1966 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe
VIN 1943765104826
327 cubic inch engine
We purchased this car in September, 1991 from Scott Hallowell in Austin, Texas. We sold the car to David Ramm of Hutto, Texas in January, 1992.
The last six digits in the serial number began at 100001 and ran through 127720. There are 27,720 coupes and convertibles built in 1966. The 7th digit denotes the manufacturing plant - St. Louis, Missouri. The Sting Ray was the second generation Corvette design and was introduced in 1963 and ended in 1967. The Sting Ray was developed with almost twice as much steel support in its central structure as the 1958-62 Corvette. The extra weight was balanced by a reduction in the thickness of the fiberglass and the car actually weighed a bit less than the old roadster. The reinforcing steel girder made the cockput stronger and safer. The quad headlights were kept but now hidden. Coupe doors were cut into the roof making it easier to get in and out of. Non-functional vents were located in the hood and on the coupe's rear pillars. They originally planned for functional vents but those were cancelled due to cost. A shorter wheelbase and improved steering made the new design more manueverable. More weight on the rear of the car and less on the front improved both steering and traction.
Changes to the Sting Ray in 1966 with the 427 big-block engine offered in 390hp and 425bhp. With big block V8s being most popular in the day there was lowered demand for the 327 and only 2 versions were sold - the 300-bhp and 350-bhp. The 1966 received an egg-crate grille insert to replace the horizontal bars and the couope no longer had roof mounted extractor vents. 1966 was a record breaking year with 4200 more units sold than 1965.
When we were going through our old pictures we had forgotten all about this car. This is one we wish we had kept.
