1964 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

“I’m selling the Corvette on behalf of my dad,” explains vendor Matt Shires. “Unfortunately, a recent diagnosis means that he’s no longer able to drive; I would have kept it myself but it just doesn’t fit in my garage. It’s just time to sell it.”

Like most classic cars, it hasn’t seen much action over the last 14 months and in the ten months immediately prior to that it was simply used for occasional blasts.

“My dad has owned the car since 2007 and it’s always been looked after by Thunder Road Speed Shop, in Woking Surrey. It’s never wanted for anything and he’s spent thousands through the years – all invoices can be seen in the history file.”

The car has also just had another considerable amount of work completed and it will come with its desirable ‘1964 number plate.

The glass-fibre body looks to be in very fine condition; the Silver paintwork retains a deep shine and there are no signs of crazing or spidering on its surface. Likewise, panel fit also remains very good. It’s a very clean looking and sharp profile. And the colour really helps to accentuate the Sting Ray’s ultramodern lines – what this must have looked like back in ’64…

Exterior brightwork gleams and is generally free from blemish. Door shuts, gutters and sills are immaculate, and indicative of the car’s overall condition.

“The wheels are unusual,” says Matt. “But they are proper period American racing rims and are what came with the car.” The whitewall tyres look a bit tired (no pun intended), so the new owner may want to invest in a new set.

In the interests of transparency, Matt declares that the ‘vette did have a minor contretemps last year when the rear end of a lorry clipped the front wing. “My dad was devastated, but luckily the damage was fairly light. He had it fixed properly by Thunder Road Speed Shop; it was with them quite a while, as they waited for the correct parts from the ‘States. The result was as good as new and the receipts can be seen in the history file.”

“The interior is in nice original condition and is as it was, so hasn’t been prettified as many examples have.” Corvettes have never been noted for luxurious interiors – at least not until fairly recent times – and this is no exception. It’s in standard, but decent nick.

Door cards are excellent, seats have a nice pleasing patina and the dished three-spoke steering wheel (with iconic crossed flags) and large chrome gearstick are all you need to handle this beast. Lap belts are fitted for your safety and you’ll find Corvette branded mats under foot.

Some of the instrument surrounds are a touch chipped and scraped in places, as is the dashboard itself, but that’s par for the course in an American car of this vintage – in truth, it’s not to the detriment of cabin feel and again, lends it a genuine patina.

The hood remains in absolute tight-fitting tip-top condition.

“It goes like a steam train,” says Matt. “It sound lovely, with a nice V8 burble – get it angry though, and oh my. My dad says that it has an up-rated camshaft and a few other choice goodies. ”

Even in small-block form, 250bhp is a serious amount of grunt to propel a Sting Ray forward with. This example delivers everything you’d expect from such an iconic model and more.

The controls are man-manly; you need a strong left foot to engage the clutch and a strong right hand to shift the gear lever. On the move, the torque is wonderful and addictive, as is the seriously gruff noise that emanates from the twin rear exhausts (fitted with Magnaflow silencers). Brakes were converted to a later all-round disc set-up and are sharp, and the suspension feels well sorted.

The engine bay presents cleanly, with chrome Edelbrock pancake-type air filter sitting in pride of place atop the V8. All electric function as they should, including the all-important pop-up lights. The underside presents smartly and you’ll find a spare tyre secured there.

“I don’t know too much about the car’s history,” admits Matt. “But my dad’s ownership is well detailed.” He’s right too, as there are a huge number of invoices in the history file for prospective bidders to peruse. These in fact, go back to the previous owner’s time and show the sheer outlay that the ‘Vette has had in order to keep it in prime condition.

Highlights include: a gearbox rebuild, camshaft change and brake conversion to servo and all-round disc/calipers (£4093,un-dated); the aforementioned body repairs (£6890.21, Feb 2020); differential and suspension work (£4738.43, Jun 2014).

It must be stated that this is a very brief summary and again, it’s certainly worth looking through all invoices to get a full understanding of all works carried out. As an example, there are photographs showing engine out work completed.

The original 1987 Florida import certificate is included and the V5 indicates a total of 5 UK owners. The car comes with a spare set of keys and has a current MOT certificate that runs until July 28, 2021.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of the paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained to the highest of standards.

The French may have originally developed the V8 engine (for use in aircraft), but the North Americans took the original design and made the good old US of A its natural home. There are few greater pleasures than driving a burbling V8 gently, and then lowering your foot to the floor to release a multitude of wild horses.

And how does this example fare? Oh lordy, it’s a little bit fierce; but that’s a good thing – who needs a gentle roadster experience, when you can have this.

We think this lovely, well looked after and fettled example will sell for somewhere between £50,000 and £60,000. As vendor Matt stated, it is up for sale for a sad reason. However, it’s absolutely ready to give its next owner decades of fearsome, high-octane pleasure.

Inspection is always encouraged, and this particular car is located here at our Abingdon headquarters; to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.