Hollywood Pedigree: 1964 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray
There are plenty of cars that have become the stuff of legends due to their use in an extremely successful movie or TV series. There are also movies where the car is probably the star, and that is the case with this 1964 Corvette Sting Ray. It was the car that gave its name to the title of a 1978 movie called “Stingray.” I’ve never seen that movie but having watched the trailer on YouTube, I think that I now know why. It isn’t a movie that is packed full of famous faces, and given the fact that the entire 100 minutes of the movie was shot in just a touch over 5 weeks, that didn’t leave a lot of time in the schedule for rehearsing scenes, high-quality filming, shooting retakes, or for setting up any fancy driving stunts. To put that into perspective, the iconic movie Bullitt was shot over a schedule that was more than three times as long, and even that was considered to be tight. Barn Finder Roger spotted our mighty movie star, so I have to thank him for that. It is located in Waterloo, Illinois, and is listed for sale here on Craigslist. The owner has set a price of $77,500 for this classic Corvette.
The current owner purchased the car 25-years-ago. The story is that once filming had completed on the movie, the car was sold to a shop in St Louis. The shop performed a frame-on restoration of the car, before selling it to the current owner. That means that this restoration was performed at least 25-years-ago, and I have to say that it appears to have held up well. We don’t get any photos or information about the state of the floors or the frame, but the outside of the car does look to be extremely good. As a bit of a bonus, there is this nice looking soft-top, along with a factory hardtop, that goes with the Corvette.
For those of us who are old enough to remember, $6,700 could buy you a lot more a quarter of a century ago than it can now. That’s how much the people in St Louis pumped into the engine when they undertook the restoration, and that engine now produces a healthy 400hp on pump gas. It doesn’t look particularly standard under the hood, and I certainly wouldn’t be holding out for this to be a numbers-matching car, but I’ll bet that it’s a blast to drive. The Corvette also features a 4-speed manual transmission, power steering, and new tires with less than 2,000 miles on them. The owner also says that the car has only covered a genuine 68,000 miles.
The interior of the Corvette looks to be in pretty good condition, and while it might not be pristine, it is certainly better than what I would tag as “daily driver” quality. The original AM/FM radio is still in place, while the rest of the interior looks just as original. There are no real problems or issues to be addressed, and it just looks like an interior that has seen some use but has been well cared for.
I’m not sure whether the owner holds any documentation to verify the history of this Corvette, but to me, that really isn’t particularly relevant. The movie wasn’t a box office success and didn’t propel any of its stars to overnight fame and fortune. However, as a piece of Hollywood history, it still has a minor role to play. Whether this adds any value to the car is pretty doubtful, but as a nice classic car, it would still be a pretty good thing to own.
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Comments
I like most all Corvettes, some more than others. This is one of the more. Bit too rich for my blood but I still like it.
Starring Chris Mitchum, Robert Mitchum’s son.
And his film career skyrocketed.
Nice! When Corvettes were Corvettes.
What are they now? Opel GTs? I was just thinking how boring the C2’s are starting to be. Each to his/her own. I grew up with C1/C2’s and I would take a C7 in a heartbeat over one of those Conestoga Wagons.
I have BOTH a C-2 and a C-7. Having one doesn’t exclude having the other. Each is UNIQUE to their time and place in history. Like asking a father which son is a favorite or a child who is your favorite relative.. The C-2 stirs childhood memories while the C-7 offers a much NICER driving experience. THE C-2 while a challenge to the uninitiated is NOT a Conestoga wagon (which I honestly have NEVER driven) .
Which one do you take on trips over 100 miles?
I watched the trailer, and as dumb as the movie looks, if I happened upon it while flipping through the channels, I’d probably watch it. I’m a sucker for car chases, I used to think I wanted to be a stunt driver after seeing a Joie Chitwood Thrill Show as a kid.
what happened to the rollbar???
Love watching a 307 malibu try to keep up with a screaming 66 vette!
And a torino cop car, what a great film this would be to watch on a rainy sunday.
Careful Frank S, I have an 1857 Conestoga wagon. Like it better than any Vette made after the 62’s. Yes, an 1857. Dare to ride where no Vette can go.
Do the numbers match, and does it have a luggage rack?
Acch, don’t listen to him, Joe. These were the nicest Vettes that just about anyone with a halfway decent job could afford AND work on one. Don’t worry, when Corvette goes mid engine and costs a million dollars, I think Corvette will be the next car to “go away”. I can’t believe it lasted this long.
Expert Howard (“Often wrong, but never in doubt”) The mid-engine is coming out at around $65,000. Anyone with a halfway decent job should be able to have one.
Pretty high for a 64 I believe… the 400 HP makes it more fun, but the non-original engine parts don’t help. Maybe it it was from a famous movie?
This corvette could have been in Ben Hur and it would still never be worth that much money.You can get better for less money.
1964 has drum brakes? I think 1965 was the first year for discs. I didn’t see any mention if the brakes were upgraded. Might be fun slowing them 400 horses down.
Yes 63 and 64 had drum brakes but they had 3” wide drums they would stop the car just fine for the weight of the car….
Could you get 400 HP in 64?
I know one thing for sure if your C1 or C2 break down on the side of the road you have a whole lot better chance of fixing it there then a C7!!!
Yeah, but the C7 dealer shows up with a nice, fancy enclosed trailer. If you rather take your chances on the shoulder of I-90 in a rainstorm, knock yer badself out!
Unless you have knock off wheels (like I have on my C-2), WHICH can be damaged by a mechanic not knowing anything about removing them. You may be suggesting a mute point since my C-7 has never had a road side assistance needed.Let’s face it, MOST modern cars requiring Road Assistance CAN’T be repaired ON THE THE ROAD.
“Moot” point for future reference.
Cool vette. Crappy movie.
Frank Sumatra…I’d just like to know what YOU consider a “half way decent” job. I don’t know where you’re from, but, here in REAL America, “half way decent” jobs pay $14/hr. Try making a payment on a $65k car, along with all your other obligations, on that kind of money! Personally, I have a GREAT job (I also employ 3 other people) and make enough money to live comfortably (my employees do too). However, my employees and I ALL work very hard for every penny. I COULD go out and pay $65k for a brand new dually but I won’t. Why should I when I have my 78 GMC K-35 that will out run, out pull and out live anything built today?