1967 History

[Peter K.]

Thanks to all of the 152 members that have checked my message posted on January 28th @ 8:00 am regarding my the history of my '67.

Maybe I didn't ask the right question...

Can anybody give me suggestions on where I should start looking for some history??

Is anybody aware of a possible service that can do these investigations??

Again.. ANY HELP is appreciated!!!!

[David Hicks]

Re: 1967 History

You could try http://www.i-depth.com/P/d/d00004.frm.gz-pastowner.html It's a start although I haven't had much luck there.

Dave

[John H.]

Re: 1967 History

Peter -

There is no service that I'm aware of that can do this - if there was, thousands of Corvette owners would be using it. Tracing the history of 30-40 year-old Corvettes is pretty much a manual effort, tracking back from one previous owner to the next with letters, phone calls, and internet address and phone number searches. State DMV's aren't much help; most have trashed any records over ten years old, and even if they have the information, many states won't release it due to differing state privacy laws. Good luck!

[Jack H.]

Re: 1967 History

I echo the above with the possible exception your car might have been a Canadian export. In that rare case, records still exist and once in a blue moon we find US registered cars that went the 'opposite way' during their lives winding up in the US today....

[Bob Babcock]

Re: 1967 History

Could NCRS (or Corvette Forum or Corvete Mike or.....) develop a listing of VIN numbers as a website (or a page of ncrs.org) that is based on member's voluntary input to help track history. I know that I have a record of all the VIN numbers of all the Corvettes I have owned and I would be happy to post them. Somebody is probably looking for history on one of my old Corvettes right now (hopefully with a smile on their face). It seems there should be a site somewhere, since so many people are looking for history. corvettegeneology.com? If I can find the name of my great great great grandma on the internet, why not previous owners of my Corvettes? I know Corvette Mike started a big block registry and there are varoius other Corvette registries. Maybe he would have in interest in the development of such a site. I realize there a zillion old Corvettes out there, but who knows???? It seems more efficient than an ad in the Driveline. If nothing else, it may be useful to someone in the future if we post VIN numbers today.

[Patrick T.]

Re: 1967 History

I am one of the few lucky ones that have had any luck with the DMV. Most of them only go back 10 or 15 years. I knew my '67 was delivered to Zone 40 (Charleston, West Virginia) from the info on the tank sticker. I called the WV DMV and asked them how far they go back with the records and was told 50 years! Must not be too many cars there.

Anyway for $10, they sent me all the photocopied DMV information on the first five owners and the application for title filled out by the original selling dealer. Eventually, I located the original owner and called him up. He couldn't believe his first Corvette was still around; he bought it new when he was 18.

[Jim W.]

Ditto Re: 1967 History

I agree that we should have a single source for VIN input and research. It would be invaluable to many. I tried posting ads offering information on several Corvettes including those I've owned and others and received no response. Hard to believe not one of these cars is out still there. I also posted ads seeking the original owner of my 1967 convertible who sold the car in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey when it was only two years old and received no response. There has to be a better way.

[David Hicks]

Re: Ditto Re: 1967 History

I'm all for that. Being new to the game any little help would be great......
So, any of you guys ever own a 63 SWC VIN 30837S111272? :-)

Dave

[Rob Loszewski]

Re: 1967 History

Bob,

I think this is an excellent idea. The problem is how to actually build it. Given the fact that there have been well over 1,000,000 Corvettes built, you would need an enormous, and pretty powerful database to handle the data as well as the search criteria.

I'm not saying it's totally impossible, but I think I would be difficult. Can you give me more details? What information would you want to see available? What search criteria would you want to see?

-Rob Loszewski, Site Administrator
Corvette Action Center

http://CorvetteActionCenter.com

NCRS #27792

[Jack H.]

There's a 'rub' here....

This subject has come up with reasonable frequency at our Chapter.... A list of who owns what to help other members during their restoration would be VERY helpful.

Each time the topic has achieve BoD (Board of Directors) scheduled topic status, it's been voted DOWN! Why?

Well, you have to look at both sides of the issue. From the viewpoint of the restorer wanting access to others with similar cars, it's a 'no brainer' -- why not? From the viewpoint of the member who's put blood, sweat & toil into completing his/her restoration and campaigning the car, they look in the mirror and ask this question:

"Do I want to make public and spread the word about what's sitting in my garage when I'm at work/on vacation?"

[Bob Babcock]

Re: 1967 History

Rob- I really don't know what information should be available and I am not sure what information people would be willing to share. Obviously this would be voluntary information and some people are open and some anal. I believe at a minimum should be the VIN number and either an email address or phone number. Ideally, we could post our current and past Corvettes by VIN number, a means of contact and any history we might have. The search could be by VIN number. Gee, isn't this similar to genealogy websites? If I can look up my great great great grandmother, why not my car?

I am not even sure if NCRS is the proper administrator for such a site, but it seems to be within what I believe to be the mission of NCRS. As I mentioned, perhaps Corvette Forum, Corvette Mike, Idaho Corvette Page, or some other entity interested in the restoration and history of Corvettes would be a better administrator. Heck, this is the information age and we have very little information about current and prior ownership of our cars. I can see a benefit in the ability to look up Corvettes with VIN numbers near ours to discuss restoration issues. I am sure there are others with much better ideas than mine. I have asked for history in the Driveline with no results. I'll bet any results from such an inquiry are minimal at best. It is too bad CarFax can't handle the old VIN numbers. I submitted information to Corvette Mike's big block registry for two of my cars, yet I see no way I can retrieve any information from his registry for personal use (i.e. history). I seem to have more questions than answers, but that is not unusual.

If we submit prior judging information (under our ownership), maybe it could smoke out some of the bogus claims for Top Flight and Bloomington Gold certification. I saw a post yesterday regarding a bogus Bloomington Gold claim that was actually Bloomington Silver. I have been personally burned by a well known New York classic Corvette dealer claiming a Top Flight, when in fact the car had never been judged. He even gave me the Top Flight ribbon. After many hours and thousands of dollars, it is now Top Flight. Would it be possible for NCRS to have such a data base on the ncrs.org site that shows VIN number and any NCRS awards (no names or other private info)?

Sorry for babbling.......

[Rob Loszewski]

Re: 1967 History

Bob,

You're not babbling at all. I think you have some good ideas. Since I own and operate the Corvette Action Cener, I'd be willing to try and put something together. It's just a matter of sitting down and planning the whole thing out. Unless the NCRS or another official organization takes up an interest, I'll pursue this and see how it goes.

-Rob Loszewski, Site Administrator
Corvette Action Center

http://CorvetteActionCenter.com

[Bob Babcock]

Re: 1967 History

I am sure all Corvette hobbiest will be grateful for your efforts.

I still think it would be very helpful if NCRS would have a page on ncrs.org listing Corvettes with NCRS awards that would include VIN, award and date of award.

Thanks, Bob

[Rob Loszewski]

Re: 1967 History

I'm just trying to think....should this be a database of Corvettes that are currently owned, or a database of Corvette owners looking for history on their Corvettes - where past owners would come and see this request for information?

[Bob Babcock]

Re: 1967 History

Ron,

I suppose it could actually be both (on separate pages). One page for information available and a separate page for information wanted. Perhaps a note could be sent out to all known Corvette clubs, NCRS chapters and Corvette web sites asking for their support of the site by providing VIN numbers and associated information. If they announce the request for information at their meetings and include information in their newsletter, maybe you would get sufficient support to develop a viable service. You won't get all 1 million or whatever the number is, but those that are most active with NCRS and other Corvette organizations should be supportive.

It would also be interesting to learn of Corvette VIN numbers that have been salvaged, wrecked or otherwise parted out (page 3?).