Vehicle Description
Gateway Classic Cars Dallas is pleased to offer once stunning 1961
Chevrolet Corvette. This Frame-Off Restoration has been completed
in Honduras Maroon/Black Interior. Currently, a Show car that can
be driven near anywhere, she was a Blue Plate California Car and
has 140K Original Miles on the chassis, about 20,000 on the
restoration. The previous owner bought this car in 1965 from the
original owner, a school teacher woman in his hometown. At the time
the second owner was living in New Jersey and had a one-car garage
where this Corvette spent the majority of its life as a "weekend"
type of car. He had other cars as drivers but did drive the car. In
1975 he moved to Newport Beach, CA. Thus the "Blue" CA plates. The
car has primarily been in the Huntington Beach area over the last
43 years. The 1961 Corvette featured here is a really nice specimen
of a very original car. In 1992 the Previous owner decided to do a
body-off restoration at around 120K miles. He took the car out to
Jay Jorgensen, at Classic Corvette, Inc in Riverside, CA. (later
known as California Street Design). The car body was removed from
the frame and completely stripped. The solid original rust-free
frame (see photo's of restoration near the end of the pictures) was
sandblasted to remove old paint and surface rust and was then
powder coated. The cars paint was completely reconditioned along
with all the chrome plating on the car. Most of the emblems were
replaced with NOS emblems. During the build, the following items
were attended to Complete removal of body, stripped, reworked and
repainted, Frame Powder Coated, Wheels Stripped and Repainted,
Complete New Exhaust System, Complete New Front End, New Shocks
Front/Rear, Complete New Wiring Harness, New Drive Shaft, Complete
Rechrome, New Windshield, New Weather Strip and Felt, New Shocks
Front and Rear, New Brakes, New Carpet / Sun Visors / New Trunk
Mat, Brand New Top / Top Kit, New Light Bulbs, Full Tune-Up of
Engine. The engine is a Corvette 327/350 that replaced the original
283 dual-carb setup at 80K miles. That would put the mileage on the
327 at 60K miles. He changed the oil once a year religiously since
he has owned the car.m In 2006 the Carburetor was completely
rebuilt at 131K miles and a new battery was put in the car about a
few years ago. All receipts and many pictures of the frame-off
restoration come with the car. Body and Paint Let's make one thing
perfectly clear, the number one thing to look for in any collector
piece is the finest body possible. Factory original bodies on
Corvettes are nearly impossible to find these days. This is an
extremely straight bodied car, one of the finest I have seen. Take
a look at the gaps all the way around the car and the bead around
the rear end. Any bodywork was addressed during the restoration
process and the work done was top notch. When the car was repainted
it was stripped to the glass, primed, blocked judicially and
painted. The paintwork on this car is extremely high-caliber and
was done by a discriminating shop that knew what they were doing.
There is easily $15K-worth of high-end paintwork on this
automobile. There is no overspray anywhere to be found. The paint
is flat and mirror-like and quite frankly is as good as it gets,
with the exception of the small bubbling. All rubber and window
felt appear to be like new and was replaced at the time of
restoration. The front windshield was replaced during the
restoration and the two side windows are original to the car. The
chrome on the car is a solid overall 8.5 out of 10, with very
minimal scratches anywhere to be found. The chrome bumpers have
been redone, with a very small amount of pitting on some pieces.
The trim and emblems are all newer from the restoration, however,
they are in great shape. Instead of cheap replicas, they look to be
NOS to me and representative of a life spent in a garage and
carefully handled. We don't believe this engine has ever been apart
and runs out as nicely as I have ever seen on a 327-350hp Vette
engine. It idles smooth and does not smoke. It is a very strong
running engine and almost feels like it is brand new. The Exhaust
System is all brand new. The front-end was completely rebuilt and
drives down the road straight as an arrow with no shakes, shimmies
or rattles of any kind. At that time the lower ball joints were
replaced, as well as tie-rod ends, installed new front and rear
shocks. The brakes were completely rebuilt during the restoration.
It stops with authority. The Hurst Three-Speed Manual shifts
smoothly and the owner states it was in the car when he bought it.
The Undercarriage is completely rust-free and in very tidy
condition. It was stripped and powder coated front and rear during
the restoration. Interior The Interior is a solid 8 out of 10
condition. The carpets were replaced during the restoration. The
door panels look original to me and in a very nice driver
condition. The dash was replaced during the resto. The convertible
top was replaced during the restoration and has basically been down
in the hole every since. The interior door sills are original to
the car but add to the overall nice look of this rare vehicle. A
Rare Original style Honduras Maroon Corvette in exceptionally nice
above-average driver condition. This is a great way to own a
wonderful old Corvette. Everything on this little gem is
exceptional. It runs and drives extremely well and has a very tight
feel to it. You would be very proud to present this Corvette at any
local car shows or events. This is a car that would be a great show
car or just a gorgeous and unique driver for cross-country driving
or rallies. It can be seen in greater detail including 100+ HD
pictures and an HD video at
https://www.gatewayclassiccars.com/dfw/1233/ For additional
information please call our sales staff at 817-310-9400 or email us
at dallas@GatewayClassicCars.com. To view 3000+ classics or
exotics, please visit: https://www.gatewayclassiccars.com/
