The non-original original state
07/28/2024
Those white-haired gentlemen of the "National Corvette Restorers Society", who struggle to keep their composure because of an incorrect production stamp on a fuel hose, would probably faint at the sight of this '66 Corvette Sting Ray. Yet this unrestored second-hand car is a better contemporary document of the late sixties than any rebuild, no matter how correct the assembly line. This is because it represents a condition that is often neglected today when looking at a car from a historical perspective: that of a used car before it has matured into a classic.
As the owner of a body shop, the second owner had his painter tint the standard "Ermine White" with turquoise blue in 1969 and then highlight the surfaces with raspberry red segments. The color gradients towards the interior of the segments are just as typical of the time as the "cobwebbing", the spider web pattern chosen by all those for whom chased "lace painting" was too feminine to structure the surfaces. Instead of delicately misting over grandmother's lace doily, they had the paint gun spit thick threads.
The author's son is currently having the psychedelic Chevrolet auctioned off on bringatrailer.com , where the unique paintwork is causing some enthusiasm and even more discussion. However, a gratifyingly clear majority would definitely like to keep the three-color dress. What's more, most of them would even perfect the seventies look with slot-mag alloy wheels and plush interior. Nevertheless, many observers fear that the colorful splendor will soon come to an end, to make way for another restoration to NCRS standards in new hands.
However, there are already more than enough of them. And in view of the six-figure dollar prices that a perfect second-generation Corvette fetches today, nobody will dare to make a "non-original" deviation from the valuable delivery condition. All the more reason to preserve this artistic contemporary document in thermoplastic. In the early seventies, Corvettes in colorful special paintwork were a common sight at car meetings in the USA. Who knows how many of the new car-perfect NCRS grandfather clocks once looked like this in their youth?
