1966 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe 427/450

THE TERM ‘SURVIVOR’ MEANS DIFFERENT THINGS TO DIFFERENT FOLKS, BUT I CAN SAFELY SAY THAT FOR MANY CLASSIC CORVETTE ENTHUSIASTS, IT MEANS THE WORLD. FEAST YOUR EYES ON THIS HEAVILY DOCUMENTED, ALL NUMBERS MATCHING 1966 CHEVROLET CORVETTE 427/450 COUPE WITH ONLY 27,265 ORIGINAL DOCUMENTED MILES SINCE NEW. THIS GORGEOUS CORVETTE IS AN ABSOLUTE TIME CAPSULE AND WHEN I SAY HEAVILY DOCUMENTED, I MEAN MORE DOCUMENTATION THAN I HAVE EVER SEEN WITH ANY CLASSIC CAR IN MY LIFE! ITS ENTIRE EXISTENCE HAS BEEN DOCUMENTED FROM THE DAY SHE LEFT THE CHEVROLET PLANT TO NOW, AND IT HAS WON ALL OF THE TOP HONORS AND AWARDS ALONG THE WAY. LET ME START AT THE BEGINNING: THIS 1966 CHEVROLET CORVETTE 427/450 COUPE WAS BUILT AT THE ST. LOUIS ASSEMBLY PLANT BY THE SECOND SHIFT AT APPROXIMATELY 5PM ON OCTOBER 12, 1965. THE CAR WAS SUBSEQUENTLY SHIPPED TO PANTIER CHEVROLET IN DANVILLE, ARKANSAS. THE CAR SHIPPER (DEALER COPY) ACCOMPANIES THE CAR AND VERIFIES THE COLOR, OPTIONS AND THE 450 HP RATING. THE ORIGINAL PURCHASER WAS EDWARD PAGE IN OCTOBER 1965. THIS CAR IS ONE OF THE VERY RARE, EARLY L72 427 CORVETTES WITH 450 HP FACTORY PAPERWORK. ACCORDING TO CORVETTE HISTORIAN AL GRENNING, THE 450 HP DESIGNATION IS ASSOCIATED WITH 1966 CORVETTE BUILD ORDERS SUBMITTED BEFORE SOP (START OF PRODUCTION). BEFORE PRODUCTION BEGAN, AN ECR (ENGINEERING CHANGE RECOMMENDATION) CHANGED THE HP DESIGNATION FROM 450 HP TO 425 HP, EFFECTIVE UPON START OF PRODUCTION. ANY L72 ORDER IN PLACE BEFORE SOP WAS PROCESSED AS 450 HP. AS THESE EARLY L72 ORDERS WERE SCHEDULED THROUGHOUT THE FALL OF 1965, THEY WERE MIXED WITH ORDERS PLACED AFTER SOP – CONSEQUENTLY THERE WAS A MIX OF 450 HP AND 425 HP DESIGNATIONS DURING EARLY 1966 PRODUCTION. THE LAST 450 HP CAR IS ESTIMATED TO BE AROUND VIN 3000, PRODUCED THE LAST WEEK OF OCTOBER, OR THE FIRST WEEK OF NOVEMBER 1965. ANYWAY, EDWARD PAGE PURCHASED THE CAR FROM PANTIER CHEVROLET IN DANVILLE, ARKANSAS IN OCTOBER 1965. MR. PAGE OWNED THE CORVETTE FOR 16 YEARS AND SOLD IT TO MIKE CECIL OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS IN NOVEMBER 1981. MR. CECIL SOLD THE CORVETTE IN AUGUST 1984 TO A MIDDLEMAN WHO APPARENTLY HELD THE CAR ON THE SIGNED TEXAS TITLE UNTIL APRIL 1985, WHEN IT WAS SOLD TO STEVE MEYERS OF LAFOLLETTE, TENNESSEE WITH 18,183 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. IN EARLY 1986, STEVE SOLD THE CAR TO ANOTHER MIDDLEMAN WHO SAW THE CAR FOR SALE AT A LOCAL CAR EVENT. HE WAS INTERESTED IN ’67 CORVETTES, BUT BOUGHT THE ’66 FOR RESALE, AND HE ADVERTISED THE CAR IN HEMMINGS MOTOR NEWS. ED WODNIAKOWSKI OF ITASCA, ILLINOIS CALLED ON THE AD AND ASKED IF THE CORVETTE WAS A CONVERTIBLE. THE SELLER TOLD ED IT WAS A COUPE BUT ASKED THAT HE NOT HANG UP BEFORE HE COULD DESCRIBE THE CAR. AFTER HEARING WHAT THE SELLER HAD TO SAY, ED W. AND A FELLOW NCRS MEMBER MADE A TRIP TO IOWA TO SEE THE CORVETTE. THEY SPENT TWO HOURS GOING OVER THE CAR AND BOTH WERE AMAZED AY HOW ORIGINAL IT WAS, SO ED W. PURCHASED THE CAR IN SEPTEMBER 1986 WITH 20,965 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. WHILE ED WODNIAKOWSKI OWNED THE CAR IT EARNED FOUR NCRS TOP FLIGHT AWARDS (1988, 1993, 1995 AND 1996), THE SILVER SALUTE AWARD IN 1991 AND BLOOMINGTON GOLD SURVIVOR IN JUNE 2000. ED SOLD THE CORVETTE TO EVERETT OGILVIE IN FEBRUARY 2003 WITH 25,734 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. MR. OGILVIE ONLY PUT 62 MILES ON THE CAR IN OVER A YEAR AND SOLD IT TO TOM FLANAGAN IN JULY 2004. 38 MILES LATER, IT WAS SOLD TO TIM GARNER WITH 25,834 MILES. ONE OF MY BEST CLIENTS FROM BEVERLY HILLS CALIFORNIA ACQUIRED THIS INCREDIBLE CORVETTE LAST YEAR AND IT NOW SITS IN MY SHOWROOM WITH ONLY 27,265 ORIGINAL MILES. SIMPLY STATED, THIS IS THE MOST ORIGINAL CLASSIC CORVETTE I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE! WE HAVE BEEN OVER THE CAR FROM FRONT TO BACK AND FROM TOP TO BOTTOM AND I WOULD SAY THAT IT RETAINS AT LEAST 80% OF ITS ORIGINAL PAINT WITH VERY LITTLE TOUCH UP WORK. THE INTERIOR IS COMPLETELY ORIGINAL AND IN MINT CONDITION! ALL OF THE GAUGES, LIGHTS, BLINKERS, ETC., WORK PERFECTLY. EVEN THE AM/FM RADIO AND LIGHTER WORK LIKE NEW! A TRUE TIME CAPSULE IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD! THE ENGINE BAY HAS BEEN LEFT UNTOUCHED OTHER THAN REPLACING THE 427/450 DECAL ON THE AIR CLEANER AS THE ORIGINAL WAS JUST TOO TATTERED. THE ORIGINAL NUMBERS MATCHING 427/450 HP ENGINE IS LINKED TO THE ORIGINAL NUMBERS MATCHING MUNCIE M21 4-SPEED TRANSMISSION AND THE ORIGINAL 3.36 REAR END. I DROVE THIS CORVETTE ONCE TO TAKE THE PHOTOS AND I WAS AMAZED AND HOW SOLID AND TIGHT THIS CAR FELT! SHE’S GOT TONS OF POWER AND IS SUPER RESPONSIVE. SHE STARTS, RUNS, DRIVES, STEERS AND BRAKES PERFECTLY AND MUST FEEL EXACTLY AS SHE DID 45 YEARS AGO. AGAIN, I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH PAPERWORK AND FULL-PROOF DOCUMENTATION ON ANY TYPE OF CLASSIC CAR IN MY LIFE! DOCUMENTATION INCLUDES: ORIGINAL SHIPPING ORDER FROM ST. LOUIS PLANT TO PANTIER CHEVROLET IN DANVILLE ARKANSAS, ORIGINAL WINDOW STICKER, ORIGINAL OWNERS MANUAL, ORIGINAL WARRANTY BOOKLET W/ ORIGINAL PROTECTO-PLATE, OWNER HISTORY FROM DAY ONE INCLUDING NAMES / ADDRESSES AND MILEAGE, COPIES OF TITLES – REGISTRATION - BILL OF SALE INFORMATION, NCRS TOP FLIGHT AWARDS, NCRS JUDGING SHEETS, BLOOMINGTON GOLD SURVIVOR AWARDS, CCAS PAPERWORK VERIFYING CASTING / VIN STAMPINGS, TRIM TAG AND DOCUMENTATION, CHEVROLET SILVER SALUTE AWARD, (2) ORIGINAL LICENSE PLATES, ORIGINAL CORVETTE KEYS, ORIGINAL P.O.P. BALL POINT PEN FROM PANTIER CHEVROLET AND ON AND ON! THIS 1966 CHEVROLET CORVETTE 427/450 COUPE IS THE EPITOME OF WHAT A SURVIVOR CORVETTE SHOULD BE. FUTURE POTENTIAL IS LIMITLESS AND IT IS SAFE TO SAY THAT SHE WILL ONLY APPRECIATE IN VALUE AS THE YEARS GO BY. YOU SIMPLY CANNOT GO WRONG INVESTING IN A CLASSIC CORVETTE OF THIS STATURE.