Readers Ride: Jim Moffatt's Sweet 1966 Corvette Stingray
Jim Moffatt of Pflugerville Texas recently reached out to show us his sweet, totally restored 1966 Corvette Stingray.
Jim told us that two years ago he fell in love with C-2 Stingrays and started to poke around the internet to see what, if any, models might be for sale in his area. He soon found that most owners of these rare birds were not all too keen to part with their vehicles so he started to expand his searches and soon found a 63′ Stingray in Nashville. He took a chance, bought the car and soon started to make it his own and he put a “little” work into it.
His new toy came with the following: Stage 3, new 425hp 383 ci stroker V8 GM engine, Edelbrock Performer heads and intake, Edlebrock Performance aluminum heads, Edelbrock Performance RPM cam, new 700 cfm Holley#4160, new Ram Street Performance clutch, balanced, and blueprinted, new Hedman Headers, electronic ignition, Comp Cam roller rockers, 3.73 gears coupled to a Muncie four speed transmission. New battery, new radiator, new top, new front end.
Sounds like a good thing right? Wrong. He soon found a series of problems including leaks, shifting issues and the carburetor wasn’t working right. Moffatt said, “I took the car to Austin Corvette, they found the selector, carburetor and headers needed replacing, and it had a racing clutch that for ease of use, needed replacing.” $3500 later the car ran better but after a few months, Moffatt knew it was not going to be a match made in heaven. He knew this was still not the car for him and he unloaded the 63′ and started looking for a 66′.
“I started looking for the best quality 1966, or 1967 corvette Stingray I could find. I wanted to limit my search to Texas, as I found previously, out of state mechanics aren’t always honest with you about the car you are looking to buy, and if your bank doesn’t do the title transfer paperwork, you are stuck with a lot of admin time.” With that, Jim spent the next 6 months looking and often just missing several Corvettes that were for sale. Eventually, he connected with John Vaught of Arlington on a killer 1966 silver Corvette Stingray that had just underwent a frame off restoration in 2012.
“John had performed 9 other C-2 Corvette Stingray restorations before attempting the 1966. From the pictures, he had taken the car from a stripped condition, with no windows to a prime state of restoration in 2 years or so.” Moffatt knew that this was the car for him. He added, “I haven’t seen many silver Corvettes, especially in near this condition.”
I asked Moffatt to breakdown what the car came with: “The interior was all new, including seats, door panels, headliner, dash pads, door seals, windows, wing vents regulators, carpet, instruments, Kenwood speakers, and insulation. Vintage A/C, P/S, disc brakes, 327/350, 373 gears. Everything on the frame including exhaust, fuel, brake, and suspension are new.”
“All the drivetrain has been professionally rebuilt including the motor, the m-21 4-speed transmission, clutch, differential, drive shaft, and half shafts. All new exterior hardware including bumpers, tail and parking lamps, bezels, emblems, etc. Documentation is 100%.”
“I bought the car from John on 3/14/2016. Not a numbers matching car. I’ve seen many a Corvette, and this is not perfect, however, this is a beautiful car. The leather seats still have that “new” smell to them when you open the door. This proves there are perfectionistic individuals out there that are willing to put in the hours, and have the mechanical know how, and a shop to frame off restore classic cars to a fine degree.”
