Corvette Want

"CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale)
08/16/2017 at 11:25 • Filed to: Corvette, C1

*reshare for morning crowd*

I love the C6. I want a ZR1 a ridiculous amount! But I was watching Barn Find Hunters (if you haven’t seen it, you should) and the latest episode showed a C1 with the Blue Flame straight six and I have never wanted a car more. I had always found the C1 to be an odd looking vehicle and not really worthy of spending money on and I found that was because I had never seen an early C1.

The early C1 with the I6 and single headlamp is an amazing car. I had seem the 56-62 cars before 53-55 the cars look like this

56-57

58-60

61-62

You can pretty easily see the body changes. Especially in the headlamps, grilles, and bumper. Now personally I don’t like the two tone effect brought on by the design of the side of the 56-62 body styles. Add the weird quad lamps and I just never wanted one.

And as a kid the people that owned C1 Corvettes were weird old guys that thought their car was more important to the world than a 250 GTO even after it had a more modern motor put in it in the 90's and they only drove it to the local car show. These were not people that let me as a kid get close to look at the cars, but the Cobra guys, and Muscle car guys all love to tell the younger generation about their neat cars. So I always had a stigma about these particular vehicles.

Then I saw the Barn Find Hunters and looked up more info about them and all i want is a 53-55 C1 with the Blue Fire.

But CaptDale, a I6 Corvette?!

Yes other Oppo!! It would be so much fun! Cruising the California coast or Colorado mountains. Driving to Monterey Car Week or up Pikes Peak. Unfortunately they are quite expensive, a “good” one is roughly $67,000 and that is almost as much as a new base Vette, but this has more character.

DISCUSSION (28)

C62030 > CaptDale - is secretly British
08/15/2017 at 17:58

I think the C1 largely looks great, but I can never get past that 40s-Mercury grille. It looks like it has braces. I didn’t look good with braces. Neither does that car.

CaptDale - is secretly British > C62030
08/15/2017 at 18:02

Hmm, yeah I guess that is the only controversial part of the car.

Khalbali > CaptDale - is secretly British
08/15/2017 at 18:04

You make a great case I bounce around so much between C1-3 that I can never decide on one for more than a few months, but that sure is a beauty. Never knew there was a straight-6 vette either, that’s pure pr0n.

CaptDale - is secretly British > Khalbali
08/15/2017 at 18:09

Right? I knew they started with a 6 cylinder, but I had no idea they were such a neat motor.

Kinja'd!!!

WilliamsSW > CaptDale - is secretly British
08/15/2017 at 18:12

Kinja'd!!!

Aah, I love the later C1's - particularly the ‘61-62s. They don’t all have the two-tone teardrop (or the braces on the grille).

The ‘53-55 cars are cool - but very rare, and a lot of the ‘53-54s are Stovebolt/Powerglides. I’d rock any of them, though—

I hoon, therefore I am > CaptDale - is secretly British
08/15/2017 at 18:13

Counterpoint: the Sting Ray rear styling of the 61-62 is the absolute pinnacle of C1 design.

CaptDale - is secretly British > WilliamsSW
08/15/2017 at 18:23

Yes I know they don’t all have two tone, but I also dislike the swoop thing that creates the two tone area.

CaptDale - is secretly British > I hoon, therefore I am
08/15/2017 at 18:28

Kinja'd!!!

I don’t know nam, the exhaust coming out of the body (this one is bad and sticking out father than originally) is the bee’s knees.

WilliamsSW > CaptDale - is secretly British
08/15/2017 at 18:31

To each his or her own! What *really* bugs me about all of these is that they’re so damn expensive!

CaptDale - is secretly British > WilliamsSW
08/15/2017 at 18:40

Dude fuck right?! Like a C6 Z06 you can grab under $30k if you really wanted to, but these underpowered, slow, and heavy cars cost twice that easily? ugh

WilliamsSW > CaptDale - is secretly British
08/15/2017 at 18:48

Seriously - I was going to disagree with you on the weight point, but then I looked it up first- -glad I did, because these things weigh around 3,000 pounds, which is ~500 more than I would have guessed.

I think the early fuelie cars did 0-60 in around 8-9 seconds, and had a solid rear axle. Whoop-de-do!

But still cool AF!!

CaptDale - is secretly British > WilliamsSW
08/15/2017 at 18:51

Yes they are cool. And that is why they cost so much I guess. I just wish people drove them like they owned a car and not an investment.

benjrblant > CaptDale - is secretly British
08/15/2017 at 18:55

Carburetor at 10,000ft? HA!

Though I won’t lie, the early single-headlamp Corvettes are incredibly beautiful cars. Saw one at a show not too long ago, tiny little things that look like a blast to whip around. To own one would be a real treat.

WilliamsSW > CaptDale - is secretly British
08/15/2017 at 18:55

These are the dream cars for baby boomers - they may drop off once those people are no longer collecting, I think, but that’s a ways off—

CaptDale - is secretly British > WilliamsSW
08/15/2017 at 18:57

So I have to wait till they are dead? Fuck

CaptDale - is secretly British > benjrblant
08/15/2017 at 18:57

I bet it would be just fine jetted properly.

benjrblant > CaptDale - is secretly British
08/15/2017 at 19:01

It could be tuned and jetted, but the difficulty is in altitude variations. Denver is at roughly 5300ft but lots of mountain roads range from 6,000 to nearly 11,000ft and weather can have drastic rapid changes in barometric pressure. Having spoken to many people here with carb’d vehicles, the variation is the real killer.

But you should totally get one. That would be killer.

WilliamsSW > CaptDale - is secretly British
08/15/2017 at 19:02

Basically yep. My dream car is a ‘65 GTO, so I’m in the same boat—

CaptDale - is secretly British > WilliamsSW
08/15/2017 at 19:06

Yeah, same with my dream 1967 Firebird

CaptDale - is secretly British > benjrblant
08/15/2017 at 19:07

Oh trust me I understand that. I am definatley worried about my Sprite being ok out there, but we will find out, but yes I will eventually.

I hoon, therefore I am > CaptDale - is secretly British
08/15/2017 at 19:24

I do have a soft spot for the exhaust coming out of the rear valance, like that (also 64-66 Mustang GTs).

Kinja'd!!!