Jeff Taylor of Hudson, Mass. was approached by friend who had a 1967 Chevy stored in a chicken coop – did he know anyone interested? Jeff hit up another friend, and they went to the coop to check out the Bowtie. Jeff observed other cars in the coop, taking notice of the 1960 Corvette tucked away in the corner. He asked the coop owner the story on the car, but “he told me that it had been in there for so long that he forgot the name of the owner but would look through his paperwork and find out for me.” It seems the Corvette was there 15 years outside and 19 years in the coop, plus the owner was in Virginia. Before long, Jeff was the new owner of a 1960 Corvette.
The Milford Daily News tells the story: A week later, Jeff removed the Corvette from the coop and surveyed the neglect: “The paint had been baked in the heat of the barn and was chipping and cracked all over. The mice had taken up full residency and everything they had collected was in the front seat, the trunk, and in the motor. Also, it smelled so bad you could not get in it … it was 80 percent there and most of the missing trim ended up being in the trunk and no matter what, it was a C1 Corvette. So yes, it was to be saved.”
The original 283 was missing, in its place being a “1965 327ci 360hp motor” [sic]. As fate would have it, Jeff had just finished building a 1962 327 for another project that had just been sold sans engine, so that ended up in the 1960. “The rest of the work was total brake system rebuild, complete wiring (thanks to the mice) and some front end work along with a good pressure wash (inside and out) to get the smell out and as they say in the song ‘On the Road Again.'”
In research with the previous owner, Jeff learned the Corvette spent much of its time on a California airbase, being passed along from one airman to another when they were shipping out. Jeff managed to track down one of the airmen, now a doctor in Boston, who expressed surprise the California C1 was now in close proximity to him. The doctor mentioned some kill switches under the dash, confirming that this was very much the same car.
For an initial investment of $3,000, Jeff and his wife are enjoying their fiberglass cruiser. While it may not be as nice and shiny as others out there, his decision to not make it a trailer queen has reaped plenty of driving enjoyment.
The story comes from the series “My Ride, My Story” written by Sunday Editor Rob Haneisen which runs weekly in The MetroWest Daily News and Milford Daily News in Massachusetts.
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