Spare Time Corvette

By Owner John Sahid    Scottsdale, AZ

Photography by Jim Knight

Ever since I was in my early teens, I had a special place in my heart for ’60s Chevrolets and Corvettes. I bought my first car two years before I got my driver’s license. It was a 1962 Chevy that needed both body and mechanical work. I fixed the car, sold it, and then built a 1964 Impala SS. In 1969, I purchased my first Corvette. It was a 1968 Convertible that was in rough condition. I painted the car and sold it. Having my own body shop in New Jersey, it seemed like I always had a Corvette, either a work in progress or one that I had fixed and drove for a while before I sold it.



In 1992, I sold my body shop business in New Jersey and moved to Scottsdale, Arizona. I figured I would buy a classic car or two and restore them in my spare time. I wanted to find a mid-year Corvette and I had my eyes on getting a 1967. In January of 1993 I saw an ad in the paper for a 1967 Corvette Coupe. It was a 327 – 300 HP 4-speed. I met the owner and checked out the car. It was a very solid car, but needing a complete restoration. The car was all numbers-matching, with the original engine, transmission, and rear end.



I completely disassembled the car and started on the restoration. Since it was a good car to start with I figured I would restore it to an all-original condition. I purchased the 1967 National Corvette Restorers Society (NCRS) Guidelines and followed their recommendations for bringing the car up to their standards. The frame and suspension were sent out to be powder coated. The complete body was taken down to bare fiberglass and the body work was completed. The frame was reassembled and the rebuilt engine and transmission were reinstalled. The body received several coats of feather-fill primer and was then block sanded and re-primed with a primer surfacer. After another block sanding the car was refinished in Sikkens base coat clean coat to match the original Marina Blue. The body was reinstalled on the frame and reassembly began. A bright blue interior was purchased from Al Knock Interiors.



I finished the car in April of 1995 and brought it to the NCRS Regional judging meet in Scottsdale. The car scored a Top Flight Award. I made some improvements to the car and I brought it to a NCRS Chapter Meet in Mesa, Arizona in March of 1996. The car scored another Top Flight Award. Several years later I took it to a Super Chevy Show in Chandler, Arizona. The car took the honors of Best Corvette of the Show out of 26 total Corvettes. I drive the car to several local shows. In October of 2010, I trailered the car to Eckler’s Chevy Classics 1000 Point Judging in Flagstaff, AZ where the car scored 995 points. It also took an award for Best Paint on an Original Trailered Car. Many thanks to my wife, Judi, for putting up with me and my many Chevy projects.