this is one that could live in my garage with no apologies. A beautiful car in one of my very favorite automotive colors. This color on a sunny day just sparkles with early 1960s optimism.
I also like the way the Miata photobombed you for convertible week. 🙂
Absolutely stunning. My ideal Corvette coupe has always been a ’69, but for a convertible, give me a C2. Preferably a ’67 but I’m not picky. 🙂