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what year corvettes are considered stingrays? i guy up the street says his 81 is "technically" a stingray, but i always thought that it was only the early 70's vettes?
In 63, the new smaller body & chassis w/ I.R.S. was called a Sting Ray.
When the body was redone in 68 at first called Sting Ray & then used Stingray emblems in 69. Emblems are for identification & some can not identify w/o the emblem. Seems some place far more importance on emblems than the factory ever did, the factory wanted to change the new car so that it could be identified as new at the time. Not an option, some are unmarked.
Chassis essentially same from 63-77, body essentially same 68-77 & interior essentially same from 68-77.
There can be no question that 68-77 are Stingrays.
Can be debated on 78-82.
This is one of those questions that tends to produce a lot of different opinions. So here is mine:
"Officially", the Stingray badged Corvettes were '69 thru '76. The '68 model did not have a Stingray (or Sting Ray) emblem. To me, even though not every C3 has the emblem, they are all based on the Stingray design. So, this makes all C3 Corvettes a Stingray!
Just one man's opinion!! I am sure you will get many more!!
If he says "technically" it's a Stingray, he would be wrong. He may "feel" it's a Stingray, but that doesn't make it so. Sting Ray = 63 through 67; Stingray = 69 through 76. Those are the facts regardless of how you "feel" about the result.
Let me further confuse the issue. The 68 did not have any badges other then Corvette. But in sales lit and ads it was refered to as a "Sting Ray" like the mid-years.
My opinion, all C3s are Stingrays, badge or no badge.
"Sting Ray" or "Stingray" is a marketing name or a body style that GM started in 1963 as "Sting Ray", removed in 1968, brought back in 1969 as "Stingray" on the fender, and ended for good in 1977. The name and style was inspired by a race car called the Mitchell Sting Ray which had incredible fender lines.
It's a name that sounds cool and looks even better! :yesnod:
Hey you guys keep saying singrays ended in 1976 but dont forget there are a few 77's with factory stingray badges on them. i know of two or three here on the forum. :D
this subject has been beat to death and the egdes are very blurry...its all about preference...all you can do is go to him and say "the badges ran from '69-'76."...thats about the only reputable fact you can state on this subject. :)
Hey guys! If you drive a C3 and want to call it a Stingray, go ahead. As long as you treat her like a real vette, enjoy her. My wife does not need to have "Lady" tatooed to her to be a real lady. So treat your lady right. Give her a good waxing, if you know what I mean. :cheers:
63-67 are Sting Rays (two words);
68 Corvette only, no Sting Ray or Stingray badging;
69-76 Stingray (one word)
77 up Corvette, same as '68, no Stingray badge.
My '68 and my '80 are not Sting Rays and are not Stingrays. They are Corvettes.
I had a Sringray when I was a kid.. Schwinn made a great 20" Stingray with high rise handel bars and bannana seat :jester :jester My 77 will always be a stingray in my mind. "Badges?? We don't need no stinking badges".. :D :D
As you can see...there are many different answers. In these cases I turn to http://www.CorvetteMuseum.com and look into the library. According to the chronological history the badging appears to coincide with corvette management by Zora Arkus-Duntov and Bill Mitchell. Zora Arkus-Duntov is named Chief Engineer of the Corvette in 1968, thus the badging began at that time...probably why some 68's had badging. In 1977 Bill Mitchell resigned as head of GM, thus badging stopped at that time...probably why some 77's don't have badging.
Badging aside, all corvettes produced 1968 through 1982 were indeed the Stingray design. They were all marketed as Stingrays, sold as Stingrays, and the owners mostly consider them to be Stingrays.
I like the phrase, "We don't need no stinkin' badges." Cause in my mind the C3's were all Stingrays, BUT...I'm a corvette owner! Anyone that doesn't own a corvette will need to see the badge before they acknowledge it.