My love and commitment belong to the wife of my youth, Susan. 32 years proves that.
My passionate joy belongs to the Corvette Sting Ray. Always has...especially the model from 1963. (46 years proves that, too.)
I first beheld the '63 when I first held it in my hands. My brother, Gary, and I had just received a race car set with the "fast back" cars being small enough to fit in the palm of my little boy hands. Nevertheless, they roared...
That's when I fell in love with the Corvette.
This past week, a buddy of mine, Michael B, loaned me his 'Vette when he took off for Hawaii with his bride of 20 years for their celebration. I did not "hold it in my hands", like I did as a boy in 1963....it held me.
Just like it did in 1977 when the first photograph taken of my new girlfriend, Susan, would be posed on the front "fin" of my buddy, Ray Acha's 1976 'Vette. Taht photo hangs in my home office - even today.
Also, today, no deep theology beckons...just speed. And a little history of the Corvette.
Enjoy.
Den
The 1950s was an exciting and innovative decade for the American automobile industry. The country had just come out of World War II and demand for cars, which had taken a leave of absence during the war years, was exploding.
Something different began to appear on American roads: sports cars. GIs that served in Europe discovered a real affection for MGs and many other small two seaters and brought them home with them. All sorts of sports car events, from rallies to hard core races, showed a sudden burst of popularity.
The lead instigator in the birth of the Corvette was Harley Earl, the head of GM's Art and Color studio. He was a sports car aficionado, and an admirer of the Jaguar XK-120.
Harley Earl was the head of GM design from 1927 to 1958 and inspired the two seat American sports car we know as the Corvette. He was a big fan of the Jaguar XK-120. Note the basic design of the Jaguar: huge long hood, minimal two seat passenger area and a short rear deck. This same philosophy would be the basis for the Corvette for more than 50 years.
As the technology advanced, more modern composite materials were used and fiberglass, as used in the first Corvettes, was phased out.
Corvette started life in fiberglass form mostly out of necessity. Only 300 were made in the first production model year and fiberglass is well suited to low volume production since creating the tooling to stamp out steel panels is expensive. Labor and supply problems with steel also contributed to the decision to build a fiberglass body for the Corvette. Years later Corvette production would climb to numbers that favored steel production which was more efficient as steel bodies did not need time to cure inside of molds. Tradition, always an important factor in the Corvette story, dictated that the distinctive fiberglass body material would remain in use.
The use of fiberglass as a body material brings up another sometimes controversial Corvette subject: build quality. Through the years it has varied, being poor in the beginning and improving as customers demanded better paint jobs and fit / finish. Early Corvettes had large panel fit problems; you can even see this in the photographs, so up close and in person they are very obvious. Another problem is panel waviness. This can present a dilemma to anyone who is restoring a Corvette. Do you keep the panel as it was delivered from the factory or should it be smoothed out?
Fiberglass played another roll in the Corvette story. Certain shapes and styling themes can favor steel or fiberglass body construction; it is part of the nature of the characteristics of both materials. This explains the many distinctive styling advantages the Corvette has enjoyed over the years.
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