Blk63Vette

This story is from Quora and the guy who wrote it name is Greg Snyder. I hope he doesn't mine me posting it. Interesting Corvette story. Plus opinion about values of Corvette

1968. Saigon. Typical evening: curfew coming on fast—too fast. Assorted GIs heading back to their billets, stumbling unsteadily, trying to dodge the random piles of trash and human crap scattered along the wide streets. The stench of rotting fish, feces and diesel fumes (from the daytime’s thousands of Fiat taxis and two-stroke mopeds) still hangs in the air.
US MPs slouched in their jeeps, eyeballin’ everybody. They're terminally bored and looking for any reason to nightstick some GI. “White Mice” (RVN) cops are on every corner. They get real nervous at night. Fingering their carbines they’d just as soon shoot as anything. Target could be a cowboy, VC, or a citizen who just ran a stop sign.
Loud brothers laughing, swearing, snapping their fingers to the music in their heads, glide by in cyclos piloted by tiny Vietnamese men. Furiously pumping those pedals, they haul three times their own weight through the pungent night. They'll net a dime off the trip and do it all over again for 12 hours tomorrow.
Over in Cholon suburb tracer rounds are already burning through the air. I’m not close enough to hear them yet, but the familiar light show easily captures my eyeballs. You can't look away even when you know some dink is getting lit up by Puff. Whoa what's this? Stop driver. Stop! What the f…?
Directly in front of me a small sign: GM. Saigon, friggin’ Vietnam! It had 1 car in the barricaded cinderblock building’s dimly-lit, barbed-wired “showroom”. Through the grimey half windows I couldn't believe my eyes:
A Goodwood Green 1967 Corvette convertible. It had tan leather interior, rally wheels with blackwalls, and a THREE-speed trans! This meant a 300 horsepower 327 cubic inch small block. In Saigon—not that far from my billet that I’d never seen before. I had to get back to beat the curfew…
2016: Couple of Vettes in my garage: 2015 Z06 and 1967 red convertibles. Opposite numbers of the same theme. Sophisticated world-beater and a pure example of brutal beauty. One an icon of Boomer desire which we can finally own. The other relatively affordable but vicious and mean without the 49yr old timeless beauty of the ‘67.
Midyears were GMs’ gifts to car guys. C-1s mirrored their times while C-2s defined them and showed the way to the future. Choices of any setup you wanted from Powerglide mild to 435hp wild. And the average guy could buy one during their run. If you couldn't, you found a way to—sooner or later.
C-2s will never fall below their rank on the totem pole of Corvette collector car desire. My 2015 depreciating Z06 will never bottom out and begin a climb upward. My ’67 will continue appreciating until bottom falls out of entire collector market. Even then, relative values will remain intact.


Picture of his 67 Corvette

wmf62

and, I personally, saw a white 61 in Vietnam (66-67 timeframe) driven by a blond stripper doing the military club circuit...

Bill

ChattanoogaJSB

vettsplit 63

You brought that time back to life. There may be some who dont know the slang - Puff, why the ARVN mp's were called 'white mice'. Nice recollection.... Thanks and welcome home

Desert Nomad

I for one remember all those terms. Also remember seeing a red '63' or '64' convertible in the Saigon area back in '72-74' era. Always wonder what happened to it or how it got there. Also there was a beautifully restored Harley 'K' model owned by some American who went by "Phu Loi Freddy". Rumor has it that Freddy stayed there after the NVA take-over and then was run out of the country later. I doubt if the Harley ever made it out though.

cobrachuck

Great story I was in country same time did not see any Vettes only water & jungle.
Man that was a long time ago.
Thanks for those who served.
Chuck

Blk63Vette

Hello

I haven't heard lingo since the 70's when my dad would talk to his Vietnam buddies when we lived in California at Vandenberg AFB.

My father wont even talk about Vietnam anymore.

God Bless our Veterans
I hope to god the new President gives them the respect they so rightfully deserve.

R66

Only had the pleasure of Saigon three times during my tour.

1st time, coming in country, smell of diesel fuel burning s**t made half of the guys puke their guts out as we got off of the plane.

Second time, coming in from in a 2 week convoy to western Viet Nam (Cambodia, VA says we were never there in 1970) and a newbie officer chewed our butt for being out of uniform, no brass, no name tags nor dog tags, no shave, and no shine and wanted to take our weapons. WTF, didn't happen.

Third time was ETS to come back to the world, one of the greatest days of my life.

Closest thing to a Vette I saw was a Mercedes the mayor or some politician of Can Tho drove.

The greatest day was getting off of the plane in Indianapolis and my 14 month old son running to me yelling DADDY. You might have more money than I do, but I am the RICHEST MAN IN THE WORLD. Some memories you try to forget and some you never want to.

P.S. Also the most beautiful woman and her mother met me there.

Blk63Vette

Hello

A guy I know in Sarasota was on a mission in the jungle in Vietnam 1971 when his platoon was told to meet at and extraction point so he could get on a Huey on go home. He told me they took his rations, grenades, and extra ammo before getting helicopter. The Huey landed Tan Son Nhut Airport. They stopped the plane and let him on board Pan Am flight to San Francisco. He board with his M16 and 1911A1 Colt 45. Nobody asked for his weapons before boarding commercial plane. Nobody sat next to him on the plane because he smelled pretty wrank for being out in the jungle for two weeks. He had not sat in a chair for a while and was happy to get a hot meal. Nonbody took his weapons at SF Airport and government never asked for them back !!!!(He still has them in Cali today at his parents house!!!)

wmf62

[QUOTE=R66;1593684844

Closest thing to a Vette I saw was a Mercedes the mayor or some politician of Can Tho drove.

[/QUOTE]

Can Tho; that's where I spent some of my time.... 13th Aviation Battalion

Bill

emccomas

I seem to recall reading or hearing that the only manual transmission cars that you could get sent to Vietnam were 3 speed cars. There was some sort of restriction on 4 speed cars.

OHSIXX

I must have been in a different Vietnam.

Blk63Vette

You get tired of eating the "steak and lobster" every night??????

rtruman

You hit the nail on the head I was in Pleaku it was just as you said
there weren't many American cars there .Glad to be back home I hated that place .