Dateline: 9.3.12
A video romp salute to one of the sweetest-sounding bad-boy Corvettes ever!
When you play the video, turn the sound WAY UP!
Okay, lets get this part out of the way first. True, true – a modern C6 Z06 or ZR1 Corvette can easily walk away from anything from the big-block days – HANDS DOWN! But as our pal Mike Beal once told us, the difference between modern Corvettes and the big-block Corvettes from the olden days is that the newer cars deliver “controlled horsepower.” The old big-block Corvettes delivered “EXPLOSIVE horsepower.” Not only that, but there was a guttural rumble that let even the uninitiated know that this was one bad-ass machine.
I intuitively understood this the very first time I ever encountered a 427/435 big-block. It was the summer of 1968, I was just 14 years old and a serious model car builder. In the town next to where I lived in Collingswood, New Jersey, there was (and still is) a small hobby shop called, Sattlers Trains & Hobbies. While their main business was HO gauge electric trains, they had a big selection of model car kits.
The assistant manager was a nice guy named Bruce. One day I was talking with Mrs Sattler and since she knew what kinds of cars I liked by the model kits I bought, she said, “You know Bruce has a nice Corvette, it’s out back.” So my buddy and I went out back and there it was! A beautiful 1967 427/435 Marlboro Maroon Corvette Roadster with side-pipes. WOW! It was STUNNING!
For the rest of the summer, when I was out on my bike with my friends, if we weren’t too far away, we’d ride over the Sattlers around closing time in hopes of seeing Bruce leave work. One day, we got lucky. As we rode our bikes into the back parking area, Bruce was walking out of the back of the store to get into his car. There were about three of us and since he knew us from coming into the store, he stopped and talked with us for a little while. FINALLY he said, “Well guys, see ya.” Bruce got into his car and fired the beast us. He had already told us that it was the 427/435 model and since I had read all about the car in Hi-Performance CARS Magazine, I knew it was the baddest street Corvette Chevy offered.
Bruce cranked up the Corvette and it was a genuine, “OH! MY! GOD!!!” It was summer, so Bruce didn’t need to let the car warm up much and he didn’t hot dog it for the kids. He just carefully backed the car out and drove off in a reserved manor – side pipes gurgling away. I vividly remember thinking, “WOW! I bet that’s what sex is like.” Some things, you just never forget. When I saw this video, I realized that it came the closest to the first time I ever was close to a 427/435 Corvette. Enjoy! – Scott
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The above 11×17 parchment print is available for just $24.95 + $6.95 S&H. Each print is signed and numbered by the artist. You can order your with the secure PayPal button below, or by calling 1-800-858-6670, Monday through Saturday 10AM to 9PM Eastern Standard Time.
The above 11×17 parchment print is available for just $24.95 + $6.95 S&H. Each print is signed and numbered by the artist. You can order your with the secure PayPal button below, or by calling 1-800-858-6670, Monday through Saturday 10AM to 9PM Eastern Standard Time.
