How the TBird saved the Corvette

[Skip]

As a side trip on our way home from the ITC Convention in Nashville, we stopped at the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green. Very nicely done. While there, one of the docents, seeing our TBirds, shared a story with us that I'm certain many of you are familiar with. It seems that the first few years of Vette production were not very successful. 300 were produced in '53, and they couldn't give them away, literally. (They tried to give them to celeberities i.e. John Wayne, Clark Gable, etc. but they wouldn't take them. Too small-they wanted Caddys). They couldn't sell 300 in '53, so they produced 10,000 in 1954 (sound familiar?), and still couldn't sell them. The order went out that production was to cease at the end of the '55 model year. And then the TBird came along, and GM apparently decided that there was no way that Ford was going to have something that they didn't, so the "vette was resurrected for '56. The rest is history, as they say. I was surprised to hear him say that all Corvette owners owe a debt of gratitude to Ford Motor Co and TBird enthusiast. I suggested that a large appreciation plaque should be placed in the lobby of the museum, but I won't hold my breath for that. They did let us photograph our cars in front of the museum.

I picked up a copy of the program from the 50th Anniversary Celebration for the Corvette at the museum. I have attached a copy of an article that I thought TBN'ers might find of interest.

Skip

[Skip]

Re: How the TBird saved the Corvette

Let's see if these are a little easier to read.

[DavidA]

Re: How the TBird saved the Corvette

Skip: Still can't read it.

[Skip]

Re: How the TBird saved the Corvette

David and all:

If you click on any of the images, it will enlarge with a magnifying glass with a + in the center of the image. Click on this and it should make the text large enough to read. If not, I'll try to enlarge it again, but when I did this last time it was too large to attach the image. I know there has to be a simpler way to do this, and I'm working on figuring it out.

Skip

[BirdsAndBugs]

Re: How the TBird saved the Corvette

Interesting article. Thanks for sharing that.

Click on the picture. When it pops up, right click and select Save Picture As. Save the photo to your PC. You can then use Windows Explorer to go to the photo. Right click on the photo and select Preview. You can then use the magnifying glass to enlarge the print.

[Red Bird Dave]

Re: How the TBird saved the Corvette

Skip,
Actually John Wayne did take his. The car is displayed at the Reno at the Reno Car Museum. There is also pictures of him giving the car to Ward Bond. He also had a duplicate peddle car the same color also displayed.

Red Bird Dave

[bob andersen]

Re: How the TBird saved the Corvette

You are right about the museum. It's a great place to visit. I wish there was a Thunderbird one. You may notice my avatar is the front of the museum. When I took the picture, on my way home from Thunderfever, a visitor shouted out. "I see what you are doing, nice car"!

[EBird]

Re: How the TBird saved the Corvette

What's a Corvette?? Oh yea ..that Car that EVERYONE has....

[Lonestar]

Re: How the TBird saved the Corvette

A Scout Leader I had as a kid had one of the 53s in his house… let me explain. The gentlemen worked for GM and was involved with the creation of the GM plant in Arlington. TX. I believe the plant manager, or some one higher up, was given one of the 53s to drive – I do not know if they called them PEP Cars, Brass Hat cars, or what back them. Anyway, the guy who had the car was driving it on Hwy 80, lost control, and crashed it. The front end was damaged but from the firewall back the car was perfect. It had about 300 miles on it. Anyway, somehow the guy who later was my Scout Leader was either given or secured the car and he parked it up against the back of his house and covered it up.

Later the Scout Leader added on to his and he built the addition around the car. He moved the car to do the floor under the car and then moved the car back to where it had been when the floor was done.

It was 1962 when I first saw the car and I was awe-struck because 1) my Scout Leader had a car in his house and 2) the car was a 53 Corvette (white with red interior). The Scout Leader had all the parts to fix the front end and I could not believe he had not done it already. The Scout Leader told me he was going to work on the car when he retired.

I have to assume the car was repaired and removed from inside the house for many years later I went to the house to see if the Scout Leader still lived there and still had the car. The people who were living in the house at that time said they had no information about the Scout Leader but assured me there was no car inside the house. I often wonder what happened to the Scout Leader and the car.

[AZTB]

Re: How the TBird saved the Corvette

...It was 1962 when I first saw the car and I was awe-struck because 1) my Scout Leader had a car in his house and 2) the car was a 53 Corvette (white with red interior).

Actually, all the '53's were white...the body was fiberglass and the fit was so poor, that GM determined all the cars would be white as this color best hid the panel fit problems. It wasn't until '54 that they began to come out in colors as GM was beginning to get a handle on the 'new' use of fiberglass bodies for their cars.

[rpatton3]

Re: How the TBird saved the Corvette

A Scout Leader I had as a kid had one of the 53s in his house… let me explain. The gentlemen worked for GM and was involved with the creation of the GM plant in Arlington. TX. I believe the plant manager, or some one higher up, was given one of the 53s to drive – I do not know if they called them PEP Cars, Brass Hat cars, or what back them. Anyway, the guy who had the car was driving it on Hwy 80, lost control, and crashed it. The front end was damaged but from the firewall back the car was perfect. It had about 300 miles on it. Anyway, somehow the guy who later was my Scout Leader was either given or secured the car and he parked it up against the back of his house and covered it up.

Later the Scout Leader added on to his and he built the addition around the car. He moved the car to do the floor under the car and then moved the car back to where it had been when the floor was done.

It was 1962 when I first saw the car and I was awe-struck because 1) my Scout Leader had a car in his house and 2) the car was a 53 Corvette (white with red interior). The Scout Leader had all the parts to fix the front end and I could not believe he had not done it already. The Scout Leader told me he was going to work on the car when he retired.

I have to assume the car was repaired and removed from inside the house for many years later I went to the house to see if the Scout Leader still lived there and still had the car. The people who were living in the house at that time said they had no information about the Scout Leader but assured me there was no car inside the house. I often wonder what happened to the Scout Leader and the car.

Texas county courthouses should have records of ownership of real estate. In Arkansas, we used abstracts which were huge, thick books of the history of ownership of a particular piece of real estate. The owner paid for it being brought up to date and it followed the real estate's history. It was a real mess to replace when the owner lost it. Tax records should work in Texas.

[Bill Brown]

Re: How the TBird saved the Corvette

I always use this bit of history when my corvette friends start getting full of themselves. It shuts them up in a hurry.

[BirdsAndBugs]

Re: How the TBird saved the Corvette

What's a Corvette?? Oh yea ..that Car that EVERYONE has....

I kind of feel the same way.

You know the Corvette's a great car and I've always found Chevrolet's committment to the vehicle admirable. I like looking at them but the funny thing is that I've never really had a desire to actually own one.

[AZTB]

Re: How the TBird saved the Corvette

Here's a comment from a former owner of two Corvettes and why he changed to a Cayman S (from another website):

Sealed the deal today to trade in my 08 Corvette for a Cayman S. After driving an 07 Corvette for a year and trading it in for an 08 last year, I have gotten the Corvette out of my system. No doubt I will miss the amazing torque and power, but have determined that it is time to get a different type of sports car, and that power isn't everything. After all, how often did I truly use all 450HP? I purchased my Cayman S from ....... in Boston after someone on this forum recommended them for great prices, inventories, and service. I bought a Midnight Blue Metallic with Sand Beige Leather nicely equipped with 6 disc CD changer, power seats, bi-xenon headlamps, heated front seats, self dim mirrors, and bose high end sound package. I wish the car had automatic climate control, but I was set on getting this color combination as I plan to keep this car a long time. I am extremely excited to pick up this car hopefully next week. I live on Long Island and will look forward to driving my Corvette for one last road trip up, trade it in, and drive home with a big smile. I was an avid member on Corvette Forum throughout the years I drove Corvettes, and found it to be a wealth of information as it related to modifications, advice, service related issues and the list goes on. In the brief time I have spent on this ........., I can see that I will be in good company with the amount of expertise and experience you all have with what appears to be an amazing car that so many people are passionate about.

...and another:

Guess that makes two of us. I just traded an '08 ZO6 for a Cayman S; should be delivered in a few days now. I've been very active in track events for a long while, but since I have lost some enthusiasm for it, the Cayman is, IMO, a much more satisfying street car. And it will be fine for my limited track use. In fact, since I'm getting older and slower and the cars faster, I don't really mind trading a 165 brake zone entry for 135 or whatever. The ZO6 is a ton of fun on track, and it teaches some great driving skills, but it's fast beyond my comfort level with no additional safety equipment. And there is no denying the communication of the Porsche brakes, steering, and suspension.

[Ediron]

Re: How the TBird saved the Corvette

No auto climate control in the Cayman? That wouldn't make me to happy in S. Fl.