Corvette Stingray
A Stingray You May Want to Caress
Wow!
A 1964 silver Corvette Stingray in perfect condition! And it's for sale!
This car made its debut when lines formed to see the movie "Goldfinger," President Lyndon B. Johnson declared war on poverty and the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series. It will have a new owner tomorrow when Davis Memorial Goodwill Industries of Washington auctions it off to the higgest bidder.
The ultimate muscle car, with its 345-horsepower, 327-cubic-inch engine, is the star of the morning auction, which includes dozens of classic and specialty cars. Those who know say that an official muscle car has more horses than cubic inches.
The minimum bid for this one is $10,000.
"We expect to get $15,000 for it, but maybe more if the Corvette lovers come out," said Goodwill's vice president of operations, Les Wofford.
For the nonprofit organization that trains disabled people, for the donors of the cars and for the car buyers, it is a win-win-win situation, Wofford said. Goodwill makes money from the sale minus some upkeep costs, the donors get a federal income tax write-off and the buyer will probably get a classic car for less than it would sell for in the private market, he said.
Wofford said the couple who donated the Corvette on New Year's Eve want to remain anonymous. But when they drove the car into the lot at 2200 South Dakota Ave. NE, they had a professional appraisal with them that listed its value as $22,500.
This week, the car that had been in safekeeping in the garage of operations manager Larry Garr was moved to a fenced lot with a 24-hour guard service. Garr said they have spent about $1,500 to put it in perfect working order, and the deep silver paint and chrome wheels will sparkle come tomorrow.
"I will be relieved when that car is sold," he said. "I worry about scratches. I worry about someone stealing parts. It's a real headache."
The lot is a sampling of car history ranging from the 43-year-old gold Plymouth Deluxe to an 18-foot-long 1960 Cadillac convertible to a 1979 Fiat Spider. Few are in the mint condition of the Corvette, but Wofford is sure there will be a buyer for each and every one.
And that will make Janet Rozman happy. She is the donor of a rare 1951 black Citroen, complete with high-rounded fenders and a front windshield that opens.
"I really love that car," she said. "It was a birthday present from my husband seven years ago. He shipped it from Uruguay. We've had such fun with it."
But three cars for a two-car garage meant something had to go and it was the Citroen, Rozman said.
Rozman said she was stopped so often by others curious about the car that she eventually got Virginia vanity tags: CITROEN. And, though the car is gone, a picture of it remains on the wall of their McLean home.
The Washington Post
June 5, 1992
Linda Wheeler