You are bidding on anEXTREMELY RARE, original 60's-era GM Chevrolet Corvette Stingray kids/kiddie car. This was a GM dealership give away back in theearly 60's, which was produced by Barry Toycraft in contract WITHthe Chevrolet Division of General Motors.According todocumentation I have been able to find, theoriginal intention of GM and the manufacturerwas for 1200 of these carsto be produced. Most collectors believe that production was no where near this high, and very,very few examples survived as you will read in theattached documentation.The estimated retail price for these back in 1963 was around $500,which wasclearly a lot of moneyback then! They were to be given away at GM dealerships in raffles, and promotions, and they were supposedto besold directly to consumers in later years, yet there is not definitive evidence that this everhappened.
It is 97-98% complete, missing only smalldetail items that can be reproduced or in some cases, purchased today. Like most items made 50 years ago, this is a substantial, VERY well constructed piece, and NOT some cheaply made item, like what you would purchase today. It is quite large at 77" long and 29" wide and 18" tall and weighs around 230lbs.
I have a large paper file that I have kept over the years on this car, including numerous contacts for experts/people in the know on these cars, along with templates for many of the parts, including the windshield, steering wheel, etc.Also included in the fileis anarticle all the way back to when they were being built in 1963 in St Paul, MN. The article, fromtheSt Paul Pioneer Press is dated 2/3/63 and states "St Paul Has Chev Assembly Plant" and goes in to all the details of the production of these cool cars! A copy of the original GM owners manual, and many otherdocuments (some pictured in the auction) are also included. These have taken me years toaccumulate, and will be included with the sale.
I restore early Corvettes and I sent the body off for a complete strip and refinish from the same guy who does the body and paint on my full size Corvettes. All totaled, I have spent $2900 on the restoration of the body ALONE! The fiberglass body is in amazing condition, and looks like the paint you would see on the nicest of show cars. Other than some missing pieces, like the windshield, and some trim/detail items, it's quite complete and would be easy to finish the restoration on. The frame has been stripped and repainted, and other than some clean up/detailing, it's really ready to have the body dropped back down on it for good. The bumpers are new reproductions that were made in a very small run a number of years ago. There is some debate whether some, or all of the cars received bumpers as the attached documents show.
The power source was a small DCgenerator with a standard 12v car battery which propelled the car to 6mph in forward or reverse.I have a generator that I will include that is of the same era as the car. With todays technology, you may chose to power the car by a different power source too! The car will need wired, and sorted out as far as the power source, adding lights (if desired), etc, etc. The HARD and EXPENSIVE work is complete as you can see. The "fun" stuff is left!
This has been in my private collection for the past 20+ years and never offered for sale prior to now. My intention was to finishrestoring it one day, but I have not got around to it, so I am putting it up for sale. Properly restored, most Corvette collectors set the value of these carsbetween $15,000-$20,000, possibly even more. The value could be only limited by the sale of other identical cars, and there are very few of these cars left! I heard of one fully restored example sold in California in2014 for justbelow the $20K mark!
I do not need to sell this car, and I have several standing offers, so please keep that in mind, and do not low ball me. The item is for sale locally and may be sold at any time.
Pick up is preferred, but a crate can be constructed, and this item can be shipped via truck freight any where in the world. While I am very good at crate building and shipping, I cannot guarantee that the paint will arrive in the exact same condition if it's being shipped. I can wrap the car with moving blankets and try very hard to protect the finish however. The crate costswill be $300 additional and all applicable truck freight/international freight will be at the cost of the buyer. I have a very reasonable truck freight company in town that I can get a quote from, just email your full address and I will provide a quote. If you are picking this item up, cash is the ONLYpayment accepted atpick up. If the item is being crated/shipped, a wire transfer ONLY will be accepted for payment and the payment must fully clear before the car will be shipped. No exceptions.
Email with any questions. Thanks and hope you enjoy this cool little car as much as I have for the past 20 years!