Every little kid at some point in his or her life wanted to be an astronaut at one time or another. Only a very few actually end up living out there spacey dreams. Neil Armstrong did just that when he became the first person to step on the moon in July of 1969. Unfortunately, you can’t be the first person on the lunar surface, but you can at least drive his Corvette if you have the winning bid on eBay.
According to the seller, Mr. Armstrong took delivery of his 1967 427/390 Corvette coupe on December 15th, 1966 from Jim Rathman Chevrolet in Jupiter, Florida. Rathman, the noted racer, had struck a deal with NASA to provide Corvettes to the astronauts. Armstrong kept this air conditioned big block for about a year before turning it back in. Since then it was kept by another NASA employee until the current owner acquired it in February of this year of a 30 year courtship. Can you say “flip”?
The car itself hasn’t been on the road since 1981 as evidenced by all the storage dust in the photos. At some point in its life it sported fender flares which have now been removed. The seller states that NOS fenders come with the car. Currently it runs well enough to get it around the garage, but it will need a complete restoration to bring back to its as-new condition. The seller has several new parts to help get you started on your project.
We all know that documentation is critical when it comes to collector cars of any make, not just Corvettes. This car comes with the tank sticker which shows the following options: 427/390 motor, A/C, 4 speed, and Transistor Ignition in addition to tinted and power windows. The car also comes with the original Protect-O-Plate with “N.A. Armstrong” emblazoned on it.
With the current bid closing in on $250,000 (and the reserve not yet met) we wish there was a little more paperwork to go with this car. That’s already a hefty premium over a typical 1967 in need of a full restoration. Hopefully the bidders have more information than we do, especially when you factor in all the cheddar it’s going to take to get this one back to #1 condition.
Source:
http://www.corvetteblogger.comEbay link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=251051174912+&viewitem=
