Daily Slideshow: The Life of James Dipersia's 67 Corvette
This pristine 1967 L36 427 Corvette Sting Ray Coupe is just as it was ordered, with the paperwork to prove it.
Takes One to Know One
You don't have to be a renown designer to appreciate the formal perfection of a C2 Corvette, but it's not surprising how many do. One notable member of the Sting Ray Appreciation Society is James Dipersia, coincidentally also a former president of the American Society of Furniture Designers. James started in his father's line of work, crafting sublime cabinetry, prior to pursuing an education in furniture design that led to his opening Disegno by James Dipersia in the New York Design Center. Throughout all of that education, and the setting-up of his own firm, he never forgot the first time he set eyes on a new split-window coupe, and by 1980 he had purchased his first Corvette.
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The Right One
But you don't always get it right the first time, and James' search for his ideal C2 went on. After owning a few more Sting Rays, and after wading through a sea of basket cases and botched restorations in search of the right specimen, he finally found the object of his affection: the 1967 Coupe you see here. That was 12 years ago, and when James bagged his Sting Ray it came with a cache of documents and extras, including the original dealer window sticker, manuals galore, the original the Protect-O-Plate, extra keys, and more. The car was originally purchased from McClintock Chevrolet in Chardon, Ohio, by Steven D. Szany, and by the second owner, the car had been resprayed bright red with a black stinger stripe.
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The Road Back Home
James wanted to return his Corvette to original 2977AA Lynndale Blue spec. (1 of 1,381 in 1967) so the red had to go. He tasked a Porsche painter from a New Jersey dealership to do the work as a side job, and soon the C2 was taken down to its gel coat and sprayed in what James thinks was probably two-stage Glasurit urethane.
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Pick your Powertrain
The last line on the Sting Ray's window sticker reads 2L36AA 390 HP V8 Turbojet: $200.15, which is in large part why James brought the '67 home. He specifically searched for a 390 hp iteration of the 427 big-block, wanting its torquey-ness without temperament, and his car is 1 of 3,754 Corvettes so-equipped for '67. James' L36 427 benefits from the optional 2K66DA transistorized ignition (at a cost of $73.75, 1 of 5,759), as well as 2N14AB dual side-pipe exhaust ($132.65, 1 of 4,209).
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Backing it Up
James doesn't know for sure if it was Szany or the dealer who ticked the rest of the boxes but, as you can see from the frequency numbers, his car's combination of options was pretty popular. A 2M21AA (M21) close-ratio Muncie four-speed manual transmission (for $184.35) mates to the L36 427, and the rear axle is a 3.70:1 final drive ratio 2G81NA (G81) Positraction 370R (for only $42.15)—an overwhelmingly popular option in '67, with 20,308 Corvettes sporting them. Muncie four-speeds, both close, and wide-ratio varieties were almost as popular, together totaling 20,172 units. The Sting Ray's Q81 red stripe 775x15 tires ($46.65, 1 of 4,230) are mounted on aluminum N89 bolt-on wheels—which at $263.30, and 1 of 720, are both relatively rare and comparatively expensive, probably not uncoincidentally.
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Filling it Up
Turning to the Corvette's furniture, James' car wears always-classic black leather, option 2402AA ($79.00, 1 of 1,601), with 2A82AA headrests ($42.15 and 1 of 1,762). Music and news can be heard on the U69 AM/FM radio (quite a money-maker for GM at $172.75 and 1 of 22,193), the windows slide up and down under power via option A31 ($57.95, 1 of 4,036), and James' eyes get some relief from the A01 Soft Ray tinted glass ($15.80, 1 of 11,331). One option could have changed the whole picture though. If option N03 had been checked, and a 36-gallon fuel tank installed, his Corvette would have been one of the two sold as such in '67. It's a good thing it wasn't though, a smaller tank means more getting out and taking in his perfect C2. Plus he needs the extra room in the back for all his provenance-providing paperwork.
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