'66 427 from Queen City Chevrolet, Cincinnati to Lawton, Oklahoma

[Mike B.]

My decades long prior ownership research continues. As our friend Tom Hendricks says "Never give up!" I won't!

My Nassau Blue air conditioned 1966 390hp 427 convertible was factory delivered to Queen City Chevrolet in Cincinnati, OH the first week of December '65. VIN#194676S107216. A prior salesman who worked there back then said he recalled that Nick Halmi, owner of this dealership drove a new bright blue '66 427 convertible with AC. The salesman said this car may have been ordered by the dealership or through Chevrolet to be a display model to advertise the new 1st year big block with AC combination. The car has a bright blue exterior with bright blue interior. Optional hardtop. The person who purchased the car from the dealership is still unknown to me. I have no original sales invoice or Protect-O-Plate. The original state that the car was titled in is also unknown. I've always assumed it was Ohio or Kentucky.

Here's the car's history that I know so far. The car eventually enters Lawton, Oklahoma. I've always assumed that it was a US army soldier stationed at Fort Sill who brought the car there from out of state. It's unknown what year the car entered Oklahoma. The car was first titled there 1973-1974 by Clifton J. Browning. An army pilot officer who was no relation to me. But what a coincidence! Clifton was a long time Oklahoma resident. He purchased the car from another army pilot officer. This other pilot officer's name is unknown. Clifton has passed away and his family cannot recall who he bought the car from. But they remember that he was a colleague of Clifton's at Fort Sill.

I just recently found this fresh information about Clifton Browning. I would've really enjoyed chatting with him about the car. I know all owner history since Clifton's ownership. My search continues for the missing 8 years of the mystery owner(s).

Please help me if you have any ideas no matter how small you think they may be. Fresh angles are always appreciated.

Thank you,
Mike Browning
vettespaz@yahoo.com
410-924-6584

How the car would've appeared new:

'66 Nassau Blue 427 Convertible (1).jpg'66 Nassau Blue 427 Convertible (2).jpg'66 Nassau Blue 427 Convertible (3).jpg

[Peter M.]

Re: '66 427 Delivered to Queen City Chevrolet Cincinnati. Please Help!

Mike, Good luck with your search.

[Paul C.]

Re: '66 427 Delivered to Queen City Chevrolet Cincinnati. Please Help!

March 1967 used car ad from Queen City listing a 66 Corvette and also used car Salesman’s names. Maybe you can track one of them down:

Paul

[Paul C.]

Re: '66 427 Delivered to Queen City Chevrolet Cincinnati. Please Help!

Just in case names are not clear enough:

[Thomas B.]

Re: '66 427 Delivered to Queen City Chevrolet Cincinnati. Please Help!

I haven't been at it as long as you but I too am looking for original owner. And first 17 years of ownership.
Have you posted an Information Wanted Ad in Drive Line Magazine?
I am considering placing a classified ad in the local paper in the city where my car was factory delivered asking for info on previous owners.
I searched car repair/restoration shops in the area and found one which was in business back to 1977 which led to a phone conversation with a guy that worked at the dealership in the late 70's where my car was delivered.

[Mike B.]

Re: '66 427 from Queen City Chevrolet, Cincinnati to Lawton, Oklahoma

Hi Peter,
It's always a pleasure to hear from you and thank you again for your help with my '66-'67 427 AC compressor brace rod research. Yes, it's gonna take a bit of luck to solve my 34 year old mystery of who's the original/earliest owner(s). But I've closed the unknown gap down to just 8 years as the "dark ages" all on my own. From December 1965 to 1973-74.

Hello Paul,
Excellent post and suggestion. In the last few years I've paid into a couple of those background research companies that have yielded some success towards my research. Especially when you find names. I've looked some of these salesmen up with no success. But there's a couple here that I haven't heard of yet. Thanks, I'm on it. I'll let you all know how it pans out.

I've also subscribed to "Newspapers.com" that's somewhat pricey but has been very helpful in my search. But just as long as they have the records on file that you want to search through. Luckily I hit the jackpot with them since they cover both of the cities I needed. The Cincinnati Enquirer and the Lawton Constitution. I've spent eons at my computer scouring through their classified ads. What's great about this website is their search function/filters. If used properly your search shows highlighted "hits" in yellow. Nice when they finally fall right in your lap. Awesome!

Hi Thomas,
So, I strongly suggest websites where you can do your own detective work. Search through classifieds like I just mentioned. Here's some of the things I've tried through the years:

-State title searches (if they do them that far back). I've been very fortunate that Oklahoma still does these.
-NCRS Driveline Info Wanted Ad. I need to re-submit the one I ran for numerous years. I got a couple of solid leads there.
-Joined NCRS Chapters close to where I've been searching. Posted info Wanted Ads in their newsletters.
-Contacted Corvette clubs in the cities I was searching in. They circulated info wanted flyers at their meetings for me.
-Ran classified ads in local newspapers
-Contacted dealerships that may have serviced the car. Tracked down retired mechanics who remembered the car.
-Lately I've been joining social media Corvette groups. They're free and I've got a couple of leads this way. Right off my phone.
-Searched through old newspapers in libraries then finally at home through online sites. $$
-Joined other sites similar to NCRS. I've recently joined a Registry that's a meeting place for our Yenko Camaro/Chevy Muscle Car brothers and sisters. Lots of high performance Yenko and COPO cars came out of Queen City Chevrolet in Cincinnati. I've really enjoyed chatting with these Supercar folks.

As I remember more I'll post more ideas. Thanks guys for the info! Mike

[Thomas B.]

Re: '66 427 from Queen City Chevrolet, Cincinnati to Lawton, Oklahoma

Mike,

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try a couple of those.

I assume you're following the C2 Orphaned Document Forum. I've seen some amazing items turn up there. I have come across a couple of invoices from my delivery dealer dated in 1948 on E-Bay. Nothing on my car. Also seen many old car titles.

What is your source for finding phone numbers for people you're searching? I have trouble finding good phone numbers.

Tom

[Paul C.]

Re: '66 427 from Queen City Chevrolet, Cincinnati to Lawton, Oklahoma

Try zabasearch:

https://www.zabasearch.com/

[Mike B.]

Re: '66 427 from Queen City Chevrolet, Cincinnati to Lawton, Oklahoma

Hi Paul,

Thanks for that search site. I may try that one in the future!

Hello Tom,

Yes I've scoured over all of the C2 Orphan Documents. Every month or so I revisit that Forum to see what's new. I've posted a '65 Protect-O-Plate there a few years ago with hopes of finding the owner. No hits so far.

I've used "Been Verified" and "White Pages" for finding detailed information on folks. It's scary the amount of information that's available out there. These sites all advertise as free but when you want complete reports that include phone numbers there's always a fee. I keep the first one I mentioned active since I'm always poking around with my research. I had a hot lead last year that led me from Oklahoma to Oregon. I was convinced for a while that the car I was chasing was my aforementioned '66. Sadly, it wasn't my car. But I did turn over some excellent info that I'll post soon on the C2 Orphan Documents Forum. Gonna make someone's day hopefully.

Hey everybody, check out this posting on the Yenko website that led me to join their group. Total Chevy Muscle Car Aficionados! I hope this helps some of my NCRS brothers and sisters. Close for me but no cigar. Good luck to you!

Mike

Queen City Invoices (1).jpgQueen City Invoices (2).jpgQueen City Invoices (3).jpg

P.S. I've spoken to these guys about these Queen City invoices. They're not giving them away. If your Queen City Chevrolet Corvette VIN is listed here I can help you get in contact with these guys. They've got other QC invoices too for Camaros, Chevelles, Impalas etc. I didn't list those here. Nothing in it for me, I'm just passing awesome information along to my NCRS friends. Mike

[Mike B.]

Re: '66 427 from Queen City Chevrolet, Cincinnati to Lawton, Oklahoma

Afternoon All,

For those of you from Cincinnati or those that have cars from there check out this cool nugget I just got today from a guy who's into Yenkos. Now I finally know that Queen City Chevrolet was placing metal rear body emblems on some of the cars sold from there back in the 1960's. This first example I've ever seen is from an ultra rare 1967 Yenko RS/SS Camaro. Gotta check under my body again for evidence of these emblems!

1967 Queen City Chevrolet Yenko RS-SS Camaro (35).jpg
Queen City Chevrolet Rear Emblem '67 Camaro (3).jpg

[Mike B.]

Re: '66 427 from Queen City Chevrolet, Cincinnati to Lawton, Oklahoma

Good Morning All,

More research info about Queen City Chevrolet in Cincinnati from "back in the day." When Nick Halmi owned and operated Queen City Chevrolet back in it's 1960's heyday this dealership was one of the largest sellers of specialty Chevrolet models in the country. Especially east of the Mississippi. Not only large volumes of Corvettes but also Chevrolet "Muscle." Don Yenko would ship his "Yenko Super Camaros" and "Yenko Corvair Stingers" to Queen City Chevrolet circa '67-'69.

Because of the huge following of other models from our beloved Chevrolet, I've been in contact with those who also had Queen City Chevrolet history to share. Lately I've been researching dealership license plate frames and emblems from there and have gotten some cool hits from these guys.

Check out these rear emblem variations from there. All 3 of these cars from QC Chevrolet happen to be '67 Yenko Camaros. So far, I've figured that '67 was about the time the dealership was transitioning from metal rear emblems to decals/stickers. There were 2 variations of these stickers. One for lighter paint schemes and one for darker paints. If any NCRS members here would be so kind as to share ANY photos or information pertaining to emblems/license frames from Queen City Chevrolet it would be so much appreciated. Post shots of your Corvette's QC emblem here! Thanks, Mike

Queen City Chevrolet Rear Emblems in 1967 (1).jpgQueen City Chevrolet Rear Emblems in 1967 (2).jpgQueen City Chevrolet Rear Emblems in 1967 (3).jpgQueen City Chevrolet Rear Emblems in 1967 (4).jpgQueen City Chevrolet Yenko Supercar 1967 Ad.jpg

[Paul C.]

Re: '66 427 from Queen City Chevrolet, Cincinnati to Lawton, Oklahoma

I guess Queen City in Texas did the same:

[Mike B.]

Re: '66 427 from Queen City Chevrolet, Cincinnati to Lawton, Oklahoma

Hi Paul,

Thanks for your VERY interesting post here. Yes there's a handful of places in the USA known as the "Queen City." Pretty sure Charlotte NC and Baltimore MD are aka Queen Cities. Now let's talk about your emblem from Wills Point. It very suspiciously looks too similar to the one on that yellow '67 Yenko that I just got. From reports to me from other Queen City Chevrolet Cincinnati car owners the dealership was indeed placing metal rear emblems on some of the cars sold there back in the '60s ('50s?). Until just a few days ago I'd never seen one before. After looking at your Wills Point emblem that yellow '67 emblem may be a custom made add-on? But maybe not? Maybe it's authentic to the car?

There's a guy in Cincinnati that I know who says he's got the original metal emblem on his Camaro. Gotta contact him to maybe have him send me a shot. If he does I'll surely post it here.

My original dealership detective work knows no end. Any bit of info no matter how big or small. Mike

P.S. Just noticed this after my initial reply Paul. Check out the Wills Point emblem. Do you see hints of where the screw holes used to be on the Cincinnati emblem? Maybe Wills Point used the earlier emblem as a template for theirs? Now I gotta find another original Queen City Chevrolet Cincinnati emblem for a comparison. Mike

[Mike B.]

Re: '66 427 from Queen City Chevrolet, Cincinnati to Lawton, Oklahoma

Good Morning Everybody,

About 12 years ago I was contacted by a fellow up in New Jersey who'd seen my long running "Info Wanted" ad back then in the Driveline. He didn't have any leads on my car but what he did have was very special to me. He wanted to give me the opportunity to come up to see his '67 coupe that was also sold from Queen City Chevrolet in Cincinnati. He told me that his car had no paper documentation either. I asked him if his car still had any dealership glove box stickers glued to the inside of the glove box door? He told me that there were two stickers affixed to the cup holder recesses there. I couldn't get up there quick enough!

Way back in 1988 when I bought my '66 I began the research into my car's provenance. This was long before NCRS began releasing St. Louis factory shipping data records. There was a key piece of evidence glued inside my glovebox door that eventually allowed me to locate my car's original selling dealership. In the left side cup holder depression there was a weathered Queen City Chevrolet Co. dealership sticker detailing what to do in case of an accident. It even gave the street address and phone number. Sounds great right? Wrong! This drove me absolutely crazy for the longest time. No city or area code listed at all. Tons of research, phone calls and time eventually led me to my answer. Queen City Chevrolet Co. 414 E. Court St. Cincinnati. Out of business since 1983.

I was very excited about the chance to photograph this '67 Corvette's stickers. My right side sticker was missing when I bought my car and I'd always wondered what that sticker said. Now I would know after 20 long years. It turned out to be a servicing info sticker. One of my hunches that turned out to be correct! I really enjoyed that trip to central Jersey. Brought back great USAF memories too. I was once stationed very close to there at McGuire AFB. The same years that this dealership went out of business. Here's some recent photos the owner and friends sent to me. Great to see the car again! I'm also including my '66 original glove box sticker I'd carefully removed before the door's resto. Enjoy, Mike

'67 Queen City Chevrolet Co. Corvette Coupe (1).jpg'67 Queen City Chevrolet Co. Corvette Coupe (2).jpg'67 Queen City Chevrolet Co. Corvette Coupe (3).jpgMike's '66 Glovebox Accident Sticker (1).jpg

[Mike B.]

Re: '66 427 from Queen City Chevrolet, Cincinnati to Lawton, Oklahoma

Good Morning Everyone,

I'm moving my thread back up to the top with hopes that someone will remember my car who lived in or around Lawton, Oklahoma back around 1972-1976. Please read my first post here. It gives a very good description and research that I've done on "the girl." As stated, I know that Clifton J. Browning (no relation to me) bought this '66 from a fellow U.S. Army officer. Lieutenant Colonel Browning was most probably a Captain or Major when he bought this car from the original owner circa 1973-1974. Lt. Col. Browning purchased the car for his son who mainly drove the car. So if you knew a young guy named Browning who drove this beautiful blue convertible around Lawton back then please contact me. I would very much like to hear from you of any memories you have of this car.

Mike

My decades long prior ownership research continues. As our friend Tom Hendricks says "Never give up!" I won't!

My Nassau Blue air conditioned 1966 390hp 427 convertible was factory delivered to Queen City Chevrolet in Cincinnati, OH the first week of December '65. VIN#194676S107216. A prior salesman who worked there back then said he recalled that Nick Halmi, owner of this dealership drove a new bright blue '66 427 convertible with AC. The salesman said this car may have been ordered by the dealership or through Chevrolet to be a display model to advertise the new 1st year big block with AC combination. The car has a bright blue exterior with bright blue interior. Optional hardtop. The person who purchased the car from the dealership is still unknown to me. I have no original sales invoice or Protect-O-Plate. The original state that the car was titled in is also unknown. I've always assumed it was Ohio or Kentucky.

Here's the car's history that I know so far. The car eventually enters Lawton, Oklahoma. I've always assumed that it was a US army soldier stationed at Fort Sill who brought the car there from out of state. It's unknown what year the car entered Oklahoma. The car was first titled there 1973-1974 by Clifton J. Browning. An army pilot officer who was no relation to me. But what a coincidence! Clifton was a long time Oklahoma resident. He purchased the car from another army pilot officer. This other pilot officer's name is unknown. Clifton has passed away and his family cannot recall who he bought the car from. But they remember that he was a colleague of Clifton's at Fort Sill.

I just recently found this fresh information about Clifton Browning. I would've really enjoyed chatting with him about the car. I know all owner history since Clifton's ownership. My search continues for the missing 8 years of the mystery owner(s).

Please help me if you have any ideas no matter how small you think they may be. Fresh angles are always appreciated.

Thank you,
Mike Browning
vettespaz@yahoo.com
410-924-6584

How the car would've appeared new:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]110960[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]110961[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]110962[/ATTACH]