The Raptor can
remember some Corvette interests early in his high school years
from a couple of sources. First, The Raptor remembers that
he spent a lot of time at his friend Mike's house and there were a
lot of motor heads in the neighborhood. Down the street was
the Kuneman house where a yellow 1973 Vette was always
parked. Also, around the corner, lived the Fedorko's and
there were two sons. The oldest, Joe was about 3 years older
than the Raptor and he and his pals all had Corvettes.
Joe had a sharp 62
which was a "roadster". Brad Carson had a Stingray
Coupe but I can not recall what year it was but it might have been
a 1964 Coupe and George Lyons had an exquisite silver 1963
Coupe. Today, with antique autos gaining in popularity, that
63 would be worth about $150,000.00. I would not be
surprised to learn that George still own that car, it was a
beauty.
I also recall that Kim
Kupiniewski had a 63 Coupe as well. I recall that when I
first saw Kim drive up to the Glenwood Golf Course in the car, it
was blue, but later on Kim did some restoration work on the car
and he entered it in a car show at Rainbow Gardens as a superb
rally red exterior with the black interior.
It should be noted
that George was a total Corvette authority and he was highly
respected as a top notch body and paint man. He is now owner
of Contemporary Motorcar and is frequent mentioned at National
Auto Auctions when he showcases some obscure highly sought after
automobile.
Anyhow, by the time I
was a sophomore in high school, I was hooked on the 63 to 67
Stingray series and desperately wanted one. For Christmas of
1972, I received the classic Corvette history book, "The
Star-Spangled Sports Car". I have probably read and
reread this book about 50 times. It is a total history of
the C1 through C3 Corvettes.

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Front Cover is John Greenwood's 1971
All-Star Road Car at speed. Greenwood's partner was
Tom Smothers a well known comedian of the era.
Back cover includes: 1953 Roadster which was the first
model year, a cut away view of the Sting Ray Racer, The
Mako Shark I near water & incomparable Mako Shark II,
which still sends shivers up my arms, The ultra-cool
Stingray Chicago Show Car and the just released 1973
Stingray with super cool new aluminum wheels. |
The Star-Spangled book
is loaded with Corvette history and is a must read, if you want to
find out the whole story. The Raptor became more obsessed
with the Vette as I got into my senior year. I recall
keeping a log of Vette's I would see on the street. They
were everywhere back then.
One reason for their
popularity was price. A good used one could be had for very
little money. They were easy to work on as the engine
compartment contained nothing but an engine. No AC, no fuel
injection and for a high performance auto we had Sunoco 260 which
was a high octane fuel that sold for about .59 cents a gallon.
I noted in another
page that I picked up my Vette in the summer of 1975. I immediately
started to join in on the activities of the local Corvette
Club. That summer I drove the streets of Erie and went on
car cruise events nightly around the Public Dock. Periodically
our group which probably had about 10 to 15 nightly drivers, would
park our Vettes in a line in front of the Rathskeller Cafe on
State Street. Ironically, I later owned the same joint with
my brothers 20 years later.
Since the purchase of
the first Corvette book, many others have followed. These
include some extremely valuable books such as Corvette! The
Sensuous American which is a series of 18 hardcover books that
were published between 1976 and 1985. These books were
published by Michael Bruce Associates.
The first series of
nine issues were published 3 times per year in 1976, 1977 and
1978. The second series of nine issues were published in
1983, 1984 and 1985. Each year has a unique color theme for
the hardcover and the books were protected by a hard cover case
that stores 3 books in each case.
This is the hard cover from
the first issue. The books are top notch all the
way. Excellent photography, solid writing and lots
of historical detail about Corvette and other fabulous
sports cars of the 50's 60's and 70's. |
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Other books purchased
from the Michael Bruce Associates include:
Corvette! Americas
Only, a hardcover limited edition publication of about 140
pages. The Raptor owns #2229 of 7500 books printed,
Corvette! Spots Car of
America, a hardcover 200+ page book published in 1980.
The Corvette Black
Book 1953 to 1980 Deluxe Addition, a soft cover 125 page booklet that
is a fact book of every model year Corvette from 1953 to 1980.
Corvette Restoration -
State Of The Art, a hardcover 100 page "textbook" on the
restoration of a 1965 Corvette published in 1981.
The Best Of The
Corvette Restorer, a soft cover 260 page primer on some of the
reprinted articles from the National Corvette Restorers Society
published in 1980.
Secrets Of The Show
Cars, a soft cover 100 page booklet that gives pointers on how to
paint automobiles and do the fine detailing required to prepare
the auto for the "show".
In addition to the
fine books from Michael Bruce Associates, The Raptor has
accumulated a superb library of Corvette pictorial books
including:
Vette Vues Fact Book of the 1963 - 1967
Stingray |
A 130 page soft cover picture book of Corvettes,
Corvette parts and Engine labels published by M. F.
Dobbins in 1977 |
Vette Vues Fact Book of the 1963 - 1967
Stingray - Enlarged 5th Edition |
A 260 page soft cover picture book of Corvettes,
Corvette parts and Engine labels published by M. F.
Dobbins in 1982 |
"Great Moments In Auto Racing" |
This 150 page soft cover classic was
published in 1968 by Irwin Stamnler. Included inside
were historical profiles of the great racing legends in motor
sports. Including: Juan Fangio, Mike Hawthorne,
Stirling Moss, Richard Petty, Phil Hill, Dan Gurney,
Rodger Penske and A. J. Foyt.
The Raptor pickup up this gem while still in grade
school and was a critical key in his interest in all types
of motor sports. |
Consumer Guide - "Cars of The
40's" |
This 100 page soft cover book, published in
1981 is a great pictorial treasure of the autos of the
1940's |
"Corvette - From Six To Stingray" |
This 100 page soft cover book, published in
1973 is a great technical pictorial book and has a good
deal of interesting pictures that go with the text. |
NCRS - 1965 Judging Manual |
This 150 page soft cover book was published
by the National Corvette Restorers Society in 1993. This
would be a real valuable tool if you plan on entering your
1965 Vette into a concours competition. |
"The Complete Corvette Restoration
& Technical Guide - Vol 2 - 1963 through 1967" |
This is the penultimate Corvette publication
on the whole 63 to 67 Stingray series. Published in 1988
by Corvette Restoration Guru, Noland Adams, it has a
treasure trove of useful information. At 450 pages
it is considered the "Bible" on C4orvette
Restoration. |
"Best Of Vette Views Magazine" |
A 465 page hard cover book, published by Jim
Prather in 1981 that is a pictorial collection of Jim's
first nine issues of Vette Vues Magazine. |
A very unique series
of Corvette help books that the Raptor owns are not even in book
form, but on VCR Tape! These are the previously mentioned
Noland Adams three tape Video Series which includes: "How To
Buy A Corvette!", "Numbers, History and
Documentation" and "Body Lift and Chassis Disassembly".
Also included is a soft cover book dealing with the Body Lift.
Along the way, The
Raptor purchased all sorts of "How To" books on
Corvettes. One extremely fascinating book that I picked up
in the 70's at a Vette Swap Meet was a complete Corvette Parts
Catalog for every model year from 1953 to 1976.
The Raptor did a quick
internet search on this catalog and came up empty. I would
not even be able to fathom how much a book like this is worth!
However, here is some
food for thought. The classic Corvette from 1953 to 1972 is
a rare breed. You just do not see them cruising down the
street anymore. So Sad, as they are the ultimate in styling
and desirability. That's what make these books so
interesting.
Here is another series
of books that The Raptor picked up years ago. They are
Assembly Manuals for the Vette for model years 1965, 1966 and 1967
(my favorite years). What makes these books so cool is the
fact that some individual(s) were able to go to the Chevrolet
Division of General Motors and locate microfilm of these manuals
and produce them for the buying public.
The Raptor has paged
through these books on many occasions and generally they are
difficult to comprehend. These manuals are the blueprint
used by General Motors to put together the product on the assembly
line! Really intense.
The Raptor has
numerous top notch service books in his library including:
HP Books - Holley Carburetors |
This 150 page soft cover book published in
1972 "covers all high performance two-barrel &
four-barrel Holley's" |
HP Books - "How To Hotrod Big Block Chevy's" |
This 150 page soft cover book published in
1971 "covers all big block engines 1965 through
1971" |
Hot Rod Magazine - Engines #3 |
This 100 page soft cover book published in
1979 is a how to on building high performance small block
Ford, Chevy and Mopar engines |
Hot Rod Magazine - Engines #4 |
This 100 page soft cover book published in
1980 is a how to on building high performance big block
Ford, Chevy and Mopar engines |
Phase III Publications - Top Secret Factory
Racing Guide for Chevrolet High Performance |
The title about sums up this 40 page soft
cover book. |
Phase III Publications - Official Optional
HD Drag, Road & Street Racing Parts Guide |
The title about sums up this 50 page soft
cover book. |
Phase III Publications - Chevy "Super
Secret" Performance Guide & Catalog |
The title about sums up this 50 page soft
cover book. |
Phase III Publications - Top Secret Factory
"Z-Engine" Racing Guide for Chevrolet High
Performance Aluminum Engines |
The title about sums up this 30 page soft
cover book. |
Chevrolet Motor Division #ST21 1963 Corvette
Shop Manual |
A very intense professionally published book
that was used by auto garage and machine shops to service
1963 Corvettes |
Chevrolet Motor Division #ST60 1965 Corvette
Shop Manual Supplement |
Another very intense professionally
published book that was used by auto garage and machine
shops to service 1965 Corvettes |
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