We’re glad nobody restored this groovy Corvette to factory-spec
Since 1963, the International Show Car Association (ISCA) has been ubiquitous in the world of indoor, large-scale car shows. Thanks to the participants, judges, and event planners, we’ve seen decade after decade of advancements in design, engineering, and technology. Times change, but some efforts are timeless. Rarely do we get to see a former ISCA show car that survived and thrived after its 15 minutes of fame—and that’s where this particular 1964 Corvette convertible (discovered via Barnfinds) comes into focus.
It’s currently for sale on Craigslist with an asking price of $69,500. It is a fair ask for just about any C2 Mid Year Corvette, but the provenance presented here goes far beyond being a unique options-list configuration. The seller states this Corvette entered the ISCA show circuit in the late 1960s, and was the “number one ISCA competition show car and points winner in its class for the ’66–67 year.”
Those claims might sound like those of a stereotypical seller, working overtime to tart up a car to unsuspecting buyers, but the sheer volume of historical documentation in this Craigslist ad suggests otherwise.
The seller states this Mid Year Corvette was originally finished in Ermine White with a 375-hp “fuelie” small-block, complete with a four-speed manual transmission and a rear end with 4.11:1 gears. But its owner, Don Connelly, modified the Corvette to be a Pikes Peak race car in 1965, which then made the transition to ISCA stunner. As the photos above show, this Corvette has seen several paint jobs, different sets of long-tube headers, various induction systems, and different graphics.
The seller suggests Don’s Corvette had multiple paint schemes “from ’65 to early ’70s,” including this yellow-ish hue seen in vintage photographs. (That’s definitely not the factory Ermine White.) Clearly, Don was proud of his car: You can spot him in these photos with a large number of trophies, presumably from a car that the promotional material suggests is the “Number One Competition show car in the USA.”
The interior shows the same level of attention to detail, though it is more restrained than the exterior’s race liveries or later paint jobs. The cream-colored tuck and roll upholstery really highlights the Mid Year Corvette’s elegant, dual-cove dashboard and removable hard top. The Hurst shifter and chromed rollbar are probably race items that survived the Corvette’s transition into a show car. Which begs the question, do modern show cars with racing bits affixed to them owe a debt of gratitude to Don and his 1964 Corvette?
The Corvette’s underside is still show-car fresh. It suggests that vintage ISCA entries didn’t need extensive chrome plating, loud colors, or impressive hardware polished to perfection to steal the judges’ hearts. Instead, we see what makes the Mid Year Corvette so special: a fully independent suspension, finished in black, dirt-free to this day.
The polished-up and chromed-out engine bay has everything a 1960s show car with a small-block Chevy needs to wow the crowds, but the real money was spent on making the Mid Year’s body. The paint job is period-correct for a show car from the late ’60s or early ’70s, and the seller states this lacquer finish “shows beautifully.” There are dual hood scoops, open-air cleaners, a frenched antenna, dovetailed rear fascia, pinstriping, mag wheels, etc. but the real beauty lies in the fact that everything remains in time-capsule condition. Of course, that time capsule isn’t from 1964, and that’s why this Corvette is worth discussing.
How this 1964 Corvette survived the 1990s and 2000s in this condition speaks volumes about its owner(s). I have heard of a 1970s-era custom Mid Year being returned to stock by a new owner with no connection to the custom work: Such builds fall into disrepair over time and are often more valuable when restored to stock. Let’s also remember that Corvette fiberglass repair panels are readily available and fairly easy to install by most trained body shops. All of this makes this particular Corvette a true survivor worthy of sitting next to a factory fresh L-88. Perhaps more so, because it retains the vibes of when a small-block, Mid Year Corvette was heavily depreciated, not terribly appreciated.
If the pictures are any indication, this Corvette stands on its period-correct show car attributes very well. Even better, it proves how the right paint job, wheels, and custom parts of an era can make any car look great, long after it makes its exit, stage left from the show-car scene. We’re just lucky this ISCA Corvette survived the “hard times” so that it can thrive today.
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Somethings age well and some don’t. This one not well but it captures the thinking then.
I will bet you are as progressive as the day is Long. Love today’s modern look alikes. Bet you do too.
Politics have nothing to do with it.
For what it is worth I am a conservative.
I just never fall for trendy stuff that never last.
The 60’s stuff like this just never did anything for me. Note all the crazy graphics that wore thin in the 80’s.
To me a 250 Ferrari Lusso is what topped the 60’s in style.
I would much rather have this Corvette as it left the factory than this.
Now I have owned some radical cars wit tunnel rams and such but they would still fit in with todays styling as I left the short term trends off.
To me there is a point to where you just need to stop. Just because you can do more ehh.
Give me a black 32 coupe wit red leather and factory wheels powered by a flat head.
Just not into the threw up crayola look.
I want it!
Please take it and ,repaint or Çrush it, it’s simply Fugly
That Corvette Should Be A Hot wheels Car.
I agree fella I am 68yrs old & remember this corvette when fresh off the press people have no idea what combo of imagination effort & $$$$ it takes to create such a bad-to-bone work of art that could ..with very little fenagel.. be a daily driver also kudo’s keeping that beauty in condition it is belongs @ hagerty museum “_”
In the late 60’s and early 70’s this was the look. I can’t believe how well the car appears to have been maintained. Many of those paint jobs faded when put into use.
I don’t particularly like it but I respect it. I think it should be maintained as is because of what it represents.
This represents what I spent most of my classroom time on during the 1960’s. Drawing custom cars and daydreaming of the California the Beach Boys were singing about.
This car reminds me of the machines I saw at custom car shows with my dad in the ‘70’s. It’s fantastic!
I love the street freak look or whatever these are called. Imagine the smiles on people’s faces you’d be the cause of!
That was correct- Street Freak style was a late ’60s thing that peaked when I was in highschool (’74-’78). In Indianapolis at the time, you could see cars similar to this of all Big Three makers used as cruisers on Indy’s SouthSide strip, Madison Avenue. Oh, not as perfect as this ex show horse, but the style and paint was there. Lace SS stripes on Camaros, panelled murals on the boxy flanks of ’68-’70 Roadrunners and GTXs, faux marbled panels on Torinos and Mustangs. Tunnel Rams with those iconic Moroso gold anodized velocity stacks on the Holleys for all brands, and Hooker 2piece side mount headers with the baffles removed were quite common on GM stuff. And if you put a straight axle under a big block ’63 Nova, Cragar S/S skinnies on the front, Ansen kidney hole slots in 15×10 with Kelley Supercharger N50-15s with a paint scheme like this plus the hoodless tunnel ram dual quad… you won the weekend. And I did see one of these when I was a sophomore, often parked at the White Castle located at the south turnaround on the strip.
Why replace the clear identifier “C2” with the far less informative “mid-year”?
Mostly because that was the original nickname and C2 just sounds heartless in comparison. I believe it’s just as informative, as it denotes the time period in the 1960s when it was made.
Just because Chevy wanted us to call the 1997 Corvette a C5 and backronym everything before it to match doesn’t mean I will stop calling the Mid Year by its rightful name.
Imagine how the exhaust smells
NOSTALGIC!
Would make an EV owner pass out!
I hope you like the engine sound ! I know I do. At driving speed, you couldn’t hear the am/fm radio ! These cars were Kool
Agreed this car needs to be preserved for the historical record. Disagree with referring to a 1964 327/375hp fuelie convertible as a “run-of-the-mill” mid-year.
I agree with your disagreement, because I shouldn’t have said that. Gonna fix this now!
Uh, no thanks.
Not my favorite body kit or color scheme for sure. It is a survivor.
Beautiful car! Don’t even THINK about returning it to stock. She started as a factory hot rod, survived the track and Pikes Peak to re-emerge as a dream car.
I loved the ISCA cars of the 60’s and 70’s, and always wanted to build one. If I could, I’d bid on her and let her strut her stuff once again!
Man, so excited that car survived! I love the work that went into that crazy paint job! The hours in taping, masking, laying out layers is mind blowing!