Hey CGGorman are you also on the LLOC fourm?

 

It was all Bill Mitchell. I think the "Sting Ray" term for the second gen came from the '59 Stingray Racer:


The "Shark" term started with the second generation due to the Mako Shark Prototype:


The "Shark" term continued with the third gen from it's prototype, the Mako Shark II which was already pictured in this thread. Oh, then there's the 1970 Manta Ray Prototype:

Yes, it's different from the Mako Shark II. Funny how nobody refers to the '70+ third gens as "Manta Rays". Also, technically the second gen cars could be considered "Sharks" too, as well as "Sting Rays" due to the Mako Shark I Prototype.

This site: http://www.corvette.nl/ has a lot of great pics and info. It sorta explains the confusion as best it can be. Again, it was all Bill Mitchell. When he finally retired, GM removed the "Stingray" badge from the third gen car in '77. There is not a lot of consistency to these names and unofficial or semiofficial terms, which leaves a lot open to interpretation and A LOT of debate. You'll notice things like the second gens are "Sting Rays" (two words), and some of the thirds are "Stingrays" (one word). And PLEASE, for the love of God, don't ask if the '68 & '77-'82 third gens are considered "Stingrays" since they are not badged as such. It's a can of worms that there is no absolute answer too, it's which leads to a lot of this ! Trust me, just leave it alone.

Oh please. Who cares. Call the generations whatever you want. Still, I don't see how terms like "Mid Years" makes sense any more. Mid to what at this point? That term obviously started during the third gen, but no longer makes sense. I think GM is only responsible for the C5 and C6 terms. I first heard the term "Cx" from GM when the fifth generation was due out. I think everyone else took that and started referring to the older gens using the same naming convention. It was too simple not too catch on. Plus it gave me an opportunity for a good plate when all the other real good ones were long gone. "C3VETTE"

 

http://ganeys.home.sprynet.com/STINGRAY.htm

STINGRAY has a fine history & a meaning.
STINGRAY represents the new smaller body & chassis w/ I.R.S introduced in 63. It applies to the 2 STINGRAY body styles 63-67 & 68-77.
It's not an emblem, not an option, some are unmarked. Remember an unmarked police car is still a police car.

Some of us can recognize a Sting Ray w/ or w/o emblems. All Corvette enthusiasts should be able to. Many consider the 2 STINGRAY body styles 63-67 & 68-77 to be very recognizeable. At least they were at the time.

Since 63, for 15 years Corvette & Sting Ray were synonymous.
78- 25th anniversay of the Corvette- not Stingray.
Can be debated on 78-82. Many changes. Note that the 78- rear glass is reminiscent of the 63-67 coupe.
They were already working on the C4 & McLellan had said the styling would be reeled in. 84 induction & 700R4 were in production in 81. So the focus was on the C4.
CORVETTE says it all anyway.

 

Now THOSE are answers! Thanks, fellas!

Bozzman, yes I'm also on LLSOC under the same name.

 

Here we go. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. If a '77 is a Stingray, then the '78-'82s are as well. It's the same gen and the same car as the other C3s, just w/ a fastback, which the C2 Sting Rays also have. On the other hand if the '78-'82s are not Stingrays, then the '77 is not either. Also, as I've mentioned in the past, the 1989 Stingray III does not fit your qualifications to be considered a "Stingray", but it is one, because GM named it that.

This is every bit as much a Stingray as any '69.

 

The car is macho, but the shark is Maco. And stingrays are close cousins of sharks, both in the class Chondrichthyes, but in two different orders.

 

uh yea, I corrected my own spelling later...if we want to get picky, isn't the real spelling mako...

 

Wow, I thought this question just had a simple answer! Thanks for all the info!!

 

63-67 Sting Ray notice two words
69-77 Stringray notice one word

 

yes it is

 

No "Stingray" badge on a '77

 

No problem!

 

While the '77 doesn't have the 'Stingray' badges, it uses the same body as the last Stingray (1976), and the same interior and dash (except the center gauge cluster). There are some mechanical differences, but nothing too major. The '78-'82 use significantly different body panels over half the car, and the interior saw a lot fo major changes. IMO, the '77 is an unbadged Stingray (same goes for the '68). The '78-'82 is a different beast altogether.

My '77 is really unbadged - it is a very early production model that had neither 'Stingray' or crossed-flag side badges installed. Some days I think about adding one of them, some days the other, and on still others, I just decide to leave it alone. The alarm switch hole has been glassed over (the alarm likes to set the wiring harness on fire.... ), so it has a nice smooth look down the fenders. I'll probably leave it that way.

Between '77E, '77L, and '77-only parts, working on a '77 could drive anyone nuts.

 

I will accept the '68 as a "Sting Ray", notice the two words, because GM marketed it as such in it's advertising at the time. I will accept the '77 as a "Stingray" if someone shows me evidence that GM actually considered the car a "Stingray", such as an actual GM advertisement from the era, or even if the owner's manual or some of the original documentation that came with a '77 has a distinct "Stingray" reference to that model year. Until then I personally will not accept the car is a Stingray. I don't accept my '79 as a Stingray, even though it is MORE than fundamentally the same car as your '77.

You say that the '78-'82 is a different beast altogether. No, it's not. You make it sound like those five model years are so different from the previous ten that they might as well be a separate generation. It's the same stinkin' car! Yes, it has a fastback, but otherwise the differences are not that major. It's still the SAME generation. It's nowhere close to the differences between your '77 and an '84! And the interior differences between a '77 and a '78 are not that significant. Nothing like the redesign that took place between the '89 and '90 C4s.

When I see real evidence that GM considered the '77 a Stingray I will then more than gladly accept it as a fact and agree. Until then it's just '77 owners wishful thinking as far as I'm concerned. If it doesn't say "Stingray", it's not.

 

Chief sylist for GM Bill Mitchell was fascinated with fish, especially exciting fish like sharks and rays. He was fishing and caught a Mako Shark which he hung on a wall and had pictures of all his corvettes under it.

Our cars look more like a stingray with it's "wings" arched similar to how our front fenders look. Here's a close resemblence of what I'm talking about:



The 63 should have been named "Stingray", but marketing somehow fouled up the spelling and split the name...Pres. of GM. at the time didn't want to redo millions of advertising dollars just to put the name back together. The 68 was a late release and there was some debate about what to name it. Bill Mitchell finally said that the new (68) style was what he had in mind in the beginning, and since they screwed up his name in 63 they had to do it right for the 68. Others wanted to call it the Maco Shark since that's the name which people would remember from the auto shows...decisions were never made and it never got a badge, though it didn't keep owners from buying Maco-Shark, Shark, or Sting Ray emblems to stick on the sides...dealers had a good supply of them...as well as the two tone paint scheme that was displayed in the auto shows.

The 69 finally got the Stingray badge, but anyone with a 68 was more than correct if they wanted to buy one and stick it on their car...cause it was supposed to be there from the start (according to Bill Mitchell). In 1977 Bill Mitchell retired from GM which is why the 77 did not carry the Stingray badge...apparently nobody in GM liked the fish names. Which reminds me to mention that Duntov retired from GM at the end of 74 after designing the 75 corvette...the last roadster. Were these changes due to marketing? Or, were they changes in honor of their creators? You be the judge.

As far as I am concerned...the parts are available, so if you want to stick the Stingray emblem on a 68 or a 77 through 82 then fine with me...not NCRS, but it's not them that you need to please, but yourself. It's also possible to do a few cuts, a few welds and bolt on some parts to convert any 76 through 82 into a convertible if that's what you want, and if you like the car you have instead of buying a convertible as well as your coupe.

As for whether they are Stingrays or Sharks, isn't it enough to call them Corvettes?

 

Rockn-Roll, I like your answers to all of this. Don't think I'd ever go as far as to put a "Stingray" badge on my '79, because it would look odd, but it's obvious it was Bill Mitchell's intent that both the second and third generation Corvettes be called "Stingray" based on his stylings, so I'll consider all C3s Stingrays. In name if badged, and in spirit if not.

 

 

Do you even have a Corvette- does it have Chevrolet emblems on it so you can identify it- maybe some joker sold ya a F*rd!

Look up all the changes in 78.

Stingray- BB hood on 65-66, tail on 63-67 coupes, wings extended from roof 68-77 Stingrays.
The group is 68-77 -last year of the 68 design- from R & T 1977


My comments are for the record. If someone gets it- no words are necessary - if not none will suffice.

 

Took them a while to get to the road test, didn't it? That's a late '77 pictured.

 

Is this R&T's opinion, and if not just opinion show me something from GM that backs this. The argument can also be made that when Mitchell retired, and the Stingray references were completely removed from the '77 model by GM, that the car was no longer technically a Stingray regardless of what Mitchell intended or wanted while he was there. Mitchell was gone, the producers of the car decided it was no longer a Stingray, so they striped it of that "title", and from then it was simply a Corvette. Again, show me an official reference from GM that they indeed still considered the '77 a Stingray, and I'll accept it was "officially" a Stingray, otherwise third party claims are not absolute fact without showing me their sources.