Neil Armstrong’s 1967 Corvette Sting Ray
Today marks the 51st anniversary of the first US human space flight, so it seems appropriate to talk about America’s space heros. As a perk for being heros, the astronauts were given Corvettes on $1/year leases by Jim Rathman’s GM dealership in Florida. One of those Corvettes, a 1967 Sting Ray which was used by Neil Armstrong, has surfaced from a decades-long slumber in a basement garage in Florida. Find it here on eBay in Merritt Island, Florida with bidding at an astonishing quarter million and the reserve still not met!
From the bidding interest it’s clear that the association with the first man on the moon has added massive value. This Sting Ray is in tough shape with blotched body repairs and neglect. The car shows only 38k miles on the odometer but looks like it was driven to the Moon and then put away wet… or real dusty, anyway. The real issue is, since the astronauts had so many different Corvettes at different times in their careers, if there is any real evidence linking this car to Armstrong? If not, the true value of the car would be a fraction of the current bid price. Unless of course the firewall is coated in that gold foil they use on spaceships.
The seller states that he tried to buy the car during a 30+ year period from a former NASA employee who had purchased the car when Armstrong returned it to the dealership after using it for a year. The NASA man refused for decades, but finally sold the car in February of this year. The seller provides some details on the purchase along with claims that the warranty book and Protect-O-Plate have Armstrong’s name on them.
There is one photo included in the eBay listing that shows Armstrong’s name together with the car’s VIN, but it’s not clear what document is being shown in this photo. There is also a film clip showing the astronauts arriving at the Space Center in their Corvettes, including Armstrong in his Stingray coupe (at minute 2:26), but it’s dated 1965, 2 years earlier than this Sting Ray’s production date. Unfortunately, there seems to be no good photographic documentation of Armstrong with this particular Corvette.
So is this really the Armstrong car? The answer is a clear ‘probably’, but be sure to bring a C2 Corvette expert with when you examine the car and hope that the paperwork confirms that it was Armstrong’s back in ’67. Or, since Neil Armstrong is still alive and living in Ohio, perhaps you should just call and to ask him yourself. With success in linking this car directly to him, you could own a Corvette with one of the most significant ownership histories ever. Just be sure to bring plenty of cash…
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Comments
Looks pretty ROUGH!!
Perhaps the wear & tear is simply the result of the heat encoutered on reentry into the atmosphere??
At $250K+ I think it is safe to assume that it is covered in Moon Dust!
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap in sticker price for for a beat up old Corvette!!”
No way that car is worth 250k+ just because Neil Armstrong MIGHT have owned it. The sellers (and buyers who bid it up to this point) are all on crack.
If I had that kind of money I would buy it site unseen.
i know a Tom Ferris that lives in Sandpoint, Idaho married to my cousin Cindy! are you him?
…this car has been debated on other car sites and corvette forums.
At this point it has gone viral with 122,825 hits, preposterous.
The current owner of several months, who finally coaxed it away from under a NASA employee (who had it for 4 decades) after 30 years, has his 15 minutes of fame.
At this point no SANE person is bidding on this.
It’s a $40k car at best, repeatedly confirmed by those who know.
30 years in the making and he’s gonna blow it.
@ Tom Ferris
No ! you wouldn’t.
everybody’s bidding high, because, heck, there’s a reserve, who cares.
BTW, Armstrong did not own the car, he just had use of it/ drove it for a year..
I tend to agree with Mr Radish on this one , I saw an Elvis limo offered once that had his name on the order but he had died before delivery ,the seller was claiming it to be an ” Elvis car ” was it ? To fetch this kind of money this Vette needs a photo of Mr A driving it on the Moon!….. hang on maybe thats why the wheel archs were modified , to fit those huge Luna Rover wheels ?
LOL, if this was a bone stock 427/435hp with EVERY available option and in showroom condition I think 250K is pushin it.
Bid to $250,090 with 73 bids but did not meet the reserve.
He should have taken the $$$.
@ Dolphin
Just what I said
$250,090 and didn’t take it, thats where 2 fools met the one that bid that much and the one that didn’t take it.
I agree with with Horse Radish.
Attached link has a bit of follow up information on Armstrong’s Corvette:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/04/10/neil-armstrong-corvette-display/7546723/
Also a documentary is in the works.
JoeyG…
Couldn’t resist…got bid a dollar for every mile to the moon!
If you are going to call Neil Armstrong to ask him about this car that may be a problem.——–he has been dead 5 years!