Raceman
07-29-2002, 07:11 PM
Here's the one on the green 67. Riding down the road in mid 80's I saw this Vega wagon sittin on a used truck lot. Always bein' a sucker for big block parts and seein' the 427 on the front fenders, I pulled in to look. The guy was ready to move it and we struck a deal with very little examination, just his tale about how bad it wuz. When I got it home, I raised the hood and it had a big fuel filter mounted on the R side of the engine, right where the serial number and assembly code is stamped on a Chevy. I took it off just to see what it said, and ubelievably it had a JE code (67 Corvette only, 427/435) and a serial number. (The way Corvette serial numbers work, the 4 & 5th digit in the number describes coupe or roaster and the last 5 digits describe the numerical sequence of the particular car. These last 5 digits only are stamped on the pad, along with a number telling when the engine was assembled and what HP it was.) With this in mind, there was no way to tell whether the engine came from a coupe or a roadster, so a search would require making a complete vin number sequence for either. This pair of numbers was furnished to an FBI agent friend and he searched for the car. It turned up, still registered in a town about 120 miles from here. A phone call to the registered owner went like this: Mrs. X, I'm looking for a 67 Corvette, serial number?????? and I understand you own it. "Yes I do". Well, I was wondering if you have any interest in selling it. "No, it was my late husband's". I have the original engine from it and I thought it'd be neat to re unite it with the car. "Well, I don't want to sell it........sorry". Will you call me if you change your mind? "Yes, I'll write your number down". (5 minutes later the phone rings.) "This is YYYYYYY. I understand that you have the original motor out of Mrs X's Corvette". Yep. "What d'ya want for it?" It's not for sale, I'm a parts hoarder. "You wouldn't consider an offer?" No, you oughta get her to sell me the car. "She won't sell the car". Well, I won't sell the motor. Six months later YYYYY calls back and says, "you ready to sell Mrs X that motor?" Nope. Is she ready to sell the car? "Nope". 6 more months, the phone rings, "you ready to sell that motor?". Nope, I'm thinking of decking those numbers off of it so I can quit thinking about it, and stickin' it in a jetboat. "You wouldn't really do that to an original 67 engine????" (bluffin) Sure I would, I just don't want to think about that car anymore. 5 minutes later the phone rings again..........."This is ZZZZZ, I'm a classic car dealer in S. Carolina, I understand you got Mrs X's motor". Yep. "You wanna sell it?" Nope. "You wanna buy the car????" Yeah, subject to a reasonable price. "I want $$$$$. for it". Well, I think that's about what it's worth with the original motor already in it. "Maybe so, but that's what it's gonna take". I said, I'll write your number down and maybe drive up and look one day. (this guy had owned the car since before my first call to Mrs X and she and her buddy YYYY were trying to make a quick buck brokering the motor)
Anyhow, I thought the car was overpriced but couldn't get it off my mind. About a year later I called the guy and asked if he still had it. He did and we decided to drive up and look. We struck a deal and brought the car home. A week later Hurricane Hugo went through S. Carolina and wiped his building out, destroying a number of classic cars. If that car hadn't started buggin' me all of a sudden it'd be gone.
I never did figure how the original motor got in the Vega. The car had a 68 replacement block assembly in in when I got it and still had all the other original components except the block assembly. Within the next couple of weeks, it runs again, with it's original engine, for the first time since 1968 (according to the CE stamp and date on the block)
Anyhow, I thought the car was overpriced but couldn't get it off my mind. About a year later I called the guy and asked if he still had it. He did and we decided to drive up and look. We struck a deal and brought the car home. A week later Hurricane Hugo went through S. Carolina and wiped his building out, destroying a number of classic cars. If that car hadn't started buggin' me all of a sudden it'd be gone.
I never did figure how the original motor got in the Vega. The car had a 68 replacement block assembly in in when I got it and still had all the other original components except the block assembly. Within the next couple of weeks, it runs again, with it's original engine, for the first time since 1968 (according to the CE stamp and date on the block)