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Well, we finally made the trip to Mershon's this past weekend to pick up the car and it didn't disappoint. As some may have seen in my WTB posting, I was very specifically looking for a 1964 Daytona Blue coupe with the solid lifter 365 horse motor and a 4 speed. The only additional options this car was ordered with is the two tone blue/white interior, off road exhaust, 3.70 rear end, and for an additional $10.80......reverse lights.
Mershon's was excellent to deal with and having Pancho Thompson inspect the car prior to the sale was money well spent. I actually got to meet Pancho when we picked the car up as he was back at the shop doing another inspection. Thanks Pancho!
The car came with a photo album full or restoration photos and a box full of documentation which includes owner history and registration numbers dating back to the build and delivery date in February of 1964, all 1964 sales materials and original owners manual, all NCRS and Bloomington Gold documentation and judging paperwork from 1982, and even the gold lapel pin. The short summary of the history is that the car was given a full frame off restoration between 1979 and 1982.....the owner at the time maintained copious notes and photos. It was especially cool to flip through his log and see what parts were purchased and installed, and how much time he worked on the car on Dec 19, 1980....which was my birthday. At the time of the restoration, the odometer was reset to 0 miles.....it currently shows 329 total miles. Apparently it has been sold a few times and most recently sat in someone's collection who was forced to sell due to divorce, which is how Mershon's came on the car.
Now that its done its time on the show/garage queen circuit, its going to be driven as often as possible. Ill be sure to continue the detailed maintenance log of the prior owners, but I have no intention of babying the car. Things will be fixed/upgraded as necessary. My plan is to keep the car relatively original, but as things break, if there's a better option on the market (65-67 disc brakes, etc.), Im not going to sacrifice durability for originality. That being said, any original parts removed will be carefully documented and stored for future potential restoration (not really my thing, but Im also not so naive as to think personal taste and interests don't change over the years).
With all that being said, please enjoy the pics of our adventure below, and check back often as Ill be continuously updating this thread as I drive, break, fix, and enjoy the car.
This past Sunday, we took part in the inaugural Distinguished Gentleman's Drive. Some may remember, I was scheduled to be the host for the Norfolk VA drive last year but COVID put a swift end to that. I've been a fan of the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride for years now....its essentially a charity event that raises money for men's health....primarily prostate cancer and mental health/suicide prevention. The idea has always been "dapper gentlefolk" on vintage motorcycles, parading through cities across the world to raise money and awareness. I had always hoped the event would someday make the leap to the 4 wheel side of the hobby and this year it finally did. The turn out was small, but that was by design. This was something of a "soft opening" to gauge interest from a core group of enthusiasts, and gauge the logistical challenges of cars vs. motorcycles en mass. We assembled at a local brewery owned by one of the participants, sampled the Octoberfest and hit the road to Lampassas cruising the hill country back roads. It was a short but enjoyable 90 minute drive, which terminated at an 1800s hotel, owned by another participant, which he has restored into his private residence. We had a lovely late lunch, and walked a block down to the local ice cream parlor. We also got a tour of his private collection. I neglected to take any photos out of respect for his privacy, but it was a Ford heave collection with two notable exceptions being the 4th Ferrari Dino ever produced and a C1 fuelie.....I forget what year but it was a white roadster with a black top. He said he had to run it on AvGas from the local airport to keep it happy in the Texas heat.
I only got a few pics as we actually had an event photographer with us. All official event photos have to be run through "corporate" before being published as maintaining the image and theme of the event is key to its future expansion and success. Once I get copies of the "official" Austin DGD photos, Ill post those as well. The boy didn't travel with us, but we couldn't help grabbing a couple of pics to hold against him at his wedding some day.
I posted this pic of me as a baby in my dad's '78 a few months back, but we thought this was the perfect time roughly to recreate the photo. We're going to have them both printed on quality paper and framed to give him at Christmas this year.
Lastly, my mother in law grabbed this video of us heading out. I figured I'd post is as only a few of you have actually heard the exhaust system on this thing that I love so much. The solid lifter motor, with the long tube headers and MagnaFlow mufflers is the perfect small block sound in my opinion. It has the right sound with no drone and no noise. I really need to get an in car video with the windows up to show just how quiet it is at cruise, but also at WOT. For me, its perfect!
Dont mind the clutch slip on start up.....this thing is on its very last legs. This was probably the last outing before I pull the motor and she goes down for round 2 of modification. Of note, the morning of the drive, I did install a carb heat shield as I had been having issues with hot starting due to the fuel boiling off in the bowls. This solved the problem and I had not further issues. Thanks Mark and Gordon!
Greg, I hope to see you at Landstown this coming Saturday, the Beachcombers Corvette Club hosts it so you can meet some of the members. Easy Rino comes out when he can. I have a red 66 vert and the top will be down. Congrats on the car. Btw, Mike Mottox painted my first corvette in 1979. It was a 67 red/ red vert.
Greg, I hope to see you at Landstown this coming Saturday, the Beachcombers Corvette Club hosts it so you can meet some of the members. Easy Rino comes out when he can. I have a red 66 vert and the top will be down. Congrats on the car. Btw, Mike Mottox painted my first corvette in 1979. It was a 67 red/ red vert.
Thanks Mark, I called the shop today and he wasn't in so Im going to try to swing by either tomorrow or wednesday with the car and see what he says....looking at where the clips are, Im 99% sure the windshield is going to need to be pulled and new clips installed.
We'll try to swing by Saturday in the Suburban if the car is with Mike
How awesome! I'm very happy you found just the right car!
Thanks! I would have loved to have been able to buy your dad's car, knowing the quality of your work, but in all honesty, its probably too nice for what I was looking for. I think the barely used, 30 year old restoration hit the happy middle ground....once I blow out the cob webs and fix the little things that will invariably pop up with regular use.
I swear, the attention you get towing a C1/C2 is almost more than you get driving them....you see people roaring up to your rear out of the mirrors then they slow down to pace you and inspect the car, take pictures and give thumbs up. Its always a hoot.
And those U-Haul trailers work VERY nicely ... a few tricks to load up a C2 though but it looks like you figured it out...
A beautiful car, Daytona Blue and that white interior, fabulous. Welcome to the white interior club, my '64 black coupe has white interior too. I bought a slip on seat cover to keep it clean when I get in with jeans, etc. And remember, 1964 was the last year when white seat cars came with white seat belts. After 1964, they became carpet colored, so no more white seat belts. Enjoy!
What a prize! I dig it. Your little girl is going to be wild about it bet. Something like mine. It's crazy how similar our
cars and life status is in many ways.
What a prize! I dig it. Your little girl is going to be wild about it bet. Something like mine. It's crazy how similar our
cars and life status is in many ways.
Benton.
Thanks Benton, although thats actually one of my two nieces. Thats my brother in law in the one picture, his 2017 GMC that towed us home, and his '67 Camaro the car's parked next to in that last pick in his garage. Despite being the biggest "Princess" on the planet, my niece loves going to Cars and Coffee on Saturdays with her dad and uncle, so she was very excited to see the new ride.
Unfortunately my garage currently has '72 Suburban parts strewn all over the place as I put the rear brake system back together. I was really hoping to get a pic of the Suburban towing the Vette home, but I didn't quite get it back together in time...so the Vette is sitting in his garage for the next few days....hopefully my wheel studs will show up tomorrow and I can slap this thing back together while the wife's out of town for work.
Honestly your Suburban is a terrific execution of plan. I love seeing it.
Thanks Benton...its finally getting to where I wanted it to be....the brakes were the last mechanical upgrade I wanted to do. All that is left is to reupholster the seats in the factory blue "Plaid edition" seat covers, and redo the sagging original head liner....with the addition of copious amount of boom mat....that thing is literally a tin can.
Think I met you when you were stationed here and had your C5 Z06.
Highly likely....I was there from April 2009 - March 2012 as an instructor...I was actually down at NAS Pensacola but spent April - October 2009 on my buddy's couch up in Pace while I was trying to close on a short sale closer to Pensacola. He lived just south of Pace high school and was an assistant football coach while he was instructing up at South Whiting Field. I had an Electron Blue 2003 Z06 at the time.
04-10-2017, 04:06 PM
My Daytona Blue '64 Coupe
