1965 Chevrolet Corvette 396 Big Block Racer

The Chevrolet Corvette C2 "Stingray' was built between 1962-1967 as a contender in the "muscle car' battle with Ford. 1965 was possibly the most important year in the development life of the C2. Two major changes took place, firstly disc brakes were fitted all round as standard which meant that at last the C2 would not only "go' but would now actually stop.. secondly the awesome 425 hp 6.5 litre Turbo Jet 396 cubic inch "Big Block' engine became available. This also saw the end of fuel injection on Corvettes until the 1980's, in 1965 it was replaced with the four barrel Holly carburettor..

The car we have here is a superb example of a fully prepared, immaculate race car. We are told it saw action on the tracks of California but we have no paperwork to back this up. The car was brought up to its current specification in 2009 and was ready to race that year at Goodwood Revival Meeting, however, at the last minute, the Corvettes were not invited to take part. So at this point it was totally "ready to race'. It had been built up meticulously to FIA specification, however it does not currently have the appropriate FIA papers. The current owner tells us that there should be no problem getting the paperwork sorted out. This would make the car eligible for International classic and historic events all over Europe and no doubt it would be welcomed in any US event as well. It could also be returned to road car specification and adapted to become eligible for events such as Tour-Auto and other long distance events. It has a V5 document and the MOT expired in April 2010

The 6.5 litre engine is solid mounted. The owner tells us that it was rebuilt at a cost of around £10K and he describes it as "fresh'. The chassis was sand-blasted, seam welded and gusseted with a few extra period "tweaks' added in. The transmission has been built to stand up to the rigours of endurance racing, starting with a twin plate racing clutch, then a Hurst "shifter' linked to a tough four speed, oil cooled Muncie gearbox. There are twin oil coolers, one for the gearbox and one for the GM Posi-traction 3.55 differential. To make it even more "bomb-proof' the car is fitted with heavy duty, adjustable factory suspension and dual calliper brakes. With long distance racing in mind it has foam filled 36 gallon fuel tank, plus an additional wiring loom for extra lights.

Alongside all the racing equipment the car also retains a number of "period' touches such as the correct Stuart Warner instruments. Also, during the rebuild care was taken to retain the correct interior trim. However while the car is fitted with a NASCAR fully bolstered race seat the original passenger seat is available. The NASCAR seat may need to be changed for an FIA approved item. The wheels are the correct "60's five spoke alloys and the rear wheels have the period Trans-Am offset (called T70R) which mean the wheels will accommodate the easily available Dunlop 700L racing tyres without flaring the arches.

Various other items reinforce its FIA eligibility such as the hinged bonnet, which is an FIA requirement, plus the mandatory quick release hinges. This is also the correct bonnet for the 65/66 Big Block specification cars. Finally measures have been taken to reduce weight wherever possible so the window winder mechanisms have been removed and replaced by leather straps, the headlight covers are Perspex, the side windows are also Perspex, and the windscreen is laminated glass

What we have here is an example of a stunning American Muscle Car with loads of character, that is in superb full race trim. It is fully equipped for any sort of racing, there are very few hours on the virtually bombproof engine and gearbox, but it has retained "period' touches wherever possible and above all it is ready to race and will start on the button.