How's this for prospective?

[Michael G.]

Good morning all. Here's an interesting ad take from Car and Driver from June 1966, considering price quoted.

Denote the cast iron intake on this 425 horse engine. Why oh why didn't I buy a couple of these cars back then?

[Jerome P.]

Re: How's this for prospective?

Should've, would've, could've

[Norris W.]

Re: How's this for prospective?

As far as the "why oh why didn't I buy" part, if you were like me in the '60's you had the obsessive desire but NOT the bank account to back it up. I balanced disposal of my meager income of cutting all the neighbors' grass who would pay to have it done with trying to keep my L79 powered '57 Chevy running and chasing all the 16 & 17 year old girls that weren't too snobby to ride in an ole' hotrod (or who's father would let 'em). A big block Corvette or ANY Corvette for that matter was so far out of reach that I would have had to rob a bank. That didn't stop me from visiting the local Chevy store on a weekly basis, sometimes more to see what came in and what was goin' on in the new car prep area. I worried those people so frequently back then it's amazing they didn't ban me at the front door, since except for the L79 crate motor we never spent any money there until my mother's new '69 Malibu several years later.

I've hunted down some of their cars over the years and have an LS6 Chevelle, and a '69 L89 Corvette sold by them. My L88, although not purchased directly there was found by their people on dealer locater and a direct sale arranged. That trail helped find the original dealer long before NCRS had the documentation available. Interestingly, the '69 L89 was intended as a present for a local kid's 16th birthday. The plant strike disrupted the plan, so the father bought a '69 L78/L89 Camaro that the dealer had on the showroom floor. When I finally tracked the Corvette down in the early 90's after about a decade of looking, I contacted the original owner and he still had the invoice. On the invoice was the VIN number of the '69 L89 Camaro, which was traded back in when the L89 Corvette was finally delivered. I've been chasing that car now for a very long time, but don't have any decent leads. I missed it by less than a year soon after getting the invoice, but the local seller said it had gone somewhere up north and he THOUGHT he remembered a rollback picking it up with a Ford Dealer in Detroit's name on the door. dk blue '69 Camaro, may or may not have original engine............ ANYBODY???? I always felt sorry for the poor kid. His dad kept piling cars on him and never seemed to sell the one he already had. By the time I was strugging for gas money in college he had the L89 Corvette, a Boss 429 Mustang and a GTO Judge all at the same time. Must've been tough times for him back then.

I guess some of our obsessions come from what we wanted as kids and couldn't have. It sho' costs a lot more to fill in those gaps now than it would have then.

[Michael G.]

Re: How's this for prospective?

For me, much the same....low or no bank account. It was all I could do to afford my '63 Nova Sport Coupe. At $1.25 an hour....well, no more said.

[Don L.]

Re: How's this for prospective?

A different story for me. My second grade teacher wouldn't let me park it in the school parking lot. Not really. I was actually in third grade.

In 1966, I didn't yet know about these cars, however, I DID catch up by the time I was 12 and had already fallen in love with cars. I too hung out at dealerships and could tell almost every car by its on-coming headlight pattern (especially the police cruisers) and knew the year-to-year differences of most all cars from the late 50's, 60's and 70's. The on-coming headlight/running light pattern of early C3's was the EASIEST, don't you agree? It was a continuous contest between friends.

Hell, I feel younger just typing this. THANKS!

[Norris W.]

Re: How's this for prospective?

For me, much the same....low or no bank account. It was all I could do to afford my '63 Nova Sport Coupe. At $1.25 an hour....well, no more said.

You must be younger. When I was 15 and going nuts wanting a car, the only job I could find that would hire at my age was a Shoney's Big Boy. Back then resturant minimum wage was $1.10. I made more cuttin' grass, but did both. I wanted a '55 Bel Air or 210, 2 dr sedan. My Dad went to an auction with ALL of my saved up car money plus a donation from him and came home with a '57 2 dr hardtop instead. I was mad, but grew to like it, ESPECIALLY after he sprung for the L79 crate motor. My Dad is long gone now, and so is the '57, but I've got one low quality picture of it in my office, along with the Hurst T handle I had on the shifter, which is the only remaining part. My Dad wasn't a car guy, but he supported my obsession, and as an insurance salesman he had the time in the afternoons to haul me around to the Chevy store and other automotive type points of interest before I could drive.