Monday, August 19, 2013

KCCA Vettes on the Plains had a Corvette for every generation

There are all kinds of opportunities to see Corvettes at car shows throughout the summer, but the biggest gathering in Kansas City is usually the Vettes on the Plains show that is put on my the Kansas City Corvette Association (KCCA).  The event has been bouncing around to various venues over the past few years, and last Saturday it landed at Finnegan’s Hall in North Kansas City.  If you made it out, you saw some of the nicest, cleanest (and I mean clean—these guys spit-shined on these cars so much it was hard to even take pictures) Corvettes in the Midwest.

This red ’61 wasn’t as pristine as some of them, but that’s one of the reasons I liked it.  It looked mostly original, and had that desirable fuel injection unit sitting atop the 283.  It basically checked every box that someone would want when looking for a straight-axle Corvette, from color to options.  All the panels even fit together nice compared to the typical ’61 Corvette out there.  I don’t recall ever having seen this car before, so it was a nice surprise when it showed up.

Not that I have a problem with pristine.  This ’66 coupe was so nice, it made my heart ache.  I can’t imagine ever being able to own something this spectacular.  It was loaded with options, like knock-off wheels, side pipes, a Powerglide, and factory air.  But then it also had the 300-hp 327 under the hood, because, you know, a big block uses too much gas.  It was sitting right next to a black and red ’63 coupe that was just as nice, making these two Midyears hard to stay away from.

I forgot to look at the year on this one, but I’m going to guess it’s a ’71.  This one was finished in sparkly Ontario Orange paint with a tan leather interior, and it was probably my favorite C3 at the show.  I think what I really like about this car is that you could really use it.  It isn’t going to punish you like some of the older models, it has that reliable Chevy 350 under the hood, and the factory air will keep you cool.  This isn’t a modern car, obviously, but it is modern enough to enjoy.  Of course, this car was so nice, you might not want to take it very far.

When the C4 generation came out in 1984, they were an absolute sensation.  Save for the wheels, the exterior styling remained the same all the way to 1990, but they did make some major changes to the dashboard and interiors that year.  This nice ’90 from the show is a good example of the new interior enhancements and the the one-year-only wheels.  This one had a period-correct Lingenfelter intake installed for even more power than the L98 offered from the factory.

The C5 generation lasted from 1997 to 2004, and they seem to dominate this type of show.  They’re actually very good cars.  They’re quite fast.  And they’re often affordable.  This modified convertible rarely misses a car show of any kind in this area.  There’s barely a spot on it that the owner hasn’t worked on, inside or out.  It even has a completely different hood and rear fascia, which houses export taillight lenses.  The clear photograph of this car on the inside of the trunklid that was taken in front of the National Corvette Museum is a nice touch.

Since there were no 2014 Stingrays on the grounds yet, the C6 cars were the newest Corvettes represented at this show.  This 2011 Grand Sport would be hard not to like.  It had the full Callaway conversion, which includes a high-rise hood that covered a 6.2-liter supercharged V8 good for more than 600-hp.  This Corvette is expensive now, and I believe that it will continue to be a blue chip collectable 20-30 years down the road.  It’s pretty special.

Check out the entire 308-photo slideshow below, or click this link for a better version.

2 comments:

  1. Is there much of anything better than a MidYear Corvette? [a rhetorical question of course, as naturally, everyone knows the answer to be 'no' .]

    ReplyDelete