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Thomas,
I also know who owns the car now. He spent years trying to buy it before he finally succeeded. I doubt if it will ever be for sale again. He also owns a custom 63' SWC that was also a magazine cover car back in the day. Both will be restored to there former glory. Are you related to Keith Ball? The old owner and builder as I remember. That's who my friend purchased the car from. He Found it up in Norhtern Ca. Or Oregon as I remember. I know he found the 63' in Hawaii and brought it back to the mainland.
Chris
Never thought I would get a reply here! Yes Keith Ball was my Grandfather, and the car originally belonged to my Grandmother and was her very first corvette that her parents bought for her. Crazy!
Any chance you have some photos of what it looks like now or could put me in contact with who owns it now? Would be amazing to see it restored to it’s former glory and I know my family would appreciate it!
Beleive it or not King Rat is still around. It will soon go through a full restoration just as it was in its show glory. Its not in bad shape either. I remember seeing it as a kid at the car shows in So Cal and it knocked my socks off. I saw it a few years back and was amazed that its still the same. A buddy of mine owns it and it will get restored.
I know the current owner as well. P.O.B. Has a couple of customs from the 70’s. He currently has a 63’ SWC custom with a chop top for sale. If anyone is interested, P.M. me. Here’s a couple of pic’s.
Keith ball used to have a shop right next to my shop in Spokane Washington. This thing is badass fast as a fast can be. I got the opportunity to ride in it a couple of nights to go on beer runs. I have taken sport bikes to the extreme on maximum out 220 mph. I'll never forget when we went for a ride to go on a beer run. That thing had flames coming out of the hood and it put me in the seat all through all gears. The motor was a NASCAR motor independent throttle body. When I mean fast the thing was fast and that thing was loud s*** the buildings. Haven't seen Keith for about 15 years I was in a bad motorcycle accident that ended my career and I close my shop. Dude was a genius
Great thing about the Internet, leave something up and eventually someone spots it here on the forum and comes in to share. This car made it's rounds with the WSCC Conventions, the notable events and cars shows even in Southern California. It appears in a few hardbound books, and one soft cover that I know of. I remember the car from both Northern and Southern California events even though it was a Washington State Ownership. Did he do the wider flares too, or was that a subsequent Ownership? I didn't realize that it got the wider flares, thought that it was a different car, so cool to know one and the same.
That's it 'King Rat', I remember as a teenager finding it in a magazine (5 or 6 page spread) and being fascinated about it with its Jensen Interceptor rear window. One of the few cars I can still remember from back then then really grabbed my interest, Would love to re-read that article if someone still has that magazine, must have been late 70s, possibly early 80s. Does the car still exist in the last photo
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Slideshow: A Jaguar designer's personal project imagines what a modern front-engined Corvette might look like if Chevrolet revisited the golden age of the Stingray.
Amazing!
