ChrisBlair

I have been an old car guy since 1989, when I got my first classic. It was 20 years old then. I got it 13 days before my 18th birthday. And stuffed it 13 days after my 18th birthday. Like you do. So then I had to proceed in fixng it. Like you do. At that point I decided to turn it into a GS455 convertible clone. I couldn't afford to pay anybody so anything broken bent damaged or worn out was up to me. I had that car until 2020, when I decided that after a stroke, I couldn't really do it any more. But I got a lot better. So I bought a grail car: a C2 coupe. In between I had cars built in '68 to '12. more old cars than new by far. '69 Olds, 70 and 71 Skylarks, '73 Riviera, '78 Firebird Formula...I dig old cars, and I'm a GM guy.

So now with a bit of wheel time with my '66 Sting Ray, I have a long list of what i love and a brief list of what I hate, about my C2.

What I kind of hate:

• The clamshell hood looks cool. From a utility standpoint...ugh! Doubled the time to change the waterpump, maybe. This side. That side. Back lol. That said, maybe leaning over the nose with the headlight doors might be a nightmare.
• Battery location. I get it, not a lot of room. But yikes.
• No passenger mirror from the factory. I know that this was still an option on many cars until the '80s. My '70 Buick had no passenger mirror and I put 375K miles on it. Still prefer a mirror there. I'll put one on and solve that.
• Seat backs could use greater rake adjustment. Really great seats for a '60s car in my opinion otherwise. I am scheming about how to address this and keep the factory seats.

What I love:

• the car is rolling artwork. it seems nearly spindly but also muscular. The proportions are well done and the blend of angles and curves can be disastrous on less well executed body designs. On a C2 it looks refined and polished.
• the driving experience. People who liken a C2 to driving a truck are drunk, or never drove a C2. Driving it is a engaging experience in classic car fun. It's like the other classics I have owned in terms of it's-fun-to-drive-old-cars but 'capable vintage US sportscar' feel is something else again.
• the interior layout. Especially the dash. I can forgive the p-brake handle being ready to remove my right knee. The tach and speedo are large and easy to see out of the corner of my eye. Shifter falls to hand, Pedals are not too close and not spaced widely. Despite no deadpedal, I find it very comfortable for my left foot when it's not on the clutch, and there's plenty of room to draw my kneed up and plant my foot closer to the seat if I want to. The passenger side mirroring the basic design of the driver's is also very cool.
• ride quality. Surprisingly good.
• pop up headlights. One of the coolest things ever.
• fairly compact footprint.
• vent windows. A long-lost pleasure.
• the cool retainer for the seatbelts
• the view out of the windshield across the hood. Not many sexier views exist in the automotive world
• the car lived up to expectations, and exceeded some. Especially the ride quality.
• the lack of bowties splattered across the bodywork, Some people feel the front Corvette emblem is gaudy. Today, 'Chevrolet' would be plastered all over it. The only bowtie is on the horn button on my car. It does add a little mystique, many people don't quite know what it is.
• a ride height approaching reasonable. A standard floor jack does fit under the car.
• the robust and stiff nature of the chassis compared to many cars of the era. It was designed to be notably stiffer than a C1. When I jack my coupe at the rear jack point, the front wheel comes off the ground.
• the really old-skool gas pedal attached to the floor at the bottom
• the frame 'rings' for the exhaust. My car has sidepipes, but the fact that the under-car exhaust was designed to hug the floor is pretty cool.
• the tail lights. Round, sexy Corvette tail lights
• functional fender vents. Don't care if they are not the best at the intended function, they are there and open. No disrespect to owners with years that do not have functional vents, but I love that about my '66.
• factory four wheel discs. That's pretty high up there for '60s cool.
• dash ignition. Not only cool but it makes for a slimmer steering column which is sexy
• that back window and deck/roofline. I love boat-tail Rivieras. It makes the car look like a spaceship.
• Floor headlight dimmer. Where it belongs
• gas filler cap isn't on a rear quarter
• spare tire carrier. Yes, it is a PITA if you need the tire. Still damn cool.
• Three link rear suspension. Very outside the box compared to most contemporaries, and I love that it was part of a 'no-concession to mere convenience' attitude to designing the car. I love cars that resist compromise. Also cool that my coupe has no trunk lid as a result. Grand Sports are a different matter LOL
• I have two racing heroes: Jim Clark, and Dan Gurney. I am no Dan Gurney behind the wheel. But he raced Corvettes. A 1960s Sting Ray is a nice reminder to me of his accomplishments and advancements in US motorsport and racing in general.

KENS78SILVERANNIV

As a fellow 66 Coupe owner.... One of the most fun cars I've ever owned... even though... when you get it up past 100... You feel like you're riding on a razor's edge. Thank You GM for having the ***** to build a plastic car with that much horsepower!

Six7390gt

Nice write up Chris - you nailed it. There's just nothing like the old 60's muscle cars - the sound, the smell, the feel - and the C2's in my mind have always been near the top of that food chain.
Every time I take the 65 out for a spin I think - if I make it to heaven, part of it has got to be like this.
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67:72

Look at it from a different perspective: how often does one change a water pump compared to how often one does maintenance and adjustment of the distributor and brake master? I'd much rather have full access to the firewall end rather than the radiator.

RatDog

An unexpected and very useful advantage of the gas tank filler for those of us who live in hurricane territory is the incredibly easy access to 20 gallons of fuel for portable generators.

I still haven’t figured out how to get fuel out of my newer cars.

Take care,
Steve

road pilot

As a 66 owner, I am not a 205 man. If you think running big HP with little skinny tires is cool, well Corvair's have skinny tires. There is very little room
in the wheel well for fat tires and the hub is too far out. Corvette was just starting to think and they finally got it with the C3. Corvette was building high
HP engines with NO way to put the power to the ground. I guess no one thought of hook-up,yet.
The plus side..... the 66 had a vented hood.

reno stallion

235/40/18 on the rear no mods

Dreaming60’s

(1) Hood is iconic and although a pita for some projects, I love it.

(2) GM should have put a removable inner fender panels on all C-2's, like they did on the AC models, so the battery could be slid out through the wheel opening.......what a back saver.

(3) Agree 150% on an increase in seat rake, but right now mine is back all the way against the luggage stop, the angle stops screwed in all the way...........not sure how much more rake the seat could have without sliding it forward and I like sitting back. It's just one of those old car things.

brickwhite

Pretty short list of hates... more room in that engine bay than modern cars and old British cars.. LOL



Where are you pictures?

What does " And stuffed it " mean is that some Boston Slang?

my 64...

ChrisBlair

Me? I'm not sure I said anything about the tires. I don't hate the skinny tires. Don't love 'em either although it does contribute to the vintage feel. My car could use a bit more rubber.

ChrisBlair

Stuffed it. As in "stuffed it into a wall" or "Stuffed it into a tree". Crashed as opposed to "had a fender bender".

I stuffed my 1970 Skylark Custom convertible into a van that cut me off on the highway and then panic stopped. I won; the van was taken away on a flatbed, and I drove home. But the front of the car was mashed flat to the core support and the doors wouldn't open. No photos of the damage; digital cameras were not a thing for me in 1989. I have photos of my C2 but you guys have to be sick of that car by this time lol

Here's my Buick in the late '90s though. Man did I have a lot of fun with that thing.

Mikado463

Nice write up Chris, you brought back fond memories of 47 years ago when I bought my first Corvette, a '66 vert.

brickwhite

Never heard that term must be a East Coast thing.

Dad's '66 427

No...... it works out here on the West Coast as well......

Big-K

I have owned many Gm muscle cars back when they were tired and cheap. I did own a 64 Corvette rag top back in 1987 for a couple years. It was good car with a non original 396 that was well used. With a little TLC I had lots of fun in it as a single guy. It made a big impression on me about older GM sports cars so when the time came to buy a 60-s muscle car I had to have a mid-year vette! Now I own a 1966 rag top and its 10 times the car my 64 was. I enjoyed reading your thoughts, they reflect many of mine. I find it easy to work on, repair and get needed parts. I think the C2 is the easiest of all corvettes to work on. Driving enjoyment is over the top. Big-K

Jeffthunbird

I like the wheel covers better that the KO wheels and any after market wheels. You don’t see those very often.